IZEA 14.12.31 10K
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
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x | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014
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o | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from _________________ to _________________
Commission File No.: 333-167960
IZEA, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Nevada | | 37-1530765 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
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480 N. Orlando Avenue, Suite 200 Winter Park, FL | | 32789 |
(Address of principal executive offices) | | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (407) 674-6911
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes o No x
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No x
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No o
Indicated by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. x
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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Large accelerated filer o | | Accelerated filer o |
Non-accelerated filer o | (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) | Smaller reporting company x |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No x
The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates as of June 30, 2014 (the last business day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was $22,425,149 based on the closing bid price of the registrant's common stock (its only outstanding equity security) of $0.45 per share on that date. All executive officers and directors of the registrant and all 10% or greater stockholders have been deemed, solely for the purpose of the foregoing calculation, to be “affiliates” of the registrant.
APPLICABLE ONLY TO CORPORATE REGISTRANTS
As of March 12, 2015, there were 57,697,666 shares of our common stock outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
None
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014
Table of Contents
PART I
ITEM 1 – BUSINESS
Our Mission
Our mission is to champion the world's creators.
Our Company
IZEA, Inc. is a leading company in the social sponsorship space. We operate an online marketplace that connects brands with creators at IZEA.com as well as other white label marketplaces. IZEA.com and all white label sites are powered by the IZEA Exchange (“IZEAx”), a platform that handles content workflow, creator search and targeting, bidding, analytics and payment processing. Prior to the launch of IZEAx, we had independent technology platforms including PayPerPost.com, SocialSpark.com and SponsoredTweets.com, which have been shuttered throughout 2014 and replaced with the IZEAx system.
Social sponsorship is when a company compensates a social media publisher or influencer such as a blogger or tweeter (“creators”) to share sponsored content with their social network audience. This sponsored content is shared within the body of a content stream, a practice also referred to as “native advertising” and "sponsored content." We generate our revenue primarily through the sale of sponsorship campaigns to our advertisers. We fulfill these campaigns through our platforms by utilizing our creators to complete sponsorship opportunities for our advertisers. We also generate revenue from the posting of targeted display advertising and from various service fees.
IZEAx takes the existing concepts of product placement and endorsements commonly found in movies, television and radio and apply them to the social web. We democratize the sponsorship process, allowing everyone from college students and stay at home moms to celebrities the opportunity to monetize their content, creativity and influence in social media.
We believe that we pioneered the concept of a marketplace for sponsorships on the social web in 2006 with the launch of our first platform, PayPerPost, and have focused on scaling our offerings ever since. We compensate bloggers, tweeters and other types of social media content creators to share information about companies, products, websites and events within their social media content streams. Advertisers benefit from buzz, traffic, awareness and sales, and creators earn cash compensation in exchange for their posts.
Recent Events
On January 30, 2015, we purchased all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of Ebyline, Inc. (“Ebyline”), pursuant to the terms of a Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of January 27, 2015, by and among IZEA, Ebyline and the stockholders of Ebyline. The aggregate consideration payable by us will be an amount in the aggregate of up to $8,850,000, including a cash payment made at closing of $1,200,000, a stock issuance six months after the closing valued at $250,000, up to an additional $1,900,000 in two equal installments of $950,000 on the first and second anniversaries of the closing (subject to proportional reduction in the event Ebyline’s final 2014 revenue is below $8,000,000), and up to $5,500,000 in performance payments based on Ebyline meeting certain revenue targets for each of the three years ending December 31, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Both the $1,900,000 in annual payments and the $5,500,000 in performance payments may be made in cash or common stock, at our option. The performance payments will be made only if Ebyline achieves at least 90% of Content-Only Revenue, as defined in the agreement, of $17,000,000 in 2015, $27,000,000 in 2016 and $32,000,000 in 2017. If Ebyline achieves at least 90% but less than 100% of the Content-Only Revenue targets, the performance payments owed of $1,800,000, $1,800,000 and $1,900,000 for each of the three years ending December 31, 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively, will be subject to adjustment.
Future cash payments and common stock issuances may be withheld to satisfy indemnifiable claims made by us with respect to any misrepresentations or breaches of warranty under the Stock Purchase Agreement by Ebyline or the stockholders of Ebyline within two years after the closing of the acquisition.
Based in Los Angeles, California, Ebyline operates an online marketplace that enables publishers to access a network of over 12,000 content creators ranging from writers to illustrators in 73 countries. Over 2,000 fully vetted individuals in the Ebyline network have professional journalism credentials with backgrounds at well-known media outlets. Ebyline’s proprietary workflow is utilized by leading media organizations to manage the entire customer content creation process - from creator selection through electronic payment. In addition to publishers, Ebyline is leveraged by brands to produce custom branded content for use on their owned and operated sites, as well as third party content marketing and native advertising efforts. The Ebyline technology platform has been used by publishers and brands to manage over 200,000 content projects.
Our Platforms
IZEA.com and The IZEA Exchange. On March 10, 2014, we launched a public beta of IZEA.com powered by The IZEA Exchange (IZEAx). IZEAx is designed to provide a unified ecosystem that enables the creation of multiple types of content including blog posts, status updates, videos and photos through a wide variety of social channels including blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr, among others. The system is available as a public beta to our customers and partners via a self-serve portal, as a managed service or in white-label fashion. IZEAx is engineered from the ground-up to replace all of our previous platforms with an integrated offering that is improved and more efficient for the company to operate. Our intention is to focus all of our engineering resources on the IZEAx platform for the foreseeable future. We completed the sunset of our previous platforms in November 2014 and currently use IZEAx as the only automated system for managing social sponsorships.
IZEAx replaces our legacy systems below which previously served as our core revenue generators:
SocialSpark was our premier blog marketing platform. Through SocialSpark, we provide targeting and detailed analytics to advertisers. The site allowed advertisers to develop large lists of high-quality blogs based on various criteria, such as relevancy, traffic and demographic data. The platform also enabled advertisers to create targeted, large-scale social media campaigns with the click of a button and to observe campaign results in real time.
SponsoredTweets was an online marketplace that allows consumers to connect directly with advertisers to engage in sponsored conversations through Twitter. Marketers paid for Twitter advertising campaigns on either a cost per tweet (CPT) or cost per click (CPC) basis. SponsoredTweets allowed advertisers to hand-pick individual tweeters, including celebrities, to participate in Twitter advertising campaigns.
These legacy platforms remain active domains, however the technology powering these sites is now IZEAx. The user bases from these platforms have been merged into IZEAx and all new signups and transactions are managed through the IZEAx platform.
Our Advertisers and Creators
IZEAx and all of our previous platforms were designed to streamline the process of social sponsorship. We utilize our proprietary technology to create efficiencies and economies of scale for both advertisers and creators. Each platform provides advertisers with access to a large network of creators along with complete workflow management, content control, payment processing, performance tracking and integrated Federal Trade Commission (FTC) legal compliance. In particular, the integrated FTC compliance framework requires creators to provide disclosure to their followers with respect to the sponsored nature of the content and allows advertisers to review the content for FTC compliance. If the advertiser chooses, sponsorships can be managed end-to-end without the need for interaction with one of our team members through a self-service interface.
In addition to our self-service platforms, we also offer turnkey account management services to manage advertising campaigns on behalf of the customer. This includes working with advertisers to optimize the opportunity that is presented to creators, providing clear instructions on what is required to fill the advertiser’s opportunity, identifying and sourcing the creators that are the best fit for the opportunity, managing the offer and acceptance process with the creators, verifying that the creators’ content, once submitted, meets the requirements of the opportunity and managing the overall campaign to meet the goals of the advertiser. Account managers also provide clients with progress updates on their campaign that include campaign metrics and all postings created throughout the campaign. Additionally, they assemble comprehensive campaign recaps at the conclusion of the campaign and work with the advertisers on plans for follow-up strategies after the initial campaign has ended.
In all platforms, advertisers, or our account management staff acting on the advertisers’ behalf as part of the account management services we offer, have the ability to review the creators’ content to verify whether or not it conforms to the requirements of the advertising opportunity. Our platforms provide for the ability to review creators’ content prior to publishing, and all the other platforms provide for a review after the content is published. If the content does not conform, the creator is requested to make any necessary adjustments. If the creator refuses, the advertising opportunity is deemed to have been withdrawn. Neither the advertiser nor our account management staff modifies creators’ content without the creators’ involvement and consent.
The value proposition we offer to both advertisers and social media content creators 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 increase the breadth and depth of monetization opportunities for creators, attracting more creators and further enhancing value for our advertisers.
As of December 31, 2014, we have more than 243,000 registered users in IZEAx. The approximate aggregate reach of those Creators is 2.3 billion, which represents the total number non-unique fans and followers of IZEAx users. Creators registered in our system include bloggers, leading social influencers and A-list celebrities.
Our total number of registered creators may be higher than the number of our actual individual creators because some creators have multiple registrations, other creators may have died or become incapacitated and others may have registered under fictitious names. This aggregate reach number includes current and naturally expired O-Auth connections, but does not include manual disconnects. We define naturally expired O-Auth connections as a social media user authentication that has timed out for any number of reasons. Our creators currently publish sponsored content to blogs and Twitter and reach other existing platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Google and Bing through syndication or sharing of that content.
We are currently limited in our ability to service the needs of all advertisers and creators. We have a large number of advertisers and creators that we cannot currently match for sponsorship opportunities. We believe that IZEAx should significantly impact our ability to more efficiently match marketplace participants by providing access to more social media channels and by offering a larger inventory of quality advertisers and quality creators through our partners. Additionally, our creators will have an ability to make offers to our advertisers through our new two-way bidding process.
To date, we have completed over 3.5 million social sponsorship transactions for customers ranging from small local businesses to Fortune 500 companies. We consider each individual sponsored blog post, tweet or other status update as an individual transaction so long as the creator of that content is being compensated for such post, tweet or other status update.
We derive the majority of our revenue from advertisers for the use of our network of social media content creators to fulfill advertiser sponsor requests for a blog post, tweet, click or action (sponsored revenue). We derive the remaining portion of our revenue from the posting of targeted display advertising (media revenue) and from various service fees charged to advertisers and creators for services, maintenance and enhancement of their accounts (service fee revenue).
Industry Background and Trends
Despite the inherently conversational nature of social media marketing as part of the larger digital marketing landscape, many brand budgets are currently allocated towards traditional display advertising, including 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 content creators appropriately for these purposes. Those who effectively attempt an approach are quickly limited by the amount of effort required to adequately manage and measure a truly integrated campaign.
The social sponsorship space has been limited primarily by the current inefficiencies of the market. The social media advertiser universe is large and highly fragmented among topic, quality and platform. Brands have been forced to utilize a variety of highly inefficient sources and processes to navigate the complicated landscape of sponsorship, often resulting in low returns on their time investment or worse-yet, questionable results. We believe this is largely due to advertisers and creators lacking an efficient way to identify and engage each other in the marketplace.
At the same time, social media content creators that would like to monetize their community are faced with significant challenges in making advertisers aware of their blog, twitter or Facebook profile and finding quality advertisers who are motivated to sponsor them. In addition, those creators with smaller networks 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 issue a check to a small creator than the value of the sponsorship payment itself.
Further complicating the sponsorship 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,” we believe the complexity and cost of individual sponsorship often deters them from doing so.
We believe that the current state of social sponsorship represents a significant opportunity for us. We address these common problems with targeted, scalable marketplaces that aggregate social media content creators and advertisers. In doing so, we offer an efficient, innovative way for creators and advertisers of all sizes to find each other and complete a sponsorship transaction.
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 re-invention; 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 social sponsorship space and investing heavily in innovation and marketing, we were first to develop positive rapport among creators and brand marketers alike. This loyalty has resulted in consistent growth of underlying revenue and gross profit margin, as well as increasing levels of repeat business.
Powerful network effect. As more brand marketers contribute opportunities into our marketplaces, we believe we will increase the breadth and depth of the monetization value offered to our creators, attracting more creators to enroll into our platforms and thereby enhancing the value of our platforms to future brand advertisers. Our platforms have referral programs designed to further enhance the network effect for each creator who signs up. Directly trackable creator referrals are new creator signups that we receive as the result of a current creator sharing a unique tracking link to our platform. The link allows us to determine how a new creator learned about our platform. We paid referral fees to creators approximating $56,000 and $52,000 in the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014 respectively. These programs amplify our marketing dollars and decrease the investment required to attract new creators.
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 as a hub. We intend to introduce multiple new product offerings within IZEAx without substantially increasing our operations and support expense.
Experienced management team, board of directors and strategic advisors. Our management team includes not only a highly experienced team of entrepreneurs and executives from the digital media, technology and entertainment industries, but also outstanding strategic advisory board members who are experts in social media and integrated marketing campaigns. See “Management” for details.
Our Growth Strategy
After eight years of working in and developing the social sponsorship category, we believe our business model is market-tested and ready for growth. Our development efforts have included assembling a diverse and experienced senior management team and advisory board, launching and optimizing our proprietary 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 client development team. We expect the growth of our client development team to be the primary driver of near-term revenues. For the past year, we have been developing a comprehensive on-boarding and on-going education curriculum that has lead to record bookings in 2014. We intend to add additional client development personnel who receive a commission for meeting sales targets to more effectively service clients throughout North America and Canada. The majority of these team members will be located in our headquarters in Winter Park, Florida and will conduct sales activities through phone, email and videoconferencing.
Develop strategic partnerships. We intend to develop additional strategic partnerships and reseller agreements with companies that can provide additional growth in our base of creators and advertisers. IZEAx is designed to be easily “white labeled,” allowing partners to operate their own “node” on the exchange. IZEAx is also designed to be resold by partners that do not require a custom-branded solution. As of December 31, 2014, we have signed 27 partners, including CBS, Meredith and Bent Pixels.
Continue emphasis on product innovation. We will continue to recruit additional engineering and product innovation team members to enhance IZEAx to develop new technology ideas within this platform that complement our mission as a company.
Seek complementary acquisitions. We continually seek to identify and acquire companies, technologies and assets to add to our portfolio of software services that will drive additional near and long-term revenue. In July 2011, we acquired
Germany’s Magpie Twitter advertising network that included approximately 12,000 advertisers and 20,000 Twitter creators in 143 countries. In December 2012, we acquired FeaturedUsers, one of the first advertising networks specifically designed to help Twitter users grow their followers. In January 2015, we acquired Ebyline, Inc., an online marketplace that provides access a network of over 12,000 content creators ranging from writers to illustrators in 73 countries.
Customers
As of December 31, 2014, we have more than 243,000 registered users in IZEAx. The approximate aggregate reach of those Creators is 2.3 billion, which represents the total number non-unique fans and followers of IZEAx users. Creators registered in our system include bloggers, leading social influencers and A-list celebrities.
Our total number of registered creators may be higher than the number of our actual individual creators because some creators have multiple registrations, other creators may have died or become incapacitated and others may have registered under fictitious names. This aggregate reach number includes current and naturally expired O-Auth connections, but does not include manual disconnects. We define naturally expired O-Auth connections as a social media user authentication that has timed out for any number of reasons. Our creators currently publish sponsored content to blogs and Twitter and reach other existing platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Google and Bing through syndication or sharing of that content.
In the case of our managed advertisers, 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 typically 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" advertisers who agree to the terms of service available on the applicable online platform. These self-service advertisers do not separately enter into a master agreement with us.
We provide services to advertising customers in multiple industry segments, including consumer products, retail/eTail, technology and travel. Our customers are predominantly located in the United States followed by India, the United Kingdom, Canada, and over 175 other countries. Our business serves advertising and public relations agencies, as well as brands and businesses directly. In many cases, social media marketing dollars flow through the advertising or public relations agency, even when we have a direct relationship with the brand.
Below is a list of our customers who exceeded 5% of our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013:
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Triad Retail Media | | 12 | % | | 10 | % |
Starcom Worldwide | | 7 | % | | — | % |
Sales and Marketing
We primarily sell social sponsorship campaigns through our sales team, our self-service platforms and, to a lesser extent, by utilizing distribution relationships such as resellers, affiliates and white label partners. We target regional, national and global brands and advertising agencies in the following ways:
Self-Service Platforms. IZEAx, as well as each of our legacy platforms, were developed as a self-service marketplace to enable advertisers and agencies of all sizes to independently access our network of social media content creators and implement their own social sponsorship campaigns. Self-service customers extend our global reach and increase deal flow.
Client Development Team. We have a client development team each of whom is assigned a geographic region or specific brands, primarily within the United States. The team members are responsible for identifying and managing sales opportunities in their respective target areas.
Resellers and White Label Partners. We have 27 independent resellers and distribution partners who are responsible for selling one or more of our platforms under an independent contractor relationship. We maintain two types of reseller relationships: resellers and white label partners. Resellers focus their efforts on selling a variety of brands throughout the United States. White label partners are complementary relationships that add additional advertisers and creators to our network. We intend to increase our number of resellers and white label partners under the IZEAx technology platform.
Affiliates. IZEAx, as well as each of our legacy platforms, contain self-service affiliate programs designed to compensate social media content creators for referring other creators to join these platforms. In these programs, we incur the cost to pay a referral fee to the referrer equal to 5%-15% of the referee's earnings for up to a two-year period. To date, this has proven to be an efficient method of attracting new social media content creators into our creator network.
Industry Acumen. Our team possesses a strong marketing background. 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 creator network. Our corporate marketing plan is designed to continually elevate awareness of our brand and generate demand for social sponsorship. 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 searches, public relations and our corporate websites.
Revenue Model
We derive the majority of our revenue from advertisers for the use of our network of social media content creators to fulfill advertiser sponsor requests for a blog post, tweet, click or action (sponsored revenue). We derive the remaining portion of our revenue from the posting of targeted display advertising (media revenue) and from various service fees charged to advertisers and creators for services, maintenance and enhancement of their accounts (service fee revenue).
We earn sponsored revenue either on a per blog post, tweet, click or action basis from opportunities created by advertisers using our platforms or on an advertising campaign basis where we manage the entire campaign for our customers, often using multiple platforms to accomplish a full social media campaign. Advertisers can utilize a single platform to fill a specific need or combine platforms with each other to execute an integrated social media campaign. IZEAx, as well as each of our now sunsetted legacy platforms, can be activated and used in a self-service fashion or with the assistance of our account management team.
Advertisers may prepay for services by placing a deposit in their account with us. The deposits are typically paid by the advertiser through the use of checks, wire transfers or credit cards. Deposits are recorded as unearned revenue until earned as described below. Typically, for each dollar an advertiser spends with us for sponsored services, approximately 50% of it goes to our social media content creators. Celebrity creators typically retain a higher percentage of each transaction due to the higher base price associated with these sponsorships.
