Our Industry
Social media advertising was estimated to reach $1.7 billion in 2010 by Emarketer, an independent digital intelligence firm, and is projected by Forrester Research, an independent research company, to reach $3.1 billion by 2014. Despite the inherently conversational nature of social media, the majority of brand budgets are currently allocated towards display advertising (banner ads and text links) on social sites. While most advertisers understand the value of word of mouth marketing, peer recommendations and product reviews, few understand how to efficiently engage social media users for these purposes. Those who effectively attempt an approach are quickly limited by the amount of effort required to effectively manage and measure a truly integrated campaign.
The SMS space has been limited primarily by the current inefficiencies of the market. The social media publisher and advertiser universe is large and highly fragmented among topic, quality and platform. Despite the size of this market, most advertisers and social media publishers lack an efficient way to identify and engage each other. Instead, we believe brands have been forced to utilize a variety of highly inefficient sources and processes to navigate the complicated landscape of social media sponsorship, often resulting in low returns on their time investment or worse-yet, questionable results.
At the same time, social media publishers that would like to monetize their community are faced with significant challenges in finding quality advertisers who are motivated to sponsor them and making them aware of their blog, twitter or Facebook profile. In addition, smaller publishers simply lack the individual influence and audience needed to warrant the processing of a micro-transaction. In many cases it costs an advertiser more money to cut a check to a small publisher than the value of the sponsorship payment itself.
Further complicating the SMS process for both parties are FTC regulations around social media endorsements, IRS tax reporting generally applicable to anyone receiving income for services, and the associated campaign tracking required to provide compliance. While many advertisers would prefer to be “part of the conversation,” the complexity and cost of individual social media sponsorship often deters them from doing so.
We believe that the current state of SMS represents a significant corporate opportunity for us. We address these common problems with targeted, scalable marketplaces that aggregate social media publishers and advertisers. We offer an efficient, innovative way for publishers and advertisers of all sizes to find each other and complete a sponsorship transaction.
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Our Strengths
Since our inception in 2006, we have worked diligently to establish and leverage key strengths in our business model, including:
• A culture of innovation and creativity. We believe the only way to survive and thrive in our rapidly changing world is to change ahead of it. We are in a state of constant evolution and reinvention, this is "The IZEA Way". We have created a culture committed to innovation and creativity that challenges convention and breaks new ground. IZEA team members are protective and proud of our culture by applying its “humble, yet hungry” attitude to all facets of our business. Our people and their innovations ultimately provide us with our largest competitive advantage.
• First-mover advantage with a highly disruptive business model. We believe that by pioneering the SMS space and investing heavily in innovation and marketing, we were first to develop positive rapport among publishers and brand marketers alike. This loyalty has resulted in consistent growth of underlying revenue as well as increased participation levels across the business.
• Powerful network effect. As more brand marketers contribute opportunities into our marketplaces, we believe we will increase the breadth and depth of monetization value offered to our publisher-partners, attracting more publishers and therefore enhancing the value of our platforms to future brand clients. Our premium platforms have referral programs designed to further enhance the network effect for each publisher we sign up. Directly trackable publisher referrals represent approximately 34% of all traffic to SponsoredTweets.com and 59% of new Twitter publisher signups in 2011. The referral program in SocialSpark.com has accounted for 44% of all new blog publisher sign-ups since its release in February 2011. These programs amplify our marketing spending and decrease the investment required to attract new publishers.
• Scalable and leverageable operations. Our unique business model allows revenue to be derived in a variety of ways, all of which rely on our marketplace approach as a hub. We have replicated this business model across multiple new product offerings without substantially increasing our operations and support expense. Moving forward, our goal is to maintain scalable growth through new offerings in the burgeoning social-mobile category.
Key Risks and Uncertainties Affecting Us
We are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including the following:
• We have incurred significant net losses since our inception. We incurred net losses of $2,653,772, $2,157,759 and $2,838,597 for the years ended December 31, 2009, December 31, 2010 and the nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively. We expect to incur losses through at least 2012.
• Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon attaining profitable operations through achieving revenue growth targets while bringing expenses to a level that will result in positive cash flows.
• We have a limited operating history and are subject to the risks encountered by early-stage companies.
• We have experienced rapid growth over a short time period in our social media sponsorship platforms and we do not know whether our growth can be maintained. If we are unable to successfully respond to changes in the market, our business could be harmed.
• The social media sponsorship industry is subject to numerous changes that could cause our revenue to decline.
• If we fail to retain our existing publishers and advertisers or if there is a decline for our core social media marketing platforms, our revenue and business will be harmed.
• Since we are unable to identify the number of actual individual publishers, our total number of publishers may be higher than the number of our actual individual publishers and may not be representative of the number of persons who are active potential customers.
• Our social media sponsorship business is subject to the risks associated with word-of-mouth advertising and endorsements, such as violations of federal and state deceptive and unfair practice laws, “truth-in-advertising” laws and regulations, FTC Guides and other similar regulatory requirements. For example, we may be subject to liability if consumers are not aware of the paid relationship between advertiser and publisher with respect to the endorsements that they are relying on or, if we do not otherwise comply with the FTC and state rules on advertising and marketing, we could be subject to penalties that could include monetary damages and an order to cease our operations.
• Our business depends on our ability to maintain and scale the network infrastructure necessary to operate our platforms and applications, and any significant disruption in service of our platforms and applications could result in a loss of publishers and advertisers.
• If our technology platforms contain defects or if we fail to detect click-fraud (“click-fraud” is a form of online fraud when a person or computer program imitates a legitimate user by clicking on an advertisement for the purpose generating a charge per click without having an actual interest in the target of the advertisement’s link), we could lose the confidence of our advertisers and advertising partners, thereby causing our business to suffer.
• We do not rely upon patents for the protection of our proprietary technology and our competitors may be able to offer similar products and services which would harm our competitive position.
Our Growth Strategy
After five years of development, we believe our core platforms are market-tested and poised for significant revenue growth. Our development efforts have included assembling an industry-experienced senior management team, launching and optimizing our online marketplaces, developing a cross-platform sales force and refining our message to the market. Key elements of our strategy to accelerate revenue growth and continue product development include:
• Bolster our sales force and locations . We expect growth of our client development team to be the primary driver of near term revenues. We intend to add additional sales personnel who receive a commission for meeting sales targets to more effectively service clients throughout the U.S. and the world. Experienced, senior team members are expected to cultivate deep relationships with agencies and brands in our recently opened New York, Los Angeles and Chicago offices as well as smaller satellite locations in key markets. We intend to add inside sales personnel to our Orlando headquarters to service smaller clients over the telephone and Internet. In addition to our expanded presence in the U.S., we intend to open offices in Asia, Latin America and Europe by the end of 2013. Our goal is to employ over 30 sales personnel by the end of 2013, with an aggregate sales target of $50 million leading into 2014.
• Develop strategic partnerships . Establishing strategic partnerships with companies that can provide additional growth in our base of publishers and brand advertisers. In August 2011, we announced an exclusive alliance with India's UTV to create new monetization opportunities for the estimated 12 million Twitter users in India. Under the terms of the UTV agreement, UTV and we have agreed to collaborate on an exclusive basis to develop a co-branded SponsoredTweets service for India pursuant to which we are responsible for operating the co-branded service and UTV is responsible for promoting the co-branded service. The UTV agreement provides that revenue generated from the co-branded service will be shared between us and UTV. UTV's Indian celebrities including Lara Dutta, Mahesh Bhupati, Anurag Kashyap, Rohan Bopanna and Neetu Chandra, among others, are expected to join the site and soon be available for potential Twitter sponsorship opportunities.
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• Continue emphasis on product innovation . Recruiting additional engineering and product development team members to enhance our various marketplaces while developing new technology platforms that complement our mission as a company.
• Seek complementary acquisitions . Identifying and acquiring companies, technologies and assets add to our portfolio of software services and drive additional near and long-term revenue. In July 2011, we acquired Germany's Magpie Twitter advertising network that included over 12,000 advertisers and 16,000 Twitter publishers in 124 countries.
• Expand WeReward marketing . Investing in consumer and channel marketing for WeReward is expect to result in an increase in our user base to meet growing demand for mobile and local campaigns.
Reverse Split
Effective on 2011, we effectuated a reverse stock split of our outstanding common stock with a ratio of one-for-ten, whereby each ten issued and outstanding shares of common stock was combined into one share of common stock.
Throughout this prospectus, each instance which refers to a number of shares of our common stock reflects the number of shares of common stock after giving effect to the reverse stock split, unless otherwise indicated. References to a number of shares of common stock in our historical financial statements for the nine month period ended September 30, 2011, and for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, are reported on a pre-reverse stock split basis.
Corporate Background and Information
IZEA, Inc. was incorporated as a Nevada corporation on March 22, 2010. On May 12, 2011, we completed a share exchange pursuant to which we acquired all of the capital stock of IZEA Innovations, Inc., a privately held Delaware corporation (“IZEA Innovations”), which became our wholly owned subsidiary. In connection with the share exchange, we discontinued our former business and succeeded to the business of IZEA as our sole line of business. IZEA Innovations was incorporated in the state of Florida in February 2006 and reincorporated in the state of Delaware in September 2006. On November 23, 2011, our name changed from “IZEA Holdings, Inc.” to “IZEA, Inc.” and the name of our subsidiary changed from “IZEA, Inc.” to “IZEA Innovations, Inc."
Our executive offices are located at 150 N. Orange Avenue, Suite 412, Orlando, FL 32801 and our telephone number is (407) 674-6911. We maintain a corporate website at http://www.izea.com/. The contents on our website and the downloadable files found there are not incorporated by reference into this prospectus and should not be considered to be a part of this prospectus.
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The Offering
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Common stock offered
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shares of common stock ( shares if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option).
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Common stock outstanding prior to this offering
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3,864,509 shares.
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Common stock to be outstanding after to this offering
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shares.
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Use of proceeds
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We expect to use the net proceeds received from this offering for sales, marketing and promotion, technology and platform engineering, establishment of strategic partnerships, potential acquisitions and working capital and general corporate purposes. For a more complete description of our anticipated use of proceeds from this offering, see “Use of Proceeds.”
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OTC Bulletin Board symbol
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IZEA. We applied for listing of our common stock on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “IZEA”; no assurance can be given that our application will be approved.
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Risk Factors
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See “Risk Factors” beginning on page and the other information included in this prospectus for a discussion of factors you should carefully consider before investing in our common stock.
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The number of shares of our common stock to be outstanding after this offering is based on 3,864,509 shares of common stock outstanding as of December 22, 2011, and excludes as of that date:
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230 shares of series A preferred stock convertible into an aggregate of 696,969 shares of common stock;
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•
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warrants to purchase an aggregate of 616,793 shares of common stock;
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stock options to purchase an aggregate 457,005 shares of common stock; and
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an aggregate of 250,607 additional shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our May 2011 Equity Incentive Plan and an aggregate of 350,000 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our August 2011 Equity Incentive Plan.
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The above figures give effect to the reverse stock split without regard to settlement of fractional shares. Unless we specifically state otherwise, the share information in this prospectus is as of December 22, 2011 and reflects no exercise or conversion of outstanding shares of preferred stock or options or warrants to purchase shares of our common stock.
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Summary Consolidated Financial Data
The following table summarizes our financial data. We have derived the following summary of our consolidated statements of operations data for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and September 30, 2010 and the summary of our consolidated balance sheet data as of September 30, 2011 from our unaudited consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived the following summary of our consolidated statements of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 from our audited financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. The following summary of our financial data set forth below should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes to those statements, as well as the section “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” appearing elsewhere in this prospectus.
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Nine Months Ended
September 30,
(Unaudited)
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Years Ended
December 31,
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Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:
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2011
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2010
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2010
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2009
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Revenue
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$
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2,821,354
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$
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2,249,891
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$
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3,821,538
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$
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2,834,359
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Cost of sales
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1,306,463
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1,192,043
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1,819,031
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1,343,159
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Total operating expenses
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4,409,999
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2,974,873
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4,085,647
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4,061,114
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Total other income (expense)
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56,511
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(60,930
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(74,619
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(83,858
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Net loss
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$
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(2,838,597
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$
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(1,977,955
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$
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(2,157,759
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$
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(2,653,772
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Loss per common share – basic and diluted
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$
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(1.44
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$
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(30.64
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$
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(33.42
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$
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(41.14
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Weighted average common shares outstanding – basic and diluted
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1,974,859
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64,560
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September 30, 2011
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Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:
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Actual
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As Adjusted for
This Offering (1)
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Cash and cash equivalents
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$
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1,095,103
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Working capital (deficit)
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109,935
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$
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Total assets
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1,205,038
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Total liabilities
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3,653,989
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Stockholders' equity (deficit)
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(725,456
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)
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(1) Reflects our sale of shares of common stock offered by this prospectus at the public offering price of $ per share, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and the estimated offering expenses that we will pay.
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RISK FACTORS
There are numerous and varied risks, known and unknown, that may prevent us from achieving our goals. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, financial condition or results of operation may be materially adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment.
Risks Related to our Business
We have a history of losses, expect future losses and cannot assure you that we will achieve profitability.
We have incurred significant net losses and negative cash flow from operations since our inception. We incurred net losses of $2,653,772, $2,157,759 and $2,838,597 for the years ended December 31, 2009 , December 31, 2010 and the nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively. We had an accumulated deficit of $14,152,192 and $16,990,789 as of December 31, 2010 and September 30, 2011, respectively. Although our revenue has increased since inception, we have not achieved profitability and cannot be certain that we will be able to sustain these growth rates or realize sufficient revenue to achieve profitability. We expect to derive the majority of our revenue for the foreseeable future from our core social media marketing platforms, SocialSpark, SponsoredTweets and WeReward and related services. Moreover, assuming that we raise gross proceeds of $40 million in this offering, we expect our operating expenses which include sales and marketing, product development and general and administrative expenses to increase to approximately $19 million in 2012, an estimated increase of over 200% when compared to 2011 operating expense levels. As a result of our expansion efforts, we expect to incur losses but believe that we will have sufficient capital to fund our operations through December 31, 2012. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon raising capital from financing transactions and achieving revenue growth targets while bringing expenses to a level that will result in positive cash flows. If we achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain it.
We have a limited operating history and are subject to the risks encountered by early-stage companies.
Our operating subsidiary incorporated in the state of Florida in February 2006 as PayPerPost, Inc., reincorporated in the state of Delaware in September 2006 and changed its corporate name to IZEA, Inc. in November 2007. Because we have a limited operating history, you should consider and evaluate our operating prospects in light of the risks and uncertainties frequently encountered by early-stage companies in rapidly evolving markets. For us, these risks include:
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risks associated with our dependence on our core platforms, SocialSpark, SponsoredTweets, WeReward and related services, for the majority of our revenues for the foreseeable future;
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risks that our growth strategy may not be successful; and
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risks that fluctuations in our operating results will be significant relative to our revenues.
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These risks are described in more detail below. Our future growth will depend substantially on our ability to address these and the other risks described in this section. If we do not successfully address these risks, our business would be significantly harmed.
We have experienced rapid growth over a short period in our social media sponsorship platforms and we do not know whether this will continue to develop or whether it can be maintained. If we are unable to successfully respond to changes in the market, our business could be harmed.
Our business has grown rapidly as advertisers and publishers have increasingly used our social media sponsorship platforms. However, the social media sponsorship industry is relatively new. Given the limited history, it is difficult to predict whether our platforms will continue to grow or whether it can be maintained. We expect that the platforms will evolve in ways which may be difficult to predict. It is possible that advertisers and publishers could broadly determine that they no longer believe in the value of our current platforms. In the event of these or any other changes to the market, our continued success will depend on our ability to successfully adjust our strategy to meet the changing market dynamics. If we are unable to do so, our business, prospects, results of operation and financial condition could be materially harmed.
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The social media sponsorship landscape is subject to numerous changes that could cause our revenue to decline.
Our business model may not continue to be effective in the future for a number of reasons, including the following:
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social media sponsorships are, by their nature, limited in content relative to other media;
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companies may be reluctant or slow to adopt social media sponsorship that replaces, limits or competes with their existing direct marketing efforts;
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companies may prefer other forms of advertising we do not offer, including certain forms of search engine placements;
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companies, such as Facebook and Twitter, may no longer grant us access to their websites in connection with our social media sponsorship platforms;
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companies may not utilize social media sponsorship due to concerns of “click-fraud” particularly related to search engine placements (“click-fraud” is a form of online fraud when a person or computer program imitates a legitimate user by clicking on an advertisement for the purpose generating a charge per click without having an actual interest in the target of the advertisement’s link); and
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regulatory actions may negatively impact certain business practices that we currently rely on to generate a portion of our revenue and profitability.
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If the number of companies that purchase social media sponsorship from us does not grow, we may experience difficulty in attracting publishers, and our revenue could decline which would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition.
If we fail to retain our existing publishers, our revenue and business will be harmed.
We must continue to retain and acquire publishers that publish sponsorships through our core platforms in order to increase revenue and achieve profitability. If publishers do not perceive our products and services to be of high value and quality or if we fail to introduce new and more relevant products and services, we may not be able to acquire or retain publishers. If we are unable to acquire new publishers in numbers sufficient to grow our business, or if publishers cease using our products and services, the revenue we generate may decrease and our operating results will be adversely affected. We believe that many of our new publishers originate from word-of-mouth and other referrals from existing publishers, and therefore we must ensure that our existing publishers remain loyal to our service in order to continue receiving those referrals. If our efforts to satisfy our existing publishers are not successful, we may not be able to acquire new publishers in sufficient numbers to continue to grow our business or we may be required to incur significantly higher marketing expenses in order to acquire new publishers
If we fail to retain existing advertisers or add new advertisers, our revenue and business will be harmed.
