XDSL MPhase Technologies Inc (CE)

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities involves significant risks. Before deciding to invest in our securities, you should carefully consider each of the following risk factors and all of the other information set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our business and results of operations could be seriously harmed by any of the following risks. The risks set out below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In such case, the value and trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Relating to Our Business

Global or regional health pandemics or epidemics, including COVID-19, could negatively impact our business operations, financial performance and results of operations.

Our business and financial results could be negatively impacted by the recent outbreak of COVID-19 or other pandemics or epidemics. The severity, magnitude and duration of the current COVID-19 pandemic is uncertain, rapidly changing and hard to predict. During 2020, COVID-19 has significantly impacted economic activity and markets around the world, and it could negatively impact our business in numerous ways, including but not limited to those outlined below:

These and other impacts of the COVID-19 or other global or regional health pandemics or epidemics could have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section. We might not be able to predict or respond to all impacts on a timely basis to prevent near- or long-term adverse impacts to our results. The ultimate impact of these disruptions also depends on events beyond our knowledge or control, including the duration and severity of any outbreak and actions taken by parties other than us to respond to them. Any of these disruptions could have a negative impact on our business operations, financial performance and results of operations, which impact could be material.

We have reported net operating losses for each of our fiscal years from our inception in 1996 through the present and may not be able to operate profitability in the future.

We have had net losses of approximately $227,727,420 since our inception in 1996 and cannot be certain when or if we will ever be profitable. If we continue to incur losses as we have in the past, investors may not receive any return on their investment and may lose their entire investment. Our prospects must be considered speculative in light of the risks, expenses and difficulties frequently encountered by companies with new products in their early stages of development, particularly in light of the uncertainties relating to the new, competitive and rapidly evolving markets in which we operate. To attempt to address these risks, we must, among other things, further develop our technologies, products and services, successfully implement our research, development, marketing and commercialization strategies, respond to competitive developments and attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel. A substantial risk is involved in investing in us because, as a company we have fewer resources than an established company, and we may be more vulnerable operationally and financially to external factors beyond our control.

We have had net losses of $14,093,567 and $1,955,161 for the years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. If we are unable to achieve profitability, we may be unable to continue our operations.

Our independent registered public accounting firm has expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, which may hinder our ability to obtain future financing.

Our consolidated financial statements as of June 30, 2020 have been prepared under the assumption that we will continue as a going concern for the next twelve months. Our independent registered public accounting firm included in its opinion for the year ended June 30, 2020 an explanatory paragraph referring to our recurring losses from operations and expressing substantial doubt in our ability to continue as a going concern without additional capital becoming available. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon our ability to obtain additional equity or debt financing, reduce expenditures and to generate significant revenue. Our consolidated financial statements as of June 30, 2020 did not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. The reaction of investors to the inclusion of a going concern statement by our independent registered public accounting firm, and our potential inability to continue as a going concern, in future years could materially adversely affect our share price and our ability to raise new capital or enter into strategic alliances.

We will require additional financing in the future to fund our operations which may cause dilution to our existing stockholders or restrict our operations.

We will need additional capital in the future to continue to execute our business plan. Therefore, we will be dependent upon additional capital in the form of either debt or equity to continue our operations. At the present time, we do not have arrangements to raise all of the needed additional capital, and we will need to identify potential investors and negotiate appropriate arrangements with them. Our ability to obtain additional financing will be subject to a number of factors, including market conditions, our operating performance and investor sentiment. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interests of our stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of such financings may include liquidation or other preferences, anti-dilution rights, and other provisions that may adversely affect the rights of our stockholders, including rights, preferences and privileges that are senior to those of our holders of common stock in the event of a liquidation. In addition, debt financing, if available, could include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take certain actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, or declaring dividends and may require us to grant security interests in our assets. If we are unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms we may need to curtail or cease our operations.

Our indebtedness and liquidity needs could restrict our operations and make us more vulnerable to adverse economic conditions.