The fulfillment of an advertiser opportunity is considered successful and earned after the requested blog post, click or action is approved or verified (either by the advertiser, our platforms automatically or by an account management team member, if we are managing the advertiser account) and listed for the requisite period of time, as applicable. The requisite period ranges from 3 days for a tweet to 30 days for a blog. Revenue is only recorded upon successful completion of these actions. If the action was not successful, the advertiser's account would not be charged and no revenue would be recorded. Management fees related to Sponsored Revenue from advertising campaigns managed by us are recognized ratably over the term of the campaign which may range from a few days to months. Sponsored revenue accounted for 88% and 88% of our total revenue in each of the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Media revenue occurs when a creator posts targeted display advertising next to sponsored blog content using IZEAMedia, our display advertising solution. Revenue for ad placement is received from the advertiser when the creator places the ad within their blog. Targeted display advertising is the ability to segment audiences individually by demographic, behavioral, contextual, or geographic means to display the most relevant advertisement to the segment. This display advertising is designed to complement a social sponsorship campaign within our platforms. IZEAMedia revenue accounted for 5% and 4% of our total revenue in the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively. Moving forward, we believe this will continue to decline, as it is not the core focus of our business.
Service fees charged to advertisers are primarily related to inactivity fees for dormant accounts and fees for additional services outside of sponsored revenue. Service fees charged to creators include upgrade account fees for obtaining greater visibility to advertisers in advertiser searches in our platforms, early cash-out fees if a creator wishes to take proceeds earned for services from their account when the account balance is below certain minimum balance thresholds and inactivity fees for dormant accounts. We set certain minimum cash-out balance thresholds, typically $50, to encourage creators to help us better manage the time, Paypal fees and administrative costs that are associated with each cash-out by creators. Once a creator's account balance exceeds the minimum balance, they can request to be paid without incurring a fee. Service fee revenue accounted for 7% and 8% of our total revenue in the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively.
As IZEAx continues to gain adoption from our advertisers, creators and partners in future periods, we anticipate additional forms of revenue streams including subscription fees, listing fees, licensing fees and sponsored search fees as a result of new functionality built into the platform. Additionally, we will begin reporting revenue from content sales after January 2015 as a result of our acquisition of Ebyline.
We were able to achieve gross margins on all our products of approximately 59% and 66% for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively. As part of our commitment to increasing shareholder value, we are constantly seeking methods to further increase margins by implementing technology advancements, rebalancing our revenue mix to focus on new releases and entering new high-margin social media markets. While IZEAx will add new revenue streams, it will also create partnerships that have different economic models. White label partners will receive a percentage of each transaction, which will affect the gross profit margin on sponsorships over time. Additionally, the acquisition of Ebyline in January 2015 is also expected to result in lower near term gross margins as the margins on this business are currently significantly lower than our historical averages. As a result, we expect that our total revenue will increase but our margins will decrease. This is an intentional dynamic that we seek to offset with the benefit of increased deal-flow through IZEAx and content sales through our acquisition of Ebyline.
Technology
IZEAx spans multiple social networks, blogs and YouTube. We aggregate our social media content creators in IZEAx which allows us to create scale and targeting for our advertisers. We provide the ability to target our creators based on a variety of software rules and filters. We provide self-service platforms that service all business types and sizes. Unlike traditional public relations, advertisers only pay for completed posts. 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 and create rich content including photos and videos.
Privacy and Security
We are committed to protecting the privacy, reputations and dignity of our advertisers and creators. Accordingly, we have invested heavily in many areas to prevent the misuse of information that we collect. We do not misuse personally identifiable information that we collect and we use reasonable and suitable physical, electronic and managerial safeguards to protect such informations.
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. One of our core strengths is our knowledge of and experience in launching and operating scalable social media marketplaces. Our product development expenses, consisting primarily of salaries paid to development personnel and included in general and administrative expenses, were approximately $503,000 and $964,000 for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively. We also incurred and capitalized in our balance sheet an additional $362,346 and $206,529 during the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively, representing development costs from the date technological feasibility for IZEAx was established through the date it was launched.
Our team believes that constant innovation is the only way to achieve long-term growth. As a result, we encourage our engineering team members to continuously develop new platforms and technologies to bring to market. Some of these platforms succeed. Others fail to deliver the results required to warrant ongoing support and development. Much like Google and other successful technology companies, we invest heavily in the platforms that prove themselves, and regularly shutdown the initiatives that fail to deliver value for the organization. We intend to continue to invest in the creation of new technology platforms that complement our core offerings.
Competition
We face competition from multiple companies in the social sponsorship industry. Direct and indirect competitors in the social sponsorship space include Facebook, Glam Media, Federated Media, BlogHer, Adly, TapInfluence and Collective Bias. In addition, there are a number of agencies, public relations firms and niche consultancies that provide social media programs and conduct manual influencer outreach programs.
Competition for advertising placements among current and future suppliers of Internet navigational and informational services, high traffic websites and social sponsorship providers, as well as competition with other media for native 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 with IZEAx, we may compete with a greater number of other 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.
Proprietary Rights
Proprietary rights are important to our success and our competitive position. To protect our proprietary rights, we rely on trademark, copyright, patent and trade secret laws, confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions.
We currently own 28 trademark registrations and applications. We have successfully registered 17 trademarks to date with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), including “Blogger’s Choice Awards,” “Champion the Creators,” “FanAds,” “Get Everyone Talking,” “InPostLinks,” “IZEA,” “IZEA Exchange,” “IZEAx,” “Native Ad Exchange,” “PayPerPost,” “Postie,” “SocialSpark,” “Sponsorship Marketplace,” “Staree,” and “We Reward (Design).” Further, we recently acquired registrations for “Virtual Newsroom” and “Ebyline.” In addition to these registered marks, we currently have 11 trademark applications pending in the United States, with the intention of filing additional applications in both the U.S. and foreign countries where we have a bona fide commercial interest.
The pending applications which have been successfully prosecuted, not challenged by any third-parties, and allowed for registration by the USPTO in due course are “Influence Rank,” “Influence Upfront,” “InRank,” “Selective Syndication,” “SoundAmp,” and “Sponsored Music.” The remaining five pending applications, namely, “Creators Choice Awards,” “Social Media Rank,” “Sponsored Social,” “The Content MarketPlace,” and “The Creator MarketPlace,” were recently filed in early 2015 and have yet to be examined. Even if these applications are approved by the USPTO, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in obtaining the registrations since any third-party with a concern will have an opportunity to challenge the applications during the 30‑day opposition period prescribed by the USPTO. If a third‑party is successful in its challenge, use of the marks will be restricted unless we enter into arrangements with the opposing party that may be unavailable on commercially reasonable terms.
We also own more than 450 domain names related to the various aspects of IZEA’s products and services.
We also actively protect our intellectual property rights through the prosecution of patent applications covering the important features of our IZEA Exchange platform and the other innovations we continue to pioneer. We have five pending non-provisional patent applications covering various methods, systems, and computer programs related to, among other things: two-way bidding associated with an advertisement opportunity; an online marketplace for the creation and modification of content; and an online marketplace for posting and search of content associated with geopositional information.
We cannot provide any assurance that our proprietary rights with respect to our products or services will be viable or have 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, trade secret and patent 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.
Further, 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 can and have been 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. See “Legal Proceedings” below for information on our current lawsuit in this regard.
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, creator 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 entirely clear how existing laws which govern issues such as property ownership, taxation, export or import matters 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.
Many states have passed laws requiring notification to subscribers when there is a security breach of personally identifiable 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 can be more restrictive than those within the United States, 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 and/or abandon certain of our then-existing 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 contain materials which infringe copyrights or other intellectual property rights of third parties, 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.
We, and the advertisers and creators that use our platforms, are subject to Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") and various state rules and regulations on advertising and marketing on the Internet, including the FTC's Dot Com Disclosures - Information about Online Advertising and its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (known as the Guides) that were updated and reissued by the FTC in 2013. Each of the foregoing are sub-categories that have been taken up by the FTC under the FTC Act to prevent “unfair or deceptive acts and practices” within advertising. These new Guides, for example, significantly extend the scope of potential liability associated with the use of testimonials and endorsements, including injecting endorsement requirements into new advertising methods such as blogging. In particular, the Guides provide that bloggers must always disclose the consideration they receive for blogging about a particular product, service, brand or the like, whether the consideration comprises something tangible (i.e., cash, objects that are provided to them at no cost, even for testing purposes) or intangible such as accolades and more prominent future blogging opportunities. In the event a creator, blogger or advertiser should fail to comply with the Dot Com Disclosures, the Guides or any other FTC rule, regulation or policy, which may be manifest by making deceptive, misleading or unsubstantiated claims and representations, failing to disclose a sponsorship relationship or otherwise, then various parties related to the advertising campaign (including the service provider of the platform over which the campaign is managed) may be subject to liability as a result of such non-compliance. The Guides further provide that in order to limit its potential liability, the advertiser should ensure that its bloggers are provided guidance and training needed to ensure their claims, statements and representations are truthful, transparent and
properly substantiated. Our failure to comply with both FTC and state advertising rules may result in the potential imposition of penalties that could include monetary damages and an order to cease our operations.
In certain cases, we are retained by advertisers to manage their advertising campaigns through our platforms, thereby increasing our exposure as not only the service provider but also the medium through which advertisements are broadcast. More generally, if there is negative consumer perception and mistrust of the practice of undisclosed compensation to creators to endorse the advertisers' specific products, then this could result in a reduction by advertisers in the use of social media marketing platforms like ours as a means for advertising which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.
We comply with the 1995 European Union Data Protection Directive with regard to data we collect from users located in the European Union. We do not transfer data collected from users located in the European Union outside of the European Union without first obtaining their express consent. We are currently monitoring potential changes to the 1995 European Union Data Protection Directive to ensure that we are compliant with relevant requirements when and to the extent they are implemented.
As a governing member of a leading marketing and advertising industry association, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), we are committed to promoting ethical social sponsorship practices and have established codes of ethics for our platforms which include one or more of the following:
Mandatory Disclosure. We mandate disclosure of the sponsored relationship between the advertiser and creator. In the case of our sunsetted legacy platforms, SponsoredTweets and SocialSpark a sponsorship cannot be published through the platform unless a phrase or paragraph disclosing the sponsored relationship is included. For example, in SponsoredTweets, a creator is required to select one of a number of disclosure phrases such as “sponsored,” “advertisement” or “ad” prior to the publication of the tweet. Additionally, each SocialSpark campaign includes a Disclosure Audit tool for advertisers that provides them with a report that monitors posts on an ongoing basis to make sure that posts continue to include disclosure after the initial posts are approved. However, as is the case with SponsoredTweets and SocialSpark, failure to disclose the sponsored relationship is a violation of our terms of service, which may result in the withholding of payment for the sponsorship, and the creator being removed from our network. IZEAx has adopted the same disclosure process as SponsoredTweets and SocialSpark.
Freedom of Choice. Creators are free to choose which sponsorships to publish. Our platforms never auto-inject an advertiser's message into a influencer's social media network.
Authentic Voice. We encourage honesty of opinion in the selection of sponsorships by a creator and similarly we encourage advertisers to create opportunities that allow the creator to write the sponsorship in their own words, provided that a creator always adheres to our terms of service and code of ethics which includes disclosing their sponsored relationships at all times while using any of the platforms.
Transparency of Identity. Our platforms are designed to be open, safe environment for our advertisers, creators and users. In fact, we do not cloak the identities of advertisers or creators. Both parties involved in a potential transaction can see each other's profiles and make informed decisions before engaging with each other.
Pre-Publication Advertiser Review. Advertisers have the ability to review their sponsored content before it is published and to request a change to the sponsored content prior to publication in the case of factual inaccuracies.
Reporting Violations. We have zero tolerance for violation of our code of ethics and encourage the reporting of violations through a special page on our websites dedicated to reporting violations. If violations are reported, they are promptly investigated by us and in appropriate cases, advertisers, creators and users are removed from our network and prohibited from using our sites. In addition, we take an active role in reporting spam accounts to Twitter and Facebook.
In addition to the compliance and monitoring programs described above, we have created an FTC Survival Guide for our platform users that is available on our corporate website. We also believe, and have subsequently included requirements within our code of ethics, based on positions taken by certain federal courts and the FTC, that communications and messages disseminated by creators through social media networks are subject to and must comply at all times with CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) requirements.
To date, we have not been materially impacted by the rules governing messaging over social media networks and social sponsorship, including the CAN-SPAM Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. However, we cannot
predict the impact of future regulations on us, our advertisers or our creators that use our platforms or the impact of attempts to circumvent our mechanisms that are designed to ensure compliance.
Employees
As of March 12, 2015, we had a total of 92 full-time employees, including 68 in sales and marketing, 15 in product engineering and 9 in administration and finance. None of our employees are 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.
Available Information
Our executive offices are located at 480 N. Orlando Avenue, Suite 200, Winter Park, FL 32789 and our telephone number is (407) 674-6911. We maintain a corporate website at http://corp.izea.com. We provide free access to various reports that we file with or furnish to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission through our website, as soon as reasonably practicable after they have been filed or furnished. These reports include, but are not limited to, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports. Our SEC reports can be accessed through the investors section of our website, or through http://www.sec.gov. Information on our website does not constitute part of this annual report on Form10-K or any other report we file or furnish with the SEC.
Investors and others should note that we use social media to communicate with our subscribers and the public about our company, our services, new product developments and other matters. Any information that we consider to be material to an evaluation of our company will be included in filings on the SEC EDGAR website, and may also be disseminated using our investor relations website (http://corp.izea.com) and press releases. However, we encourage investors, the media, and others interested in our company to also review our social media channels @izea on Twitter and izeainc on Facebook.
ITEM 1A – RISK FACTORS
In addition to the information set forth at the beginning of Management's Discussion and Analysis entitled "Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information", investors should consider that 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 and 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 and Industry
We have a history of losses, expect future losses and cannot assure you that we will achieve profitability or obtain the financing necessary for future growth.
We have incurred significant net losses and negative cash flow from operations since our inception which has resulted in a total accumulated deficit of $22,941,350 as of December 31, 2014. 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. If we achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain it.
We are developing a new platform to process all of our existing business transactions and grow our operations, but cannot provide any assurance regarding its commercial success.
We are developing a new platform called the IZEA Exchange (IZEAx) which is currently in public beta. IZEAx is designed to provide a unified ecosystem that enables the creation of multiple types of content through a wide variety of social channels. IZEAx is a brand-new system, engineered from the ground-up to replace all of our current platforms with an integrated offering that is improved and more efficient for the company to operate. Our intention is to focus all of our engineering resources on the IZEAx platform for the foreseeable future. We are spending a significant amount of time and resources on the development of this platform, but we cannot provide any assurances of its short or long-term commercial success or growth. A portion of the proceeds of our private placement completed in February 2014 ("2014 Private Placement") was used for completion of the IZEAx platform, which is scheduled for continued updates and enhancements into the foreseeable future. There is no assurance that the amount of money being allocated for the platform will be sufficient to complete it, or that such completion will result in significant revenues or profit for us. If our advertisers and creators do not perceive this platform to be of high value and quality, we may not be able to retain them or acquire new advertisers and creators. Additionally, if existing or future competitors develop or offer products or services that provide significant performance, price, creative or other advantages over this platform, demand for IZEAx may decrease and our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition could be negatively affected.
We have a limited operating history and are subject to the risks encountered by early-stage companies.
Because we have a limited operating history, we encounter risks and uncertainties frequently experienced by early-stage companies in rapidly evolving markets. For us, these risks include:
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• | risks associated with our dependence on our platforms 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 in terms of greater revenue and profitability; and |
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• | risks that fluctuations in our operating results will be significant causing volatility in our stock price. |
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 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 creators have increasingly used our social sponsorship platforms. However, the social 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 that may be difficult to predict. It is possible that advertisers and creators 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.
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 premier 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.
We may not successfully integrate our recent Ebyline acquisition to realize the full benefits of the combined business.
Our recent acquisition of Ebyline involves the integration of a business that had previously operated separately. The difficulties of combining the operations of this business include:
•the challenge of effecting technical integration while carrying on our ongoing businesses;
•the necessity of coordinating geographically separate organizations; and
•effective integration of personnel with diverse business backgrounds.
The process of completing the integration of this business could cause an interruption of, or loss of momentum in, the activities of our company and the loss of key personnel. The diversion of management’s attention and any delays or difficulties encountered in connection with the acquisition and the integration of Ebyline’s operations could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our growth strategy depends, in part, on our acquiring companies, technologies and assets and adding them to our portfolio of software services to drive additional near and long-term revenue, which we may be unable to do.
Our growth strategy is based, in part, on our ability to acquire companies, technologies and assets. The success of this acquisition strategy will depend, in part, on our ability to accomplish the following:
•identify suitable companies, technologies or assets to buy;
•complete the purchase of those businesses on terms acceptable to us;
•complete the acquisition(s) in the time frame and within the budget we expect; and
•improve the results of operations of each of the businesses that we buy and successfully integrate its operations on an accretive basis.
There can be no assurance that we will be successful in any or all of the factors above. Our failure to successfully implement our acquisition strategy could have an adverse effect on other aspects of our business strategy and our business in general. We may not be able to find appropriate acquisition candidates, accretively acquire those candidates that we identify or integrate acquired businesses effectively and profitably.
We (and others) are currently defending a patent infringement claim related to peer-to-peer advertising between mobile communication devices seeking unspecified damages, which may materially impact our business.
On October 17, 2012, Blue Calypso, Inc. filed a complaint against us in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Blue Calypso’s complaint alleges that we infringe on their patents related to peer-to-peer advertising between mobile communication devices and seeks unspecified damages. On July 19, 2013, Blue Calypso’s case against us was consolidated, along with patent infringement cases against Yelp, Inc. and Foursquare Labs, Inc., into Blue Calypso, Inc. v. Groupon, Inc. for all pretrial purposes, including discovery and claim construction.
On December 16, 2013, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) instituted a Covered Business Method Review (CBMR) for three of the five patents Blue Calypso asserts in its case against IZEA. In its decisions granting the CMBRs, the PTAB explained that several of Blue Calypso’s asserted patents are likely invalid. In particular, the PTAB found it more likely than not that each of these three patents was invalid based on two independent grounds of anticipation, and one ground of obviousness. Additionally, the PTAB preliminarily found it more likely than not that many of the claims of one of Blue Calypso’s patents were invalid due to a lack of written description. On January 17, 2014, the PTAB expanded its review to all five of Blue Calypso’s assert patents. The PTAB’s final decision regarding the asserted patents is expected by the end of this year. On January 16, 2014, the court granted a joint motion to stay Blue Calypso’s patent infringement case until the PTAB’s
review of Blue Calypso’s asserted patents is complete. On January 17, 2014, the PTAB expanded its review to all five of Blue Calypso’s assert patents.
On December 16, 2014, the PTAB issued its Final Decisions concerning the five patents-in-suit. The Final Decisions eliminated the vast majority of claims asserted by Blue Calypso. While some claims did survive the PTAB’s Final Decisions, those claims are potentially invalid in view of factual findings made by the PTAB. The PTAB decisions are now on appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The potential outcomes of these appeals ranges from invalidation of all of Blue Calypso’s asserted claims to complete reversal of the PTAB’s Final Decisions.
In view of the pending appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Defendants, including IZEA, have requested that the Eastern District of Texas Court keep the pending stay in place until resolution of the appeals. The Court has not yet ruled on Defendants’ motion to keep the stay in place.