We have more than 50,000 registered advertisers in 157 different countries, of which approximately 6,000 advertisers have created a social media sponsorship during 2011. We depend on our ability to attract and retain advertisers that are prepared to offer products or services on compelling terms through our platforms. We must continue to attract and retain advertisers in order to increase revenue and achieve profitability. If new advertisers do not find our marketing and promotional services effective, or if existing advertisers do not believe that utilizing our platforms provides them with a long-term increase in customers, revenue or profit, they may stop advertising through our platforms. In addition, we may experience attrition in our advertisers in the ordinary course of business resulting from several factors, including losses to competitors and closures or bankruptcies. If we are unable to attract new advertisers in numbers sufficient to grow our business, or if too many advertisers are unwilling to offer products or services with compelling terms through our platforms or offer favorable payment terms to us, our operating results will be adversely affected.
A decline in the demand for our core social media marketing platforms or related services would seriously harm our revenue and margins.
Our core social media marketing platforms, SocialSpark, SponsoredTweets, and WeReward, and related services accounted for 26%, 51% and 65% of our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2010 and the nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively. We anticipate that revenue from these core platforms and related services will continue to constitute the majority of our revenue for the foreseeable future. Consequently, a decline in demand for these platforms or their failure to achieve broad market acceptance would seriously harm our business.
Intense competition in our target market could impair our ability to grow and to achieve profitability.
The market for social media sponsorships is highly competitive. We expect this competition to continue to increase, in part because there are no significant barriers to entry to our industry. Increased competition may result in price reductions for advertising space, reduced margins and loss of market share. Our principal competitors include other companies that provide advertisers with Internet advertising solutions and companies that offer pay per click search services.
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Competition for advertising placements among current and future suppliers of Internet navigational and informational services, high-traffic websites and social media sponsorship providers, as well as competition with other media for advertising placements, could result in significant price competition, declining margins and reductions in advertising revenue. In addition, as we continue our efforts to expand the scope of our services, we may compete with a greater number of other media companies across an increasing range of different services, including in vertical markets where competitors may have advantages in expertise, brand recognition and other areas. If existing or future competitors develop or offer products or services that provide significant performance, price, creative or other advantages over those offered by us, our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition could be negatively affected. We also compete with traditional advertising media, such as direct mail, television, radio, cable and print for a share of advertisers’ total advertising budgets. Many current and potential competitors enjoy competitive advantages over us, such as longer operating histories, greater name recognition, larger customer bases, greater access to advertising space on high-traffic websites, and significantly greater financial, technical, sales and marketing resources. As a result, we may not be able to compete successfully. If we fail to compete successfully, we could lose customers or advertising inventory and our revenue and results of operations could decline.
Our business depends on a strong brand, and if we are not able to maintain and enhance our brand, or if we receive unfavorable media coverage, our ability to expand our base of publishers and advertisers will be impaired and our business and operating results will be harmed.
We believe that the brand identity that we have developed has significantly contributed to the success of our business. We also believe that maintaining and enhancing the "IZEA" brand is critical to expanding our base of publishers and advertisers. Maintaining and enhancing our brand may require us to make substantial investments and these investments may not be successful. If we fail to promote and maintain the "IZEA" brand, or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected. We anticipate that, as our market becomes increasingly competitive, maintaining and enhancing our brand may become increasingly difficult and expensive. Unfavorable publicity or consumer perception of our platforms, applications, practices or service offerings, or the offerings of our advertisers, could adversely affect our reputation, resulting in difficulties in recruiting, decreased revenue and a negative impact on the number of advertisers and the size of our publisher base, the loyalty of our publishers and the number and variety of sponsorships we offer each day. As a result, our business, prospects, results of operation and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
Our total number of publishers may be higher than the number of our actual individual publishers and may not be representative of the number of persons who are active potential customers.
Our total number of publishers may be higher than the number of our actual individual publishers because some publishers have multiple registrations, other publishers may have died or become incapacitated and others may have registered under fictitious names. Given the challenges inherent in identifying these publishers, we do not have a reliable system to accurately identify the number of actual individual publishers, and thus we rely on the number of total publishers as our measure of the size of our publisher base. In addition, the number of publishers includes the total number of individuals that have completed registration through a specific date, less individuals who have unsubscribed, and should not be considered as representative of the number of persons who continue to actively publish the sponsorships we offer through our platforms.
We may become subject to government regulation and legal uncertainties that could reduce demand for our products and services or increase the cost of doing business, thereby adversely affecting our financial results.
We are not currently subject to direct regulation by any domestic or foreign governmental agency, other than regulations applicable to businesses generally and laws or regulations directly applicable to Internet commerce. However, due to the increasing popularity and use of the social media, it is possible that a number of laws and regulations may become applicable to us or may be adopted in the future with respect to the Internet covering issues such as:
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truth-in-advertising;
user privacy;
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right to access personal data;
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characteristics and quality of services.
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The applicability of existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, copyrights and other intellectual property issues, encryption, taxation, libel, export or import matters and personal privacy to social media platforms is uncertain. The vast majority of these laws were adopted prior to the broad commercial use of social media platforms and related technologies. As a result, they do not contemplate or address the unique issues of social media and related technologies. Changes to these laws intended to address these issues, including some recently proposed changes, could create uncertainty in the social media marketplace. Such uncertainty could reduce demand for our services or increase the cost of doing business due to increased costs of litigation or increased service delivery costs.
Our social media sponsorship business is subject to the risks associated with word-of-mouth advertising and endorsements, such as violations of the “truth-in-advertising”, FTC Guides and other similar regulatory requirements and, more generally, loss of consumer confidence.
The Company and the advertisers and publishers that use our platforms are subject to Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and state rules on advertising and marketing on the Internet, including truth-in advertising rules and online advertising disclosures. In 2009, the FTC revised its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (the “Guides”). These new Guides significantly extend the scope of potential liability associated with the use of testimonials, endorsements, and new media methods, such as blogging, in advertising. In particular, the Guides provide that in a service that matches up advertisers with bloggers who will promote the advertiser’s products on their personal blogs, the advertiser and blogger are both subject to liability for misleading or unsubstantiated representations made through the blogger’s endorsement and the blogger is also liable if he or she fails to disclose clearly and conspicuously that he or she is being paid for his or her services. The Guides further provide that in order to limit its potential liability, the advertiser should ensure that the advertising service provides guidance and training to its bloggers concerning the need to ensure that statements they make are truthful and substantiated. If consumers are not advised of the paid relationship between advertiser and publisher with respect to the endorsements that they are relying on or if we do not otherwise comply with the FTC and state rules on advertising and marketing, then we could be subject to penalties that could include monetary damages and an order to cease our operations. More generally, if there is negative consumer perception of the practice of undisclosed compensation of social media users to endorse specific products, then our business could be adversely impacted.
New tax treatment of companies engaged in internet commerce may adversely affect the commercial use of our services and our financial results.
Due to the global nature of social media, it is possible that various states or foreign countries might attempt to regulate our transmissions or levy sales, income or other taxes relating to our activities. Tax authorities at the international, federal, state and local levels are currently reviewing the appropriate treatment of companies engaged in internet commerce. New or revised international, federal, state or local tax regulations may subject us or our publishers to additional sales, income and other taxes. We cannot predict the effect of current attempts to impose sales, income or other taxes on commerce over social media. New or revised taxes and, in particular, sales taxes, VAT and similar taxes would likely increase the cost of doing business online and decrease the attractiveness of advertising and selling goods and services over social media. New taxes could also create significant increases in internal costs necessary to capture data, and collect and remit taxes. Any of these events could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Failure to comply with federal, state and international privacy laws and regulations, or the expansion of current or the enactment of new privacy laws or regulations, could adversely affect our business.
A variety of federal, state and international laws and regulations govern the collection, use, retention, sharing and security of consumer data. The existing privacy-related laws and regulations are evolving and subject to potentially differing interpretations. In addition, various federal, state and foreign legislative and regulatory bodies may expand current or enact new laws regarding privacy matters. For example, recently there have been Congressional hearings and increased attention to the capture and use of location-based information relating to users of smartphones and other mobile devices. We have posted privacy policies and practices concerning the collection, use and disclosure of publisher data on our websites and platforms. Several internet companies have incurred penalties for failing to abide by the representations made in their privacy policies and practices. In addition, several states have adopted legislation that requires businesses to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices to protect sensitive personal information and to provide notice to consumers in the event of a security breach. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with our posted privacy policies or with any data-related consent orders, Federal Trade Commission requirements or orders or other federal, state or international privacy or consumer protection-related laws, regulations or industry self-regulatory principles could result in claims, proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others or other liabilities, which could adversely affect our business. In addition, a failure or perceived failure to comply with industry standards or with our own privacy policies and practices could result in a loss of publishers or advertisers and adversely affect our business. Federal, state and international governmental authorities continue to evaluate the privacy implications inherent in the use of third-party web "cookies" for behavioral advertising. The regulation of these cookies and other current online advertising practices could adversely affect our business.
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Our business depends on our ability to maintain and scale the network infrastructure necessary to operate our platforms and applications, and any significant disruption in service on our platforms and applications could result in a loss of publishers or advertisers.
Publishers and advertisers access our services through our platforms and applications. Our reputation and ability to acquire, retain and serve our publishers and advertisers are dependent upon the reliable performance of our platforms and applications and the underlying network infrastructure. As our publisher base continues to grow, we will need an increasing amount of network capacity and computing power. We have spent and expect to continue to spend substantial amounts for data centers and equipment and related network infrastructure to handle the traffic on our platforms and applications. The operation of these systems is expensive and complex and could result in operational failures. In the event that our publisher base or the amount of traffic on our platforms and applications grows more quickly than anticipated, we may be required to incur significant additional costs. Interruptions in these systems, whether due to system failures, computer viruses or physical or electronic break-ins, could affect the security or availability of our platforms and applications, and prevent our publishers and advertisers from accessing our services. A substantial portion of our network infrastructure is hosted by third-party providers. Any disruption in these services or any failure of these providers to handle existing or increased traffic could significantly harm our business. Any financial or other difficulties these providers face may adversely affect our business, and we exercise little control over these providers, which increases our vulnerability to problems with the services they provide. If we do not maintain or expand our network infrastructure successfully or if we experience operational failures, we could lose current and potential publishers and advertisers, which could harm our operating results and financial condition.
If our security measures are breached, or if our services are subject to attacks that degrade or deny the ability of users to access our platforms, our platforms and applications may be perceived as not being secure, advertisers and publishers may curtail or stop using our services, and we may incur significant legal and financial exposure.
Our platforms and applications and the network infrastructure that is hosted by third-party providers involve the storage and transmission of advertiser and publisher proprietary information, and security breaches could expose us to a risk of loss of this information, litigation, and potential liability. Our security measures may be breached due to the actions of outside parties, employee error, malfeasance, security flaws in the third party hosting service that we rely upon or otherwise, and, as a result, an unauthorized party may obtain access to our data or our advertisers’ or publishers’ data. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees, advertisers or publishers to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our data or our advertisers’ or users’ data. Although we do have security measures in place, we have had instances where some publisher accounts were hacked and instances where customers have used credit cards fraudulently. While these breaches of our security did not result in material harm to our business, any future breach or unauthorized access could result in significant legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation, and a loss of confidence in the security of our platforms and applications that could potentially have an adverse effect on our business. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. If an actual or perceived breach of our security occurs, the market perception of the effectiveness of our security measures could be harmed and we could lose advertisers and publishers.
Delays in releasing enhanced versions of our products and services could adversely affect our competitive position.
As part of our strategy, we expect to periodically release enhanced versions of our core platforms and related services. Even if our new versions contain the features and functionality our customers want, in the event we are unable to timely introduce these new product releases, our competitive position may be harmed. We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully complete the development of currently planned or future products in a timely and efficient manner. Due to the complexity of these products, internal quality assurance testing and customer testing of pre-commercial releases may reveal product performance issues or desirable feature enhancements that could lead us to postpone the release of these new versions. In addition, the reallocation of resources associated with any postponement would likely cause delays in the development and release of other future products or enhancements to our currently available products. Any delay in releasing other future products or enhancements of our products could cause our financial results to be adversely impacted.
If our technology platforms contain defects, we may need to suspend their availability and our business and reputation would be harmed.
Platforms as complex as ours often contain unknown and undetected errors or performance problems. Many serious defects are frequently found during the period immediately following introduction and initial release of new platforms or enhancements to existing platforms. Although we attempt to resolve all errors that we believe would be considered serious by our customers before making our platforms available to them, our products are not error-free. These errors or performance problems could result in lost revenues or delays in customer acceptance and would be detrimental to our business and reputation. We may not be able to detect and correct errors before releasing our product commercially. We cannot assure you that undetected errors or performance problems in our existing or future products will not be discovered in the future or that known errors, considered minor by us, will not be considered serious by our customers, resulting in a decrease in our revenues.
We may be subject to lawsuits for information by our advertisers and social media publishers, which may affect our business.
Laws relating to the liability of providers of online services for activities of their advertisers or of social media publishers (such as bloggers, mobile users and tweeters) and for the content of their advertisers’ listings are currently unsettled. It is unclear whether we could be subjected to claims for defamation, negligence, copyright or trademark infringement or claims based on other theories relating to the information we publish on our websites or the information that is published across our platforms. These types of claims have been brought, sometimes successfully, against online services, as well as print publications in the past. We may not successfully avoid civil or criminal liability for unlawful activities carried out by our advertisers or social media publishers. Our potential liability for unlawful activities of our advertisers or social media publishers or for the content of our advertisers’ listings could require us to implement measures to reduce our exposure to such liability, which may require us, among other things, to spend substantial resources or to discontinue certain service offerings. Our insurance may not adequately protect us against these types of claims and the defense of such claims may divert the attention of our management from our operations. If we are subjected to such lawsuits, it may adversely affect our business.
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If we fail to detect click-fraud, we could lose the confidence of our advertisers and advertising partners as a result of lost revenue to advertisers or misappropriation of proprietary and confidential information, thereby causing our business to suffer.
Click-fraud” is a form of online fraud when a person or computer program imitates a legitimate user by clicking on an advertisement for the purpose generating a charge per click without having an actual interest in the target of the advertisement’s link. We are exposed to the risk of fraudulent or illegitimate clicks on our sponsored listings. The security measures we have in place, which are designed to reduce the likelihood of click-fraud, detect click-fraud from time to time. While the instances of click-fraud that we have detected to date have not had a material effect on our business, click-fraud could result in an advertiser experiencing a reduced return on their investment in our advertising programs because the fraudulent clicks will not lead to revenue for the advertisers. As a result, our advertisers and advertising partners may become dissatisfied with our advertising programs, which could lead to loss of advertisers, advertising partners and revenue. In addition, anyone who is able to circumvent our security measures could misappropriate proprietary and confidential information or could cause interruptions in our operations. We may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to protect against such security breaches or to address problems caused by such breaches. Concerns over the security of the Internet and other online transactions and the privacy of users may also deter people from using the Internet to conduct transactions that involve transmitting confidential information.
If third parties claim that we infringe their intellectual property rights, it may result in costly litigation.
We cannot assure you that third parties will not claim our current or future products or services infringe their intellectual property rights. Any such claims, with or without merit, could cause costly litigation that could consume significant management time. As the number of product and services offerings in our market increases and functionalities increasingly overlap, companies such as ours may become increasingly subject to infringement claims. Such claims also might require us to enter into royalty or license agreements. If required, we may not be able to obtain such royalty or license agreements, or obtain them on terms acceptable to us.
We do not rely upon patents to protect our proprietary technology, and our competitors may be able to offer similar products and services which would harm our competitive position.
Our success depends upon our proprietary technology. We do not have patents on any of our technology and we have not filed any patent applications to date because we have determined that the costs of patent prosecution outweigh the benefits given the alternative of reliance upon copyright law to protect our computer code and other proprietary technology and properties. In addition to copyright laws, we rely upon service mark and trade secret laws, confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions to establish and protect our proprietary rights. As part of our confidentiality procedures, we enter into non-disclosure agreements with our employees and consultants. Despite these precautions, third parties could copy or otherwise obtain and use our technology without authorization, or develop similar technology independently. In addition, effective protection of intellectual property rights is unavailable or limited in certain foreign countries. We cannot assure you that the protection of our proprietary rights will be adequate or that our competitors will not independently develop similar technology, duplicate our products and services or design around any intellectual property rights we hold.
Our market is subject to rapid technological change and, to compete, we must continually enhance our products and services.
We must continue to enhance and improve the performance, functionality and reliability of our products and services. The social media sponsorship industries are characterized by rapid technological change, changes in user requirements and preferences, frequent new product and services introductions embodying new technologies and the emergence of new industry standards and practices that could render our products and services obsolete. In the past, we have discovered that some of our customers desire additional performance and functionality not currently offered by our products. Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to develop new products and services that address the increasingly sophisticated and varied needs of our customers, and respond to technological advances and emerging industry standards and practices on a cost-effective and timely basis. The development of our technology and other proprietary technology involves significant technical and business risks. We may fail to use new technologies effectively or to adapt our proprietary technology and systems to customer requirements or emerging industry standards. If we are unable to adapt to changing market conditions, customer requirements or emerging industry standards, we may not be able to increase our revenue and expand our business.
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Difficulties we may encounter managing our growth could adversely affect our results of operations.
We have experienced a period of growth that has placed, and if such growth continues, will continue to place, a strain on our administrative infrastructure. As our business needs expand, we intend to hire up to 80 new employees in 2012 assuming we raise $40 million of gross proceeds in this offering. This expansion is placing and is expected to continue to place a significant strain on our managerial and financial resources. To manage the expected growth of our operations and personnel, we will be required to:
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improve existing, and implement new, operational, financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures;
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install enhanced management information systems; and
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train, motivate and manage our employees.
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We may not be able to install adequate management information and control systems in an efficient and timely manner, and our current or planned personnel, systems, procedures and controls may not be adequate to support our future operations. If we are unable to manage growth effectively, our business would be seriously harmed.