Our existing indebtedness may adversely affect our operations and limit our growth, and we may have difficulty repaying our debt when due. If market or other economic conditions deteriorate, our ability to comply with covenants contained in our debt instruments may be impaired. If we violate any of the restrictions or covenants set forth in our debt instruments, all or a significant portion of our indebtedness may become immediately due and payable. Our inability to make payments on our indebtedness when due may have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial condition.

We may not be able to raise the required capital to conduct our operations and develop and commercialize our products.

We require substantial additional capital resources in order to conduct our operations and develop and commercialize our products and run our facilities. We will need significant additional funds or collaborative partners, or both, to finance the research and development activities of our potential products. Accordingly, we are continuing to pursue additional sources of financing. Our future capital requirements will depend upon many factors, including:

Additional financing through strategic collaborations, public or private equity financings or other financing sources may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. Our prior failure to be timely in our required periodic filings of quarterly and annual financial reports with the SEC may significantly limit our ability to raise additional capital. Additional equity financing could result in significant dilution to our shareholders. Further, if additional funds are obtained through arrangements with collaborative partners, these arrangements may require us to relinquish rights to some of our technologies, product candidates or products that we would otherwise seek to develop and commercialize on our own. If sufficient capital is not available, we may be required to delay, reduce the scope of or eliminate one or more of our programs or potential products, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or business prospects.

We depend on one customer and the loss of this customer would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

At June 30, 2020 and 2019, approximately 100% and 99%, respectively, of accounts receivable were concentrated with one customer located outside the United States. For the years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, approximately 100% and 100%, respectively, of revenue were concentrated with the same customer. The loss of this customer, or a substantial decrease in demand by this customer for our products, would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We depend on one primary vendor and the loss of this vendor would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

At June 30, 2020 and 2019, approximately 95% and 0%, respectively, of accounts payable were concentrated with one vendor located outside the United States. For the years ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, approximately 100% and 0%, respectively, of cost of revenue were concentrated with the same vendor. The loss of this vendor would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We operate in a highly competitive industry.

The artificial intelligence and machine learning industry is intensely competitive and consolidation in this industry continues. We face competition in the areas of brand recognition, price, convenience and service. A number of our competitors are larger than us and have substantial financial, marketing and other resources as well as substantial operations. In addition, reduced barriers to entry are creating new competition. Furthermore, in order to protect our existing market share or capture increased market share in this highly competitive environment, we may be required to increase expenditures for advertising and continue to introduce and establish new products. Due to inherent risks in the marketplace associated with advertising and new product introductions, including uncertainties about consumer acceptance, increased expenditures may not prove successful in maintaining or enhancing our market share and could impact our operating results. In addition, we may incur increased credit and other business risks because we operate in a highly competitive environment.

Our nanotechnology competition includes both public and private organizations and collaborations among academic institutions and large companies, most of which have significantly greater experience and financial resources than we do.

Private and public academic and research institutions also compete with us in the research and development of nanotechnology products based on micro-fluid dynamics. In the past several years, the nanotechnology industry has selectively entered into collaborations with both public and private organizations to explore the development of new products evolving out of research in micro-fluid dynamics.

We depend on certain third parties to assist us in the development of new products, and any failure of those parties to fulfill their obligations could result in costs and delays and prevent us from successfully commercializing our products on a timely basis, if at all.

We engage consultants and contract research organizations to help design, develop and manufacture our products. The consultants and contract research organizations we engage provide us critical skills, resources and finished products for sale that we do not have within our own company. As a result, we depend on these consultants and contract research and product supply organizations to deliver our existing automotive products and to perform the necessary research and development to create new products. We may face delays in developing and bringing new products to market if these parties do not perform their obligations in a timely or competent fashion or if we are forced to change service providers.

We depend on our collaborators to help us develop and test our proposed products, and our ability to develop and commercialize products may be impaired or delayed if collaborations are unsuccessful.