At this stage, we do not have an estimate of the likelihood or the amount of any potential exposure to us. Although we believe that there is no merit to Blue Calypso’s suit, there can be no assurance that we will prevail in the suit. In the event that a favorable outcome for us is not obtained, we could potentially be limited in certain ways in the use of our current social sponsorship platforms. Even if the litigation is resolved in our favor, it is possible that the litigation will be protracted, resulting in substantial legal costs to defend against the action and the diversion of management's attention and other resources of our company. In either event, the continuation of this action could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The social 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 sponsorship is, by its nature, limited in content relative to other media; |
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• | companies may be reluctant or slow to adopt social 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 sponsorship platforms; |
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• | companies may not utilize social 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. |
If the number of companies that purchase social sponsorship from us or the size of the sponsorship campaigns does not grow, 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 creators, our revenue and business will be harmed.
We must continue to retain and acquire creators that publish sponsorships through IZEAx in order to increase revenue and achieve profitability. If creators do not perceive our products and services to be of high value and quality or if we fail to provide value with IZEAx, we may not be able to acquire or retain creators. If we are unable to acquire new creators in numbers sufficient to grow our business, or if creators 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 creators originate from word of mouth and other referrals from existing creators, and therefore we must ensure that our existing creators remain loyal to our service in order to continue receiving those referrals. If our efforts to satisfy our existing creators are not successful, we may not be able to acquire new creators 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 creators.
If we fail to retain existing advertisers or add new advertisers, our revenue and business will be harmed.
We depend on our ability to attract and retain advertisers that are prepared to offer products or services on compelling terms through IZEAx. 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, 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 to our creators through our platforms or if too many large advertisers seek extended payment terms, our operating results will be adversely affected.
Intense competition in our target market could impair our ability to grow and to achieve profitability.
The market for native advertising 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.
Competition for advertising placements among current and future suppliers of Internet navigational and informational services, high traffic websites and social sponsorship providers, as well as competition with other media for native 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 creators 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 creators 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 creator base, the loyalty of our creators 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 registered creators may be higher than the number of our actual individual creators and may not be representative of the number of persons who are active potential creators.
Our total number of registered creators IZEAx may be higher than the number of our actual individual creators because some creators have multiple registrations, other creators may have died or become incapacitated and others may have registered under fictitious names. Given the challenges inherent in identifying these creators, we do not have a reliable system to accurately identify the number of actual individual creators, and thus we rely on the number of total registered creators as our measure of the size of our creator base. In addition, the number of creators 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 create to fulfill the sponsorships offered through our platforms.
Our total number of registered advertisers may be higher than the number of our actual individual advertisers and may not be representative of the number of persons or companies who are active potential advertisers.
Our total number of registered advertisers IZEAx may be higher than the number of our actual individual advertisers because some advertisers have multiple registrations and other advertisers may no longer have a need for advertising or be in business. Given the challenges inherent in identifying these advertisers, we do not have a reliable system to accurately identify the number of actual individual advertisers, and thus we rely on the number of total registered advertisers as our measure of the size of our advertiser base. In addition, the number of advertisers includes the total number of advertisers that have completed registration through a specific date, less advertisers who have unsubscribed, and should not be considered as representative of the number of advertisers who continue to actively create to fulfill the sponsorships offered 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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• | right to access personal data; |
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• | characteristics and quality of services. |
The applicability of existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, copyrights and other intellectual property, 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 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.
We do not engage in targeted or online behavioral advertising practices, nor do we compile or use information concerning consumer behavior on an individual level, but we may do so from time to time in the aggregate and on an anonymous basis to analyze our services and offerings, and better optimize them for improved business results. As the practice of targeted advertising has become increasingly scrutinized by both regulators and the industry alike, a greater emphasis has been placed on educating consumers about their privacy choices on the Internet, and providing them with the right to opt in or opt out of certain industry practices, such as targeted advertising. The common thread throughout both targeted advertising and the FTC requirements described in detail in the section "Business - Government Regulation" is the increased importance placed on transparency between the advertiser and the consumer to ensure that consumers know the difference between “information” and “advertising” on the Internet, and are afforded the opportunity to decide how their data will be used in the manner to which they are marketed. There is a risk regarding negative consumer perception “of the practice of undisclosed compensation of social media users to endorse specific products” which pertains to a risk of overall general public confidence in the FTC's ability to enforce its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising in social media. As described in the section "Business - Government Regulation," we undertake various measures through controls across our platforms and by monitoring and enforcing our code of ethics to ensure that advertisers and creators comply with the FTC Guides when utilizing our sites, but if competitors and other companies do not, it could create a negative overall perception for the industry. Not only will readers stop relying on blogs for useful, timely and insightful information that enrich their lives by having access to up-to-the-minute information that often bears different perspectives and philosophies, but a lack of compliance will almost inevitably result in greater governmental oversight and involvement in an already-highly regulated marketplace. If there is pervasive overall negative perception caused by others not complying with FTC Guides among its other acts, regulations and policies, then this could result in reduced revenue and results of operations and higher compliance costs for us.
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 creators 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 creator 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, FTC 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 creators 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.
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 creators or advertisers.
Creators and advertisers access our services through our platforms and applications. Our reputation and ability to acquire, retain and serve our creators and advertisers are dependent upon the reliable performance of our platforms and applications and the underlying network infrastructure. As our creator 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 creator 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 creators 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 creators 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 creators 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 creator 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 any number of other reasons and, as a result, an unauthorized party may obtain access to our data or our advertisers' or creators' data. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees, advertisers or creators to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our data or our advertisers' or creators' data. Although we do have security measures in place, we have had instances where some customers have used fraudulent credit cards in order to pay for our services. 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 and use unauthorized credit cards, 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 on a timely basis. 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, creators and vendors and have difficulty obtaining merchant processors or insurance coverage essential for our operations.
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 that 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 our creators, which may affect our business.
Laws relating to the liability of providers of online services for activities of their advertisers or of social media content creators 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 our creators. Our potential liability for unlawful activities of our advertisers or our creators 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.
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 as the pending Blue Calypso lawsuit described above. These 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.
Historically, we have not relied 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 registered patents on any of our current platforms, because we determined that the costs of patent prosecution outweighed 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.
We have developed a new platform called the IZEA Exchange (IZEAx). IZEAx is designed to provide a unified ecosystem that enables the creation of multiple types of content including blog posts, status updates, videos and photos through a wide variety of social channels including blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and LinkedIn, among others. We have filed a patent application covering important features of this platform and have submitted a trademark application for “Native Ad Exchange,” which are currently pending approval. We are not aware of any reason why such applications will not be granted, although there can be no assurance thereof.
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 sponsorship industry is 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.
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 and will continue to place, a strain on our managerial and financial resources. As our business needs expand, we intend to hire new employees. 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. |
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. Murphy, our President and Chief Executive Officer, and Ryan S. Schram, our Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Murphy, who is our founder, has unique knowledge regarding the social sponsorship space and business contacts that would be difficult to replace. Mr. Schram has sales, marketing and development expertise regarding our platforms that our other officers do not possess. If Messrs. Murphy and Schram were to become unavailable to us, our operations would be adversely affected. We maintain "key-man" life insurance for our benefit in the amount of $1,500,000 on the life of Mr. Murphy, but not for any other officer. This insurance may be inadequate to compensate us for the loss of Mr. Murphy. Moreover, we have no insurance to compensate us for the loss of any other of our executive officers or key employees.
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 are located. We have in the past experienced difficulty in recruiting qualified personnel. Failure to attract, assimilate and retain personnel, including key management, technical, sales and marketing personnel, would have a material adverse effect on our business and potential growth.
Having only three executive officers and two independent directors limits our ability to establish effective independent corporate governance procedures and increases the control of our executive officers and non-independent directors.
We have only three executive officers and five directors. Two of our directors are also executive officers, one director is our largest individual stockholder and two directors are considered independent. Accordingly, it is difficult to establish effective operating board committees comprised of independent members to oversee committee functions. This structure gives our executive officers and largest stockholder significant control over all our corporate governance matters.
Unless and until we have a larger board of directors that would include a majority of independent members, there will be limited oversight of our executive officers’ decisions and activities and little ability for you to challenge or reverse those decisions and activities, even if they are not in your best interests.
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 rules and regulations to increase our compliance costs and to make certain activities more time consuming and costly. As a public company, we also expect that these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance 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 and costly for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our Board of Directors or as executive officers.
Risks Relating to our Common Stock
Exercise of stock options, warrants and other securities will dilute your percentage of ownership and could cause our stock price to fall.
As of March 12, 2015, we have 57,697,666 shares of common stock issued, outstanding stock options to purchase 12,977,378 shares of common stock at an average price of $0.44 per share, outstanding warrants to purchase 54,042,749 shares of common stock at an average price of $0.41 per share, and 1,754,164 shares of vested, yet unissued, shares of restricted common stock. Additionally, we have reserved shares to issue stock options, restricted stock or other awards to purchase or receive up to 7,107,638 shares of common stock under our May 2011 Equity Incentive Plan and 1,492,397 shares of common stock under our 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan. 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. Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock could cause the price of our common stock to fall and could impair our ability to raise capital by selling additional securities.
There may be substantial issuances of our common stock to satisfy our obligations under the Stock Purchase Agreement for our acquisition of Ebyline, Inc.
On January 30, 2015, we purchased of all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of Ebyline pursuant to the terms of a Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of January 27, 2015, by and among IZEA, Ebyline and the stockholders of Ebyline. The aggregate consideration payable by us will be an amount in the aggregate of up to $8,850,000, including a cash payment made at closing of $1,200,000, a stock issuance six months after the closing valued at $250,000, up to an additional $1,900,000 in two equal installments of $950,000 on the first and second anniversaries of the closing (subject to reduction) and up to $5,500,000 in performance payments paid over three years based on Ebyline meeting certain revenue targets for each of the three years ending December 31, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Both the $1,900,000 in annual payments and the $5,500,000 in performance payments may be made in cash or common stock, at our option.
If Ebyline achieves all of the revenue targets, we do not have enough cash reserves to pay for the complete purchase price in cash. As such, we may issue shares of our common stock to satisfy the future payment obligations or raise funds through additional financing opportunities. Stock payments are to be based on the 30-day volume-weighted average closing price prior to the payment date. Additional financing transactions may include the issuance of equity or convertible debt securities, obtaining credit facilities or other financing alternatives. The issuance of a substantial number of shares of common stock to raise additional capital to satisfy the future payment obligations could significantly dilute the percentage ownership interests of and may be at prices more beneficial than those paid by our existing common stockholders.
There may be substantial sales of our common stock under the prospectus relating to our 2014 Private Placement, which could cause our stock price to drop.
We agreed with the investors in our 2014 Private Placement to file a shelf registration statement with the SEC with respect to the resale of all of the shares of our common stock, as well as shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants, purchased by investors. We filed a registration statement on Form S-1 on April 7, 2014 and it was declared effective on May 14, 2014. The registration statement included a total of 68,571,456 shares of our common stock (of which 34,285,728 shares are presently outstanding and 34,285,728 shares are issuable upon the exercise of warrants). There are currently no agreements or understandings in place with these selling stockholders to restrict their sale of those shares. Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock by the selling stockholders over a short period of time could cause the market price of our common stock to drop and could impair our ability to raise capital in the future by selling additional securities.
Holders of warrants issued in our 2014 Private Placement have anti-dilution adjustment rights that, if triggered, could dilute the ownership interests of our existing common stockholders.
Holders of our warrants to purchase 17,893,375 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.35 per share and warrants to purchase 17,893,375 shares at an exercise price of $0.50 per share issued in our 2014 Private Placement have anti-dilution adjustment rights that, if triggered, could dilute the interests of our common stockholders. The warrants contain weighted average anti-dilution protection for warrant holders if we sell another equity or equity-linked security at a price per share lower than the respective exercise prices during the five-year term of the warrants. Additionally, the warrants do not contain a negotiated floor for the exercise price. As compared with a full ratchet anti-dilution provision, which resets the exercise price at the lowest price in any subsequent sale of stock, a weighted average anti-dilution provision takes into account both the lower price and the number of shares issued at the lower price. The triggering of these anti-dilution provisions could result in the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants, which would dilute the ownership interests of our existing common stockholders.
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 creators; 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 creators. These factors affecting our future earnings are difficult to forecast and could harm our quarterly and/or annual operating results. The change in our earnings or general economic conditions may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate.
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. |
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.
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 to the 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 national securities exchange. Specifically, the bid price of our common stock is less than the minimum bid price required to obtain a listing. Trading in our common stock continues to be conducted 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 larger financial institutions, as consideration in possible future acquisition transactions or other purposes.
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.
Investor relations activities and supply and demand factors may affect the price of our common stock.
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.
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 limited trading markets in which our shares may be offered or sold which have been associated with improper activities concerning penny stocks, such as the OTCQB marketplace.
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. 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 third-parties’ activities 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.
We have not registered our securities under the Securities Exchange Act and therefore are not subject to the SEC's beneficial ownership reporting and proxy statement rules.
We do not currently have a class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which would subject us to the proxy solicitation rules and the beneficial ownership reporting rules for executive officers and directors. We are, however, subject to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act because we have a current registration statement in 2015. This means that we are required to file Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K with the SEC, but we are still not subject to the beneficial ownership reporting and proxy statement rules, which would provide our stockholders and potential investors with additional information about our company and management. So long as we are subject to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act, shareholders holding restricted shares of our common stock may utilize Rule 144 is six-month holding period prior to sale. Should we no longer have a current registration statement in 2016, we will no longer be subject to Section 15(d) and will be a "voluntary filer" so that shareholders holding restricted shares of our common stock will be required to hold our shares for 12 months prior to sale. When we are able to satisfy initial eligibility criteria to "uplist" our common stock to a national securities exchange such as Nasdaq, we would expect to register our securities under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act and then become subject to all applicable reporting rules.
ITEM 1B - UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 2 - PROPERTIES
In December 2013, we moved our corporate headquarters to 480 N. Orlando Avenue, Suite 200 in Winter Park, Florida pursuant to a five year and five month sublease agreement that is renewable for one additional year until April 2020. We lease approximately 15,500 square feet based on a variable $17.50 to $22.50 per square foot annual rate over the lease term. During 2013, we leased space under a one-year sublease agreement at 1000 Legion Place, Suite 1600 in Orlando, Florida with total rent owed of $85,000. We also lease flexible office space under a month-to-month contract in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
Total rent expense recorded in general and administrative expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations was approximately $125,000 and $263,000 for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively.
ITEM 3 – LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
From time to time, we may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. Litigation is, however, subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may harm our business. Other than as described below, we are currently not aware of any legal proceedings or claims that we believe would or could have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on us.
On October 17, 2012, Blue Calypso, Inc. filed a complaint against us in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Blue Calypso’s complaint alleges that we infringe their patents related to peer-to-peer advertising between mobile communication devices and seeks unspecified damages. On July 19, 2013, Blue Calypso’s case against us was consolidated, along with patent infringement cases against Yelp, Inc. and Foursquare Labs, Inc., into Blue Calypso, Inc. v. Groupon, Inc. for all pretrial purposes, including discovery and claim construction.
On December 16, 2013, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) instituted a Covered Business Method Review (CBMR) for three of the five patents Blue Calypso asserts in its case against IZEA. In its decisions granting the CMBRs, the PTAB explained that several of Blue Calypso’s asserted patents are likely invalid. In particular, the PTAB found it more likely than not that each of these three patents was invalid based on two independent grounds of anticipation, and one ground of obviousness. Additionally, the PTAB preliminarily found it more likely than not that many of the claims of one of Blue Calypso’s patents were invalid due to a lack of written description. On January 16, 2014, the court granted a joint motion to stay Blue Calypso’s patent infringement case until the PTAB’s review of Blue Calypso’s asserted patents is complete. On January 17, 2014, the PTAB expanded its review to all five of Blue Calypso’s assert patents.
On December 16, 2014, the PTAB issued its Final Decisions concerning the five patents-in-suit. The Final Decisions eliminated the vast majority of claims asserted by Blue Calypso. While some claims did survive the PTAB’s Final Decisions, those claims are potentially invalid in view of factual findings made by the PTAB. The PTAB decisions are now on appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The potential outcomes of these appeals ranges from invalidation of all of Blue Calypso’s asserted claims to complete reversal of the PTAB’s Final Decisions.
In view of the pending appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Defendants, including IZEA, have requested that the Eastern District of Texas Court keep the pending stay in place until resolution of the appeals. The Court has not yet ruled on Defendants’ motion to keep the stay in place.
At this stage, we do not have an estimate of the likelihood or the amount of any potential exposure to us. We believe that there is no merit to Blue Calypso’s suit and continue to vigorously defend ourselves against Blue Calypso’s allegations.
ITEM 4 – MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable
PART II
ITEM 5 - MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Since May 2012, our common stock has been quoted on the OTCQB marketplace, under the trading symbol IZEA. From June 2011 to April 2012, our common stock was quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board. Prior to June 2011, 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 for our common stock. 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.
|
| | | | | | | | |
Fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 | | High | | Low |
First quarter | | $ | 0.46 |
| | $ | 0.16 |
|
Second quarter | | $ | 0.35 |
| | $ | 0.16 |
|
Third quarter | | $ | 0.40 |
| | $ | 0.25 |
|
Fourth quarter | | $ | 0.43 |
| | $ | 0.26 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | |
Fiscal year ended December 31, 2014 | | High | | Low |
First quarter | | $ | 0.68 |
| | $ | 0.30 |
|
Second quarter | | $ | 0.61 |
| | $ | 0.41 |
|
Third quarter | | $ | 0.50 |
| | $ | 0.35 |
|
Fourth quarter | | $ | 0.37 |
| | $ | 0.19 |
|
Holders
As of March 12, 2015, we had approximately 205 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.
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans
See the section titled "Equity Compensation Plan Information" under Item 12 in Part III of this Form 10-K.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
On February 21, 2014, we completed a private placement pursuant to a Purchase Agreement dated as of February 12, 2014, for the issuance and sale of 34,285,728 shares of our common stock, at a purchase price of $0.35 per share, to a number of institutional and other accredited investors, for gross proceeds of $12,000,000. The lead investor in the private placement was Special Situations Funds. As part of the private placement, the investors received warrants to purchase up to 17,142,864 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $0.35 per share and warrants to purchase up to another 17,142,864 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $0.50 per share. The warrants will expire on February 21, 2019, five years after the date on which they were issued.
The net proceeds from the private placement, following the payment of offering-related expenses, are being used by us to focus on revenue growth through the acceleration of our sales and client relations activities and marketing initiatives, establishment of strategic partnerships and continuation of technology and engineering enhancements to our platforms, as well
as to fund our working capital and capital expenditure requirements. At the closing of the private placement, we paid Craig-Hallum Capital Partners LLC, the exclusive placement agent for the private placement, cash compensation of $814,850 and two five-year warrants - one warrant to purchase up to 750,511 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $0.35 per share and another warrant to purchase up to 750,511 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $0.50 per share.