If we lose key personnel or are unable to attract and retain additional qualified personnel we may not be able to successfully manage our business and achieve our objectives.
We believe our future success will depend upon our ability to retain our key management, including Edward H. (Ted) Murphy, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Donna L. Mackenzie, our Chief Financial Officer, and Ryan Schram, our Chief Marketing Officer. We maintain key-man life insurance for our benefit on the life of Mr. Murphy in the amount of $1.5 million. We may not be successful in attracting, assimilating and retaining our employees in the future.
Our future success and our ability to expand our operations will also depend in large part on our ability to attract and retain additional qualified graphic designers, computer scientists, sales and marketing and senior management personnel. Competition for these types of employees is intense due to the limited number of qualified professionals and the high demand for them, particularly in the Orlando, Florida area, where our headquarters is located. We have in the past experienced difficulty in recruiting qualified personnel. Failure to attract, assimilate and retain personnel, particularly tech and sales and marketing personnel, would have a material adverse effect on our business and potential growth.
International operations could expose us to additional risks which could harm our business, prospects, results of operation, and financial condition.
We recently expanded into the European marketplace through our acquisition of a German social media sponsorship network, Magpie, and we have entered into a joint venture to provide a co-branded SponsoredTweets service in India. While international operations are not significant to our revenues, we plan to further expand internationally. In certain international markets, we may not benefit from any first-to-market advantages or otherwise succeed. In addition to risks described elsewhere in this section, our international operations expose us to additional risks, including the following:
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Changes in local political, economic, social, and labor conditions, which may adversely harm our business.
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Restrictions on foreign ownership and investments, and stringent foreign exchange controls that might prevent us from repatriating cash earned in countries outside the U.S.
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Import and export requirements that may prevent us from offering products or providing services to a particular market and may increase our operating costs.
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Currency exchange rate fluctuations and our ability to manage these fluctuations through our foreign exchange risk management program.
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Longer payment cycles in some countries, increased credit risk, and higher levels of payment fraud.
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Uncertainty regarding liability for services and content, including uncertainty as a result of local laws and lack of legal precedent.
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Different employee/employer relationships, existence of workers’ councils and labor unions, and other challenges caused by distance, language, and cultural differences, making it harder to do business in certain jurisdictions.
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In addition, compliance with complex foreign and U.S. laws and regulations that may apply to international operations increases may increase the cost of doing business in international jurisdictions. These numerous and sometimes conflicting laws and regulations include internal control and disclosure rules, data privacy and filtering requirements, anti-corruption laws, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and other local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to governmental officials, and anti-competition regulations, among others. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in fines and penalties, criminal sanctions against us, our officers, or our employees, prohibitions on the conduct of our business and on our ability to offer our products and services in one or more countries, and could also materially affect our brand, our international expansion efforts, our ability to attract and retain employees, our business, and our operating results.
Our management team has limited experience managing a public company, and regulatory compliance may divert its attention from the day-to-day management of our business.
The individuals who now constitute our management team have limited experience managing a publicly-traded company and limited experience complying with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies. Our management team may not successfully or efficiently manage our transition to being a public company that will be subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under the federal securities laws. In particular, these new obligations will require substantial attention from our senior management and could divert their attention away from the day-to-day management of our business, which could materially and adversely impact our business operations.
Risks Relating to our Common Stock and this Offering
Our management will be able to exert control over us to the detriment of minority stockholders.
Our executive officers and directors beneficially own approximately 58% of our outstanding common stock. These stockholders, if they act together, will be able to control our management and affairs and all matters requiring stockholder approval, including significant corporate transactions. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying or preventing our change in control and might affect the market price of our common stock.
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The restatement of our financial statements may result in litigation or government enforcement actions. Any such action would likely harm our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
As noted in our financial statements for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 filed with the SEC on August 22, 2011, our independent registered public accounting firm had not completed their SAS 100 review of the quarter ended June 30, 2011 since we were in the process of determining the accounting impact related to the issuance of common stock, series A preferred stock and warrants in a private placement that commenced in May 2011 (the “May 2011 Offering”). On September 8, 2011, our management completed its analysis of the financing arrangement and concluded its unaudited financial statements included in those financial statements could not be relied upon. We determined the warrants issued in connection with the May 2011 Offering require a classification in liabilities as derivative warrants. In addition, we determined the units sold to our Chief Executive Officer in connection with the May 2011 offering resulted in compensation expense. Consequently, we restated our financial statements for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 and filed with the SEC restated financial statements on September 9, 2011. The restatement of our financial statements may expose us to risks associated with litigation, regulatory proceedings and government enforcement actions. In addition, securities class action litigation has often been brought against companies which have been unable to provide current public information or which have restated previously filed financial statements. Any of these actions could result in substantial costs, divert management’s attention and resources, and harm our business, prospects, results of operation and financial condition.
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Exercise of options, warrants and other convertible securities will dilute your percentage of ownership.
We may issue stock options to purchase up to 710,000 shares of common stock under our 2011 Equity Incentive Plan and up to 350,000 shares of common stock under our 2011 B Equity Incentive Plan, after giving effect to the reverse stock split. In the future, we may grant additional stock options, warrants and convertible securities. The exercise, conversion or exchange of stock options, warrants or convertible securities will dilute the percentage ownership of our other stockholders. The dilutive effect of the exercise or conversion of these securities may adversely affect our ability to obtain additional capital. The holders of these securities may be expected to exercise, convert or exchange them when we would be able to obtain additional equity capital on terms more favorable than these securities.
Our earnings are subject to substantial quarterly and annual fluctuations and to market downturns.
Our revenues and earnings may fluctuate significantly in the future. General economic or other political conditions may cause a downturn in the market for our products or services. Despite the recent improvements in market conditions, a future downturn in the market for our products or services could adversely affect our operating results and increase the risk of substantial quarterly and annual fluctuations in our earnings. Our future operating results may be affected by many factors, including, but not limited to: our ability to retain existing or secure anticipated advertisers and publishers; our ability to develop, introduce and market new products and services on a timely basis; changes in the mix of products developed, produced and sold; and disputes with our advertisers and publishers. These factors affecting our future earnings are difficult to forecast and could harm our quarterly and/or annual operating results.
Public company compliance may make it more difficult to attract and retain officers and directors.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act and new rules subsequently implemented by the SEC have required changes in corporate governance practices of public companies. As a public company, we expect these new rules and regulations to increase our compliance costs in 2011 and beyond and to make certain activities more time consuming and costly. As a public company, we also expect that these new rules and regulations may make it more difficult and expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance in the future and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers.
Our stock price may be volatile.
The stock market in general, and the stock prices of technology-based companies in particular, have experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the operating performance of any specific public company. The market price of our common stock is likely to be highly volatile and could fluctuate widely in price in response to various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including the following:
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changes in our industry;
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competitive pricing pressures;
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our ability to obtain working capital financing;
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additions or departures of key personnel;
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limited "public float" in the hands of a small number of persons who sales or lack of sales could result in positive or negative pricing pressure on the market prices of our common stock;
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expiration of any Rule 144 holding periods or registration of unregistered securities issued by us;
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sales of our common stock;
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our ability to execute our business plan;
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operating results that fall below expectations;
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loss of any strategic relationship;
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regulatory developments; and
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economic and other external factors.
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In addition, the securities markets have from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may also materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
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We have not paid dividends in the past and do not expect to pay dividends in the future. Any return on investment may be limited tothe value of our common stock.
We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate doing so in the foreseeable future. The payment of dividends on our common stock will depend on earnings, financial condition and other business and economic factors affecting us at such time as our board of directors may consider relevant. If we do not pay dividends, our common stock may be less valuable because a return on your investment will only occur if our stock price appreciates.
There may be a limited public market for our securities; we presently fail to qualify for listing on any national securities exchanges.
Our common stock currently does not meet all of the requirements for initial listing on a registered stock exchange. Specifically, the bid price of our common stock is less than the minimum bid price required to obtain a listing, which is why, in part, we intend to effect a reverse stock split prior to the closing of this offering. Trading in our common stock continues to be conducted on the electronic bulletin board in the over-the-counter market. As a result, an investor may find it difficult to dispose of or to obtain accurate quotations as to the market value of our common stock, and our common stock may be less attractive for margin loans, for investment by financial institutions, as consideration in future capital raising transactions or other purposes. In connection with this offering, we applied for the listing of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market. No assurance can be given that our application will be approved.
Our common stock is currently deemed a “penny stock,” which makes it more difficult for our investors to sell their shares.
Our common stock is subject to the “penny stock” rules adopted under Section 15(g) of the Exchange Act. The penny stock rules generally apply to companies whose common stock is not listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market or other national securities exchange and trades at less than $4.00 per share, other than companies that have had average revenue of at least $6,000,000 for the last three years or that have tangible net worth of at least $5,000,000 ($2,000,000 if the company has been operating for three or more years). These rules require, among other things, that brokers who trade penny stock to persons other than “established customers” complete certain documentation, make suitability inquiries of investors and provide investors with certain information concerning trading in the security, including a risk disclosure document and quote information under certain circumstances. Many brokers have decided not to trade penny stocks because of the requirements of the penny stock rules and, as a result, the number of broker-dealers willing to act as market makers in such securities is limited. If we remain subject to the penny stock rules for any significant period, it could have an adverse effect on the market, if any, for our securities. If our securities are subject to the penny stock rules, investors will find it more difficult to dispose of our securities.
Offers or availability for sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock may cause the price of our common stock to decline.
If our stockholders sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market upon the expiration of any statutory holding period, under Rule 144, or issued upon the exercise of outstanding options or warrants or conversion of preferred stock or other convertible securities, it could create a circumstance commonly referred to as an “overhang” and in anticipation of which the market price of our common stock could fall. The existence of an overhang, whether or not sales have occurred or are occurring, also could make more difficult our ability to raise additional financing through the sale of equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem reasonable or appropriate.
Of the approximately 3,864,509 shares of our common stock outstanding as of December 22, 2011, approximately 1,250,000 shares are freely tradable without restriction as of that date, in each case giving effect to the reverse stock split. At varying dates between May and August 2012, 1,009,090 shares of common stock (including shares issuable upon conversion of series A preferred stock), after giving effect to the reverse stock split, that had been issued in unregistered private placements are expected to become tradable pursuant to Rule 144. As of December 22, 2011, we have 1,073,798 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options and warrants, after giving effect to the reverse stock split.
Investor relations activities, nominal “float” and supply and demand factors may affect the price of our common stock.
Following this offering, we expect to utilize various techniques such as non-deal road shows and investor relations campaigns in order to create investor awareness for our business. These campaigns may include personal, video and telephone conferences with investors and prospective investors in which our business practices are described. We may provide compensation to investor relations firms and pay for newsletters, websites, mailings and email campaigns that are produced by third-parties based upon publicly-available information concerning us. We do not intend to review or approve the content of such analysts’ reports or other materials based upon analysts’ own research or methods. Investor relations firms should generally disclose when they are compensated for their efforts, but whether such disclosure is made or complete is not under our control. Our investors may be willing, from time to time, to encourage investor awareness through similar activities. Investor awareness activities may also be suspended or discontinued which may impact the trading market of our common stock.
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The SEC and FINRA enforce various statutes and regulations intended to prevent manipulative or deceptive devices in connection with the purchase or sale of any security and carefully scrutinize trading patterns and company news and other communications for false or misleading information, particularly in cases where the hallmarks of “pump and dump” activities may exist, such as rapid share price increases or decreases. We and our shareholders may be subjected to enhanced regulatory scrutiny due to the small number of holders who initially will own the registered shares of our common stock publicly available for resale, and the limited trading markets in which such shares may be offered or sold which have often been associated with improper activities concerning penny-stocks, such as the OTC Bulletin Board or the OTCQB Marketplace (Pink OTC) or pink sheets. Until such time as the common stock sold in this offering is registered and until such time as our restricted shares are registered or available for resale under Rule 144, there will continue to be a small percentage of shares held by a small number of investors, many of whom acquired such shares in privately negotiated purchase and sale transactions, that will constitute the entire available trading market. The Supreme Court has stated that manipulative action is a term of art connoting intentional or willful conduct designed to deceive or defraud investors by controlling or artificially affecting the price of securities. Often times, manipulation is associated by regulators with forces that upset the supply and demand factors that would normally determine trading prices. A small percentage of our outstanding common stock is available for trading, held by a small number of individuals or entities. Accordingly, the supply of common stock for sale will be extremely limited for an indeterminate amount of time, which could result in higher bids, asks or sales prices than would otherwise exist. Securities regulators have often cited thinly-traded markets, small numbers of holders, and awareness campaigns as components of their claims of price manipulation and other violations of law when combined with manipulative trading, such as wash sales, matched orders or other manipulative trading timed to coincide with false or touting press releases. There can be no assurance that our or third-parties’ activities, or the small number of potential sellers or small percentage of stock in the “float,” or determinations by purchasers or holders as to when or under what circumstances or at what prices they may be willing to buy or sell stock, will not artificially impact (or would be claimed by regulators to have affected) the normal supply and demand factors that determine the price of stock.
Our management team will have immediate and broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from this offering and we may use the net proceeds in ways with which you disagree.
There is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to closing this offering and therefore net proceeds from this offering will be immediately available to our management to use at their discretion. We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for sales, marketing and promotion, technology and platform engineering, establishment of strategic partnerships, potential acquisitions and working capital and general corporate purposes. See “Use of Proceeds.” You will be relying on the judgment of our management with regard to the use of these net proceeds, and you will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether the proceeds are being used appropriately. It is possible that the net proceeds will be invested in a way that does not yield a favorable, or any, return for us or our stockholders. The failure of our management to use such funds effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operation.
If we fail to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting, the price of our common stock may be adversely affected.
Our internal control over financial reporting may have weaknesses and conditions that could require correction or remediation, the disclosure of which may have an adverse impact on the price of our common stock. We are required to establish and maintain appropriate internal controls over financial reporting. Failure to establish those controls, or any failure of those controls once established, could adversely affect our public disclosures regarding our business, prospects, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, management's assessment of internal controls over financial reporting may identify weaknesses and conditions that need to be addressed in our internal controls over financial reporting or other matters that may raise concerns for investors. Any actual or perceived weaknesses and conditions that need to be addressed in our internal control over financial reporting or disclosure of management's assessment of our internal controls over financial reporting may have an adverse impact on the price of our common stock. During the quarter ended June 30, 2011, a material weakness existed in our internal controls over financial reporting with respect to the incompletion of our assessment of the accounting impact of the issuance of complex and non-standard debt and equity instruments in May 2011. As a result of this material weakness, we were required to restate our financial statements for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. This material weakness was subsequently remediated as of September 30, 2011.
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You will experience immediate and substantial dilution as a result of this offering and may experience additional dilution in the future.
You will incur immediate and substantial dilution as a result of this offering. After giving effect to the sale by us of shares offered in this offering at an assumed public offering price of $ per share, and after deducting the underwriters’ discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, investors in this offering can expect an immediate dilution of $ per share, or % at the assumed public offering price. In addition, in the past, we issued convertible preferred stock, options and warrants to acquire shares of common stock. To the extent these options are ultimately exercised, you will sustain future dilution. We may also acquire other technologies or finance strategic alliances by issuing equity, which may result in additional dilution to our stockholders.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD -LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements in this prospectus may be “forward-looking statements.” Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that express our intentions, beliefs, expectations, strategies, predictions or any other statements relating to our future activities or other future events or conditions. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may, and are likely to, differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including those described above and those risks discussed in this prospectus, including the risks described under “Risk Factors,” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this prospectus and in other documents which we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, our ability to raise additional funding, our ability to maintain and grow our business, variability of operating results, our ability to maintain and enhance our brand, our expansion and development of new products and services, marketing and other business development initiatives, competition in the industry, general government regulation, economic conditions, dependence on key personnel, the ability to attract, hire and retain personnel who possess the technical skills and experience necessary to meet the service requirements of our clients, our ability to protect our intellectual property, the potential liability with respect to actions taken by our existing and past employees, risks associated with international sales, and other risks described herein and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this prospectus, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
USE OF PROCEEDS
Based on an assumed public offering price of $ per share, we estimate that the net proceeds to us from the sale of the shares that we are offering, assuming gross proceeds of $40,000,000, will be approximately $ , after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses and without giving effect to the over-allotment option.
We intend to utilize the net proceeds of the offering as follows:
Purpose:
|
|
Approximate Dollar Amount
|
|
|
Approximate Percentage of Net Proceeds
|
|
Sales and client relations
|
|
$
|
13,200,000
|
|
|
|
33
|
%
|
Marketing
|
|
|
7,100,000
|
|
|
|
18%
|
|
Investor relations
|
|
|
1,200,000
|
|
|
|
3%
|
|
Technology and platform engineering
|
|
|
5,000,000
|
|
|
|
12
|
%
|
Establishment of strategic partnerships
|
|
|
4,400,000
|
|
|
|
11
|
%
|
Potential acquisitions
|
|
|
2,000,000
|
|
|
|
5
|
%
|
Transaction related fees
|
|
|
3,500,000
|
|
|
|
9%
|
|
Working capital and general corporate purposes
|
|
|
3,600,000
|
|
|
|
9
|
%
|
The expected use of net proceeds of this offering represents our intention based on our current plans and business conditions. The amount and timing of our actual expenditures will depend on numerous factors, including increases in development costs and expenses and any unforeseen cash needs. As a result, we will retain broad discretion in the allocation and use of the net proceeds of this offering. We have no current plans, agreements or commitments for any material acquisitions of any technologies, products or businesses.
27
If we determine to accelerate our business plan or if our plans otherwise change or our assumptions prove inaccurate, we may need to seek financing sooner than currently anticipated, incur additional financing or reduce or curtail our operations. We cannot assure you that financing will become available as and when needed.
If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, we will realize additional net proceeds of approximately $ , which will be added to our working capital.