Our strategy for the development, testing and commercialization of certain of our proposed products requires that we enter into collaborations with corporate partners, licensors, licensees and others. Some of these collaborators will be located in India and other countries outside of the United States which pose additional legal and economic risks. We are dependent upon the subsequent success of these other parties in performing their respective responsibilities and the continued cooperation of our partners. Under agreements with collaborators, we may rely significantly on such collaborators to, among other things:

Our collaborators may not cooperate with us or perform their obligations under our agreements with them. We cannot control the amount and timing of our collaborators’ resources that will be devoted to our research and development activities related to our collaborative agreements with them. Our collaborators may choose to pursue existing or alternative technologies in preference to those being developed in collaboration with us.

The development and commercialization of potential products will be delayed if collaborators fail to conduct these activities in a timely manner, or at all.

If various outside vendors and collaborators do not achieve milestones set forth in our agreements, or if our collaborators breach or terminate their collaborative agreements with us, our business may be materially harmed.

Our reliance on the activities of our non-employee consultants, research institutions, and scientific contractors, whose activities are not wholly within our control, may lead to delays in development of our proposed products.

We rely extensively upon and have relationships with outside consultants and companies having specialized skills to conduct research. These consultants are not our employees and may have commitments to, or consulting or advisory contracts with, other entities that may limit their availability to us. We have limited control over the activities of these consultants and, except as otherwise required by our collaboration and consulting agreements to the extent they exist, can expect only limited amounts of their time to be dedicated to our activities. These research facilities may have commitments to other commercial and non-commercial entities. We have limited control over the operations of these collaborators and can expect only limited amounts of time to be dedicated to our research and product development goals.

We are dependent upon key personnel whose loss may adversely impact our business.

Due to the specialized nature of our business, we are highly dependent on our ability to identify, hire, train and retain highly qualified scientific and technical personnel for the research and development activities we conduct or sponsor. The loss of one or more certain key executive officers, or scientists, would be significantly detrimental to us. In addition, recruiting and retaining qualified scientific personnel to perform research and development work is critical to our success. Our anticipated growth and expansion into areas and activities requiring additional expertise, such as new applications for “smart surfaces”, manufacturing and marketing, will require the addition of new management personnel and the development of additional expertise by existing management personnel. Despite the current economic conditions and job market there is significant competition for qualified personnel in the areas of our present and planned activities, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to attract and retain the qualified personnel necessary for the development of our business. Any difficulties in obtaining and retaining qualified personnel could have a material adverse effect on our results of operation or financial condition.

We may fail to realize all of the anticipated benefits of any entities which we acquire, such benefits may take longer to realize than expected or we may encounter significant difficulties integrating acquired businesses into our operations. If our acquisitions do not achieve their intended benefits, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We believe that businesses we acquire will result in certain benefits, including certain cost synergies and operational efficiencies; however, to realize these anticipated benefits, the businesses we acquire must be successfully combined with our business. The combination of independent businesses is a complex, costly, and time-consuming process that will require significant management attention and resources. The integration process may disrupt the businesses and, if implemented ineffectively, would limit the expected benefits of these acquisitions to us. The failure to meet the challenges involved in integrating acquired businesses and realizing anticipated benefits could cause an interruption of, or a loss of momentum in, our activities and could adversely affect our results of operations.

The overall integration of acquired businesses may result in material unanticipated problems, expenses, liabilities, competitive responses, loss of customer and other business relationships, and diversion of management’s attention. The difficulties of combining the operations of companies include, among others:

Many of these factors are outside of our control and any one of these factors could result in, among other things, increased costs and decreases in the amount of expected revenues, which could materially adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In addition, even if we are able to successfully integrate acquired businesses, the full benefits, including the synergies, cost savings, revenue growth, or other benefits that are expected, may not be achieved within the anticipated time frame, or at all. All of these factors could decrease or delay the expected accretive effect of the acquisitions, and negatively impact our business, operating results, and financial condition.

Our insurance policies are limited in scope and coverage and may potentially expose us to unrecoverable risks.

We do not carry director and officer insurance and have limited commercial insurance policies. Any significant insurance claims would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Insurance availability, coverage terms and pricing continue to vary with market conditions. We endeavor to obtain appropriate insurance coverage for insurable risks that we identify, however, we may, due to limited financial resources, be unable to correctly cover those risks that we can anticipate or quantify as insurable risks. We may not be able to obtain appropriate insurance coverage, and insurers may not respond as we intend to cover insurable events that may occur. We have observed rapidly changing conditions in the insurance markets relating to nearly all areas of traditional corporate insurance. Such conditions have resulted in higher premium costs, higher policy deductibles, and lower coverage limits. For some risks, we may not have or maintain insurance coverage because of cost or availability.