We agreed, pursuant to the terms of a registration rights agreement with the investors, to (i) file a shelf registration statement with respect to the resale of the shares of our common stock sold to the investors and shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants with the SEC within the sooner of 60 days after the closing date or 10 business days after we filed our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013; (ii) use our commercially reasonable best efforts to have the shelf registration statement declared effective by the SEC as soon as possible after the initial filing, and in any event no later than 90 days after the closing date (or 120 days in the event of a full review of the shelf registration statement by the SEC); and (iii) keep the shelf registration statement effective until all registrable securities may be sold pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, without the need for current public information or other restriction. If we are unable to comply with any of the above covenants, we will be required to pay liquidated damages to the investors in the amount of 1% of the investors’ purchase price per month until such non-compliance is cured, with such liquidated damages payable in cash. We filed a registration statement on Form S-1 related to these shares on April 7, 2014, which was declared effective by the SEC on May 14, 2014 (satisfying the terms of (i) and (ii) above). On February 21, 2015, the terms of (iii) were satisfied as securities may now be sold pursuant to Rule 144 one year after issuance.
Other Restricted Share Issuances
Effective January 1, 2014, we entered into a one-year agreement to pay $7,500 per month and 100,000 shares of restricted stock per quarter to a firm to provide investor relations services. In accordance with the agreement, we issued 100,000 shares of restricted common stock valued at $30,110 on January 1, 2014 and 100,000 shares of restricted common stock valued at $52,000 on April 1, 2014. This agreement was canceled in June 2014 and no further amounts are owed.
On December 31, 2014, we issued 64,144 shares of restricted common stock valued at $25,000 to each Brian W. Brady, Lindsay A. Gardner and Dan R. Rua for their service as directors of our company during the year ended December 31, 2014.
The foregoing issuances of shares were made in reliance upon the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
ITEM 6 - SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Not applicable for smaller reporting companies.
ITEM 7 – MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
The following discussion and analysis is provided to increase the understanding of, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this report. 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 report contains “forward-looking statements.” The statements, which are not historical facts contained in this report, including this Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and notes to our 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 development and introduction of new products and services, the successful integration of acquired companies, technologies and assets into our portfolio of software 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 SEC.
All forward-looking statements in this document are based on information currently available to us as of the date of this report, 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. was founded in February 2006 under the name PayPerPost, Inc. and became a public company incorporated in the state of Nevada in May 2011. We are headquartered in Winter Park, Florida with offices in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York and a sales presence in Texas and Michigan.
Company Overview
IZEA, Inc. is a leading company in the social sponsorship space. We believe that we pioneered the concept of a marketplace for sponsorships on the social web in 2006 with the launch of our first platform, PayPerPost.com, and have focused on scaling our offerings ever since. We compensate bloggers, tweeters and other types of social media content creators to share information about companies, products, websites and events within their social media content streams. Advertisers benefit from buzz, traffic, awareness and sales, and creators earn cash compensation in exchange for their posts.
Social sponsorship is when a company compensates a social media publisher or influencer such as a blogger or tweeter ("creators") to share sponsored content with their social network audience. This sponsored content is shared within the body of a content stream, a practice also referred to as “native advertising” and "sponsored content.” We generate our revenue primarily through the sale of sponsorship campaigns to our advertisers. We fulfill these campaigns through our platforms by utilizing our creators to complete sponsorship opportunities for its advertisers. We also generate revenue from the posting of targeted display advertising and from various service fees.
We operate an online marketplace that connects brands with creators at IZEA.com as well as other white label marketplaces. IZEA.com and all white label sites are powered by the IZEA Exchange (“IZEAx”), a platform that handles
content workflow, creator search and targeting, bidding, analytics and payment processing. IZEAx is designed to provide a unified ecosystem that enables the creation of multiple types of content including blog posts, status updates, videos and photos through a wide variety of social channels including blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr, among others. Prior to the launch of IZEAx, we had independent technology platforms including PayPerPost.com, SocialSpark.com and SponsoredTweets.com, which have been shut down throughout 2014 and replaced with the IZEAx system.
IZEAx takes the existing concepts of product placement and endorsements commonly found in movies, television and radio and applies them to the social web. We democratize the sponsorship process, allowing everyone from college students and stay at home moms to celebrities the opportunity to monetize their content, creativity and influence in social media. We direct bloggers, tweeters and other types of social media content creators to share information about companies, products, websites and events within their social media content streams. Advertisers benefit from buzz, traffic, awareness and sales, and creators earn cash compensation in exchange for their posts.
Results of Operations for the Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2014 Compared to the Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2013
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | |
| Twelve Months Ended | | |
| December 31,
2014 | | December 31,
2013 | | $ Change | | % Change |
Revenue | $ | 8,322,274 |
| | $ | 6,626,943 |
| | $ | 1,695,331 |
| | 25.6 | % |
Cost of sales | 2,845,833 |
| | 2,698,364 |
| | 147,469 |
| | 5.5 | % |
Gross profit | 5,476,441 |
| | 3,928,579 |
| | 1,547,862 |
| | 39.4 | % |
Operating expenses: | | | | | | | |
General and administrative | 8,813,291 |
| | 6,460,800 |
| | 2,352,491 |
| | 36.4 | % |
Sales and marketing | 1,309,353 |
| | 380,835 |
| | 928,518 |
| | 243.8 | % |
Total operating expenses | 10,122,644 |
| | 6,841,635 |
| | 3,281,009 |
| | 48.0 | % |
Loss from operations | (4,646,203 | ) | | (2,913,056 | ) | | (1,733,147 | ) | | (59.5 | )% |
Other income (expense): | | | | | | | |
Interest expense | (25,375 | ) | | (63,404 | ) | | 38,029 |
| | (60.0 | )% |
Loss on exchange of warrants and debt | — |
| | (94,214 | ) | | 94,214 |
| | (100.0 | )% |
Change in fair value of derivatives and notes payable carried at fair value, net | 7,845,214 |
| | (251,847 | ) | | 8,097,061 |
| | (3,215.1 | )% |
Other income (expense), net | 10,428 |
| | 529 |
| | 9,899 |
| | 1,871.3 | % |
Total other income (expense) | 7,830,267 |
| | (408,936 | ) | | 8,239,203 |
| | 2,014.8 | % |
Net income (loss) | $ | 3,184,064 |
| | $ | (3,321,992 | ) | | $ | 6,506,056 |
| | 195.8 | % |
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement our consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("U.S. GAAP"), we consider certain financial measures that are not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP, including Operating EBITDA. These non-GAAP financial measures are not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP.
We believe that Operating EBITDA provides useful information to investors as it excludes transactions not related to the core cash operating business activities including non-cash transactions. We believe that excluding these transactions allows investors to meaningfully trend and analyze the performance of our core cash operations. All companies do not calculate EBITDA in the same manner, and Operating EBITDA as presented by IZEA may not be comparable to EBITDA presented by other companies. IZEA defines Operating EBITDA as earnings or loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash stock related compensation, gain or loss on asset disposals or impairment and all other income and expense items such as loss on exchanges and changes in fair value of derivatives, if applicable.
|
| | | | | | | |
Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Operating EBITDA: | |
| Twelve Months Ended |
| December 31,
2014 | | December 31,
2013 |
Net income (loss) | $ | 3,184,064 |
| | $ | (3,321,992 | ) |
Non-cash stock-based compensation | 538,263 |
| | 725,254 |
|
Non-cash stock issued for payment of services | 166,610 |
| | 438,768 |
|
Change in the fair value of derivatives | (7,845,214 | ) | | 251,847 |
|
Loss on exchange of warrants | — |
| | 94,214 |
|
Loss/(Gain) on disposal of equipment | 16,192 |
| | (2,879 | ) |
Interest expense | 25,375 |
| | 63,404 |
|
Depreciation & amortization | 195,154 |
| | 69,229 |
|
Operating EBITDA | $ | (3,719,556 | ) | | $ | (1,682,155 | ) |
Revenues
We derive revenue from three sources: revenue from an advertiser for the use of our network of social media content creators to fulfill advertiser sponsor requests for a blog post, tweet, click or action ("Sponsored Revenue"), revenue from the posting of targeted display advertising ("Media Revenue") and revenue derived from various service fees charged to advertisers and creators for services, maintenance and enhancement of their accounts ("Service Fee Revenue"). In 2015, we expect to see a small portion of revenue from our addition of partnerships and licensing fees.
Revenues for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 increased by $1,695,331, or 25.6%, compared to the same period in 2013. The increase was attributable to a $1,534,000 increase in our Sponsored Revenue, a $77,000 decrease in Media Revenue and a $238,000 increase in Service Fee Revenue. In the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, Sponsored Revenue was 88%, Media Revenue was 4% and Service Fee Revenue was 8% of total revenue compared to Sponsored Revenue of 88%, Media Revenue of 5% and Service Fee Revenue of 7% of total revenue in the twelve months ended December 31, 2013. The increase in Sponsored Revenue income was primarily attributable to our larger sales force, concentrated sales efforts toward larger IZEA managed campaigns rather than smaller advertiser self-service campaigns and generating repeat business from existing customers. Service fees increased in the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 due to additional fees received from inactive self-service advertisers and creators. Media Revenue is decreasing due to a tactical shift from display advertising to focus on our Sponsored Revenue.
Our net bookings of $9.0 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 were approximately 24% higher than the net bookings of $7.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2013. Net bookings is a measure of sales orders minus any cancellations or refunds in a given period. Management uses net bookings as a leading indicator of future revenue recognition as revenue is typically recognized within 90 days of booking. We experienced higher bookings as a result of new customers, larger IZEA managed campaigns and an increase in repeat clients. These bookings are expected to translate into higher revenue in 2015 as compared to 2014.
Cost of Sales and Gross Profit
Our cost of sales is comprised primarily of amounts paid to our social media content creators for fulfilling an advertiser’s sponsor request for a blog post, tweet, click or action.
Cost of sales for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 increased by $147,469, or 5.5%, compared to the same period in 2013. The increase in cost of sales was primarily related to the increase in our sales.
Gross profit for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 increased by $1,547,862, or 39.4%, compared to the same period in 2013. Additionally, our gross profit as a percentage of revenue increased by seven percentage points from 59% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2013 to 66% for the same period in 2014. The gross profit increase during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 compared to 2013 was primarily attributable to an increase in larger advertisers using our managed campaign services, where we manage all aspects of their sponsored social advertising, as compared to smaller or self-service advertisers who manage their own campaigns using our platforms. Additionally, a larger portion of revenue was
derived from service fees during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, which have little or no cost associated with them.
While IZEAx will allow us to add new revenue streams in 2015, it will also create partnerships that have different economic models. White label partners will receive a percentage of each transaction, which will affect the gross profit margin on sponsorships over time. Additionally, the acquisition of Ebyline in January 2015 is also expected to result in lower near term gross margins as the margins on this business are currently significantly lower than our historical averages. As a result, we expect that our total revenue will increase but our margins will decrease.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses consist of general and administrative, and sales and marketing expenses. Total operating expenses for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 increased by $3,281,009, or 48.0%, compared to the same period in 2013. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in the number of personnel and their related costs, rent increases and investor relations expenses, along with higher depreciation, travel and promotional marketing expenses for our new platform.
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 twelve months ended December 31, 2014 increased by $2,352,491, or 36.4%, compared to the same period in 2013. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in personnel costs of approximately $1,700,000 as a result of the increase in the number of our personnel by nearly 71% over the year and additional commissions paid to personnel for the increase in customer bookings. Increased personnel costs are expected to continue in 2015 due to the realization of an entire year of salaries, taxes and benefits for the 2014 new hires and planned increases in the total number of personnel. The increase in general and administrative expenses is also attributable to an increase in public company and investor relations expenses of approximately $96,000 due to the retainer of several investor relation firms to help further promote our Company in the current year; a $103,000 increase in software and subscription costs as a result of increased personnel and additional systems used to manage our growing business; a $160,000 increase in travel costs related to the launch tour of our new platform and increase in outside personnel; a $145,000 increase in depreciation and amortization expense as a result of the amortization of software development costs for IZEA Exchange (IZEAx); and a $137,000 increase in rent for our new facilities.
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of costs to acquire and support sales and marketing efforts, promotional and advertising costs and trade show expenses. Sales and marketing expenses for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 increased by $928,518 or 243.8%, compared to the same period in 2013. The increase was primarily attributable to increased planned promotional expenses related to the launch of IZEAx and development of brand recognition through increased advertising for IZEA.
Other Income (Expense)
Other income (expense) consists primarily of interest expense, a loss on exchange of warrants and debt and the change in the fair value of derivatives and notes payable carried at fair value.
Interest expense during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 decreased by $38,029 compared to the same period in 2013 primarily due to lower debt balances in 2014 after all debt was converted into equity in our 2013 Private Placement pursuant to the terms of our various then outstanding notes payable or by separate agreement.
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2013, we recognized a $94,214 loss on exchange when we settled the payment of a $75,000 note payable and accrued interest thereon through an exchange of shares of our common stock and we redeemed certain warrants to purchase an aggregate of 4,546 shares of common stock for the same number of shares of our common stock without receiving any cash consideration for the exchange.
During the current periods and in prior periods, we entered into financing transactions that gave rise to derivative liabilities. These financial instruments are carried at fair value in our financial statements. Changes in the fair value of derivative financial instruments are required to be recorded in other income (expense) in the period of change. We recorded income of $7,845,214 and $514,704, resulting from the increase in the fair value of certain warrants during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Additionally, we recorded a $765,907 expense from the increase in fair value of certain notes payable and a $644 expense from the increase in fair value of compound embedded derivatives during the twelve months ended December 31, 2013. The net effect of these changes in fair values resulted in income of $7,845,214 and expense of $251,847 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. We have no control over the amount of change in the fair value of our derivative instruments as this is a factor based on fluctuating interest rates and
stock prices and other market conditions outside of our control. We have 35,910,554 warrants that are required to be fair valued each period. When the price of our stock decreases, it causes the fair value of our warrant liability in our consolidated balance sheets to decrease causing substantial income from the change in fair value in our consolidated statement of operations. Alternatively, when the price of our stock increases, it causes the fair value of our warrant liability to increase causing a substantial loss from the change in fair value.
Net Income (Loss)
Net income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 was $3,184,064, which increased from a net loss of $3,321,992 for the same period in 2013. The increase in net income was primarily the result of the increase in our gross profit margin and income recorded for the change in fair value of derivative financial instruments offset by increases in operating expenses as discussed above.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our cash position was $6,521,930 as of December 31, 2014 as compared to $530,052 as of December 31, 2013, an increase of $5,991,878 primarily as a result of proceeds received in our 2014 Private Placement described below. We have incurred significant net losses and negative cash flow from operations since our inception which has resulted in a total accumulated deficit of $22,941,350 as of December 31, 2014.
Cash used for operating activities was $4,213,674 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and was primarily a result of our loss from operations during the period of $4,646,203. Cash used for investing activities was $777,709 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 due primarily to the capitalization of software development costs for IZEAx that launched in March 2014 and increases in computer equipment purchases. Cash provided by financing activities was $10,983,261 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and was primarily a result of net proceeds of $10,933,998 from the sale of our common stock, as discussed below. Financing activities were reduced by loan costs and principal payments on our capital leases of $63,537. In July 2014, 450,000 shares underlying our $0.25 warrants issued in our 2013 Private Placement were exercised for total proceeds of $112,500 and employee stock options were exercised into 1,250 shares of common stock for cash proceeds of $300.
To date, we have financed our operations through internally generated revenue from operations and the sale of our equity securities.
On February 21, 2014, we completed a private placement pursuant to a Purchase Agreement dated as of February 12, 2014, for the issuance and sale of 34,285,728 shares of our common stock, at a purchase price of $0.35 per share for gross proceeds of $12,000,000. As part of the private placement, the investors received warrants to purchase up to 17,142,864 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $0.35 per share and warrants to purchase up to another 17,142,864 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $0.50 per share. The warrants expire on February 21, 2019, five years after the date on which they were issued. The net proceeds from the private placement, following the payment of offering-related expenses, are being used by us to focus on revenue growth through the acceleration of our sales and client relations activities and marketing initiatives, establishment of strategic partnerships and continuation of technology and engineering enhancements to our platforms, as well as to fund our working capital and capital expenditure requirements.
On January 30, 2015, we purchased all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of Ebyline, Inc. (“Ebyline”), pursuant to the terms of a Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of January 27, 2015, by and among IZEA, Ebyline and the stockholders of Ebyline. The aggregate consideration payable by us will be an amount in the aggregate of up to $8,850,000, including a cash payment at closing of $1,200,000, a stock issuance six months after the closing valued at $250,000, up to an additional $1,900,000 in two equal installments of $950,000 on the first and second anniversaries of the closing (subject to proportional reduction in the event Ebyline’s final 2014 revenue is below $8,000,000), and up to $5,500,000 in performance payments based on Ebyline meeting certain revenue targets for each of the three years ending December 31, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Both the $1,900,000 in annual payments and the $5,500,000 in performance payments may be made in cash or common stock, at our option. The performance payments will be made only if Ebyline achieves at least 90% of Content-Only Revenue, as defined in the agreement, of $17,000,000 in 2015, $27,000,000 in 2016 and $32,000,000 in 2017. If Ebyline achieves at least 90% but less than 100% of the Content-Only Revenue targets, the performance payments owed of $1,800,000, $1,800,000 and $1,900,000 for each of the three years ending December 31, 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively, will be subject to adjustment.
The effect of the above transactions has provided us with a positive working capital balance and sufficient cash reserves or equity available to cover expenses for the foreseeable future.
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. Uncollectibility of accounts receivable is not significant 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 creator 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 do not have a reserve for doubtful accounts as of December 31, 2014. We believe that this estimate is reasonable, but there can be no assurance that the estimate will not change as a result of a change in economic conditions or business conditions within the industry, the individual customers or our company. Any adjustments to this account are reflected in the consolidated statements of operations as a general and administrative expense. Bad debt expense was less than 1% of revenue for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013.
Throughout 2013 and the first quarter of 2014, we developed our new web-based advertising exchange platform , IZEAx. This platform will be utilized both internally and externally to facilitate native advertising campaigns on a greater scale. In accordance with ASC 350-40, Internal Use Software and ASC 985-730, Computer Software Research and Development, research phase costs should be expensed as incurred and development phase costs including direct materials and services, payroll and benefits and interest costs may be capitalized. As a result, we have capitalized $568,875 in direct materials, payroll and benefit costs to software development costs in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2014. We estimate the useful life for IZEAx will be 5 years, consistent with the amount of time our legacy platforms were in-service, and are amortizing the software development costs over this period.