We will invest proceeds not immediately required for the purposes described above principally in United States government securities, short-term certificates of deposit, money market funds or other short-term interest-bearing investments.
We believe that our cash on hand, together with the net proceeds from this offering (without exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) would be adequate to fund operations through December 31, 2012.
CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our capitalization, as of September 30, 2011:
|
•
|
on an actual basis, giving effect to the reverse stock split; and
|
|
•
|
on an as adjusted basis to give effect to the issuance and sale of the shares offered by this prospectus.
|
You should consider this table in conjunction with our financial statements and the notes to those financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.
|
|
As of September 30, 2011
|
|
|
|
Actual
|
|
|
As
Adjusted for this offering (1)
|
|
Warrant liability
|
|
$
|
1,011,399
|
|
|
|
|
Stockholders’ equity (deficit):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Series A convertible preferred stock; $.0001 par value; 240 shares authorized; 230 shares issued and outstanding
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
Common stock, par value $0.0001 per share; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 3,864,509 issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2011
|
|
|
386
|
|
|
|
|
Additional paid in capital
|
|
|
16,264,947
|
|
|
|
|
Accumulated deficit
|
|
|
(16,990,789
|
)
|
|
|
|
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)
|
|
|
(725,456
|
)
|
|
|
0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total capitalization
|
|
$
|
285,943
|
|
|
$
|
|
|
(1)
|
Reflects the estimated net proceeds that we will receive from the sale of shares of common stock in this offering, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses.
|
PRICE RANGE OF COMMON STOCK
Since June 2011, our common stock has been quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "IZEA." Prior to that there was no trading of our common stock. The following table sets forth, for the calendar periods indicated the range of the high and low closing prices reported of our common stock, as reported by the OTC Bulletin Board and after giving effect to the reverse stock split. The quotations represent inter-dealer prices without retail mark-ups, mark-downs or commissions, and may not necessarily represent actual transactions. The quotations may be rounded for presentation. As of December 22, 2011, the closing price of our common stock was $7.00 per share, after giving effect to the reverse stock split.
28
Fiscal year ending December 31, 2011
|
|
High
|
|
|
Low
|
|
Second quarter
|
|
$
|
5.00
|
|
|
$
|
25.00
|
|
Third quarter
|
|
$
|
32.50
|
|
|
$
|
11.50
|
|
Fourth quarter (through December 22, 2011)
|
|
$
|
14.00
|
|
|
$
|
6.00
|
|
As of December 22, 2011, we had approximately 43 shareholders of record of our common stock. This number does not include beneficial owners whose shares are held in the names of various securities brokers, dealers and registered clearing agencies.
Dividend Policy
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock, and we do not intend to pay any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Rather, we expect to retain future earnings (if any) to fund the operation and expansion of our business and for general corporate purposes.
DILUTION
Our pro forma net tangible book value as of September 30, 2011 was $(747,439) or $(0.19) per share of common stock, based upon 3,864,509 shares outstanding as of that date. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing such number of outstanding shares of common stock, giving effect to the reverse stock split, into our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities. After giving effect to the sale of the shares in this offering at the assumed public offering price of $ per share, at September 30, 2011, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses payable by us, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value at September 30, 2011 would have been approximately , or $ per share. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of approximately $ per share to our existing stockholders, and an immediate dilution of $ per share to investors purchasing shares in the offering.
The following table illustrates the per share dilution to investors purchasing shares in the offering:
Assumed public offering price per share
|
|
$
|
|
|
Pro forma net tangible book value per share as of September 30, 2011
|
|
$
|
|
|
Increase per share attributable to sale of shares to investors
|
|
$
|
|
|
Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after the offering
|
|
$
|
|
|
Dilution per share to investors
|
|
$
|
|
|
The foregoing illustration does not reflect potential dilution from the conversion of our outstanding convertible series A preferred stock or the exercise of outstanding stock options or warrants to purchase an aggregate of 1,770,767 shares of our common stock, after giving effect to the reverse stock split. The foregoing illustration also does not reflect the dilution that would result from the exercise of the underwriters' warrants.
29
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
General
The following discussion and analysis is provided to increase the understanding of, and should be read in conjunction with, our unaudited consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. Historical results and percentage relationships among any amounts in these financial statements are not necessarily indicative of trends in operating results for any future period. This prospectus contains “forward-looking statements”. The statements, which are not historical facts contained in this prospectus, including this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation, and notes to our unaudited consolidated financial statements, particularly those that utilize terminology such as “may” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “believes,” or “plans” or comparable terminology are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on currently available operating, financial and competitive information, and are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Future events and our actual results may differ materially from the results reflected in these forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, our ability to raise additional funding, our ability to maintain and grow our business, variability of operating results, our ability to maintain and enhance our brand, our expansion and development of new products and services, marketing and other business development initiatives, competition in the industry, general government regulation, economic conditions, dependence on key personnel, the ability to attract, hire and retain personnel who possess the technical skills and experience necessary to meet the service requirements of our clients, our ability to protect our intellectual property, the potential liability with respect to actions taken by our existing and past employees, risks associated with international sales, and other risks described herein and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 excludes issuers of “penny stock” (as defined under Rule 3a51-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). Our common stock currently falls within that definition.
All forward-looking statements in this document are based on information currently available to us as of the date of this prospectus, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Company History
IZEA, Inc. (the “Company” “we” or “us”) was incorporated as a Nevada corporation on March 22, 2010 for the purpose of entering the business of making loans which are fully secured by a first lien on a customer’s automobile. On May 11, 2011, we filed an amendment to our Articles of Incorporation in order to change our name from “Rapid Holdings, Inc.” to “IZEA Holdings, Inc.” and on November 23, 2011 we filed Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation to further change our name from “IZEA Holdings, Inc.” to “IZEA, Inc.” On May 11, 2011, our board of directors declared a dividend of an additional 14.28117 shares of common stock on each share of our common stock outstanding on May 11, 2011 with a payment date of May 23, 2011.
On May 12, 2011, we entered into a Share Exchange Agreement (the “Exchange Agreement”) with IZEA, Inc., a privately held Delaware corporation (“IZEA”) and the shareholders of IZEA. Upon closing of the transaction contemplated under the Exchange Agreement, on May 12, 2011, the shareholders of IZEA transferred all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of IZEA to us in exchange for shares of our common stock. Such exchange caused IZEA to become our wholly-owned subsidiary. Immediately following the closing of the exchange, under an Agreement of Conveyance, Transfer and Assignment of Assets and Assumption of Obligations, the Company transferred all of its pre-exchange assets and liabilities to a wholly-owned subsidiary, RTL Holdings, Inc. (“SplitCo”) and thereafter, pursuant to a stock purchase agreement, transferred all of the outstanding capital stock of SplitCo to Anthony Barron, our former officer and director, in exchange for the cancellation of shares of our common stock he owned. Upon closing of the exchange, the business of IZEA became our business.
IZEA, Inc. was incorporated in the state of Florida in February 2006 and reincorporated in the state of Delaware in September 2006.
Reverse Stock Split
Effective on 2011, we effectuated a reverse stock split with a ratio of one-for-ten, whereby each ten issued and outstanding shares of common stock was combined into one share of common stock.
Throughout this prospectus, each instance which refers to a number of shares of our common stock reflects the number of shares of common stock after giving effect to the reverse stock split, unless otherwise indicated. References to a number of shares of common stock in our historical financial statements for the nine month period ended September 30, 2011, and for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, are reported on a pre-reverse stock split basis.
Company Overview
We are a leader in social media sponsorships ("SMS"), a rapidly growing segment within social media that connects social media publishers with advertisers. We accomplish this through our five online marketplaces: SocialSpark, SponsoredTweets, WeReward, PayPerPost and InPostLinks. Our customers include a wide range of small and large businesses, including Fortune 500 companies, as well as advertising agencies. We generate our revenue through the sale of social media sponsorships to our customers. We fulfill these sponsorships through our marketplace platforms connecting social media publishers such as bloggers, tweeters and mobile application users.
30
Results of Operations for Nine Months Ended September 30, 2011 Compared to September 30, 2010
|
|
Nine Months Ended September 30,
|
|
|
|
|
|
2011
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
$ Change
|
|
|
% Change
|
|
Revenue
|
|
$
|
2,821,354
|
|
|
$
|
2,249,891
|
|
|
$
|
571,463
|
|
|
|
25.4
|
%
|
Cost of sales
|
|
|
1,306,463
|
|
|
|
1,192,043
|
|
|
|
114,420
|
|
|
|
9.6
|
%
|
Gross profit
|
|
|
1,514,891
|
|
|
|
1,057,848
|
|
|
|
457,043
|
|
|
|
43.2
|
%
|
Operating expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
General and administrative
|
|
|
3,883,887
|
|
|
|
2,570,601
|
|
|
|
1,313,286
|
|
|
|
51.1
|
%
|
Sales and marketing
|
|
|
526,112
|
|
|
|
404,272
|
|
|
|
121,840
|
|
|
|
30.1
|
%
|
Total operating expenses
|
|
|
4,409,999
|
|
|
|
2,974,873
|
|
|
|
1,435,126
|
|
|
|
48.2
|
%
|
Loss from operations
|
|
|
(2,895,108
|
)
|
|
|
(1,917,025
|
)
|
|
|
(978,083
|
)
|
|
|
51.0
|
%
|
Other income (expense):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest expense, net
|
|
|
(17,060
|
)
|
|
|
(60,654
|
)
|
|
|
43,594
|
|
|
|
(71.9
|
)%
|
Change in fair value of warrant liability
|
|
|
73,571
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
73,571
|
|
|
|
—
|
%
|
Other income (expense), net
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
(276
|
)
|
|
|
276
|
|
|
|
(100.0
|
)%
|
Total other income (expense)
|
|
|
56,511
|
|
|
|
(60,930
|
)
|
|
|
117,441
|
|
|
|
(192.7
|
)%
|
Net loss
|
|
$
|
(2,838,597
|
)
|
|
$
|
(1,977,955
|
)
|
|
$
|
(860,642
|
)
|
|
|
43.5
|
%
|
Revenues
We derive revenue from two sources: revenue from an advertiser for the use of our network of social media publishers to fulfill an advertiser’s sponsor request for a blog post, tweet, click, purchase, or action (our “Sponsored Revenue”) and revenue derived from various service fees charged to advertisers for management, maintenance and enhancement of their accounts, and to publishers for maintenance and enhancement of their accounts (“Service Fee Revenue”).
Revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 increased by $571,463, or 25.4%, compared to the same period in 2010. The increase was attributable to an approximately $51,000 increase in our Sponsored Revenue and a $520,000 increase in Service Fee Revenue. In the nine months ended September 30, 2011, Sponsored Revenue was 81% and Service Fee Revenue was 19% of total revenue compared to Sponsored Revenue of 99% and Service Fee Revenue of 1% in the nine months ended September 30, 2010. The increase in Sponsored Revenue was primarily attributable to increased sales from our expanded sales force and growth in our three core social media platforms, Social Spark, SponsoredTweets and WeReward. These products accounted for 65% of our revenue in the nine months ended September 30, 2011 compared to 48% of our revenue in the same period in 2010. The increase in Service Fee Revenue is primarily due to the growth in our managed customer base on which we receive management fee revenue and additional account maintenance fees received from advertisers and publishers. We expect that these fees will continue to increase over prior period levels as we continue to focus our sales efforts on our three core social media marketing platforms.
Cost of Sales and Gross Profit
Our cost of sales comprise primarily of amounts paid to our social media publishers for fulfilling an advertiser’s sponsor request for a blog post, tweet, click, purchase, or action.
Cost of sales for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 increased by $114,420, or 9.6%, compared to the same period in 2010. Cost of sales increased as a direct result of the increase in our Sponsored Revenue and higher publisher costs to generate such revenue. Publisher costs typically range from 50% to 80% of the advertising campaign depending on the type of publisher used in the campaign. Celebrity publishers typically used in our SponsoredTweets marketplace cost more than our average publisher cost of 50% in other marketplaces.
Gross profit for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 increased by $457,043, or 43.2%, compared to the same period in 2010. Our gross margin increased to 54% for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to 47% for the same period in 2010. The gross margin increase was primarily attributable to the substantial increase in service fees received from advertisers and publishers that have minimal costs associated with the revenue.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses consist of general and administrative, and sales and marketing expenses. Total operating expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 increased by $1,435,126, or 48.2%, compared to the same period in 2010. The increase was primarily attributable to increased payroll and operating expenses, costs of being a public company and increases in sales and marketing expenses.
31
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of payroll, general operating costs, public company costs, facilities costs, insurance, depreciation, professional fees, and investor relations fees. General and administrative expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 increased by $1,313,286 or 51.1%, compared to the same period in 2010. The increase was primarily attributable to a $392,000 increase in payroll and related benefit expenses, a $156,000 increase in professional fees and reporting costs as a result the financing transactions and costs of being a public company in 2011, and investor relations costs of $677,500. We paid $1,190,000 and issued 500,000 shares of common stock valued at $165,000 in August 2011 for investor relation services, that included an investor marketing campaign, of which $677,500 was expensed in September 2011 and the remaining $677,500 will be expensed in the fourth quarter of 2011. The investor relations costs are being expensed in the third and fourth quarters of 2011 because the services rendered take place during such periods. We expect that professional fees will continue to increase over prior levels as we continue to work on financing transactions and expand our reporting and investor relations efforts as a public company.
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of compensation for sales and marketing and related support resources, sales commissions and trade show expenses. Sales and marketing expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 increased by $121,840 or 30.1%, compared to the same period in 2010. The increase was also attributable to marketing of our increased focus on our SocialSpark, SponsoredTweets and WeReward platforms.
Other Income (Expense)
Other income (expense) consists primarily of interest expense and the change in the fair value of warrant liability.
Interest expense during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 decreased by $43,594 compared to the same period in 2010 as a result of the conversion of $1,444,800 of related party notes payable in May 2010 and principal payments made on our note payable to the bank.
We recognized other income for a change in fair value of our warrant liability of $73,571 during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 related to warrants issued in connection with a financing arrangement as further discussed below.
Net Loss
Net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2011was $2,838,597 which increased from the net loss of $1,977,955 for the same period in 2010, As discussed above, although gross profit increased over the prior quarter due to increased revenue and interest expense declined as a result of the conversion of debt in 2010, this was exceeded by an increase in operating expenses attributable to increased headcount, public company and investor relations costs, and other sales and marketing expenses.
Results of Operations for Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2010 Compared to December 31, 2009
|
|
Twelve Months Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
$ Change
|
|
|
% Change
|
|
Revenue
|
|
$
|
3,821,538
|
|
|
$
|
2,834,359
|
|
|
$
|
987,179
|
|
|
|
34.8
|
%
|
Cost of sales
|
|
|
1,819,031
|
|
|
|
1,343,159
|
|
|
|
475,872
|
|
|
|
35.4
|
%
|
Gross profit
|
|
|
2,002,507
|
|
|
|
1,491,200
|
|
|
|
511,307
|
|
|
|
34.3
|
%
|
Operating expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
General and administrative
|
|
|
3,318,701
|
|
|
|
3,383,636
|
|
|
|
(64,935
|
)
|
|
|
(1.9
|
)%
|
Sales and marketing
|
|
|
766,946
|
|
|
|
577,529
|
|
|
|
189,417
|
|
|
|
32.8
|
%
|
Loss on impairment of intangible assets
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
99,949
|
|
|
|
(99,949
|
)
|
|
|
(100.0
|
)%
|
Total operating expenses
|
|
|
4,085,647
|
|
|
|
4,061,114
|
|
|
|
24,533
|
|
|
|
0.6
|
%
|
Loss from operations
|
|
|
(2,083,140
|
)
|
|
|
(2,569,914
|
)
|
|
|
486,774
|
|
|
|
(18.9
|
)%
|
Other income (expense):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest expense, net
|
|
|
(74,511
|
)
|
|
|
(85,779
|
)
|
|
|
11,268
|
|
|
|
13.1
|
%
|
Other income (expense), net
|
|
|
(108
|
)
|
|
|
1,921
|
|
|
|
(2,029
|
)
|
|
|
(105.6
|
)%
|
Total other income (expense)
|
|
|
(74,619
|
)
|
|
|
(83,858
|
)
|
|
|
9,239
|
|
|
|
(11.0
|
)%
|
Net loss
|
|
$
|
(2,157,759
|
)
|
|
$
|
(2,653,772
|
|
|
$
|
496,013
|
|
|
|
(18.7
|
)%
|
32
Revenues
Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2010 increased to $3,821,538 from $2,834,359 for the year ended December 31, 2009, an increase of 34.8%. The increase was attributable to an approximately $712,000 increase in our Sponsored Revenue and a $275,000 increase in Service Fee Revenue. The increase is primarily attributable to growth of our customer base through our expanded sales force and through budget increases among existing customers. The primary drivers of this growth were the implementation of account maintenance fees in 2010 and an overall increase in customer base and product launches of SocialSpark and SponsoredTweets in 2008 and 2009 respectively. These products accounted for 51% of our revenue in 2010, an increase from 26% in 2009.
Given the continued overall growth in online advertising, coupled with other strategic initiatives undertaken by IZEA, including the continued enhancement of our technology platform and our continued ability to acquire bloggers, tweeters and other social media publishers, we expect to continue to increase our advertising customer base and revenues on a year-over-year basis.