We have no product liability insurance, which may leave us vulnerable to future claims we will be unable to satisfy.

The testing, manufacturing, marketing and sale of consumer products entail an inherent risk of product liability claims, and we cannot assure you that substantial product liability claims will not be asserted against us. We have no product liability insurance. In the event we are forced to expend significant funds on defending product liability actions, and in the event those funds come from operating capital, we will be required to reduce our business activities, which could lead to significant losses.

We cannot assure you that adequate insurance coverage will be available in the future on acceptable terms, if at all, or that, if available, we will be able to maintain any such insurance at sufficient levels of coverage or that any such insurance will provide adequate protection against potential liabilities. Whether or not a product liability insurance policy is obtained or maintained in the future, any product liability claim could harm our business or financial condition.

Certain aspects of our technology are not protectable by patent or copyright.

Certain parts of our know-how and technology are not patentable. To protect our proprietary position in such know-how and technology, we require all employees, consultants, advisors and collaborators with access to our technology to enter into confidentiality and invention ownership agreements with us. We cannot ensure that these agreements will provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information in the event of any unauthorized use or disclosure. Further, in the absence of patent protection, competitors who independently develop substantially equivalent technology may harm our business.

We may not be able to adequately defend against piracy of intellectual property in foreign jurisdictions.

Considerable research in the areas of micro fluid dynamics is being performed in countries outside of the United States, and a number of potential competitors are located in these countries. The laws protecting intellectual property in some of those countries may not provide adequate protection to prevent our competitors from misappropriating our intellectual property. Several of these potential competitors may be further along in the process of product development and also operate large, company-funded research and development programs. As a result, our competitors may develop more competitive or affordable products, or achieve earlier patent protection or product commercialization than we are able to achieve. Competitive products may render any products or product candidates that we develop obsolete.

We may not be able to protect our proprietary technology, which could harm our ability to operate profitably.

Patent and trade secret protection is critical for the new technologies we utilize, artificial intelligence, machine learning and nanotechnology and microfluidics, as well as the products and processes derived through them. Our success will depend, to a substantial degree, on our ability to obtain and enforce patent protection for our products, preserve any trade secrets and operate without infringing the proprietary rights of others. We cannot assure you that:

The fields in which we operate have been characterized by significant efforts by competitors to establish dominant or blocking patent rights to gain a competitive advantage, and by considerable differences of opinion as to the value and legal legitimacy of competitors’ purported patent rights and the technologies they actually utilize in their businesses.

We may incur substantial expenditures in the future in order to protect our intellectual property.

We believe that our intellectual property with respect to our Smart NanoBattery, our proprietary rights with respect to the Company’s permeable membrane design consisting of both micro and nano scale silicon features that are coated with a monolayer chemistry used to repel liquids, and our recent entry into the area of artificial intelligence and machine learning are critical to our future success. The Company’s current battery related patent portfolio consists of Smart Surfaces technologies. Our pending patent applications may never be granted for various reasons, including the existence of conflicting patents or defects in our applications. Even if additional U.S. patents are ultimately granted, there are significant risks regarding enforcement of patents in international markets. There are many patents being filed as the science of nanotechnology develops and the Company has limited financial resources compared to large, well established companies to bring patent litigation based upon claims of patent infringement.

In the event litigation over patent matters with one or more of our competitors arise, we could incur substantial litigation or interference costs in defending ourselves against suits brought against us or in suits in which we may assert our patents against others. If the outcome of any such litigation is unfavorable, our business could be materially adversely affected. To determine the priority of inventions, we may also have to participate in interference proceedings declared by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which could result in substantial cost to us. Without additional capital, we may not have the resources to adequately defend or pursue this litigation.

Patents obtained by other persons may result in infringement claims against us that are costly to defend and which may limit our ability to use the disputed technologies and prevent us from pursuing research and development or commercialization of potential products.