We derive revenue from three sources: revenue from an advertiser for the use of the our network of social media content creators to fulfill advertiser sponsor requests for a blog post, tweet, click or action ("Sponsored Revenue"), revenue from the posting of targeted display advertising ("Media Revenue") and revenue derived from various service fees charged to advertisers and creators ("Service Fee Revenue"). Sponsored revenue is recognized and considered earned after an advertiser's opportunity is posted on our online platform and their request is completed and content listed, as applicable, by our creators for a requisite period of time. The requisite period ranges from 3 days for an action or tweet to 30 days for a blog. Management fees related to Sponsored Revenue from advertising campaigns managed by the Company are recognized equally over the term of the campaign which range from a few days to months. Media Revenue is recognized and considered earned when our creators place targeted display advertising in blogs. Service fees are recognized immediately when the maintenance, enhancement or other service is performed for an advertiser or creator. Service fees charged to advertisers are primarily related to inactivity fees for dormant accounts and fees for additional services outside of sponsored revenue. Service fees charged to creators include upgrade account fees for obtaining greater visibility to advertisers in advertiser searches in our platforms, early cash-out fees if a creator wishes to take proceeds earned for services from their account when the account balance is below certain minimum balance thresholds and inactivity fees for dormant accounts. Service fees are recognized immediately when the maintenance or enhancement service is performed for an advertiser or creator or at the time the account becomes dormant or is cashed out. Self-service advertisers must prepay for services by placing a deposit in their account with the Company. The deposits are typically paid by the advertiser via check, wire transfer or credit card. Advertisers who use Company personnel to manage their advertising campaigns may prepay for services or request credit terms. Deposits are
recorded as unearned revenue until earned as described above. All of our revenue is generated through the rendering of services and is recognized under the general guidelines of SAB Topic 13 A.1 which states that revenue will be recognized when it is realized or realizable and earned. We consider our revenue as generally realized or realizable and earned once (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) services have been rendered, (iii) our price to the advertiser or customer is fixed (required to be paid at a set amount that is not subject to refund or adjustment) and determinable, and (iv) collectibility is reasonably assured. We record revenue on the gross amount earned since we generally are the primary obliger 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 typically 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 five or ten-year contract lives. We estimate the fair value of our common stock using the closing stock price of our common stock as quoted in the OTCQB marketplace on the date of the agreement. We estimate the volatility of our common stock at the date of grant based on the volatility of comparable peer companies that are publicly traded and have had a longer trading history than us. 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 following table shows the number of options granted under our May 2011 and August 2011 Equity Incentive Plans and the assumptions used to determine the fair value of those options during the quarterly periods in 2013 and 2014:
2011 Equity Incentive Plans - Options Granted |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Period 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, 2013 | | 2,170,834 |
| | $0.25 | | 10 years | | 52.72% | | 1.91% | | $0.16 |
June 30, 2013 | | 975,250 |
| | $0.25 | | 6 years | | 51.84% | | 0.91% | | $0.12 |
September 30, 2013 | | 4,493,978 |
| | $0.35 | | 10 years | | 51.72% | | 2.74% | | $0.24 |
December 31, 2013 | | 980,000 |
| | $0.34 | | 5 years | | 47.55% | | 1.37% | | $0.14 |
March 31, 2014 | | 330,000 |
| | $0.48 | | 5 years | | 43.32% | | 1.60% | | $0.19 |
June 30, 2014 | | 1,066,680 |
| | $0.46 | | 5 years | | 41.38% | | 1.66% | | $0.18 |
September 30, 2014 | | 1,992,151 |
| | $0.38 | | 5 years | | 40.38% | | 1.74% | | $0.14 |
December 31, 2014 | | 970,000 |
| | $0.26 | | 9 years | | 46.76% | | 2.14% | | $0.15 |
There were 11,913,774 total options outstanding with a weighted average exercise price of $0.46 per share and 4,471,936 exercisable options outstanding with a weighted average exercise price of $0.58 per share as of December 31, 2014. There is no aggregate intrinsic value on the exercisable, outstanding options as of December 31, 2014 since the weighted average exercise price per share exceeded the market price of $0.28 of our common stock on such date.
We account for derivative instruments in accordance with 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.
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 new accounting pronouncements issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") which are not yet effective. Management does not believe any of these accounting pronouncements will have a material impact on our financial position or operating results.
In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASU 2014-09), which supersedes nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance under U.S. GAAP. The core principle of ASU 2014-09 is to recognize revenues when promised goods or services are transferred to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled for those goods or services. ASU 2014-09 defines a five step process to achieve this core principle and, in doing so, more judgment and estimates may be required within the revenue recognition
process than are required under existing U.S. GAAP.
The standard is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods therein, using either of the following transition methods: (i) a full retrospective approach reflecting the application of the standard in each prior reporting period with the option to elect certain practical expedients, or (ii) a retrospective approach with the cumulative effect of initially adopting ASU 2014-09 recognized at the date of adoption (which includes additional footnote disclosures). We are currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of ASU 2014-09 on our consolidated financial statements and have not yet determined the method by which we will adopt the standard in 2017.
ITEM 7A – QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Not applicable to smaller reporting companies.
ITEM 8 - FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The Board of Directors and Stockholders
IZEA, Inc.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of IZEA, Inc. as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for the years then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audit included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of IZEA, Inc. as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
/s/ Cross, Fernandez & Riley, LLP
Orlando, Florida
March 19, 2015
IZEA, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
|
| | | | | | | |
| December 31,
2014 | | December 31,
2013 |
Assets | | | |
Current: | | | |
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 6,521,930 |
| | $ | 530,052 |
|
Accounts receivable | 2,156,378 |
| | 1,659,802 |
|
Prepaid expenses | 190,604 |
| | 109,960 |
|
Other current assets | 61,424 |
| | 83,486 |
|
Total current assets | 8,930,336 |
| | 2,383,300 |
|
| | | |
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $239,521 and $205,070 | 588,919 |
| | 156,482 |
|
Software development costs, net of accumulated amortization of $85,331 and $0 | 483,544 |
| | 362,346 |
|
Security deposits | 100,641 |
| | 46,574 |
|
Total assets | $ | 10,103,440 |
| | $ | 2,948,702 |
|
|
| | | | | | | |
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) | | | |
Current liabilities: | | | |
Accounts payable | $ | 310,611 |
| | $ | 817,057 |
|
Accrued expenses | 394,617 |
| | 365,454 |
|
Unearned revenue | 1,767,074 |
| | 1,292,228 |
|
Current portion of capital lease obligations | 54,376 |
| | 43,852 |
|
Total current liabilities | 2,526,678 |
| | 2,518,591 |
|
| | | |
Capital lease obligations, less current portion | 7,291 |
| | 34,013 |
|
Deferred rent | 106,531 |
| | 14,179 |
|
Warrant liability | 3,203,465 |
| | 1,832,945 |
|
Total liabilities | 5,843,965 |
| | 4,399,728 |
|
| | | |
Stockholders’ equity (deficit:) | |
| | |
|
Common stock, $.0001 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized; 57,697,666 and 22,560,653 issued and outstanding | 5,770 |
| | 2,256 |
|
Additional paid-in capital | 27,195,055 |
| | 24,672,132 |
|
Accumulated deficit | (22,941,350 | ) | | (26,125,414 | ) |
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit) | 4,259,475 |
| | (1,451,026 | ) |
| | | |
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity (deficit) | $ | 10,103,440 |
| | $ | 2,948,702 |
|
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
IZEA, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
|
| | | | | | | |
| Twelve Months Ended December 31, |
| 2014 | | 2013 |
| | | |
Revenue | $ | 8,322,274 |
| | $ | 6,626,943 |
|
Cost of sales | 2,845,833 |
| | 2,698,364 |
|
Gross profit | 5,476,441 |
| | 3,928,579 |
|
| | | |
Operating expenses: | |
| | |
|
General and administrative | 8,813,291 |
| | 6,460,800 |
|
Sales and marketing | 1,309,353 |
| | 380,835 |
|
Total operating expenses | 10,122,644 |
| | 6,841,635 |
|
| | | |
Loss from operations | (4,646,203 | ) | | (2,913,056 | ) |
| | | |
Other income (expense): | |
| | |
|
Interest expense | (25,375 | ) | | (63,404 | ) |
Loss on exchange of warrants and debt | — |
| | (94,214 | ) |
Change in fair value of derivatives and notes payable carried at fair value, net | 7,845,214 |
| | (251,847 | ) |
Other income (expense), net | 10,428 |
| | 529 |
|
Total other income (expense) | 7,830,267 |
| | (408,936 | ) |
| | | |
Net income (loss) | $ | 3,184,064 |
| | $ | (3,321,992 | ) |
| | | |
Weighted average common shares outstanding – basic | 52,327,088 |
| | 12,400,366 |
|
Basic income (loss) per common share | $ | 0.06 |
| | $ | (0.27 | ) |
| | | |
Weighted average common shares outstanding – diluted | 63,400,080 |
| | 12,400,366 |
|
Diluted income (loss) per common share | $ | 0.05 |
| | $ | (0.27 | ) |
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
IZEA, Inc.
Consolidated Statement of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Series A Convertible Preferred Stock | | Common Stock | | Additional Paid-In | | Accumulated | | Total Stockholders’ |
| Shares | | Amount | | Shares | | Amount | | Capital | | Deficit | | Equity (Deficit) |
Balance, December 31, 2012 | 5 |
| | $ | — |
| | 6,186,997 |
| | $ | 619 |
| | $ | 21,489,354 |
| | $ | (22,803,422 | ) | | $ | (1,313,449 | ) |
Sale of common stock and conversion of notes payable, net of offering costs | — |
| | — |
| | 14,236,472 |
| | 1,424 |
| | 1,882,786 |
| | — |
| | 1,884,210 |
|
Conversion of preferred stock | (5 | ) | | — |
| | 3,788 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
|
Conversion of notes payable into common stock | — |
| | — |
| | 773,983 |
| | 77 |
| | 124,534 |
| | — |
| | 124,611 |
|
Exchange of warrants for common stock | — |
| | — |
| | 5,001 |
| | 1 |
| | 731 |
| | — |
| | 732 |
|
Fair value of warrants issued | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 7,209 |
| | — |
| | 7,209 |
|
Stock issued for payment of services | — |
| | — |
| | 1,354,412 |
| | 135 |
| | 442,264 |
| | — |
| | 442,399 |
|
Stock-based compensation | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 725,254 |
| | — |
| | 725,254 |
|
Net loss | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (3,321,992 | ) | | (3,321,992 | ) |
Balance, December 31, 2013 | — |
| | $ | — |
| | 22,560,653 |
| | $ | 2,256 |
| | $ | 24,672,132 |
| | $ | (26,125,414 | ) | | $ | (1,451,026 | ) |
Sale of common stock, net of offering costs | — |
| | — |
| | 34,285,728 |
| | 3,429 |
| | 10,928,759 |
| | — |
| | 10,932,188 |
|
Fair value of warrants issued | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (12,382,216 | ) | | — |
| | (12,382,216 | ) |
Fair value of 2013 PPM warrants reclassified from liability to equity | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 3,166,482 |
| | — |
| | 3,166,482 |
|
Exercise of stock options & warrants | — |
| | — |
| | 451,250 |
| | 45 |
| | 112,755 |
| | — |
| | 112,800 |
|
Stock purchase plan subscriptions | — |
| | — |
| | 7,603 |
| | 1 |
| | 1,809 |
| | — |
| | 1,810 |
|
Stock issued for payment of services | — |
| | — |
| | 392,432 |
| | 39 |
| | 157,071 |
| | — |
| | 157,110 |
|
Stock-based compensation | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 538,263 |
| | — |
| | 538,263 |
|
Net income | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 3,184,064 |
| | 3,184,064 |
|
Balance, December 31, 2014 | — |
| | $ | — |
| | 57,697,666 |
| | $ | 5,770 |
| | $ | 27,195,055 |
| | $ | (22,941,350 | ) | | $ | 4,259,475 |
|
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
IZEA, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
|
| | | | | | | |
| Twelve Months Ended December 31, |
| 2014 | | 2013 |
Cash flows from operating activities: | | | |
Net income (loss) | $ | 3,184,064 |
| | $ | (3,321,992 | ) |
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used for operating activities: | |
| | |
|
Depreciation | 109,823 |
| | 51,229 |
|
Amortization of software development costs and other assets | 95,548 |
| | 45,961 |
|
Loss (gain) on sale of furniture and equipment | 16,192 |
| | (2,879 | ) |
Bad debt expense | — |
| | 26,389 |
|
Stock-based compensation | 538,263 |
| | 725,254 |
|
Stock issued or to be issued for payment of services | 166,610 |
| | 443,588 |
|
Loss on exchange of warrants and debt | — |
| | 94,214 |
|
Change in fair value of derivatives and notes payable carried at fair value, net | (7,845,214 | ) | | 251,847 |
|
Cash provided by (used for): | |
| | |
|
Accounts receivable | (496,576 | ) | | (1,259,373 | ) |
Prepaid expenses and other current assets | (72,299 | ) | | (15,226 | ) |
Accounts payable | (506,446 | ) | | (346,250 | ) |
Accrued expenses | 29,163 |
| | 203,990 |
|
Unearned revenue | 474,846 |
| | 152,088 |
|
Deferred rent | 92,352 |
| | 14,179 |
|
Net cash used for operating activities | (4,213,674 | ) | | (2,936,981 | ) |
| | | |
Cash flows from investing activities: | | | |
Purchase of equipment | (517,113 | ) | | (17,586 | ) |
Increase in software development costs | (206,529 | ) | | (362,346 | ) |
Security deposits | (54,067 | ) | | (37,526 | ) |
Net cash used for investing activities | (777,709 | ) | | (417,458 | ) |
| | | |
Cash flows from financing activities: | |
| | |
|
Proceeds from issuance of notes payable, net | — |
| | 1,439,798 |
|
Proceeds from issuance of common stock and warrants, net | 10,933,998 |
| | 2,004,111 |
|
Proceeds from exercise of stock options & warrants | 112,800 |
| | — |
|
Payments on notes payable and capital leases | (63,537 | ) | | (217,364 | ) |
Net cash provided by financing activities | 10,983,261 |
| | 3,226,545 |
|
| | | |
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | 5,991,878 |
| | (127,894 | ) |
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year | 530,052 |
| | 657,946 |
|
| | | |
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period | $ | 6,521,930 |
| | $ | 530,052 |
|
| | | |
Supplemental cash flow information: | |
| | |
|
Cash paid during period for interest | $ | 15,158 |
| | $ | 13,045 |
|
| | | |
Non-cash financing and investing activities: | |
| | |
|
Fair value of 2013 PPM warrants reclassified from liability to equity | $ | 3,166,482 |
| | $ | — |
|
Fair value of warrants issued | $ | 12,382,216 |
| | $ | 2,352,108 |
|
Conversion of notes payable into common stock | $ | — |
| | $ | 1,501,229 |
|
Acquisition of assets through capital lease | $ | 41,339 |
| | $ | 73,489 |
|
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
NOTE 1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Nature of Business
IZEA, Inc. (the "Company") was founded in February 2006 under the name PayPerPost, Inc. and became a public company incorporated in the state of Nevada in May 2011. The Company is headquartered in Winter Park, Florida with offices in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York and a sales presence in Texas and Michigan.
The Company is a leading company in the social sponsorship spacecreating the first social sponsorship marketplace in 2006 with the launch of our first platform, PayPerPost.com. Social sponsorship is when a company compensates a social media publisher or influencer such as a blogger or tweeter ("creators") to share sponsored content with their social network audience. This sponsored content is shared within the body of a content stream, a practice also referred to as “native advertising” and "sponsored content.” The Company generates its revenue primarily through the sale of sponsorship campaigns to its advertisers. The Company fulfills these campaigns through its platforms by utilizing its network of creators to complete sponsorship opportunities for its advertisers. The Company also generates revenue from the posting of targeted display advertising and from various service fees.
The Company currently operates an online marketplace that connects brands with creators at IZEA.com as well as other white label marketplaces. IZEA.com and all white label sites are powered by the IZEA Exchange (“IZEAx”), a platform that handles content workflow, creator search and targeting, bidding, analytics and payment processing. IZEAx is designed to provide a unified ecosystem that enables the creation of multiple types of content including blog posts, status updates, videos and photos through a wide variety of social channels including blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr, among others. Prior to the launch of IZEAx, the Company had independent technology platforms including PayPerPost.com, SocialSpark.com and SponsoredTweets.com, which were shut down throughout 2014 and replaced with the IZEAx system.
Principles of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of IZEA, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, IZEA Innovations, Inc. (together, the "Company"). All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
For purposes of the statement of cash flows, the Company considers all highly liquid debt instruments purchased with a maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents.
Accounts Receivable and Concentration of Credit Risk
Accounts receivable are customer obligations due under normal trade terms. Uncollectibility of accounts receivable is not significant since most customers are bound by contract and are required to fund the Company for all the costs of an “opportunity,” defined as an order created by an advertiser for a creator to write about the advertiser’s product. If a portion of the account balance is deemed uncollectible, the Company 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. The Company does not have a reserve for doubtful accounts as of December 31, 2014 and 2013. Management believes that this estimate is reasonable, but there can be no assurance that the estimate will not change as a result of a change in economic conditions or business conditions within the industry, the individual customers or the Company. Any adjustments to this account are reflected in the consolidated statements of operations as a general and administrative expense. Bad debt expense was less than 1% of revenue for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013.
Concentrations of credit risk with respect to accounts receivable are typically limited because a large number of geographically diverse customers make up the Company’s customer base, thus spreading the trade credit risk. The Company also controls credit risk through credit approvals, credit limits and monitoring procedures. The Company performs credit evaluations of its customers but generally does not require collateral to support accounts receivable. At December 31, 2014, the Company had two customers which accounted for 29% of total accounts receivable in the aggregate. At December 31, 2013, the Company had two customers which accounted for 23% of total accounts receivable in the aggregate. The Company had one customer that accounted for 10% and 12% of its revenue during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013.
Property and Equipment
Depreciation and amortization is computed using the straight-line method and half-year convention over the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows:
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
|
| |
Computer Equipment | 3 years |
Software Costs | 3 years |
Office Equipment | 3 - 10 years |
Furniture and Fixtures | 5 - 10 years |
Leasehold Improvements | 5 years |
Major additions and improvements are capitalized, while replacements, maintenance and repairs, which do not improve or extend the life of the respective assets, are expensed as incurred. When assets are retired or otherwise disposed of, related costs and accumulated depreciation and amortization are removed and any gain or loss is recognized in net income or loss.
Software Development Costs
Throughout 2013 and the first quarter of 2014, the Company developed a new web-based advertising exchange platform called the IZEA Exchange (IZEAx). IZEAx is designed to provide a unified ecosystem that enables the creation of multiple types of content including blog posts, status updates, videos and photos through a wide variety of social channels including blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and LinkedIn, among others. This platform will be utilized both internally and externally to facilitate native advertising campaigns on a greater scale. In accordance with ASC 350-40, Internal Use Software and ASC 985-730, Computer Software Research and Development, research phase costs should be expensed as incurred and development phase costs including direct materials and services, payroll and benefits and interest costs may be capitalized. The Company is amortizing software development costs for IZEAx over 5 years.