Cost of Revenues and Gross Profit
Cost of revenues for the year ended December 31, 2010 increased to $1,819,031 from $1,343,159 for the year ended December 31, 2009, an increase of 35.4%. The increase is primarily attributable to the growth in advertising campaigns requiring the purchase of appropriate levels of sponsorships from publishers. Cost of revenues is comprised primarily of the amounts we pay to social media publishers in IZEA’s online network. Cost of revenues represented 47.6% of revenues for the year ended December 31, 2010 compared to 47.4% of revenues for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2010 increased to $2,002,507 from $1,491,200 for the year ended December 31, 2009, an increase of 34.3%. Our gross margin remained steady at 52.4% for the year ended December 31, 2010 compared to 52.6% for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses consist of general and administrative, sales and marketing and licenses and subscriptions related to technology support. Total operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2010 increased to $4,085,647 from $4,016,114 for the year ended December 31, 2009, an increase of 0.2%. The increase was primarily attributable to headcount expansion from 26 employees at December 31, 2009 to 34 employees at December 31, 2010 which was partially offset by a loss on impairment of intangible asset during 2009. We expect to hire up to 20 new employees in 2011 to support the growth of our business and the ongoing innovation, development and marketing of our platforms.
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of executive, administrative, operations and product development and support compensation (including non-cash stock based compensation), facilities costs, insurance, depreciation, professional fees, investor relations fees and bad debt expense. General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2010 decreased to $3,318,701 from $3,383,636 for the year ended December 31, 2009, a decrease of 1.9% .
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of compensation for sales and marketing and related support resources, sales commissions and trade show expenses. Sales and marketing expenses for the year ended December 31, 2010 increased to $766,946 from $577,529 for the year ended December 31, 2009, an increase of 32.8%. The increase was primarily attributable to our increased sales-force expansion focusing primarily on SocialSpark and SponsoredTweets.
Loss on Impairment
Loss on impairment was $0 for the year ended December 31, 2010 and $99,949 for the year ended December 31, 2009. The impairment resulted from the discontinued use in January 2009 of certain intellectual property and a software license purchased in February 2007.
Net Loss
Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $2,157,759 compared to a net loss of $2,653,772 for the year ended December 31, 2009. The reduction in our net loss was attributable to strong revenue growth, reduced operating expenses which grew at a slower pace than revenue and the loss from impairment of intangible assets during fiscal 2009 which did not reoccur in fiscal 2010.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our cash position was $1,095,103 as of September 30, 2011 as compared to $1,503,105 as of December 31, 2010, a decrease of $408,002. We have incurred significant net losses and negative cash flow from operations since our inception. We incurred net losses of $2,653,772, $2,157,759 and $2,838,597 for the years ended December 31, 2009, December 31, 2010, and the nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively and we had an accumulated deficit of $16,990,789 as of September 30, 2011.
Cash used for operating activities was $3,163,169 during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and was primarily a result of our net loss during the period of $2,838,597. Cash provided by financing activities was $2,790,916 during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 primarily as a result of net proceeds of $3,057,473 received from the issuance of common and preferred stock and warrants and exchange of promissory notes in a financing arrangement as further discussed below. Financing activities were reduced by principal payments of $268,156 on our bank note payable and capital leases.
To date, we have financed our operations through internally generated revenue from operations, the sale of our equity and the issuance of notes and loans from shareholders. From May until August 2011, we raised an aggregate of $3,330,000 through the sale of 333 units consisting of either (i) 3,031 shares of our common stock, or (ii) one share of our recently designated Series A Preferred Stock, which is convertible into 3,031 shares of common stock, plus a five-year warrant to purchase 1,819 shares of common stock for $9,091 or $5.00 per linked common share (the “May 2011 Offering”). Of the gross proceeds received, (i) $500,000 was received under a promissory note that was contractually exchangeable into 50 units under the May 2011 Offering, and (ii) $50,000 was received for the purchase of 5 units from our Chief Executive Officer. As a result of the offering, investors who purchased 230 units elected to receive preferred stock and investors who purchased 103 Units elected to receive common stock. Accordingly, we issued (i) 312,121 shares of common stock, (ii) 230 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, which are linked by conversion to 696,969 shares of common stock, and (iii) 333 Warrant Contracts that are linked by exercise to an aggregate of 605,461 shares of common stock. Direct expenses associated with the offering amounted to $290,127 and included (i) placement agent, legal and other fees for cash of $272,527, and (ii) a warrant to the placement agent to purchase 10,000 shares of common stock under the same terms and conditions as the warrants. Accordingly, net cash proceeds from the May 2011 Offering amounted to $3,057,473.
We entered into registration rights agreements (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) with the investors in the May 2011 Offering (the "Investors"), pursuant to which we agreed to file a “resale” registration statement with the SEC covering the shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series A Preferred Stock and the shares of common stock underlying the Warrants within six (6) months after the final closing date of the May 2011 Offering (i.e. February 15, 2012) (the “Filing Date”). We agreed to use our reasonable best efforts to have the registration statement declared effective within nine (9) months after the final closing date of the May 2011 Offering (i.e. May 15, 2012) (the “Effectiveness Deadline”) and to maintain the effectiveness of the registration statement from the effective date until all securities have been sold or are otherwise able to be sold pursuant to Rule 144 without restriction or limitation. Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement, we are obligated to pay to Investors a fee of 1% per month of the Investors’ investment, payable in cash, for every thirty (30) day period up to a maximum of 6%, (i) following the required Filing Date that the registration statement has not been filed and (ii) following the required Effectiveness Deadline that the registration statement has not been declared effective; provided, however, that we shall not be obligated to pay any such liquidated damages if we are unable to fulfill our registration obligations as a result of rules, regulations, positions or releases issued or actions taken by the SEC pursuant to its authority with respect to “Rule 415”, provided we register at such time the maximum number of shares of common stock permissible upon consultation with the staff of the SEC and provided further that we will not be obligated to pay liquidated damages at any time following the one year anniversary of the Final Closing Date (as defined in the Registration Rights Agreements) of the May 2011 Offering.
On May 24, 2011, we entered into an investor relations agreement with a consulting company to provide investor relations services for two months beginning September 1, 2011 (as amended). We paid $1,190,000 in cash with proceeds from the May 2011 Offering and issued 500,000 shares of our common stock valued at $165,000 based on $0.33 per common share in August 2011.
On July 15, 2008, we entered into a $1,000,000 Loan and Security Agreement (“Note Payable”) with Silicon Valley Bank, with an interest rate of 8% per annum, payable monthly. Interest only was payable through December 31, 2008. Repayment of principal is due in thirty-six consecutive equal monthly installments beginning in January 2009, or approximately $333,333 per year through December 31, 2011. The Note Payable is secured by all assets of IZEA. The principal balance outstanding on the note payable was $83,333 at September 30, 2011 and is required to be repaid in full during 2011.
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Although our net revenues and proceeds from the May 2011 Offering are currently sufficient to fund our operating expenses through 2011 and into 2012 if we continue our current sales growth and maintain expense levels, we are seeking to raise additional funds that will result in gross proceeds of at least $40 million as a result of this Offering. The proceeds from this Offering are expected to provide us with funds that would enable us to expand our marketing efforts, make acquisitions, invest in technology and platform engineering, establish strategic partnerships and increase our workforce to support these endeavors and the additional customers and sales that are expected to be generated from these endeavors. Assuming that we raise gross proceeds of $40 million in this Offering, we expect our operating expenses which include sales and marketing, product development and general and administrative expenses to increase to approximately $19 million in 2012, an estimated increase of over 200% when compared to 2011 operating expense levels. We further expect to derive the majority of our revenue for the foreseeable future from our core social media marketing platforms, SocialSpark, SponsoredTweets and WeReward and related services.
As a result of the foregoing expansion efforts, we expect to continue to incur losses but believe that we will have sufficient capital to fund our operations through December 31, 2012. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon raising capital from financing transactions and achieving revenue growth targets while bringing expenses to a level that will result in positive cash flows. If we achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain it. Therefore, our future operations may continue to be dependent on our ability to secure additional financing. Financing transactions may include the issuance of equity or debt securities, obtaining credit facilities, or other financing mechanisms. However, the trading price of our common stock and a downturn in the U.S. equity and debt markets could make it more difficult to obtain financing through the issuance of equity or debt securities. Even if we are able to raise the funds required, it is possible that we could incur unexpected costs and expenses, fail to collect significant amounts owed to us, or experience unexpected cash requirements that would force us to seek alternative financing. Furthermore, if we issue additional equity or debt securities, stockholders may experience additional dilution or the new equity securities may have rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of existing holders of our common stock. The inability to obtain additional capital may restrict our ability to grow and may reduce our ability to continue to conduct business operations. If we are unable to obtain additional financing, we may have to curtail our marketing and development plans and possibly cease our operations.
Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not engage in any activities involving variable interest entities or off-balance sheet arrangements.
Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
The preparation of the accompanying financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make judgments, assumptions and estimates that affect the amounts reported in the accompanying financial statements and the accompanying notes. The preparation of these financial statements requires managements to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. When making these estimates and assumptions, we consider our historical experience, our knowledge of economic and market factors and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ from these estimates. The following critical accounting policies are significantly affected by judgments, assumptions and estimates used in the preparation of the financial statements.
Accounts receivable are customer obligations due under normal trade terms and are typically considered collectible since most customers are bound by contract and are required to fund us for all the costs of an “opportunity”, defined as an order created by an advertiser for a blogger to write about the advertiser’s product. If a portion of the account balance is deemed uncollectible, we will either write-off the amount owed or provide a reserve based on the uncollectible portion of the account. Management determines the collectibility of accounts by regularly evaluating individual customer receivables and considering a customer’s financial condition, credit history and current economic conditions. We have not recorded a reserve for doubtful accounts at December 31, 2010 and September 30, 2011.
Revenue consists of sponsored revenue (such as revenue per blog post, per tweet, per click, per purchase, or per action) from an advertiser and service fees for management, maintenance and enhancement of advertiser accounts, and maintenance and enhancement of publisher accounts. Sponsored revenue is recognized when advertiser opportunities are posted on our websites and when related payments are made to the publishers after their content has been listed for the requisite period. Customers may prepay for services by placing a deposit in their account with us. In these cases, the deposits are recorded as unearned revenue. Service fees are recognized upon completion of the management of an advertiser’s campaign or immediately when the maintenance or enhancement service is performed. We recognize revenue in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification on Principal Agent Considerations. We record revenue on the gross amount earned since we generally are the primary obligor in the arrangement, establish the pricing and determine the service specifications.
Stock based compensation is measured at grant date, based on the fair value of the award, and is recognized as an expense over the employee’s requisite service period. We estimate the fair value of each stock option as of the date of grant using the Black-Scholes pricing model. Options vest ratably over four years with one-fourth of options vesting one year from the date of grant and the remaining options vesting monthly, in equal increments over the remaining three-year period and generally have ten-year contract lives. We estimate the fair value of our common stock using recent independent valuations or the value paid in the most recent equity or financing transactions. We estimate the volatility of our common stock at the date of grant based on the volatility of comparable peer companies which are publicly traded. We determine the expected life based on historical experience with similar awards, giving consideration to the contractual terms, vesting schedules and post-vesting forfeitures. We use the risk-free interest rate on the implied yield currently available on U.S. Treasury issues with an equivalent remaining term approximately equal to the expected life of the award. We have never paid any cash dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We estimate forfeitures when recognizing compensation expense and this estimate of forfeitures is adjusted over the requisite service period based on the extent to which actual forfeitures differ, or are expected to differ, from such estimates. Changes in estimated forfeitures are recognized through a cumulative catch-up adjustment, which is recognized in the period of change. Changes also impact the amount of unamortized compensation expense to be recognized in future periods.
The tables below show the amount of options granted during each quarter of fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2011 and the assumptions used to determine the fair value of those options, in each case giving effect to the reverse stock split.
2007 Plan Options Granted
Quarter Ended
|
|
Total Options Granted
|
Weighted Average Fair Value of Common Stock
|
Weighted Average Expected Term
|
Weighted Average Volatility
|
Weighted Average Risk Free Interest Rate
|
Weighted Average Fair Value of Options Granted
|
March 31, 2010
|
|
180
|
$ 11.00
|
5 years
|
55.04%
|
2.65%
|
$ 5.47
|
June 30, 2010
|
|
None
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
September 30, 2010
|
|
None
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
December 31, 2010
|
|
None
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
March 31, 2011
|
|
374,862
|
$ 0.30
|
5 years
|
54.96%
|
2.37%
|
$ 0.15
|
June 30, 2011
|
|
4,000
|
$ 3.30
|
5 years
|
55.08%
|
1.89%
|
$ 1.61
|
September 30, 2011
|
|
None
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
2011 Plan Options Granted
Quarter Ended
|
|
Total Options Granted
|
Weighted Average Fair Value of Common Stock
|
Weighted Average Expected Term
|
Weighted Average Volatility
|
Weighted Average Risk Free Interest Rate
|
Weighted Average Fair Value of Options Granted
|
June 30, 2011
|
|
404,239
|
$ 3.30
|
5 years
|
55.07%
|
1.88%
|
$ 1.65
|
September 30, 2011
|
|
73,300
|
$ 3.30
|
5 years
|
54.90%
|
1.64%
|
$ 1.14
|
Quarter through December 22, 2011
|
|
180
|
$ 3.30
|
5 years
|
54.85%
|
0.91%
|
$ 0.57
|
There were 457,005 options outstanding as of December 22, 2011 with a weighted average exercise price of $4.35 per share, after giving effect to the reverse stock split. The intrinsic value of these options is [$ ] or [$ ] per share assuming an offering price of [$ ] per share.
We account for derivative instruments in accordance with FASB ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging , which requires additional disclosures about the our objectives and strategies for using derivative instruments, how the derivative instruments and related hedged items are accounted for, and how the derivative instruments and related hedging items affect the financial statements. We do not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market or foreign currency risk. Terms of convertible debt and equity instruments are reviewed to determine whether or not they contain embedded derivative instruments that are required under ASC 815 to be accounted for separately from the host contract, and recorded on the balance sheet at fair value. The fair value of derivative liabilities, if any, is required to be revalued at each reporting date, with corresponding changes in fair value recorded in current period operating results. Pursuant to ASC 815, an evaluation of specifically identified conditions is made to determine whether the fair value of warrants issued is required to be classified as equity or as a derivative liability.
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We record a beneficial conversion feature (“BCF”) related to the issuance of convertible debt and equity instruments that have conversion features at fixed rates that are in-the-money when issued, and the fair value of warrants issued in connection with those instruments. The BCF for the convertible instruments is recognized and measured by allocating a portion of the proceeds to warrants, based on their relative fair value, and as a reduction to the carrying amount of the convertible instrument equal to the intrinsic value of the conversion feature. The discounts recorded in connection with the BCF and warrant valuation are recognized a) for convertible debt as interest expense over the term of the debt, using the effective interest method or b) for preferred stock as dividends at the time the stock first becomes convertible.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
There are several new accounting pronouncements issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") which are not yet effective. We do not believe any of these accounting pronouncements will be applicable and therefore will not have a material impact on our financial position or operating results.
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BUSINESS
Overview
We believe we are a world leader in social media sponsorship, operating multiple marketplaces that include WeReward, SponsoredTweets, SocialSpark, PayPerPost and InPostLinks. WeReward, SponsoredTweets and SocialSpark are our premier platforms that are the focus of our current business and for which we are actively developing new features. PayPerPost and InPostLinks are legacy platforms that we still maintain but for which we have ceased to provide new features. We generate our revenue through the sale of Social Media Sponsorships (SMS) to our customers. A Social Media Sponsorship is when a company compensates a social media publisher to share sponsored content with their social network.
Our platforms take the concepts of product placement and endorsements commonly found in movies, television and radio and apply them to the social web. We democratize the brand sponsorship process, allowing everyone from college students and stay at home moms to celebrities an opportunity to monetize their content, creativity and influence in social media.
We believe we pioneered the concept of a marketplace for SMS in 2006 and have focused on the scalable monetization of social media ever since. We compensate bloggers, tweeters and mobile promoters (our social media publisher-partners) to share information about companies, products, websites and events within their social media content streams. Advertisers benefit from buzz, traffic, awareness and sales; social media publishers earn cash, points and product samples.
Each platform we operate is designed to facilitate SMS transactions in a way that is natural to its specific media format. Advertisers can utilize a single platform to fill a specific need or combine platforms with each other to execute an integrated social media campaign. All of our platforms can be activated and used with or without the assistance of our account management team.
We streamline the process of completing SMS through our proprietary technology, creating efficiencies and economies of scale for both advertisers and social media publishers. We utilize a common design methodology in each platform, which we have honed over our five years of operation. Each platform provides advertisers with access to a large network of publishers, workflow management, content control, payment processing, performance tracking and legal compliance. This methodology enables us to offer the most monetization opportunities to our publishers through a marketplace that provides an integrated FTC compliance framework, work-flow management, and automated transaction processing.
We do not have any contracts with any social media platform. Currently, access to the social media platforms that we connect with is through publicly available application program interfaces that allow the integration of our platform with the social media platform without the need to separately negotiate and enter into a contract.
We believe the value proposition we offer to both advertisers and social media publishers strengthens our position as a trusted partner and allows us to derive revenue from both customer bases. As more brand advertisers utilize our marketplaces, we thereby increase the breadth and depth of monetization opportunities for publishers, attracting more publishers and further enhancing the value of our service advertisers.