If third party patents or patent applications contain claims infringed by either our technology or other technology required to make and use our potential products and such claims are ultimately determined to be valid, there can be no assurance that we would be able to obtain licenses to these patents at a reasonable cost, if at all, or be able to develop or obtain alternative technology. If we are unable to obtain such licenses at a reasonable cost, we may not be able to develop some products commercially. We may be required to defend ourselves in court against allegations of infringement of third-party patents. Patent litigation is very expensive and could consume substantial resources and create significant uncertainties. Any adverse outcome in such a suit could subject us to significant liabilities to third parties, require disputed rights to be licensed from third parties, or require us to cease using such technology.

Our current “smart surface technology” is at an early stage of development and we may not develop products that can be commercialized.

Our smart surface technology has derived very limited revenue from a Phase I Army Grant of approximately $100,000 and a Phase II Army Grant of approximately $750,000 with respect to our Smart NanoBattery product from inception of development in February 2004 through the date hereof. Other material revenue was derived from our series of battery “Jump Starters” in the fiscal years ended 2014 and 2015; products that the Company discontinued beginning in April 2016 owing to contracting margins and increased competition.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with our product development and commercialization efforts, we are unable to predict the extent of our future losses or when or if we will become profitable, which, in turn, would result in a loss of investment.

Our failure to continue successful commercialization of our new products in the fields of machine learning and artificial intelligence or successfully commercialize our Smart Nano Battery or to become and remain profitable could depress the market price of our Common Stock and impair our ability to raise capital, expand our business, diversify our product offerings and continue our operations.

Forces outside our control which cannot be predicted, including, but not limited to, general economic conditions and other such forces which include the success of our research and field testing, the availability of collaborative partners to finance our work in pursuing applications of artificial intelligence, machine learning and “smart surfaces” or other developments in the field which, due to efficiencies or technological breakthroughs may render one or more areas of commercialization more attractive, obsolete or competitively unattractive. It is possible that one or more areas of commercialization will not be pursued at all if a collaborative partner or entity willing to fund research and development cannot be located. Our decisions regarding the ultimate products and/or services we pursue could have a significant adverse effect on our ability to earn revenue if we misinterpret trends, underestimate development costs and/or pursue wrong products or services. Any of these factors either alone or in concert could materially harm our ability to earn revenues or could result in a loss of any investment in us.

Our products may not be accepted in the marketplace.

The degree of market acceptance of our products will depend on many factors, including:

We cannot predict or guarantee that either commercial or military entities, in general, will accept or utilize any of our product candidates. Failure to achieve market acceptance would limit our ability to generate revenue and would have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, if any of our product candidates achieve market acceptance, we may not be able to maintain that market acceptance over time if competing products or technologies are introduced that are received more favorably or are more cost-effective.

If we are unable to keep up with rapid technological changes in our field or compete effectively, we will be unable to operate profitably.

We are engaged in activities in the artificial intelligence, machine learning, nanotechnology and microfluidics field, which is characterized by extensive research efforts and rapid technological progress. If we fail to anticipate or respond adequately to technological developments, our ability to operate profitably could suffer. We cannot assure you that research and discoveries by other companies will not render our technologies or potential products or services uneconomical or result in products superior to those we develop or that any technologies, products or services we develop will be preferred to any existing or newly-developed technologies, products or services.

Risks Relating to Our Securities

If we fail to comply with the rules under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (“Sarbanes-Oxley”) related to internal controls and procedures in the future, or, if we discover material weaknesses and other deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting, our stock price could decline significantly and raising capital could be more difficult.

Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley requires annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting. If we fail to comply with the rules under Sarbanes-Oxley related to disclosure controls and procedures in the future, or, if we discover material weaknesses and other deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting, our stock price could decline significantly and raising capital could be more difficult. If material weaknesses or significant deficiencies are discovered or if we otherwise fail to achieve and maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, we may not be able to ensure that we can conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal controls over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley. Moreover, effective internal controls are necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports and are important to helping prevent financial fraud. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our business and operating results could be harmed, investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information, and the trading price of our common stock could drop significantly.