Revenue Recognition
The Company derives its revenue from three sources: revenue from an advertiser for the use of the Company's network of social media content creators to fulfill advertiser sponsor requests for a blog post, tweet, click or action ("Sponsored Revenue"), revenue from the posting of targeted display advertising ("Media Revenue") and revenue derived from various service fees charged to advertisers and creators ("Service Fee Revenue"). Sponsored revenue is recognized and considered earned after an advertiser's opportunity is posted on the Company's online platform and their request is completed and content listed, as applicable, by the Company's creators for a requisite period of time. The requisite period ranges from 3 days for an action or tweet to 30 days for a blog. Management fees related to Sponsored Revenue from advertising campaigns managed by the Company are recognized ratably over the term of the campaign which may range from a few days to months. Media Revenue is recognized and considered earned when the Company's creators place targeted display advertising in blogs. Service fees charged to advertisers are primarily related to inactivity fees for dormant accounts and fees for additional services outside of sponsored revenue. Service fees charged to creators include upgrade account fees for obtaining greater visibility to advertisers in advertiser searches in our platforms, early cash-out fees if a creator wishes to take proceeds earned for services from their account when the account balance is below certain minimum balance thresholds and inactivity fees for dormant accounts. Service fees are recognized immediately when the maintenance or enhancement service is performed for an advertiser or creator or at the time the account becomes dormant or is cashed out. Self-service advertisers must prepay for services by placing a deposit in their account with the Company. The deposits are typically paid by the advertiser via check, wire transfer or credit card. Advertisers who use Company personnel to manage their advertising campaigns may prepay for services or request credit terms. Deposits are recorded as unearned revenue until earned as described above.
All of the Company's revenue is generated through the rendering of services and is recognized under the general guidelines of SAB Topic 13 A.1 which states that revenue will be recognized when it is realized or realizable and earned. The Company considers its revenue as generally realized or realizable and earned once (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) services have been rendered, (iii) the price to the advertiser or customer is fixed (required to be paid at a set amount that is not subject to refund or adjustment) and determinable, and (iv) collectibility is reasonably assured. The Company records revenue on the gross amount earned since it generally is the primary obligor in the arrangement, establishes the pricing and determines the service specifications.
Advertising Costs
Advertising costs are charged to expense as they are incurred, including payments to contact creators to promote the Company. Advertising expense charged to operations for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 were approximately $827,000 and $67,000, respectively. Advertising costs are included in sales and marketing expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.
Deferred Rent
The Company’s operating lease for its office facilities contains predetermined fixed increases of the base rental rate during the lease term which was recognized as rental expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term which ends in April 2019, but is
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
renewable for one additional year until April 2020. The Company records the difference between the amounts charged to operations and amounts payable under the lease as deferred rent in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.
Income Taxes
The Company has not recorded current income tax expense due to the generation of net operating losses. Deferred income taxes are accounted for using the balance sheet approach which requires recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future consequences of temporary differences between the financial reporting basis and the tax basis of assets and liabilities. A valuation allowance is provided when it is more likely than not that a deferred tax asset will not be realized.
The Company identifies and evaluates uncertain tax positions, if any, and recognizes the impact of uncertain tax positions for which there is a less than more-likely-than-not probability of the position being upheld when reviewed by the relevant taxing authority. Such positions are deemed to be unrecognized tax benefits and a corresponding liability is established on the balance sheet. The Company has not recognized a liability for uncertain tax positions. If there were an unrecognized tax benefit, the Company would recognize interest accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits in interest expense and penalties in operating expenses. The Company’s tax years, subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service, generally remain open for three years from the date of filing.
Derivative Financial Instruments
Derivative financial instruments are defined as financial instruments or other contracts that contain a notional amount and one or more underlying factor (e.g., interest rate, security price or other variable), require no initial net investment and permit net settlement. Derivative financial instruments may be free-standing or embedded in other financial instruments. Further, derivative financial instruments are initially, and subsequently, measured at fair value and recorded as liabilities or, in rare instances, assets. The Company accounts for derivative instruments in accordance with ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”), which requires additional disclosures about the Company’s 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. The Company does 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.
The Company records 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.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The Company’s financial instruments are recorded at fair value. Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The valuation techniques are based on observable and unobservable inputs. Observable inputs reflect readily obtainable data from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect certain market assumptions. There are three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:
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• | Level 1 – Valuation based on quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities. |
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• | Level 2 – Valuation based on quoted market prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets. |
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• | Level 3 – Valuation based on unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity, therefore requiring management’s best estimate of what market participants would use as fair value. |
Fair value estimates discussed herein are based upon certain market assumptions and pertinent information available to management. The Company does not have any Level 1 or 2 financial assets or liabilities. The Company’s Level 3 financial liabilities measured at fair value consisted of a warrant liability as of December 31, 2014 (see Note 6). Significant unobservable
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
inputs used in the fair value measurement of the warrants include the estimated term. Significant increases (decreases) in the estimated remaining period to exercise would result in a significantly higher (lower) fair value measurement. In developing our credit risk assumption used in the fair value of warrants, consideration was made of publicly available bond rates and US Treasury Yields. However, since the Company does not have a formal credit-standing, management estimated its standing among various reported levels and grades for use in the model. During all periods, management estimated that the Company's standing was in the speculative to high-risk grades (BB- to CCC in the Standard and Poor's Rating). A significant increase (decrease) in the risk-adjusted interest rate could result in a significantly lower (higher) fair value measurement.
The respective carrying value of certain on-balance-sheet financial instruments approximated their fair values due to the short-term nature of these instruments. These financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, unearned revenue and accrued expenses. Unless otherwise disclosed, the fair value of the Company’s capital lease obligations approximate their carrying value based upon current rates available to the Company.
Stock-Based Compensation
Stock-based compensation cost related to stock options granted under the May 2011 Equity Incentive Plan and August 2011 B Equity Incentive Plan (together, the "2011 Equity Incentive Plans") (see Note 8) 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. The Company estimates the fair value of each option award on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model that uses the assumptions noted in the table below. The Company estimates the fair value of its common stock using the closing stock price of its common stock as quoted in the OTCQB marketplace on the date of the agreement. The Company estimates the volatility of its common stock at the date of grant based on the volatility of comparable peer companies that are publicly traded and have had a longer trading history than itself. The Company determines the expected life based on historical experience with similar awards, giving consideration to the contractual terms, vesting schedules and post-vesting forfeitures. The Company uses 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. The Company has never paid any cash dividends on its common stock and does not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The Company used the following assumptions for options granted under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plans during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013:
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| | | | |
| | Twelve Months Ended |
2011 Equity Incentive Plans Assumptions | | December 31,
2014 | | December 31,
2013 |
Expected term | | 6 years | | 9 years |
Weighted average volatility | | 42.26% | | 51.51% |
Weighted average risk free interest rate | | 1.80% | | 2.17% |
Expected dividends | | — | | — |
The Company estimates 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, and also impact the amount of unamortized compensation expense to be recognized in future periods. Average expected forfeiture rates were 9.30% and 3.72% during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.
Non-Employee Stock-Based Compensation
The Company's accounting policy for equity instruments issued to consultants and vendors in exchange for goods and services follows the provisions of ASC 505, “Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees.” The measurement date for the fair value of the equity instruments issued is determined at the earlier of (i) the date at which a commitment for performance by the consultant or vendor is reached or (ii) the date at which the consultant or vendor's performance is complete. The fair value of equity instruments issued to consultants that vest immediately is expensed when issued. The fair value of equity instruments issued to consultants that have future vesting and are subject to forfeiture if performance does not occur is recognized as expense over the vesting period. Fair values for the unvested portion of issued instruments are adjusted each reporting period. The change in fair value is recorded to additional paid-in capital. Stock-based compensation related to non-employees is accounted for based on the fair value of the related stock or the fair value of the services, whichever is more readily determinable.
Segment Information
The Company does not identify separate operating segments for management reporting purposes. The results of operations are the basis on which management evaluates operations and makes business decisions.
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Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
There are new accounting pronouncements issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") which are not yet effective. Management does not believe any of these accounting pronouncements will have a material impact on the Company's financial position or operating results.
In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASU 2014-09), which supersedes nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance under U.S. GAAP. The core principle of ASU 2014-09 is to recognize revenues when promised goods or services are transferred to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled for those goods or services. ASU 2014-09 defines a five step process to achieve this core principle and, in doing so, more judgment and estimates may be required within the revenue recognition process than are required under existing U.S. GAAP.
The standard is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods therein, using either of the following transition methods: (i) a full retrospective approach reflecting the application of the standard in each prior reporting period with the option to elect certain practical expedients, or (ii) a retrospective approach with the cumulative effect of initially adopting ASU 2014-09 recognized at the date of adoption (which includes additional footnote disclosures). The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of ASU 2014-09 on its consolidated financial statements and has not yet determined the method by which it will adopt the standard in 2017.
NOTE 2. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
Property and equipment consists of the following: |
| | | | | | | |
| December 31, 2014 | | December 31, 2013 |
Furniture and fixtures | $ | 203,965 |
| | $ | 153,521 |
|
Office equipment | 42,576 |
| | 34,518 |
|
Computer equipment | 292,669 |
| | 169,814 |
|
Leasehold improvements | 289,230 |
| | 3,699 |
|
Total | 828,440 |
| | 361,552 |
|
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization | (239,521 | ) | | (205,070 | ) |
Property and equipment, net | $ | 588,919 |
| | $ | 156,482 |
|
Computer equipment includes items under capital leases totaling $114,827 and $119,681 as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Accumulated amortization relating to equipment under capital leases totaled $42,131 and $42,549 as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Depreciation and amortization expense on property and equipment recorded in general and administrative expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations was $109,823 and $51,229 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.
NOTE 3. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT COSTS
Software development costs consists of the following:
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| | | | | | | |
| December 31, 2014 | | December 31, 2013 |
Software development costs | $ | 568,875 |
| | $ | 362,346 |
|
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization | (85,331 | ) | | — |
|
Software development costs, net | $ | 483,544 |
| | $ | 362,346 |
|
The Company capitalized $568,875 in direct materials, payroll and benefit costs to software development costs in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2014. The Company determined that on April 15, 2013, the project became technologically
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
feasible and the development phase began. On March 17, 2014, the Company launched a public beta of IZEA.com powered by IZEAx and initially began amortizing the costs over 3 years. In the fourth quarter of 2014, the Company revised its estimate of useful life to 5 years based on a review of the functionality of IZEAx and determination that it was viable and able to supersede and handle all transactions previously processed under its older platforms, which each had a useful life of approximately 5 years. All of the existing legacy platforms were shut down and IZEAx became the sole operating platform by the end of 2014. This change in estimate resulted in a reduction of amortization expense of $37,925 in the fourth quarter. Amortization expense on software development costs recorded in general and administrative expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations was $85,331 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014. Amortization expense will be $113,775 for the next four years and $28,444 in 2019.
NOTE 4. INTANGIBLE ASSETS
Loan Acquisition Costs
In conjunction with the issuance of notes payable (see Note 5), the Company incurred legal and bank fees that were capitalized as loan acquisition costs and are being amortized over the term of the debt using the effective interest method. Amortization of loan costs included in interest expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations was $10,217 and $27,961 in the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The remaining value of loan costs as of December 31, 2014 is $1,000 related to the Bridge Bank Credit Agreement, and is expected to be amortized in full during fiscal 2015.
Customer List Acquisition
In July 2011, the Company acquired a network of customers that included approximately 12,000 advertisers and 20,000 Twitter creators in 143 countries from Magpie & Friends Ltd., a private limited company organized under the laws in England and Wales. The Company recorded total costs of $125,525 for the purchase of these customers. In December 2012, after analyzing expected future cash flows the customer list it acquired in 2011, the Company determined that the fair value of this asset exceeded its carrying value as of December 31, 2012 and recorded a $48,249 impairment on the value of the customer lists in general and administrative expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. Additionally, the Company estimated that its future cash flows from these customers would be minimal after one more year and, therefore, determined that the remaining fair value of $77,276 should be amortized equally over the remaining estimated useful life of one year. Amortization of asset costs included in general and administrative expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations was $18,000 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2013.
Net intangible assets included in the the Balance Sheet as other current assets consists of the following:
|
| | | | | | |
| December 31, 2014 | December 31, 2013 |
Loan acquisition costs | $ | 65,101 |
| $ | 59,101 |
|
Customer lists | 77,276 |
| 77,276 |
|
Total | 142,377 |
| 136,377 |
|
Less accumulated amortization | (141,377 | ) | (131,160 | ) |
Intangible assets, net | $ | 1,000 |
| $ | 5,217 |
|
NOTE 5. NOTES PAYABLE
Convertible Notes Payable
$550,000 Note Payable:
On February 3, 2012, the Company issued a senior secured promissory note in the principal amount of $550,000 less an original issuance discount (OID) of $50,000. The holders were permitted to convert the outstanding principal amount of the note at a conversion price of 90% of the closing price of the Company's common stock. Upon initial recording of the note, the Company determined that the embedded conversion option (ECO) required bifurcation from the host instrument and classification as a liability at fair value. The initial fair value of the ECO of $12,151 was subsequently remeasured at fair value each reporting period. The allocation of proceeds from the note resulted in an initial carrying value of the principal of $484,349, consisting of the $550,000 face value of the note less the $50,000 OID, $3,500 in lender fees, and $12,151 allocated to the ECO, or a total discount of $65,651. The discount is subject to amortization, through charges to interest expense, over the term to maturity or conversion using the effective interest method. Approximately $5,800 of the discount and $1,877 of loan acquisition costs were amortized as interest expense for the twelve months ended December 31, 2013.
From October 2012 through December 2012, the holders of this promissory note converted $437,850 of note value into 2,069,439 shares of common stock at an average conversion rate of $.21 per share. On February 4, 2013, the Company satisfied all of its
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
remaining obligations under this note when the noteholders converted the final balance owed of $112,150 into 773,983 shares of common stock at an average conversion rate of $.145 per share.
$75,000 Notes Payable:
On May 4, 2012, the Company issued an unsecured 30-day promissory note to two of its existing shareholders in the principal amount of $75,000. In June 2012, the note was extended until December 4, 2012 and the parties agreed that the noteholders could convert the note at any time on or before the maturity date into shares of common stock at a conversion price equal to the lower of (i) $5.00 per share or (ii) 90% of the then market price based on a volume weighted average price per share of the Company's common stock for the ten trading days prior to the conversion date. Upon initial recording of the note, the Company determined that the embedded conversion option (ECO) required bifurcation from the host instrument and classification as a liability at fair value. The initial fair value of the ECO of $15,625 was subsequently remeasured at fair value each reporting period. The note bore interest at a rate of 8% per annum. The noteholders did not elect to convert this note and the Company was not able to pay the balance owed upon its maturity on December 4, 2012. Therefore, the conversion feature expired and the note was in default bearing interest at the default rate of 18% per annum. On August 15, 2013, the Company satisfied all of its remaining obligations under this note when the noteholders converted the $75,000 in principal, plus $12,366 of accrued interest, into 349,464 shares of common stock and a like number of warrants on the same terms and conditions as other investors in its 2013 Private Placement discussed in Note 8. The Company recorded a $93,482 loss on the exchange of the promissory note for shares in the Company's consolidated statements of operations during the twelve months ended December 31, 2013.
Bridge Bank Credit Agreement
On March 1, 2013, the Company entered into a secured credit facility agreement with Bridge Bank, N.A. of San Jose, California. Pursuant to this agreement, the Company may submit requests for funding up to 80% of its eligible accounts receivable up to a maximum total outstanding advanced amount of $1.5 million. This agreement is secured by the Company's accounts receivable and substantially all of the Company's other assets. The agreement renews annually and requires the Company to pay an annual facility fee of $5,000 (0.5% of the credit facility) and an annual due diligence fee of $1,000. Interest accrues on the advances at the prime plus 2% per annum. The default rate of interest is prime plus 7%. As of December 31, 2014, the Company had no advances outstanding under this agreement. The Company incurred $37,301 in costs related to this loan acquisition, including the fair value of warrants issued of $7,209 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2013. The Company incurred $6,000 in costs related to this loan acquisition during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014. These costs have been capitalized in the Company's consolidated balance sheet as loan acquisition costs within other current assets and are being amortized to interest expense over one year. The Company amortized $10,217 and $26,084 of these costs through interest expense during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.
Brian Brady Promissory Notes
On April 11, 2013 and May 22, 2013, the Company entered into unsecured loan agreements with Brian W. Brady, a director of the Company. Pursuant to these agreements, the Company received short-term loans totaling $750,000 due on May 31, 2013. The notes bore interest at 7% per annum with a default rate of interest at 12% based on a 360-day year. On May 31, 2013, the Company signed an extension and conversion agreement that extended the maturity date to August 31, 2013. Additionally, the parties agreed to allow these notes and all accrued interest thereon to be converted into equity upon closing of the next private placement on the same terms and conditions that will be applicable to other investors in the private placement. In consideration for the extension and conversion agreement, the Company issued Mr. Brady a warrant to purchase 1,000,000 shares of the Company's common stock at $0.25 per share for a period of five years. The Company also agreed that upon the first closing of its next private placement it would issue Mr. Brady an additional warrant to purchase 3,187,500 shares of the Company's common stock at $0.25 per share for a period of five years and 1,687,500 restricted stock to be issued upon the earlier of two years after the closing or completion of a transaction resulting in a change of control of the Company. The Company accounted for the extension and conversion agreement associated with these loans as a substantial modification on May 31, 2013 (see Note 6 under Convertible Notes-Carried at Fair Value).
On June 7, June 14, July 25 and August 12, 2013, the Company entered into additional unsecured loan agreements with Mr. Brady. Pursuant to these agreements, the Company received short-term loans totaling $520,000 due on August 31, 2013. The notes bore interest at 7% per annum with a default rate of interest at 12% based on a 360-day year.
On August 15, 2013, Mr. Brady converted the $1,270,000 of total principal, plus $19,252 of accrued interest, into 5,157,008 shares of common stock on the same terms and conditions as were applicable to the other investors in the 2013 Private Placement discussed in Note 8. There were no further amounts owed to Mr. Brady after the conversion.
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2013, interest expense on all the notes amounted to $22,397. Direct finance costs allocated to the embedded derivatives were expensed in full upon issuance of the notes. Direct finance costs allocated to the notes
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
are subject to amortization, through charges to interest expense, using the effective interest method. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, interest expense related to the amortization of finance costs amounted to $10,217 and $27,961, respectively.
NOTE 6. DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
The Company evaluates its convertible debt, warrants or other contracts to determine if those contracts or embedded components of those contracts qualify as derivatives to be separately accounted for in accordance with paragraph 810-10-05-4 of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification and paragraph 815-40-25 of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification. The result of this accounting treatment is that the fair value of the embedded derivative is marked-to-market each balance sheet date and recorded as a liability. In the event that the fair value is recorded as a liability, the change in fair value is recorded in the Statement of Operations as other income or expense. Upon registration, conversion or exercise, as applicable, of a derivative instrument, the instrument is marked to fair value at the conversion date and then that fair value is reclassified to equity.
The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is re-assessed at the end of each reporting period. Equity instruments that are initially classified as equity that become subject to reclassification are reclassified to liability at the fair value of the instrument on the reclassification date. Derivative instrument liabilities will be classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement of the derivative instrument is expected within 12 months after the balance sheet date.