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Our core platforms are described below:
|
SocialSpark
|
SponsoredTweets
|
WeReward
|
Media Format
|
Blog Posts
|
Status Updates
|
Actions / Check-Ins
|
Content
|
Long form text/video content
|
Short form text content
|
Short form text & photo content
|
Best used for
|
• In-depth reviews
• Buzz
• Long term traffic generation
• E-commerce "Deals"
|
• Short term traffic generation
• Buzz
• Awareness
|
• Driving purchases
• Customer data
• Short term traffic generation
|
Payment Model
|
• Cost per blog post
• Cost per purchase
|
• Cost per tweet
• Cost per click
|
• Cost per action
|
Targeting
|
• Blog traffic
• Blog category / keywords
• Blogger country
|
• Tweeter followers
• Tweeter category / keywords
• Tweeter country
|
• Mobile user current location
• Mobile user age / sex
|
Metrics Gathered
|
• Impressions / CPM
• Clicks / CPC
• CTR
• Cost per action / sale
|
• Followers / CPMF
• Clicks / CPC
• Engagement
• Cost per action / sale
|
• Cost per action / sale
• Revenue generated / ROI
• Loyalty
|
Effective Media Lifespan
|
Years
|
1-2 Days
|
1-2 Days (media)
Years (data)
|
Works best for
|
• Complex products
• Distribution of embeds
• Evergreen products/brands
• E-commerce "Deals"
|
• Time sensitive product launches
• Celebrity engagement
• Viral content
|
• Driving specific actions
• Customer data gathering
• Building loyalty
|
We have more than 50,000 registered advertisers in 157 different countries (of which approximately 6,000 advertisers created a social media sponsorship opportunity during 2011) including top brands such as Coca-Cola, at&t, Microsoft, Kraft, HP, LG, Audi, Volvo, Hilton, Walgreens, Hershey and Sony. We have over 600,000 registered social media publishers (of which approximately 80,000 have performed an SMS transaction during 2011) in 179 different countries including high-profile celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Diddy, Rainn Wilson, Mario Lopez, Tyrese, Michael Ian Black and Bow Wow. Our total number of registered publishers may be higher than the number of our actual individual publishers because some publishers have multiple registrations, other publishers may have died or become incapacitated and others may have registered under fictitious names. Our publishers currently publish sponsored content to blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare and reach other existing platforms such as Tumblr, LinkedIn, Google and Bing through syndication of that content.
To date, we completed over 2.7 million social media transactions for customers ranging from small local businesses to Fortune 50 organizations.
We derive over 80% of our revenue from advertisers for the use of our network of social media publishers to fulfill advertiser sponsor requests for a blog post, tweet, click, purchase, or action. We derive the remaining 20% of our revenue from various service fees charged to advertisers for management, maintenance and enhancement of their accounts, and to publishers for maintenance and enhancement of their accounts.
Industry Background and Trends
Social media advertising was estimated to reach $1.7 billion in 2010 by Emarketer, an independent digital intelligence firm, and is projected by Forrester Research, an independent research company, to reach $3.1 billion by 2014. Despite the inherently conversational nature of social media, the majority of brand budgets are currently allocated towards display advertising (banner ads and text links) on social sites. While most advertisers understand the value of word of mouth marketing, peer recommendations and product reviews, few understand how to efficiently engage social media users for these purposes. Those who effectively attempt an approach are quickly limited by the amount of effort required to effectively manage and measure a truly integrated campaign.
The SMS space has been limited primarily by the current inefficiencies of the market. The social media publisher and advertiser universe is large and highly fragmented among topic, quality and platform. Despite the size of this market, most advertisers and social media publishers lack an efficient way to identify and engage each other. Instead, we believe brands have been forced to utilize a variety of highly inefficient sources and processes to navigate the complicated landscape of social media sponsorship, often resulting in low returns on their time investment or worse-yet, questionable results.
At the same time, social media publishers that would like to monetize their community are faced with significant challenges in finding quality advertisers who are motivated to sponsor them and making them aware of their blog, twitter or Facebook profile. In addition, smaller publishers simply lack the individual influence and audience needed to warrant the processing of a micro-transaction. In many cases it costs an advertiser more money to cut a check to a small publisher than the value of the sponsorship payment itself.
Further complicating the SMS process for both parties are FTC regulations around social media endorsements, IRS tax reporting generally applicable to anyone receiving income for services, and the associated campaign tracking required to provide compliance. While many advertisers would prefer to be “part of the conversation,” the complexity and cost of individual social media sponsorship often deters them from doing so.
We believe that the current state of SMS represents a significant corporate opportunity for us. We address these common problems with targeted, scalable marketplaces that aggregate social media publishers and advertisers. We offer an efficient, innovative way for publishers and advertisers of all sizes to find each other and complete a sponsorship transaction.
Our Platforms
Below is an overview of our platforms:
• SocialSpark is our premier blog marketing platform. Through SocialSpark we provide robust targeting and detailed analytics to advertisers. The site allows advertisers to develop large lists of high-quality blogs based on various criteria, such as relevancy, traffic and demographic data. The platform also enables advertisers to create targeted, large-scale social media campaigns with the click of a button and to observe campaign results in real time. SocialSpark is also used by larger brands interested in engaging in conversations with their consumer bases. This platform is an automated, scalable version of other blogger outreach services conducted by public relations agencies such as Porter Novelli, Edelman and Ketchum.
• SponsoredTweets is an online marketplace that allows consumers to connect directly with advertisers to engage in sponsored conversations through Twitter. Marketers pay for Twitter advertising campaigns on either a cost per tweet (CPT) or cost per click (CPC) basis. SponsoredTweets allows advertisers to hand pick individual tweeters, including celebrities, to participate in Twitter advertising campaigns. This platform is similar to Adly's celebrity endorsements.
• WeReward is a social-mobile incentive platform that allows brands to drive purchases, reward loyalty and better understand their customers. WeReward promotes businesses, consumer products and mobile applications through our proprietary application, which can be downloaded on iPhone and Android devices. Consumers are currently able to earn WeReward points at more than 15 million businesses in the United States. WeReward points act as a cash rebate via PayPal to create tangible value for users. This platform is similar to CheckPoints.
• PayPerPost and InPostLinks are online marketplaces designed to facilitate search engine optimization efforts and allow advertisers to connect directly with bloggers to develop relevant blog post content and place text link advertising within blog posts. Both systems allow advertisers to compensate bloggers with cash in exchange for content and links back to websites. These platforms are similar to eBay for content generation and text link advertising.
• IZEAMedia (in Pilot) allows advertisers to place display advertising next to sponsored blog content.
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• Staree (in Development) is an online platform designed to help celebrities better monetize multimedia content through SMS.
SocialSpark and SponsoredTweets, our premier social media platforms released in 2008 and 2009, respectively, together represented 26%, 51% and 62% of our total revenue in the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2010 and the nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively. Large brand advertisers use a combination of these platforms to fulfill advertising campaigns depending on their advertising goals. WeReward , our mobile incentive platform, was launched at the end of May 2010 and generated $10,853 in revenue in 2010 and $82,186 in revenue (3% of our total revenue) in the nine months ended September 30, 2011.
Our first product launch in 2006, PayPerPost , and complementary product InPostLinks, are legacy platforms. These products together represented 69%, 48%, and 35% of our total revenue in the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2010 and the nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively. Revenue from these legacy products is expected to decline as a percentage of our total revenue and is not the focus of our business moving forward.
Our Growth Strategy
After five years of development, we believe our core platforms are market-tested and poised for significant revenue growth. Our development efforts have included assembling an industry-experienced senior management team, launching and optimizing our online marketplaces, developing a cross-platform sales force and refining our message to the market. Key elements of our strategy to accelerate revenue growth and continue product development include:
• Bolster our sales force and locations . We expect growth of our client development team to be the primary driver of near term revenues. We intend to add additional target-driven sales personnel to more effectively target and service clients throughout the U.S. and the world. Experienced, senior team members are expected to cultivate deep relationships with agencies and brands in our recently opened New York, Los Angeles and Chicago offices as well as smaller satellite locations in key markets. We intend to add inside sales personnel to our Orlando headquarters to service smaller clients over the telephone and Internet. In addition to our expanded presence in the U.S., we intend to open offices in Asia, Latin America and Europe by the end of 2013. Our goal is to employ over 30 target-driven sales personnel by the end of 2013, with an aggregate sales target of $50 million leading into 2014.
• Develop strategic partnerships . Establishing strategic partnerships with companies that can provide additional growth in our base of publishers and brand advertisers. In August 2011, we announced an exclusive alliance with India's UTV to create new monetization opportunities for the estimated 12 million Twitter users in India. Under the terms of the UTV agreement, UTV and the Company have agreed to collaborate on an exclusive basis to develop a co-branded SponsoredTweets service for India whereby the Company is responsible for operating the co-branded service and UTV is responsible for promoting the co-branded service. The UTV agreement provides that revenue generated from the co-branded service will be shared between the Company and UTV. UTV's Indian celebrities including Lara Dutta, Mahesh Bhupati, Anurag Kashyap, Rohan Bopanna and Neetu Chandra, among others, have already signed up for the co-branded SponsoredTweets service.
• Continue emphasis on product innovation . Recruiting additional engineering and product development team members to enhance our various marketplaces while developing new technology platforms that complement our mission as a company.
• Seek complementary acquisitions . Identifying and acquiring companies, technologies and assets add to our portfolio of software services and drive additional near and long-term revenue. In July 2011, we acquired Germany's Magpie Twitter advertising network that included over 12,000 advertisers and 16,000 Twitter publishers in 124 countries.
• Expand WeReward marketing . Investing in consumer and channel marketing for WeReward is expect to result in an increase in our user base to meet growing demand for mobile and local campaigns.
40
Customers
We currently have more than 50,000 registered advertisers across our platforms, of which approximately 6,000 advertisers created a social media sponsorship opportunity during 2011. We typically enter into a master agreement, which incorporates the online terms of service of the specified IZEA website, with each of our advertiser customers. Under the master agreement, the advertiser may submit one or more insertion orders pursuant to which such advertiser provides advertising submissions relating to its website, product or service for posting through the specified IZEA website or service. The master agreement is terminable by us or our customers upon 30 days’ prior written notice or immediately if a material breach has occurred and is not promptly cured. Each party indemnifies the other with regard to various representations made by such party, including the advertiser’s representations that its content does not violate any law, or infringe any intellectual property right of another, is not false or deceptive, or defamatory or libelous, and is free of viruses and other computer programming that could damage any system data or personal information, and that it is not engaging in spamming. Fees under the master agreement are payable within 30 days after the date of our invoice in accordance with the terms agreed to in the applicable insertion order. The master agreement additionally provides for standard service disclaimers and limitations of liability for our benefit, as well as a reciprocal confidentiality provision. We also enter into browsewrap and clickwrap agreements with “self service customers” that agree to the terms of service available on the applicable IZEA website but do not separately enter into a master agreement with us.
We provide services to customers in multiple industry segments, including consumer products, retail/eTail, technology and travel. Our customers are predominantly located in the United States followed by the United Kingdom, Canada, Europe, Russia and 50 other countries. None of our customers accounted for more than 10% of our revenue in the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2010 and the nine months ended September 30, 2011.
Our business services advertising and public relations agencies as well as brands and businesses directly. Below are our top customers in each category based on 2011 booked business:
Agencies Representing Brands
|
Brands Direct
|
Alcone Marketing Group
|
Deal Fun
|
m80
|
Dollar General Store
|
MindShare
|
H.J. Heinz Co
|
Rivet
|
Meridian Auto Parts
|
Rosetta Marketing Group
|
Microsoft
|
Starcom Worldwide SMG
|
Pier 1
|
The Food Group
|
Sunbelt Software
|
The Stockwire Group
|
Symantec
|
VML
|
The Neilsen Company
|
Ziptech Media
|
Tivo
|
In many cases, social media marketing dollars flow through the advertising or public relations agency, even when we are have a direct relationship with the brand. In addition to the agencies listed above, we have done business with these agencies in 2011:
|
·
|
1080 Communications, Acquirgy, Bernstein-Rein, Bolin Marketing & Advertising, Chemistry Group, Cole & Weber United, Digitaria, Digitas, Edleman, Engauge Digital, Euro RSCG Edge, EVOK Advertising, FKM, FRWD, Garden City Group Communications, Geary Interactive, Geile Leon Marketing Communications, GMLV, Golin Harris, Ignited LLC, Jacobson Rost, JB Chicago, MindSmack, Momentum, Moroch Partners, Moxie Interactive, Neo@Ogilvy, Night Agency, PBM , PHD, Reputation Managers. Rhino Marketing Inc, Run Communications, Inc., SEOinc, Sitelab, The Mcmilker Group, Triad Retail Media, Vision Creative Group, Inc., Watauga Group, Web.com Search Agency, Wyse Advertising, Zimmerman and others.
|
Sales and Marketing
We primarily sell social media sponsorships through our self-service platforms, directly through our sales team and, to a lesser extent, by utilizing distribution relationships such as resellers, affiliates and white label partners. We target local, national and global brands and advertising agencies in the following ways:
41
• Self-Service Platforms. Each of our platforms has been developed as a self-service platform to enable advertisers and agencies of all sizes to independently access the IZEA network of social media publishers and implement their own social media sponsorships. Self-service customers extend our global reach.
• Client Development Team. We have developed a Client Development organization of team members who are each assigned a geographic region or specific brands, primarily within the United States. This team is responsible for identifying and managing sales opportunities in their respective target areas.
• Resellers and Distribution Partners. We have developed a group of independent resellers and distribution partners which are responsible for selling one or more of our platforms under an independent contractor relationship. We maintain two types of reseller relationships -local resellers and distribution partners. Local resellers focus their efforts on distributing our WeReward platform to small businesses in local communities throughout the United States. Our distribution partners are complementary relationships that may involve cross-selling activities.
• Affiliates. Three of our platforms, SocialSpark , SponsoredTweets and WeReward contain self-service affiliate programs designed to compensate social media publishers for referring other publishers to join these platforms. In these programs, we incur the cost to pay a referral fee to the referrer equal to 10% of the referee’s earnings for a two year period. To date, this has proven to be an efficient method of attracting new social media publishers into our publisher network.
• White Label Partners. The SocialSpark and SponsoredTweets platforms have also been developed to support white label partners. These partners can operate their own branded or co-branded version of either of these platforms, enabling them to develop their own sales efforts, implement SMS initiatives and tap into our publisher network on a revenue-sharing basis. Currently, Valassis is operating a white label version of SponsoredTweets under its Red Plum Tweets brand.
We focus our corporate marketing efforts on increasing brand awareness, communicating each of our platform advantages, generating qualified leads for our sales team and growing our social media publisher network. Our corporate marketing plan is designed to continually elevate awareness of our brand and generate demand for social media sponsorships. We rely on a number of channels in this area, including tradeshows, third party social media platforms (e.g., Facebook and Twitter), IZEA hosted community events, paid search, public relations and our website.
Revenue Model
The marketplace model of our platforms generates revenue in a manner similar to other online business transaction “matchmaking” services such as Google AdWords and eBay. Typically, for each dollar a marketer or advertiser spends with us for sponsored services, approximately 50%-80% goes to social media publishers. Celebrity publishers typically used in our SponsoredTweets marketplace cost more than our average publisher cost of 50% in other marketplaces. We also generate revenue from various service fees charged to advertisers for management, maintenance and enhancement of their accounts, and to publishers for maintenance and enhancement of their accounts. These service fees have minimal costs associated with them.
We were able to achieve gross margins on all our products of approximately 52% for the year ended December 31, 2010 and 54% for the nine months ended September 30, 2011. We are constantly reviewing methods to further increase margins through technology advancements, rebalancing our revenue mix to focus on newer releases, such as WeReward , and entering new high-margin social media markets.
Technology
Our solutions span from blogs to status updates to mobile applications. We aggregate social media publishers into online marketplaces creating scale and targeting. We provide the ability to target publishers based on software rules. We provide self-service platforms that service all business types and sizes. Advertisers can choose the model that best fits their marketing objective: cost per post (CPP) for buzz, cost per click (CPC) for traffic, or cost per action (CPA) for sales. Unlike traditional public relations, advertisers only pay for completed posts, clicks or individual actions as determined by the advertiser. We provide trackable results by automatically embedding tracking links and pixels, as well as support, for third-party tracking (such as DART). We also provide dashboards for real-time reporting, providing immediate feedback. We have the ability to seed thousands of conversations overnight, with room to grow.
42
Product Development
Our product development team is responsible for platform and infrastructure development, application development, user interface and application design, enterprise connectivity, Internet applications and design, quality assurance, documentation and release management. A core strength of our company is our knowledge and experience launching and operating scalable social media marketplaces. Our product development expenses were $813,591, $870,030 and $574,809, consisting primarily of salaries paid to development personnel and included in general and administrative expenses, for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2010 and the nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively.
Competition
We face competition from multiple companies in the SMS industry. Direct and indirect competitors in the SMS space include Facebook, Glam Media, Federated Media, BlogHer, Ad.ly, Mom Central, Foursquare and Groupon. In addition, there are a number of agencies, public relations firms and niche consultancies that provide social media programs and conduct blogger outreach programs.
Competition for advertising placements among current and future suppliers of Internet navigational and informational services, high traffic websites and social media sponsorship providers, as well as competition with other media for advertising placements, could result in significant price competition, declining margins and reductions in advertising revenue. In addition, as we continue our efforts to expand the scope of our services, we may compete with a greater number of other media companies across an increasing range of different services, including in vertical markets where competitors may have advantages in expertise, brand recognition and other areas. If existing or future competitors develop or offer products or services that provide significant performance, price, creative or other advantages over those offered by us, our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition could be negatively affected. We also compete with traditional advertising media, such as direct mail, television, radio, cable and print for a share of advertisers’ total advertising budgets. Many current and potential competitors enjoy competitive advantages over us, such as longer operating histories, greater name recognition, larger customer bases, greater access to advertising space on high-traffic websites, and significantly greater financial, technical, sales and marketing resources. As a result, we may not be able to compete successfully. If we fail to compete successfully, we could lose customers or advertising inventory and our revenue and results of operations could decline.
Proprietary Rights
Proprietary rights are important to our success and our competitive position. To protect our proprietary rights, we rely on copyright, service marks and trade secret laws, confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions.
We do not have patents on any of our technology and we have not filed any patent applications to date because we have determined that the costs of patent prosecution outweigh the benefits given the alternative of reliance upon copyright law to protect our computer code and other proprietary technology and properties. We have registered eight service marks to date, including “IZEA,” “SocialSpark,” "We Reward", "PayPerPost", "InPostLinks", “Blogger’s Choice Awards,” “Get Everyone Talking” and “Postie,” and have applied for several other registrations including "Staree", “Blogroll” and “SponsoredPics,” in the United States and intend to seek to register additional service marks as appropriate. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in obtaining the service marks for which we have applied. Even if these applications are approved, the marks may be successfully challenged by others or invalidated. If the applications are not approved because third parties own the service marks, the use of the marks will be restricted unless we enter into arrangements with the third parties which may be unavailable on commercially reasonable terms. We also own more than 700 domain names.