Our common stock is subject to the “penny stock” rules of the SEC and the trading market in the securities is limited, which makes transactions in the stock cumbersome and may reduce the value of an investment in the stock.

Rule 15g-9 under the Exchange Act establishes the definition of a “penny stock,” for the purposes relevant to us, as any equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share or with an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. For any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, the rules require: (a) that a broker or dealer approve a person’s account for transactions in penny stocks; and (b) the broker or dealer receive from the investor a written agreement to the transaction, setting forth the identity and quantity of the penny stock to be purchased.

In order to approve a person’s account for transactions in penny stocks, the broker or dealer must: (a) obtain financial information and investment experience objectives of the person and (b) make a reasonable determination that the transactions in penny stocks are suitable for that person and the person has sufficient knowledge and experience in financial matters to be capable of evaluating the risks of transactions in penny stocks.

The broker or dealer must also deliver, prior to any transaction in a penny stock, a disclosure schedule prescribed by the SEC relating to the penny stock market, which, in highlight form: (a) sets forth the basis on which the broker or dealer made the suitability determination; and (b) confirms that the broker or dealer received a signed, written agreement from the investor prior to the transaction. Generally, brokers may be less willing to execute transactions in securities subject to the “penny stock” rules. This may make it more difficult for investors to dispose of our common stock and cause a decline in the market value of our common stock.

Disclosure also has to be made about the risks of investing in penny stocks in both public offerings and in secondary trading and about the commissions payable to both the broker or dealer and the registered representative, current quotations for the securities and the rights and remedies available to an investor in cases of fraud in penny stock transactions. Finally, monthly statements have to be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in the account and information on the limited market in penny stocks.

We have never paid cash dividends and have no plans to pay cash dividends in the future.

Holders of shares of our common stock are entitled to receive such dividends as may be declared by our board of directors. To date, we have paid no cash dividends on our capital stock and we do not expect to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We intend to retain future earnings, if any, to provide funds for operations of our business. Therefore, any return investors in our capital stock may have will be in the form of appreciation, if any, in the market value of their shares of common stock.

If we fail to remain current in our reporting requirements, we could be removed from the OTCQB which would limit the ability of broker-dealers to sell our securities and the ability of stockholders to sell their securities in the secondary market.

As a company listed on the OTCQB and subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, we must be current with our filings pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act in order to maintain price quotation privileges on the OTCQB. If we fail to remain current in our reporting requirements, we could be removed from the OTCQB. As a result, the market liquidity of our securities could be severely adversely affected by limiting the ability of broker-dealers to trade our securities and the ability of stockholders to sell their securities in the secondary market.

Our common stock could be subject to extreme volatility.

The trading price of our common stock may be affected by a number of factors, including events described in the risk factors set forth in this Annual Report and in our other reports filed with the SEC from time to time, as well as our operating results, financial condition and other events or factors. In addition to the uncertainties relating to future operating performance and the profitability of operations, factors such as variations in interim financial results or various, and unpredictable, factors, many of which are beyond our control, may have a negative effect on the market price of our common stock. In recent years, broad stock market indices, in general, and smaller capitalization companies, in particular, have experienced substantial price fluctuations. In a volatile market, we may experience wide fluctuations in the market price of our common stock. In addition, securities markets have, from time to time, experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to the operating performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may have a material adverse effect the market price of our common stock.

Financial reporting obligations of being a public company in the United States are expensive and time-consuming, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to compliance matters.

As a publicly traded company we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. The obligations of being a public company in the United States require significant expenditures and places significant demands on our management and other personnel, including costs resulting from public company reporting obligations under the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations regarding corporate governance practices, including those under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. These rules require the establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and procedures, internal control over financial reporting and changes in corporate governance practices, among many other complex rules that are often difficult to implement, monitor and maintain compliance with. Our management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to ensure that we comply with all of these requirements and to keep pace with new regulations, otherwise we may fall out of compliance and risk becoming subject to litigation or being delisted from the OTCQB, among other potential problems.