Warrant Liability
2014 Activity:
On February 21, 2014, the Company issued five-year warrants to purchase 17,142,864 shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price of $0.35 per share and five-year warrants to purchase 17,142,864 shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price of $0.50 per share pursuant to the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreements entered into in connection with its 2014 Private Placement (see Note 8 for further details). As part of the transaction, the Company also issued a five-year warrant to purchase up to 750,511 shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price of $0.35 per share and a five-year warrant to purchase up to 750,511 shares of the Company' common stock at an exercise price of $0.50 per share to the placement agent.
The Company determined that these warrants require classification as a liability due to certain registration rights and listing requirements that required the Company to file a registration statement with the SEC for purposes of registering the resale of the shares underlying these warrants. The warrants also require classification as a liability due to provisions for potential exercise price adjustments. The Company determined that the fair value of these warrants on their issuance date on February 21, 2014 was $12,382,216. The fair value and outstanding derivative warrant liability related to these warrant shares as of December 31, 2014 was $3,202,915. The Company filed a registration statement on Form S-1 related to these shares on April 7, 2014, which was declared effective by the SEC on May 14, 2014. Although the warrants are currently registered, they still require liability classification due to the provisions for potential exercise price adjustments.
2013 Activity:
In February 2013, pursuant to a private transaction with a warrant holder, the Company redeemed a warrant to purchase 5,001 shares of common stock for the same number of shares without the Company receiving any further cash consideration. The redemption was treated as an exchange wherein the difference between the fair value of the newly issued common stock and the carrying value of the warrant received in the exchange was recognized as a loss on exchange of warrants in the amount of $732 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2013.
On May 4, 2012, the Company issued an unsecured 30-day promissory note to two of its existing shareholders in the principal amount of $75,000 (See Note 5). On August 15, 2013, the Company satisfied all of its remaining obligations under this note when the noteholders converted the $75,000 in principal, plus $12,366 of accrued interest, into 349,464 shares of common stock and a like number of warrants on the same terms and conditions as other investors in its 2013 Private Placement discussed in Note 8. Since there was no conversion provision in effect on the note at the time, the conversion was treated as an exchange wherein the difference between the fair value of the newly issued common stock and the carrying value of the note received in the exchange was recognized as a loss on exchange of debt in the amount of $93,482 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2013.
From August 15, 2013 through September 23, 2013, the Company issued five-year warrants to purchase 7,118,236 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $0.25 per share and five-year warrants to purchase 7,118,236 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $0.50 per share pursuant to the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreements entered into in connection with its 2013 Private Placement (see Note 8 for further details). The Company determined that these warrants require classification as a liability due to certain registration rights in the agreements that required the Company to file a registration statement with the
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
SEC for purposes of registering the resale of the shares underlying these warrants. The Company determined that the fair value of these warrants on their issuance date was $2,344,899. The Company filed a registration statement on Form S-1 on October 16, 2013, which was declared effective by the SEC on November 8, 2013 for the registration of 174,732 of these warrant shares. The Company filed a registration statement on Form S-1 related to the remaining warrant shares on July 17, 2014, which was declared effective by the SEC on July 29, 2014. The fair value and outstanding derivative warrant liability related to these warrant shares as of July 29, 2014 was $3,166,482. As a result of the registration, the warrants no longer require liability classification and the fair value was reclassified to equity in July 2014.
2012 Activity:
The Company determined that 110,000 warrant shares issued in its September 2012 public offering still require classification as a liability due to certain registration rights and listing requirements in the agreements. The fair value and outstanding derivative warrant liability related to these warrant shares as of December 31, 2014 was $550.
2011 Activity:
The Company determined that 13,554 warrant shares remaining from its May 2011 Offering and 250 warrant shares issued in July 2011 for a customer list acquisition still require classification as a liability due to certain registration rights and listing requirements in the agreements. The fair value and outstanding derivative warrant liability related to these warrant shares as of December 31, 2014 was $0.
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company recorded a gain of $7,845,214 and of $514,704, respectively, due to the change in the fair value of its warrant liability.
The following table summarizes the Company's activity and fair value calculations of its derivative warrants for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013:
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| | | | | |
| Linked Common Shares to Derivative Warrants | Warrant Liability |
Balance, December 31, 2012 | 128,350 |
| $ | 2,750 |
|
Issuance of warrants to investors in 2013 Private Placement | 14,236,472 |
| 2,344,899 |
|
Exchange of warrants for common stock | (4,546 | ) | — |
|
Change in fair value of derivatives | — |
| (514,704 | ) |
Balance, December 31, 2013 | 14,360,276 |
| $ | 1,832,945 |
|
Issuance of warrants to investors in 2014 Private Placement | 35,786,750 |
| 12,382,216 |
|
Reclassification of fair value of 2013 Private Placement warrants to equity | (14,236,472 | ) | (3,166,482 | ) |
Change in fair value of derivatives | — |
| (7,845,214 | ) |
Balance, December 31, 2014 | 35,910,554 |
| $ | 3,203,465 |
|
The Company's warrants were valued on the applicable dates using a Binomial Lattice Option Valuation Technique (“Binomial”). Significant inputs into this technique as of August 15, 2013 - September 23, 2013, December 31, 2013, February 21, 2014, July 29, 2014 and December 31, 2014 are as follows:
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
|
| | | | | |
Binomial Assumptions | August 15, 2013 - September 23, 2013 | December 31,
2013 | February 21,
2014 | July 29,
2014 | December 31,
2014 |
Fair market value of asset (1) | $0.28-$0.37 | $0.30 | $0.58 | $0.45 | $0.28 |
Exercise price | $0.25-$0.50 | $0.25-$1.25 | $0.35-$0.50 | $0.25-$0.50 | $0.35-$1.25 |
Term (2) | 5.0 years | 3.7 - 4.7 years | 5.0 years | 4.1 - 4.2 years | 2.7 - 4.2 years |
Implied expected life (3) | 5.0 years | 3.7 - 4.7 years | 5.0 years | 4.1 - 4.2 years | 2.7 - 4.2 years |
Volatility range of inputs (4) | 48.46%--81.72% | 40.63%--78.73% | 60% | 40%--76% | 42%--71% |
Equivalent volatility (3) | 56.57%--57.55% | 55%--56% | 60% | 53% | 48%--54% |
Risk-free interest rate range of inputs (5) | 0.04%--1.72% | 0.38%--1.75% | 1.56% | 1.35% | 1.10%--1.38% |
Equivalent risk-free interest rate (3) | 0.56%--0.69% | 0.78%--1.75% | 1.56% | 1.35% | 1.10%--1.38% |
(1) The fair market value of the asset was determined by using the Company's closing stock price as reflected in the over-the-counter market.
(2) The term is the contractual remaining term, allocated among twelve equal intervals for purposes of calculating other inputs, such as volatility and risk-free rate.
(3) The implied expected life, and equivalent volatility and risk-free interest rate amounts are derived from the binomial.
(4) The Company does not have a market trading history upon which to base its forward-looking volatility. Accordingly, the Company selected peer companies that provided a reasonable basis upon which to calculate volatility for each of the intervals described in (2), above.
(5) The risk-free rates used for inputs represent the yields on zero coupon U.S. Government Securities with periods to maturity consistent with the intervals described in (2), above.
Convertible Notes-Carried At Fair value
$750,000 Notes Payable:
In conjunction with the loan extension and conversion agreement with Brian W. Brady discussed in Note 5, since the modification added a substantial conversion feature, the debt instruments were considered “substantially” different after the modification and extinguishment accounting was applicable. As a result, the fair value of the additional warrant to purchase 3,187,500 shares of the Company's common stock at $0.25 per share and the additional 1,687,500 shares of restricted stock were considered in the determination of the amount of loss on debt extinguishment. However, since Mr. Brady is a board member and significant shareholder, the transaction is considered to be with a related party and thus, the extinguishment is in essence a capital transaction. As such, the difference between the carrying amount of the original notes of $755,227 and the fair value of the modified notes as well as the fair value of the 1,000,000 warrants issued on May 31, 2013 and the 3,187,500 warrants and 1,687,500 restricted stock shares to be issued in the future of $1,526,202, or $770,975, was included in additional paid-in capital as of December 31, 2013 as the transaction was deemed capital in nature. The common stock equivalent value was based on the calculated indexed shares, the fair value of the common stock on the valuation date, and the fair value of the warrants using a binomial lattice model.
The Company concluded that since the modification resulted in the addition of a conversion feature, the notes no longer met the definition of being indexed to the Company's own stock as provided in ASC 815 Derivatives and Hedging. Accordingly, the modification of these loans on May 31, 2013 resulted in a change that required either bifurcation of the embedded conversion feature or the Company could choose to record the entire fair value of the convertible notes at fair value. According to the terms of the modification, the convertible notes are required to be converted on the date the Company finalizes a future contemplated financing. Rather than choosing to value the notes based on the present value of their cash flows, it was assumed a market participant would likely consider the common stock equivalent value to be more indicative of the fair value of the notes since they will be converted and not paid in cash. Therefore, management chose to record the promissory notes at their fair value using a common stock equivalent approach, with changes in fair value being reported as “Change in the fair value of derivatives and notes payable carried at fair value, net” in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. On August 15, 2013, Mr. Brady converted the total principal and accrued interest on the above notes into shares of common stock on the same terms and conditions as were applicable to the other investors in the 2013 Private Placement discussed in Note 8. The $750,000 convertible notes payable was valued at $820,202 on May 31, 2013 and $1,586,109 on the note conversion date of August 15, 2013. This change in fair value resulted in an expense of $765,907 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2013, respectively.
$520,000 Notes Payable:
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
As discussed in Note 5, the Company entered into additional unsecured loan agreements with Mr. Brady. Pursuant to these agreements, the Company received short-term loans totaling $520,000 maturing on August 31, 2013. Although the notes did not contain a conversion feature, the Company permitted Mr. Brady to convert the $520,000 principal into shares of common stock on the same terms and conditions as were applicable to the other investors in the 2013 Private Placement. The difference between the carrying amount of the original notes and accrued interest of $523,016 was compared to the $1,082,642 fair value of the 2,092,064 shares of common stock and 2,092,064 warrants received on August 15, 2013 and since the transaction is considered to be with a related party, the difference of $559,626 was treated as a capital transaction and is included in additional paid-in capital as of December 31, 2013. The common stock equivalent value was based on the calculated indexed shares, the fair value of the common stock on the valuation date, and the fair value of the warrants using a binomial lattice model.
Compound Embedded Derivative
The Company concluded that the compound embedded derivative in its $550,000 senior secured promissory note issued on February 3, 2012 as discussed in Note 5 above required bifurcation and liability classification as derivative financial instruments because it was not considered indexed to the Company's own stock as defined in ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging. On February 4, 2013, the Company satisfied all of its remaining obligations under its $550,000 senior secured promissory note when the noteholders converted the final balance owed of $112,150 into 773,983 shares of common stock at an average conversion rate of $.145 per share. The value of the compound embedded derivative on December 31, 2012 was $11,817 and its value on the conversion date of February 4, 2013 was $12,461. The Company recorded the value of the compound embedded derivative on the conversion date as a charge to additional paid-in capital. As of February 4, 2013, all convertible notes in which the conversion feature had been bifurcated and recorded at fair value, had been converted in full. The Company recorded an expense of $644 resulting from the change in the fair value of the compound embedded derivatives during the twelve months ended December 31, 2013.
NOTE 7. COMMITMENTS & CONTINGENCIES
Lease Commitments
Operating Leases
In December 2013, the Company moved its corporate headquarters to 480 N. Orlando Avenue, Suite 200 in Winter Park, Florida pursuant to a five year and five month sublease agreement that is renewable for one additional year until April 30, 2020. The Company leases approximately 15,500 square feet based on a variable $17.50 to $22.50 per square foot annual rate over the lease term. The Company also leases flexible office space under a month-to-month contract in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
Capital Leases
During 2013 and 2014, the Company entered into capital leases for equipment which expire on various dates between December 2015 and January 2016. Total obligations outstanding under the leases was $61,667 and $77,865 at December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. See Note 2 for more information on the Company's equipment under capital leases.
A summary of future minimum lease payments under the Company's non-cancelable leases as of December 31, 2014 is as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | |
Year ending December 31: | | Capital Leases | | Operating Leases |
2015 | | $ | 60,776 |
| | $ | 287,394 |
|
2016 | | 7,504 |
| | 302,951 |
|
2017 | | — |
| | 318,508 |
|
2018 | | — |
| | 333,417 |
|
2019 | | — |
| | 113,516 |
|
Thereafter | | — |
| |
|
Total minimum lease payments | | 68,280 |
| | $ | 1,355,786 |
|
Less amount representing interest | | (6,613 | ) | | |
Total principal lease payments | | 61,667 |
| | |
Less current maturities | | (54,376 | ) | | |
Total long term obligations | | $ | 7,291 |
| | |
Total rent expense recorded in general and administrative expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations was approximately $263,000 and $125,000 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.
Retirement Plans
In December 2007, the Company introduced a 401(k) plan that covered all eligible employees. The Company matches participant contributions in an amount equal to 50% of each participant's contribution up to 8% of the participant's salary. The participants become vested in 20% annual increments after two years of service. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company incurred $47,682 and $25,477, respectively, in expense for matching employer contributions.
Litigation
From time to time, the Company may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. Litigation is, however, subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in these or other matters may harm the Company's business. Other than as described below, the Company is currently not aware of any legal proceedings or claims that it believes would or could have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on its operations or financial position.
On October 17, 2012, Blue Calypso, Inc. filed a complaint against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Blue Calypso’s complaint alleges that the Company infringes on their patents related to peer-to-peer advertising between mobile communication devices and seeks unspecified damages. On July 19, 2013, Blue Calypso’s case against the Company was consolidated, along with patent infringement cases against Yelp, Inc. and Foursquare Labs, Inc., into Blue Calypso, Inc. v. Groupon, Inc. for all pretrial purposes, including discovery and claim construction.
On December 16, 2013, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) instituted a Covered Business Method Review (CBMR) for three of the five patents Blue Calypso asserts in its case against IZEA. In its decisions granting the CMBRs, the PTAB explained that several of Blue Calypso’s asserted patents are likely invalid. In particular, the PTAB found it more likely than not that each of these three patents was invalid based on two independent grounds of anticipation, and one ground of obviousness. Additionally, the PTAB preliminarily found it more likely than not that many of the claims of one of Blue Calypso’s patents were invalid due to a lack of written description. On January 16, 2014, the court granted a joint motion to stay Blue Calypso’s patent infringement
case until the PTAB's review of Blue Calypso’s asserted patents is complete. On January 17, 2014, the PTAB expanded its review to all five of Blue Calypso’s assert patents.
On December 16, 2014, the PTAB issued its Final Decisions concerning the five patents-in-suit. The Final Decisions eliminated the vast majority of claims asserted by Blue Calypso. While some claims did survive the PTAB’s Final Decisions, those claims are potentially invalid in view of factual findings made by the PTAB. The PTAB decisions are now on appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The potential outcomes of these appeals ranges from invalidation of all of Blue Calypso’s asserted claims to complete reversal of the PTAB’s Final Decisions.
In view of the pending appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Defendants, including IZEA, have requested that the Eastern District of Texas Court keep the pending stay in place until resolution of the appeals. The Court has not yet ruled on Defendants’ motion to keep the stay in place.
At this stage, the Company does not have an estimate of the likelihood or the amount of any potential exposure to it. The Company believes that there is no merit to Blue Calypso’s suit and continues to vigorously defend itself against Blue Calypso’s allegations.
NOTE 8. STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (DEFICIT)
Authorized Shares
On April 17, 2014, the Company filed a certificate of amendment to its articles of incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of its common stock from 100,000,000 shares to 200,000,000 shares. The amendment was adopted by stockholders holding a majority of the Company's outstanding shares of common stock by written consent on April 16, 2014.
The Company also has authorized 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share, of which no shares are outstanding as of December 31, 2014. On January 23, 2015, the Company filed a Certificate of Withdrawal of Certificate of Designation to eliminate the authorization of its series A convertible preferred stock, which shares had been fully converted and are no longer outstanding. As a result of the filing, such previously authorized shares of series A preferred stock return to being authorized, unissued and undesignated shares of preferred stock.
2014 Private Placement
On February 21, 2014, the Company completed a private placement pursuant to a Purchase Agreement dated as of February 12, 2014, for the issuance and sale of 34,285,728 shares of its common stock, at a purchase price of $0.35 per share, for gross proceeds of approximately $12,000,000 ("2014 Private Placement"). As part of the private placement, the investors received warrants to purchase up to 17,142,864 shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price of $0.35 per share and warrants to purchase up to another 17,142,864 shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price of $0.50 per share. The warrants expire on February 21, 2019.
The net proceeds of $10,932,188 from the private placement, following the payment of $1,067,812 in offering-related expenses, are being used by the Company to focus on revenue growth through the acceleration of its sales and client relations activities and marketing initiatives, establishment of strategic partnerships and continuation of technology and engineering enhancements to its platforms, as well as to fund its working capital and capital expenditure requirements. At the closing of the private placement, the Company paid Craig-Hallum Capital Partners LLC, the exclusive placement agent for the private placement, cash compensation of $814,850 and two five-year warrants, one warrant to purchase up to 750,511 shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price of $0.35 per share and another warrant to purchase up to 750,511 shares of the Company' common stock at an exercise price of $0.50 per share.
The Company agreed, pursuant to the terms of a registration rights agreement with the investors, to (i) file a shelf registration statement with respect to the resale of the shares of its common stock sold to the investors and shares of its common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants with the SEC within the sooner of 60 days after the closing date or 10 business days after the Company filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013; (ii) use its commercially reasonable best efforts to have the shelf registration statement declared effective by the SEC as soon as possible after the initial filing, and in any event no later than 90 days after the closing date (or 120 days in the event of a full review of the shelf registration statement by the SEC); and (iii) keep the shelf registration statement effective until all registrable securities may be sold pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, without the need for current public information or other restriction. If the Company is unable to comply with any of the above covenants, it will be required to pay liquidated damages to the investors in the amount of 1% of the investors’ purchase price per month until such non-compliance is cured, with such liquidated damages payable in cash. The Company filed a registration statement on Form S-1 related to these shares on April 7, 2014, which was declared effective by the SEC on May 14, 2014 (satisfying the terms of (i) and (ii) above). On February 21, 2015, the terms of (iii) were satisfied as securities may now be sold pursuant to Rule 144 one year after issuance.
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
2013 Private Placement
In accordance with a Private Placement Memorandum and Securities Purchase Agreement, from August 15, 2013 through September 23, 2013, the Company raised $2,182,500 in cash through the sale of 8,730,000 shares of its common stock at a price of $0.25 per share ("2013 Private Placement"). Additionally, the Company converted notes payable and accrued interest thereon totaling $1,376,618 into 5,506,472 shares of its common stock at an effective price of $0.25 per share. The Company also issued five-year warrants to purchase 7,118,236 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $0.25 per share and five-year warrants to purchase 7,118,236 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $0.50 per share. The net proceeds received from the 2013 Private Placement were used for general working capital purposes.