We cannot assure you that any of our proprietary rights with respect to our products or services will be viable or of value in the future since the validity, enforceability and type of protection of proprietary rights in Internet-related industries are uncertain and still evolving.
Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy aspects of our products or to obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary. Policing unauthorized use of our products is difficult, and while we are unable to determine the extent to which piracy of our software products exists, software piracy can be expected to be a persistent problem. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to as great an extent as do the laws of the United States, and effective copyright, trademark and trade secret protection may not be available in those jurisdictions. Our means of protecting our proprietary rights may not be adequate to protect us from the infringement or misappropriation of such rights by others.
In recent years, there has been significant litigation in the United States involving patents and other intellectual property rights, particularly in the software and Internet-related industries. We could become subject to intellectual property infringement claims as the number of our competitors grows and our products and services overlap with competitive offerings. These claims, even if not meritorious, could be expensive to defend and could divert management’s attention from operating our company. If we become liable to third parties for infringing their intellectual property rights, we could be required to pay a substantial award of damages and to develop non-infringing technology, obtain a license or cease selling the products that contain the infringing intellectual property. We may be unable to develop non-infringing technology or obtain a license on commercially reasonable terms, if at all.
Government Regulation
We are subject to a number of foreign and domestic laws and regulations that affect companies conducting business on the Internet, many of which are still evolving and could be interpreted in ways that could harm our business. In the United States and abroad, laws relating to the liability of providers of online services for activities of their users and other third parties are currently being tested by a number of claims. These regulations and laws may involve taxation, tariffs, publisher privacy, data protection, content, copyrights, distribution, electronic contracts and other communications, consumer protection, the provision of online payment services and the characteristics and quality of services. It is not clear how existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, sales and other taxes, libel and personal privacy apply to the internet as the vast majority of these laws were adopted prior to the advent of the internet and do not contemplate or address the unique issues raised by the internet or e-commerce. In addition, it is possible that governments of one or more countries may seek to censor content available on our platforms or may even attempt to completely block access to our platforms. Accordingly, adverse legal or regulatory developments could substantially harm our business.
43
Many states have passed laws requiring notification to subscribers when there is a security breach of personal data. There are also a number of legislative proposals pending before the U.S. Congress, various state legislative bodies and foreign governments concerning data protection. In addition, data protection laws in Europe and other jurisdictions outside the United States may be more restrictive, and the interpretation and application of these laws are still uncertain and in flux. It is possible that these laws may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our data practices. If so, in addition to the possibility of fines, this could result in an order requiring that we change our data practices, which could have an adverse effect on our business. Furthermore, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act has provisions that limit, but do not necessarily eliminate, our liability for linking to third-party websites that include materials that infringe copyrights or other rights, so long as we comply with the statutory requirements of this act. Complying with these various laws could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices in a manner adverse to our business.
The Company and the advertisers and publishers that use our platforms are subject to Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and state rules on advertising and marketing on the Internet, including truth-in advertising rules and online advertising disclosures. In 2009, the FTC revised its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (the "Guides"). These new Guides significantly extend the scope of potential liability associated with the use of testimonials, endorsements, and new media methods, such as blogging, in advertising. In particular, the Guides provide that in a service that matches up advertisers with bloggers who will promote the advertiser’s products on their personal blogs, the advertiser and blogger are both subject to liability for misleading or unsubstantiated representations made through the blogger’s endorsement and the blogger is also liable if he or she fails to disclose clearly and conspicuously that he or she is being paid for his or her services. The Guides further provide that in order to limit its potential liability, the advertiser should ensure that the advertising service provides guidance and training to its bloggers concerning the need to ensure that statements they make are truthful and substantiated.
We are committed to ethical social media sponsorship and have established a number of mechanisms to ensure ethical social media sponsorship. For example, our platforms automatically mandate disclosure of the relationship between the advertiser and publisher, we encourage honesty of opinion in the selection of endorsements by a publisher and similarly we encourage advertisers to create opportunities that allow the publisher to write the endorsement in their own words. In the case of our blogging platform, advertisers have the ability to review a post before it goes live to ensure accuracy and in the event a blogger has made a factual error, an advertiser can request a change to the post. We also have established a mechanism for reporting violations of the standards that we hold ourselves to and are a governing member of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA).
To date, we have not been materially impacted by the rules governing social media sponsorship however we cannot predict the impact of future regulations on either us, our advertisers or publishers that use our platforms or attempts to circumvent our mechanisms that are designed to ensure compliance.
Employees
As of December 22, 2011, we had a total of 36 full-time employees, including 12 in product engineering, 19 in sales and marketing, 2 in services and 3 in administration and finance. None of our employees is represented by a collective bargaining agreement, nor have we experienced any work stoppage. We consider our relations with our employees to be good. Our future success depends on our continuing ability to attract and retain highly qualified engineers, graphic designers, computer scientists, sales and marketing and senior management personnel.
Property
Our principal executive offices occupy approximately 8,000 square feet in Orlando, Florida under a lease that expires in December 2012. Total rent payments for 2010 at this location were approximately $226,000 and are anticipated to be approximately $235,000 in 2011 and $244,000 in 2012. We believe that our facilities are adequate to meet our needs for the foreseeable future.
We also maintain sales offices in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. We expect total rent expense to be approximately $12,000 under these office leases for 2011.
Legal Proceedings
We are not a party to any pending or threatened legal proceeding.
44
MANAGEMENT
The names and ages of our executive officers, directors and key employees, and their positions with us, are as follows:
Name
|
Age
|
Position
|
Edward H. (Ted) Murphy
|
35
|
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
|
Donna L. Mackenzie
|
51
|
Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, Treasurer and Director
|
Ryan Schram
|
31
|
Chief Marketing Officer
|
Dean Proctor
|
27
|
Vice President of Engineering
|
Jerry Biuso
|
47
|
Vice President of Sales
|
45
The principal occupations for the past five years (and, in some instances, for prior years) of each of our executive officers, directors and key employees are as follows :
Edward H. (Ted) Murphy, Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director , founded IZEA in February 2006 as part of MindComet Corp., an interactive advertising agency that he started in 1999 and served as Chief Executive Officer. IZEA was later spun out of MindComet in September 2006. Mr. Murphy is a serial entrepreneur who is recognized as a pioneer in paid blogging and a catalyst behind the social media sponsorship industry. As the Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Murphy leads our company, both with his day-to-day operational leadership and with his strategic vision for the company and its products. His efforts have received recognition from media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Wired, USA Today, Forbes, The New York Times, Business Week, PC World, CNN Money, Fortune, Fortune Small Business and Business 2.0. In addition to media coverage, Mr. Murphy has spoken and keynoted panels at a variety of events including Blog World Expo, Always On, Florida Venture Forum, SMX and Dow Jones Venture One Summit. Mr. Murphy attended Florida State University before starting MindComet and several other earlier Internet-related businesses. Mr. Murphy was appointed as a director based on his extensive SMS industry knowledge and a deep background in social media, mobile technology and e-commerce, as well as significant experience in financing technology growth companies.
Donna L. Mackenzie, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, Director and Vice President of Operations, joined us in September 2007, as a senior executive leading our financial, operational and customer service areas. Ms. Mackenzie was previously the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Channel Intelligence, Inc. from 2003 to June 2007. Ms. Mackenzie currently serves as the President of the Central Florida Chapter of Financial Executives Institute (FEI), and also serves on the CFO Conference Committee and the Operational Finance and Accounting advisory group of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and past service on the AICPA Business and Industry Executive Committee. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Florida. Ms. Mackenzie holds a B.B.A. degree in accounting from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. Ms. Mackenzie was appointed as a director based on her extensive knowledge of financial, accounting and operational issues highly relevant to our business. She also brings transactional expertise in mergers and acquisitions, equity offerings and bank financings.
Key Employees
Ryan S. Schram, Chief Marketing Officer, and Board Observer, joined us in September 2011 as a senior executive leading our client development, account management, brand marketing, public relations, and publisher alliance organizations. Prior to joining us, from 2005 to 2011, Mr. Schram served in various leadership roles, most recently as Group Vice President, at ePrize, the industry leader in integrated engagement marketing. Prior to that Mr. Schram held roles of increasing responsibility at CBS/Westwood One and Clear Channel Interactive. Mr. Schram holds a B.A. degree in management from the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University.
Dean Proctor, Vice President of Engineering , joined us in July 2011 as an executive leading our software engineering, quality assurance and systems engineering groups. Prior to joining us, from December 2010 to July 2011 Mr. Proctor served as Information Security Officer at Acquia, Inc., which provides commercial support and hosting services for the Drupal Web Content Management System. Between Prior to that from 2006 until 2010, Mr. Proctor served as Director of Information Systems position at interactive marketing agency MindComet Corporation. Prior to that Mr. Proctor led the network, systems, and support teams for Vortech, Inc. Mr. Proctor holds a B.S. degree in computer science from the University of Central Florida.
Jerry Biuso, Vice President of Sales , joined us in September 2010. Mr. Biuso is a seasoned sales strategist and marketing manager with 25 years of experience driving sales growth and business development for leading U.S. companies. Before joining us from May 2010 to September 2010, he was a Sales Consultant and Professional Coach serving businesses in the Orlando area. Prior to that from 2000 to 2010 he worked for Banco Popular as a Regional Manager for Central Florida and was the head of Sales and Marketing Management for their U.S. operations out of Chicago. Mr. Biuso holds a B.A. degree in economics from St. Lawrence University, and is a Certified Coach, given by the Institute for Professional Empowerment Coaching.
All directors hold office until the next annual meeting of stockholders and the election and qualification of their successors. Officers are elected annually by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board.
46
Family Relationships
There are no family relationships among our directors and executive officers.
Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings
To our knowledge, during the past ten years, none of our directors, executive officers, promoters, control persons or nominees has been:
|
•
|
the subject of any bankruptcy petition filed by or against any business of which such person was a general partner or executive officer either at the time of the bankruptcy or within two years prior to that time;
|
|
•
|
convicted in a criminal proceeding or is subject to a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offenses);
|
|
•
|
subject to any order, judgment, or decree, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any court of competent jurisdiction, permanently or temporarily enjoining, barring, suspending or otherwise limiting his involvement in any type of business, securities or banking activities; or
|
|
•
|
found by a court of competent jurisdiction (in a civil action), the Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have violated a federal or state securities or commodities law.
|
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics that applies to all our directors, officers (including our chief executive officer, chief financial officer and any person performing similar functions) and employees. We have made our Code of Ethics available on our website at www.izea.com.
Corporate Governance
We have established an audit committee, compensation committee and nominating committee however we have not nominated any members to such committees and intend to make such nominations prior to the closing of this offering in compliance with Nasdaq's listing rules. To date, our entire board has performed all of the duties and responsibilities which might be contemplated by a committee.
Audit Committee . The audit committee will be composed of three independent directors , one of whom that meets the requirements of an “Audit Committee Financial Expert.” The audit committee's duties will be to recommend to the board of directors the engagement of independent auditors to audit our financial statements and to review our accounting and auditing principles. The audit committee will review the scope and fees for the annual audit and the results of audit examinations performed by the internal auditors and independent public accountants, including their recommendations to improve the system of accounting and internal controls. The audit committee will at all times to be composed exclusively of directors who are, in the opinion of the board of directors, free from any relationship which would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment as a committee member and who possess an understanding of financial statements and generally accepted accounting principles.
Compensation Committee. The compensation committee will be composed of at least two independent directors. The compensation committee will review and approve our compensation policies, including compensation of executive officers. The compensation committee will also review and administer our stock option plans, and recommend and approve grants of stock options under that plan.
Nominating Committee . The nominating committee will be composed of at least two independent directors. The purpose of the nominating committee will be to select, or recommend for our entire board's selection, the individuals to stand for election as directors at the annual meeting of stockholders and to oversee the selection and composition of committees of our board. The nominating committee's duties will also include considering the adequacy of our corporate governance and overseeing and approving management continuity planning processes.
We do not currently have specified procedures in place pursuant to which security holders may recommend nominees to the board of directors.
47
Summary Executive Compensation Table
The table below sets forth, for the last two fiscal years, the compensation earned by our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. No other executive officer had annual compensation in excess of $100,000 during the last fiscal year.
Name and Principal Position
|
Year
|
Salary
($)
|
Bonus
($)
|
Stock Awards ($)
|
Option Awards ($)
|
Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation
|
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Earnings ($)
|
All Other Compensation
($)
|
Total
($)
|
Edward H. Murphy
President and Chief Executive Officer
|
2009
|
160,000
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
160,000
|
|
2010
|
160,000
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
160,000
|
Donna Mackenzie
Chief Financial Officer and Secretary/Treasurer
|
2009
|
180,000
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
180,000
|
|
2010
|
180,000
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
180,000
|
Daniel R. Rua, Executive Chairman (1)
|
2009
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
2010
|
30,000
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
30,000
|
Daniel Brandt Former Chief Executive Officer (2)
|
2009
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
2010
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Anthony Barron, Former Chief Executive Officer and Treasurer (2)
|
2009
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
2010
|
1,000
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1,000
|
(1) Served as Executive Chairman of IZEA, Inc. from August 2010 to May 12, 2011.
|
(2) Appointed in May 2008 and resigned from all positions on April 23, 2010.
|
(3) Appointed on April 23, 2010 and resigned from all positions on May 12, 2011.
|
48
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End
We did not have an equity incentive plan in place as of December 31, 2010. Listed below is information with respect to unexercised options, stock that has not vested and equity incentive awards for each named executive officer as of December 31, 2010 pursuant to the incentive stock plan of IZEA, Inc.:
Name
|
|
Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options: (#) Exercisable (3)
|
|
Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options: (#) Unexercisable (3)
|
|
Option Exercise Price ($)(3)
|
|
Option Expiration Date
|
|
Number of Shares or Units of Stock that Have Not Vested (#) (3)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edward Murphy (1)
|
|
176
|
|
4
|
|
$11.00
|
|
4/3/2013
|
|
--
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Donna Mackenzie (2)
|
|
4,000
|
|
--
|
|
$11.00
|
|
9/16/2012
|
|
--
|
(1)
|
Options were originally issued under IZEA, Inc’s 2007 Equity Incentive Plan and vest equally over 4 years from the grant date of April 3, 2008. In connection with the share exchange, such options were cancelled and subsequently issued by us pursuant to our 2011 Equity Incentive Plan resulting in the issuance of options to acquire 180 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $5.00 per share expiring May 12, 2016. On May 12, 2011, Mr. Murphy was issued additional options to acquire 250,487 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $5.00 per share expiring May 12, 2016.
|
|
|
(2)
|
Options were originally issued under IZEA, Inc.’s 2007 Equity Incentive Plan and vest equally over 4 years from the grant date of September 16, 2007. In connection with the share exchange, such options were cancelled and subsequently issued by us pursuant to our 2011 Equity Incentive Plan resulting in the issuance of options to acquire 4,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $5.00 expiring May 12, 2016. On May 12, 2011, Ms. Mackenzie was issued additional options to acquire 25,500 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $5.00 per share expiring May 12, 2016.
|
|
|
(3)
|
The above share numbers and exercise prices above give effect to the reverse stock split.
|
Employment Agreements
On May 14, 2011, we entered into an employment agreement with Edward Murphy pursuant to which Mr. Murphy will serve as our President and Chief Executive Officer, and with Donna Mackenzie pursuant to which Ms. Mackenzie will serve as our Chief Financial Officer.
Pursuant to the employment agreement with Mr. Murphy, Mr. Murphy will serve as our President and Chief Executive Officer until December 31, 2014 in consideration for an annual salary of $195,000 and, at the discretion of our board, a cash bonus in an amount to be determined by the board of up to 50% of his annual base salary and an options bonus of up to 200% of his annual base salary, based on Mr. Murphy meeting and exceeding mutually agreed upon annual performance goals. The bonus will be issued no later than March 1 of the following year.
Pursuant to the employment agreement with Ms. Mackenzie, Ms. Mackenzie will serve as our Chief Financial Officer until December 31, 2014 in consideration for an annual salary of $195,000 and, at the discretion of our board, a cash bonus in an amount to be determined by the board of up to 50% of her annual base salary and an options bonus of up to 200% of her annual base salary, based on Ms. Mackenzie meeting and exceeding mutually agreed upon annual performance goals. The bonus will be issued no later than March 1 of the following year.
Both employment agreements are subject to early termination for any reason upon written notice to the executive and in the case of death, disability and cause. If terminated, for any reason other than death, disability or cause, the executive will be entitled to a severance of six months current salary and in the case of termination in the case of the executive’s disability, severance of current salary until such time (but no more than 120 days after such disability) that disability insurance plan payments commence. If there is a change of control (as defined in the employment agreements) and the executive’s employment terminates within six months following the change of control for reasons other than for cause, then the executive will be entitled to such amount equal to the executive’s then current compensation and the time remaining between the change of control and the six month anniversary of the change of control subject to reduction by compensation received by the executive from any other permitted employment.
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On July 30, 2011, we entered into an employment agreement with Ryan Schram pursuant to which Mr. Schram will serve as our Chief Marketing Officer. Pursuant to the employment agreement with Mr. Schram, Mr. Schram will serve as our Chief Marketing Officer until December 31, 2014 subject to renewal in consideration for an annual salary of $230,000. Mr. Schram also received a signing bonus of $12,000 and will be eligible for a bonus and override bonus based on meeting certain performance indicators set forth in the employment agreement.
The employment agreement also provides that Mr. Schram may be an observer of our board of directors and that under certain conditions he may either be appointed or nominated to the board of directors.
We also issued Mr. Schram an option to purchase 50,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $5.00 per share, which will vest in equal monthly installments over a period of four years beginning one year from the date of issuance, in each case after giving effect to the reverse stock split. Mr. Schram will also be eligible for to receive, at the discretion of the board, option grants to purchase up to 50,000 shares of common stock, after giving effect to the reverse stock split, vesting in equal monthly installments, each year starting December 31, 2012, based on meeting the performance indicators set forth in the employment agreement. If terminated for any reason other than death, disability or cause, of if Mr. Schram resigns for good reason (as defined in the employment agreement), Mr. Schram shall be entitled to a severance of 6 months current salary and bonus and override bonus as in effect on the date of termination. A change of control, under which Mr. Schram fails to retain his title and responsibilities, will be deemed good reason under the employment agreement.
Director Compensation
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 and nine months ended September 30, 2011, we did not compensate our directors for their services. In the future, we expect to compensate our non-employee directors through stock option grants.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
In February 2007, the board of directors of our predecessor entity, IZEA, Inc., adopted the 2007 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2007 Plan”). The 2007 Plan allowed us to provide options as an incentive for employees and consultants. On May 11, 2011, the 2007 Plan was amended to increase the number available for issuance under the 2007 Plan from 231,332 shares to 488,983 shares of IZEA, Inc.'s series A common stock, in each case after giving effect to the reverse stock split. In connection with our reverse merger on May 12, 2011, all of the outstanding stock options under the 2007 Plan were cancelled, effectively terminating the 2007 Plan.
We simultaneously issued new options to the same employees under a new 2011 Equity Incentive Plan of IZEA Holdings, Inc. adopted on May 12, 2011 (the “May 2011 Plan”). We reserved for issuance an aggregate of 710,000 shares of common stock under the May 2011 Plan, after giving effect to the reverse stock split. The cancellation and replacement of the stock options under the 2007 Plan were accounted for as a modification of the terms of the canceled awards. There was no incremental difference required to be recorded in the financial statements since the fair value of the canceled options exceeded the fair value of the options replaced at the date of cancellation and replacement. As of December 22, 2011, options to acquire an aggregate of 459,393 shares of common stock have been granted to our directors, officers, consultants, advisors or employees of which 2,388 have been exercised, leaving an aggregate of 250,607 shares of common stock available for future grants under our May 2011 Plan, after giving effect to the reverse stock split.
On August 22, 2011, we adopted the 2011 B Equity Incentive Plan of IZEA Holdings, Inc. (the “August 2011 Plan”) reserving for issuance an aggregate of 350,000 shares of common stock under the August 2011 Plan, after giving effect to the reverse stock split. As of December 22, 2011, no grants have been made under the August 2011 Plan.
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Under both the May 2011 Plan and the August 2011 Plan, our board of directors determines the exercise price to be paid for the shares, the period within which each option may be exercised, and the terms and conditions of each option. The exercise price of the incentive stock options will be equal to or exceed 100% of the fair market value per share of our common stock on the grant date. If an individual owns stock representing more than 10% of the outstanding shares, the price of each share of an incentive stock option will be equal to or exceed 110% of fair market value. The exercise price for nonqualified stock options may be less than fair market value of the stock, as determined by our board of directors.
PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS
The following table sets forth certain information as of December 22, 2011 regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock by (i) each person or entity who, to our knowledge, owns more than 5% of our common stock; (ii) our executive officers; (iii) each director; and (iv) all of our executive officers and directors as a group. Unless otherwise indicated in the footnotes to the following table, each person named in the table has sole voting and investment power and that person’s address is c/o IZEA, Inc., 150 N. Orange Avenue, Suite 412, Orlando, FL 32801. Shares of common stock subject to options, warrants, or other rights currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of December 22, 2011, are deemed to be beneficially owned and outstanding for computing the share ownership and percentage of the stockholder holding such options, warrants or other rights, but are not deemed outstanding for computing the percentage of any other stockholder.
Name of Beneficial Owner
|
|
Number of Shares Beneficially Owned (1)
|
|
|
Percentage
Beneficially Owned Before this Offering (1)(2)
|
|
|
Percentage
Beneficially Owned After this Offering(1)(3)
|
Edward H. Murphy (4)
|
|
|
1,297,294
|
|
|
|
32.0
|
%
|
|
|
Donna Mackenzie (5)
|
|
|
1,034,931
|
|
|
|
26.6
|
%
|
|
|
Sandor Capital Master Fund LP (6)
|
|
|
352,274
|
|
|
|
8.4
|
%
|
|
|
GRQ Consultants Inc. 401K (7)
|
|
|
206,819
|
|
|
|
5.1
|
%
|
|
|
Michael and Betsy Brauser TBE (9)
|
|
|
206,819
|
|
|
|
5.1
|
%
|
|
|
Frost Gamma Investments Trust (8)
|
|
|
242,425
|
|
|
|
5.9
|
%
|
|
|
All executive officers and directors as a group (2 persons)
|
|
|
2,349,214
|
|
|
|
57.5
|
%
|
|
|
_____________
*
|
The share numbers in the table and accompanying footnotes give effect to the reverse stock split.
|
|
|
(1)
|
We are prohibited from effecting the conversion of the series A preferred stock or exercise of the warrants to the extent that, as a result of the conversion or exercise, the holder of such shares beneficially owns more than 4.99% (or, if this limitation is waived by the holder upon no less than 61 days prior notice to us, 9.99%) in the aggregate of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock calculated immediately after giving effect to the issuance of shares of common stock upon such conversion or exercise. The ownership limitation, however, does not prevent a stockholder from selling some of its holdings and then receiving additional shares. In this way, a stockholder could sell more than the ownership limitation while never holding more than this limit. The number of shares and the percentage, as the case may be, in this column does not reflect the ownership limitation.
|
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(2)
|
Based on 3,864,509 shares of common stock outstanding as of December 22, 2011 .
|
(3)
|
Percentage ownership calculations for beneficial ownership after this offering are based on shares outstanding after this offering, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares and no purchase of shares in the offering by any existing stockholders.
|
(4)
|
Mr. Murphy is our President and Chief Executive Officer. Includes (a) exercisable options to purchase 168,002 shares of common stock under our 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, (b) 15,152 shares of common stock issuable upon the conversion of two shares of series A preferred stock, (c) 9,091 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of Warrants inclusive of common stock or equivalents beneficially owned by MindComet Corp over which Mr. Murphy holds voting and dispositive power.
|
(5)
|
Ms. Mackenzie is our Chief Financial Officer. Includes options to purchase 21,085 shares of common stock under our 2011 Equity Incentive Plan .
|
(6)
|
Includes (a) 204,545 shares of common stock issuable upon the conversion of 67.5 shares of series A preferred stock, and (b) 122,729 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants. John S. Lemak has the voting and dispositive power over the securities held for the account of the referenced person.
|
(7)
|
Includes (a) 113,636 shares of common stock issuable upon the conversion of 37.5 shares of series A preferred stock, and (b) 68,183 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants. Barry Honig has the voting and dispositive power over the securities held for the account of the referenced person.
|
(8)
|
Includes (a) 151,515 shares of common stock issuable upon the conversion of 50 shares of series A preferred stock, and (b) 90,910 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants. Phillip Frost has the voting and dispositive power over the securities held for the account of the referenced person.
|
(9)
|
Includes (a) 113,636 shares of common stock issuable upon the conversion of 37.5 shares of series A preferred stock, and (b) 68,183 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants.
|
CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS
Except as described below, during the past three years, there have been no transactions, whether directly or indirectly, between us and any of their respective officers, directors or their family members, that exceeded $120,000.
In 2006, we entered into a General Services Agreement (“GSA”) with an entity owning 100% of IZEA’s then outstanding Series B common stock. The GSA consisted of the purchase of certain marketing deliverables and equipment, as well as marketing consulting services. Cash paid to this related party during the nine months ended September 30, 2010 and 2011 was $15,545 and $8,757 respectively. Cash paid to this related party during the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009 was approximately $33,000 and $40,000, respectively. Expenses associated with the GSA were $15,545 and $14,885 for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 and 2011, respectively, and are included in sales and marketing expenses in the accompanying statements of operations. Expenses associated with the GSA were approximately $36,000 and $33,000 for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively, and are included in sales and marketing expenses in the accompanying statements of operations. T he contract is on a month-to-month basis until terminated by either party.
The amount due to this related party was $3,358 and $6,128 at December 31, 2010 and September 30, 2011, respectively. The amount due to this related party was $3,358 and $5,793 at December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.
On March 22, 2010, we issued Daniel Brandt 100,000 shares of common stock in consideration for founder services provided, after giving effect to the reverse stock split. On March 22, 2010, we issued Mr. Brandt an additional 100,000 shares of common stock in connection with a stock purchase agreement and share exchange with Rapid Title Loans, Inc., after giving effect to the reverse stock split. On April 23, 2010, Mr. Brandt sold his 200,000 shares of common stock to Anthony Barron in consideration for $1,500, after giving effect to the reverse stock split.
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As part of the May 2011 Offering, we sold an aggregate of $50,000 worth of units to our Chief Executive Officer and an entity under the control of the Chief Executive Officer, at the same terms as the other issuances.
Director Independence
We currently have two directors serving on our board of directors, Mr. Murphy and Ms. Mackenzie. We are not currently listed issuer and, as such, are not subject to any director independence standards. Using the definition of independence set forth in the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules, neither Mr. Murphy nor Ms. Mackenzie would be considered an independent director of the Company.
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
Authorized Capital Stock
We have 510,000,000 authorized shares of capital stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of which 500,000,000 shares are common stock and 10,000,000 shares are “blank-check” preferred stock.
Capital Stock Issued and Outstanding
After giving effect to the reverse stock split, we have issued and outstanding securities as of December 22, 2011:
|
•
|
3,864,509 shares of common stock;
|
|
•
|
230 shares of series A preferred stock convertible into an aggregate 696,969 shares of common stock;
|
|
•
|
warrants to purchase an aggregate of 616.793 shares of common stock; and
|
|
•
|
stock options to purchase an aggregate of 457,005 shares of common stock.
|
Common Stock
The holders of our common stock have equal ratable rights to dividends from funds legally available if and when declared by our board of directors and are entitled to share ratably in all of our assets available for distribution to holders of common stock upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs. Our common stock does not provide the right to a preemptive, subscription or conversion rights and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions or rights. Our common stockholders are entitled to one non-cumulative vote per share on all matters on which shareholders may vote, meaning that shareholders may not give more than one vote per share to any single nominee for election to our board of directors.
We refer you to our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws and the applicable statutes of the state of Nevada for a more complete description of the rights and liabilities of holders of our securities.
Preferred Stock
Our articles of incorporation authorize the issuance of up to 10,000,000 shares of “blank check” preferred stock with designations, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by our board of directors.
We are authorized to issue up to 240 shares of series A preferred stock.
Each share of series A preferred stock has a stated value of $0.0001 per share and upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our business, each holder of series A preferred stock is entitled to receive for each share of series A preferred stock an amount equal to the stated value prior to the holders of common stock and any other class or series of capital stock whose terms provide that series A preferred stock should receive preferential payment.
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Each share of our series A preferred stock is convertible at the option of the holder into 3,031 shares of our common stock (subject to adjustment for stock splits, combinations and other similar events). We are prohibited from effecting the conversion of the series A preferred stock to the extent that, as a result of the conversion, the holder of such shares beneficially owns more than 4.99% (or, if this limitation is waived by the holder upon no less than 61 days prior notice to us, 9.99%) in the aggregate of the outstanding shares of our common stock calculated immediately after giving effect to the issuance of shares of common stock upon conversion of the series A preferred stock.
Holders of series A preferred stock are entitled to vote their shares on an as-converted to common stock basis, and shall vote together with the holders of the common stock, and not as a separate class. Holders of series A preferred stock shall also have any voting rights to which they are entitled by law.
Registration Rights
We entered into registration rights agreements (the “Registration Rights Agreements”) with the investors in the May 2011 Offering, pursuant to which we agreed to file a “resale” registration statement with the SEC covering the Shares, the shares of Common Stock issuable upon the conversion of Series A Preferred Stock and shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrants within 6 months of the final closing date of the May 2011 Offering (i.e. February 15, 2012) (the “Filing Date”). We agreed to use our reasonable best efforts to have the registration statement declared effective within 9 months of the final closing date of the May 2011 Offering (i.e. May 15, 2012) (the “Effectiveness Deadline”) and to maintain the effectiveness of the registration statement from the effective date until all securities have been sold or are otherwise able to be sold pursuant to Rule 144 without restriction or limitation.
Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreements, we are obligated to pay to the investors in the May 2011 Offering a fee of 1% per month of the investors’ investment, payable in cash, for every 30 day period up to a maximum of 6%, (i) following the Filing Date that the registration statement has not been filed and (ii) following the Effectiveness Deadline that the registration statement has not been declared effective; provided, however, that we shall not be obligated to pay any such liquidated damages if we are unable to fulfill our registration obligations as a result of rules, regulations, positions or releases issued or actions taken by the SEC pursuant to its authority with respect to “Rule 415”, provided we register at such time the maximum number of shares of common stock permissible upon consultation with the staff of the SEC and provided further that we shall not be obligated to pay liquidated damages at any time following the one year anniversary of the final closing date (i.e. August 15, 2012).
Transfer Agent
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Island Stock Transfer, St. Petersburg, Florida.
Anti-Takeover Provisions
The provisions of Nevada law and our bylaws may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing another party from acquiring control of the company. These provisions, summarized below, may discourage and prevent coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids.
Nevada Law
Nevada law contains a provision governing “acquisition of controlling interest.” This law provides generally that any person or entity that acquires 20% or more of the outstanding voting shares of a publicly-held Nevada corporation in the secondary public or private market may be denied voting rights with respect to the acquired shares, unless a majority of the disinterested shareholders of the corporation elects to restore such voting rights in whole or in part. The control share acquisition act provides that a person or entity acquires “control shares” whenever it acquires shares that, but for the operation of the control share acquisition act, would bring its voting power within any of the following three ranges: 20 to 33-1/3%; 33-1/3 to 50%; or more than 50%.
A “control share acquisition” is generally defined as the direct or indirect acquisition of either ownership or voting power associated with issued and outstanding control shares. The shareholders or board of directors of a corporation may elect to exempt the stock of the corporation from the provisions of the control share acquisition act through adoption of a provision to that effect in the articles of incorporation or bylaws of the corporation. Our articles of incorporation and bylaws do not exempt our common stock from the control share acquisition act.
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The control share acquisition act is applicable only to shares of “Issuing Corporations” as defined by the Nevada law. An Issuing Corporation is a Nevada corporation which (i) has 200 or more shareholders, with at least 100 of such shareholders being both shareholders of record and residents of Nevada, and (ii) does business in Nevada directly or through an affiliated corporation.
At this time, we do not believe we have 100 shareholders of record resident of Nevada and we do not conduct business in Nevada directly. Therefore, the provisions of the control share acquisition act are believed not to apply to acquisitions of our shares and will not until such time as these requirements have been met. At such time as they may apply, the provisions of the control share acquisition act may discourage companies or persons interested in acquiring a significant interest in or control of us, regardless of whether such acquisition may be in the interest of our shareholders.
The Nevada “Combination with Interested Stockholders Statute” may also have an effect of delaying or making it more difficult to effect a change in control of us. This statute prevents an “interested stockholder” and a resident domestic Nevada corporation from entering into a “combination,” unless certain conditions are met. The statute defines “combination” to include any merger or consolidation with an “interested stockholder,” or any sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer or other disposition, in one transaction or a series of transactions with an “interested stockholder” having (i) an aggregate market value equal to 5% or more of the aggregate market value of the assets of the corporation, (ii) an aggregate market value equal to 5% or more of the aggregate market value of all outstanding shares of the corporation, or (iii) representing 10% or more of the earning power or net income of the corporation.
An “interested stockholder” means the beneficial owner of 10% or more of the voting shares of a resident domestic corporation, or an affiliate or associate thereof. A corporation affected by the statute may not engage in a “combination” within three years after the interested stockholder acquires its shares unless the combination or purchase is approved by the board of directors before the interested stockholder acquired such shares. If approval is not obtained, then after the expiration of the three-year period, the business combination may be consummated with the approval of the board of directors or a majority of the voting power held by disinterested stockholders, or if the consideration to be paid by the interested stockholder is at least equal to the highest of (i) the highest price per share paid by the interested stockholder within the three years immediately preceding the date of the announcement of the combination or in the transaction in which he became an interested stockholder, whichever is higher, (ii) the market value per common share on the date of announcement of the combination or the date the interested stockholder acquired the shares, whichever is higher, or (iii) if higher for the holders of preferred stock, the highest liquidation value of the preferred stock.
Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws
Our articles of incorporation are silent as to cumulative voting rights in the election of our directors. Nevada law requires the existence of cumulative voting rights to be provided for by a corporation's articles of incorporation. As such, the combination of the present ownership by a few stockholders of a significant portion of our issued and outstanding common stock and lack of cumulative voting makes it more difficult for other stockholders to replace our board of directors or for a third party to obtain control of us by replacing our board of directors. Our articles of incorporation and bylaws do not contain any explicit provisions that would have an effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us.
SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE
Upon completion of this offering, there will be approximately shares of common stock issued and outstanding. Of these shares, we believe that approximately would be freely transferable immediately. Our executive officers and directors beneficially own shares, which would be eligible for resale subject to the volume and manner of sale limitations of Rule 144 of the Securities Act. An additional shares are “restricted securities,” as that term is defined in Rule 144, and are eligible for sale under the provisions of Rule 144.
Series A preferred stock convertible into an aggregate of 696,969 shares of common stock were outstanding as of December 22, 2011. Warrants to purchase an aggregate of 616,793 shares of common stock were outstanding as of December 22, 2011. Stock options to purchase an aggregate of 457,005 shares of common stock were outstanding under our 2011 Stock Incentive Plan as of December 22, 2011.
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