As discussed in Note 6, the Company determined that the warrants issued with the 2013 Private Placement require liability classification, thus they were reported at fair value and remeasured each reporting period, with the change in fair value recognized in the consolidated statement of operations. The initial fair value of these warrants on their issuance date totaled $2,344,899. Total costs of the private placement were $1,674,908 which included $178,389 in cash expenses, $2,344,899 related to the investor warrants noted above, less $848,380 related to change in fair value of Brady debt and loss on exchange of other convertible notes prior to conversion. As a result of the above transactions related to the private placement, the Company reported $1,884,210 (total equity value issued of $3,559,118 less costs of $1,674,908) as an increase in common stock and additional paid-in capital on the statement of stockholders deficit.
Pursuant to the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement in the 2013 Private Placement, the Company filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC on October 16, 2013, which was declared effective by the SEC on November 8, 2013 for the registration of 8,730,000 shares of common stock and 174,732 shares underlying the warrants. The Company filed a registration statement on Form S-1 related to the remaining warrant shares on July 17, 2014, which was declared effective by the SEC on July 29, 2014. In July 2014, 450,000 shares underlying the $0.25 warrants were exercised for total proceeds of $112,500.
Convertible Securities
From October 2012 through December 2012, the holders of the Company's $550,000 senior secured promissory note converted $437,850 of note value into 2,069,439 shares of common stock at an average conversion rate of $.21 per share. On February 4, 2013, the Company satisfied all of its remaining obligations under its $550,000 senior secured promissory note when the noteholders converted the final balance owed of $112,150 into 773,983 shares of common stock at an average conversion rate of $.145 per share. The Company recorded the $12,461 value of the compound embedded derivative on February 4, 2013 as a charge to additional paid-in capital.
Additional Warrant Transactions
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2013, pursuant to private transactions with warrant holders, the Company redeemed warrants to purchase 5,001 shares of common stock for the same number of shares without the Company receiving any further cash consideration. As a result of the exchange, the Company recognized a loss on the exchange of the warrants in the amount $732 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2013.
On March 1, 2013, the Company entered into a $1.5 million secured credit facility agreement with Bridge Bank, N.A. of San Jose, California. In connection with this agreement, the Company issued a warrant with an expiration date after 5 years to purchase up to 58,139 shares of common stock for $15,000 ($.258 per share). This warrant met the conditions for equity classification and the fair value of $7,209, as determined using a binomial lattice option valuation technique, was recorded in the Company's consolidated balance sheet as an increase in loan acquisition costs and additional paid-in capital during the twelve months ended December 31, 2013.
On May 31, 2013, the Company signed a loan extension and conversion agreement with Brian W. Brady, a director of the Company, that extended the maturity date on its $750,000 notes payable to August 31, 2013. In consideration for the extension and conversion agreement, the Company issued Mr. Brady a warrant to purchase 1,000,000 shares of the Company's common stock at $0.25 per share for a period of five years. The Company also agreed that upon the first closing of its next private placement, completed on August 15, 2013, it would issue Mr. Brady an additional warrant to purchase 3,187,500 shares of the Company's common stock at $0.25 per share for a period of five years and 1,687,500 shares of restricted stock for future issuance upon the earlier of two years after the first closing or completion of a transaction resulting in a change of control of the Company. These warrants and restricted stock met the conditions for equity classification and the fair value of $706,000, as determined using a binomial lattice option valuation technique, was recorded in the Company's consolidated balance sheet as an increase in additional paid-in capital.
Stock Options
In May 2011, the Board of Directors adopted the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan of IZEA, Inc. (the “May 2011 Plan”). The May 2011 Plan allows the Company to grant options as an incentive for its employees and consultants. On April 16, 2014, upon consent
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
from holders of a majority of the Company's outstanding voting capital stock, the Company increased the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the May 2011 Plan from 11,613,715 to 20,000,000 shares. As of December 31, 2014, the Company had 8,171,242 shares of common stock available for future grants under the May 2011 Plan.
On August 22, 2011, the Company adopted the 2011 B Equity Incentive Plan (the “August 2011 Plan”) reserving for issuance an aggregate of 87,500 shares of common stock under the August 2011 Plan. As of December 31, 2014, the Company had no shares of common stock available for future grants under the August 2011 Plan.
Under both the May 2011 Plan and the August 2011 Plan (together, the "2011 Equity Incentive Plans"), the 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 and non-qualified stock options may not be less than 100% of the fair market value per share of the Company’s 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 must be equal to or exceed 110% of fair market value. Unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors at the time of grant, the right to purchase shares covered by any options under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plans typically vest over the requisite service period as follows: 25% of options shall vest one year from the date of grant and the remaining options shall vest monthly, in equal increments over the following three years. The term of the options is up to ten years. The Company issues new shares to the optionee for any stock awards or options exercised pursuant to its equity incentive plans.
A summary of option activity under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plans for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 is presented below: |
| | | | | | | | |
Options Outstanding | Common Shares | | Weighted Average Exercise Price | | Weighted Average Remaining Life (Years) |
Outstanding at December 31, 2012 | 391,977 |
| | $ | 5.87 |
| | 4.3 |
Granted | 8,620,062 |
| | 0.26 |
| | |
Exercised | — |
| | — |
| | |
Forfeited | (1,261,561 | ) | | 0.49 |
| | |
Outstanding at December 31, 2013 | 7,750,478 |
| | $ | 0.51 |
| | 8.1 |
Granted | 4,358,831 |
| | 0.38 |
| | |
Exercised | (1,250 | ) | | 0.24 |
| | |
Forfeited | (194,285 | ) | | 0.85 |
| | |
Outstanding at December 31, 2014 | 11,913,774 |
| | $ | 0.46 |
| | 6.5 |
| | | | | |
Exercisable at December 31, 2014 | 4,471,936 |
| | $ | 0.58 |
| | 7.6 |
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, options were exercised into 1,250 shares of common stock for cash proceeds of $300. The intrinsic value of these options was $295. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2013, no options were exercised. The outstanding options have an aggregate intrinsic value of $0 as of December 31, 2014. There is no aggregate intrinsic value on the exercisable options as of December 31, 2014 since the weighted average exercise price per share exceeded the fair value of $0.28 on such date.
A summary of the nonvested stock option activity under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plans for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 is presented below:
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
|
| | | | | | | | |
Nonvested Options | Common Shares | | Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value | | Weighted Average Remaining Years to Vest |
Nonvested at December 31, 2012 | 308,627 |
| | $ | 2.17 |
| | 2.9 |
Granted | 8,620,062 |
| | 0.20 |
| | |
Vested | (1,871,201 | ) | | 0.36 |
| | |
Forfeited | (1,248,125 | ) | | 0.23 |
| | |
Nonvested at December 31, 2013 | 5,809,363 |
| | $ | 0.24 |
| | 3.3 |
Granted | 4,358,831 |
| | 0.38 |
| | |
Vested | (2,566,848 | ) | | 0.23 |
| | |
Forfeited | (159,508 | ) | | 0.21 |
| | |
Nonvested at December 31, 2014 | 7,441,838 |
| | $ | 0.20 |
| | 3.0 |
Stock-based compensation cost related to stock options granted under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plans 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. The Company estimates the fair value of each option award on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model that uses the assumptions stated in Note 1. Total stock-based compensation expense recognized on awards outstanding during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 was $538,263 and $725,254, respectively. Stock-based compensation expense is recorded as a general and administrative expense in the Company's consolidated statements of operations. Future compensation related to nonvested awards expected to vest of $1,366,415 is estimated to be recognized over the weighted-average vesting period of approximately three years.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
On April 16, 2014, stockholders holding a majority of the Company's outstanding shares of common stock, upon previous recommendation and approval of the Board of Directors, adopted the IZEA, Inc. 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”) and reserved 1,500,000 shares of the Company's common stock for issuance thereunder. Any employee regularly employed by our company for 90 days or more on a full-time or part-time basis (20 hours or more per week on a regular schedule) will be eligible to participate in the ESPP. The ESPP will operate in successive six month offering periods commencing at the beginning of each fiscal year half. Each eligible employee who has elected to participate may purchase up to 10% of their annual compensation in common stock not to exceed $21,250 annually or 20,000 shares per offering period. The purchase price will be the lower of (i) 85% of the fair market value of a share of common stock on the first trading day of the offering period or (ii) 85% of the fair market value of a share of common stock on the last trading day of the offering period. The ESPP will continue until January 1, 2024, unless otherwise terminated by the Board. As of December 31, 2014, $1,810 subscription payments were received to purchase 7,603 shares at the end of the offering period on December 31, 2014. As of December 31, 2014, the Company had 1,492,397 shares of common stock available for future grants under the ESPP.
Restricted Stock Issued for Services
On January 3, 2013, the Company issued 60,000 shares of restricted stock valued at $15,900 pursuant to a twelve-month compensation arrangement with Mitchel J. Laskey for his service as a director and Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors.
On January 3, 2013, the Company issued 20,000 shares of restricted stock valued at $4,820 in order to pay for a small asset purchase.
Effective January 3, 2013, the Company entered into a twelve-month agreement to pay $4,000 per month beginning January 2013 to a firm which would provide investor relations services. In accordance with the agreement, the Company issued 100,000 shares of restricted common stock valued at $26,500 on January 15, 2013 and agreed to issue an additional 100,000 restricted shares on or before July 15, 2013. This agreement was mutually terminated on May 1, 2013 for no further cash consideration with the Company agreeing to issue the final installment of 100,000 shares of restricted common stock valued at $25,000 upon the termination of the agreement.
On May 16, 2013, the Company issued 30,000 shares of restricted common stock valued at $6,000 to settle an outstanding balance with a vendor.
On September 30, 2013, the Company entered into an agreement pursuant to which it issued 823,090 shares of restricted common stock, at an effective price of $0.35 per share, to settle a $288,081 balance owed for legal services.
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Effective October 1, 2013, the Company entered into a six-month agreement to pay $5,000 per month to a firm which would provide investor relations services. In accordance with the agreement, the Company also issued 50,000 shares of restricted common stock valued at $19,000 on October 1, 2013, which is being amortized over the six month service period. $9,500 of this value was recognized as general and administrative expense on the accompanying consolidated statement of operations for each of the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013.
The Company issued 85,661 shares of restricted common stock valued at $25,000 to each Brian W. Brady and Dan R. Rua for their service as directors of the Company during the twelve months ended December 31, 2013.
Effective January 1, 2014, the Company entered into a one year agreement to pay $7,500 per month and 100,000 shares of restricted stock per quarter to a firm to provide investor relations services. In accordance with the agreement, the Company issued 100,000 shares of restricted common stock valued at $30,110 on January 1, 2014 and 100,000 shares of restricted common stock valued at $52,000 on April 1, 2014. This agreement was canceled in June 2014 and no further amounts are owed.
The Company issued 64,144 shares of restricted common stock valued at $25,000 to each Brian W. Brady, Lindsay A. Gardner and Dan R. Rua for their service as directors of our company during the year ended December 31, 2014.
The following table contains summarized information about nonvested restricted stock outstanding during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013:
|
| | |
Restricted Stock | Common Shares |
Nonvested at December 31, 2012 | 48,582 |
|
Granted | 1,354,412 |
|
Vested | (1,402,994 | ) |
Forfeited | — |
|
Nonvested at December 31, 2013 | — |
|
Granted | 392,432 |
|
Vested | (392,432 | ) |
Forfeited | — |
|
Nonvested at December 31, 2014 | — |
|
Total stock-based compensation expense recognized for vested restricted stock awards during the twelve months ended December 31, 2013 was $443,588, of which $14,027 is included in sales and marketing expense and $429,561 is included in general and administrative expense. Total stock-based compensation expense recognized for vested restricted stock awards during the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 was $166,610 and is included in general and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of operations. The fair value of the services is based on the value of the Company's common stock over the term of service.
NOTE 9. INCOME TAXES
The components of the Company’s net deferred income taxes are as follows (rounded): |
| | | | | | |
| December 31,
2014 | December 31,
2013 |
Deferred tax assets: | | |
Net operating loss carry forwards | $ | 10,643,000 |
| $ | 9,171,000 |
|
Accrued expenses | 92,000 |
| 72,000 |
|
Depreciation and amortization | 4,000 |
| 23,000 |
|
Stock option and warrant expenses | 441,000 |
| 285,000 |
|
Deferred rent | 40,000 |
| 5,000 |
|
Other | 3,000 |
| 2,000 |
|
Gross deferred income tax assets | 11,223,000 |
| 9,558,000 |
|
Valuation allowance | (11,223,000 | ) | (9,558,000 | ) |
Total deferred income tax assets | $ | — |
| $ | — |
|
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
The following summary reconciles differences from taxes at the federal statutory rate with the effective rate: |
| | | | |
| Years Ended December 31, |
| 2014 | 2013 |
Federal income tax at statutory rates | (34.0 | )% | (34.0 | )% |
Change in deferred tax asset valuation allowance | (52.3 | )% | 30.0 | % |
Deferred state taxes | 4.6 | % | (2.8 | )% |
Non-deductible expenses: | | |
Meals & entertainment | (0.4 | )% | 0.3 | % |
Change in fair value of warrants | 83.8 | % | 2.6 | % |
ISO stock compensation | (1.3 | )% | 1.0 | % |
Other | (0.4 | )% | 2.9 | % |
Income taxes (benefit) at effective rates | — | % | — | % |
The Company has incurred net losses since inception. At December 31, 2014, the Company had approximately $28,588,000 in net operating loss carryforwards for U.S. federal and state income tax purposes that expire in various amounts between the years of 2026 and 2033. The Company's ability to deduct its historical net operating losses may be limited in the future due to IRC Section 382 limitations as a result of the substantial issuances of common stock in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The change in valuation allowance for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 was an increase of $1,665,000 and $997,000, respectively, resulting primarily from net operating losses generated during the periods.
NOTE 10. EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE
Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing the net income or loss by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each period presented. Diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing the net income or loss by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding plus the additional dilutive securities that could be exercised or converted into common shares during each period presented less the amount of shares that could be repurchased using the proceeds from the exercises.
|
| | | | | | | | |
| | Twelve Months Ended |
| | December 31,
2014 | | December 31,
2013 |
Net Income (Loss) | | $ | 3,184,064 |
| | $ | (3,321,992 | ) |
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic | | 52,327,088 |
| | 12,400,366 |
|
Basic income (loss) per share | | $ | 0.06 |
| | $ | (0.27 | ) |
| | | | |
| | | | |
Net Income (Loss) | | $ | 3,184,064 |
| | $ | (3,321,992 | ) |
| |
| |
|
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic | | 52,327,088 |
| | 12,400,366 |
|
Potential shares from "in-the-money" options | | 8,030,904 |
| | — |
|
Potential shares from "in-the-money" warrants | | 26,518,195 |
| | — |
|
Potential shares from converted restricted stock units | | 1,765,649 |
| | — |
|
Less: Shares assumed repurchased under the Treasury Stock Method | | (25,241,756 | ) | | — |
|
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted | | 63,400,080 |
| | 12,400,366 |
|
| | | | |
Diluted income (loss) per share | | $ | 0.05 |
| | $ | (0.27 | ) |
The Company excluded the following items from the above computation of diluted earnings per common share as their effect would be anti-dilutive:
IZEA, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
|
| | | | | | | |
| | | Twelve Months Ended |
| | | December 31,
2014 | | December 31,
2013 |
Stock options | | | 1,238,487 |
| | 7,750,478 |
|
Warrants | | | 22,586,307 |
| | 18,605,999 |
|
Restricted stock units | | | — |
| | 1,687,500 |
|
Total excluded shares | | | 23,824,794 |
| | 28,043,977 |
|
NOTE 11. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, the Company incurred approximately $75,000 in legal fees payable to Northwest Broadcasting, Inc. where Brian Brady, a director, is the President and Chief Executive Officer. The legal fees are included as part of the offering related expenses in the 2014 Private Placement.
NOTE 12. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
On January 30, 2015, the Company purchased of all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of Ebyline, Inc. (“Ebyline”), pursuant to the terms of a Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of January 27, 2015, by and among IZEA, Ebyline and the stockholders of Ebyline.
The aggregate consideration payable by the Company will be an amount in the aggregate of up to $8,850,000, including a cash payment made at closing of $1,200,000, a stock issuance six months after the closing valued at $250,000, up to an additional $1,900,000 in two equal installments of $950,000 on the first and second anniversaries of the closing (subject to proportional reduction in the event Ebyline’s final 2014 revenue is below $8,000,000), and up to $5,500,000 in performance payments based on Ebyline meeting certain revenue targets for each of the three years ending December 31, 2015, 2016 and 2017 (subject to the continued employment by the Company of William Momary Jr. or Allen Narcisse and subject to proportional payment adjustments if at least 90% of such amounts are met or no payment if such amounts are less than 90%). Both the $1,900,000 in annual payments and the $5,500,000 in performance payments may be made in cash or common stock, at the Company's option. The performance payments will be made only if Ebyline achieves at least 90% of Content-Only Revenue, as defined in the agreement, of $17,000,000 in 2015, $27,000,000 in 2016 and $32,000,000 in 2017. If Ebyline achieves at least 90% but less than 100% of the Content-Only Revenue targets, the performance payments owed of $1,800,000, $1,800,000 and $1,900,000 for each of the three years ending December 31, 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively, will be subject to adjustment.
Future cash payments and common stock issuances may be withheld to satisfy indemnifiable claims made by the Company with respect to any misrepresentations or breaches of warranty under the Stock Purchase Agreement by Ebyline or the stockholders of Ebyline within two years after the closing of the acquisition.
At closing, the Company entered into three-year employment agreements with William Momary Jr., Ebyline’s Chief Executive Officer, and Allen Narcisse, Ebyline’s Chief Financial Officer, who will continue to serve as the Company’s Senior Vice President of Content and Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, respectively.
ITEM 9 – CHANGES IN DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None
ITEM 9A – CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.
In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, our management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and our management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Furthermore, controls and procedures could be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion or two or more people or by management override of the control. Misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected on a timely basis.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
In connection with the preparation of this annual report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2014, an evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of the Company's management including our Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer ("PFO") to determine the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of December 31, 2014. Based on this evaluation, our management concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2014 to provide reasonable assurance that the information required to be disclosed by us in reports or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including the Company's principal executive and financial officers, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act). Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer and effected by our Board of Directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Internal control over financial reporting includes policies and procedures that:
(i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the Company’s transactions;
(ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary for the preparation of our financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, and that receipts and expenditures are made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and
(iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of any unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect financial statement misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of internal control effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Our management has assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2014. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission ("COSO") in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (1992). Based on this evaluation, our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2014.
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2014 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
ITEM 9B - OTHER INFORMATION
None
PART III
ITEM 10 - DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Executive Officers and Directors
The names and ages of our executive officers and directors, and their positions with us, are as follows: |
| | | | |
Name | | Age | | Position |
Edward H. (Ted) Murphy | | 38 | | Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board |
Ryan S. Schram | | 34 | | Chief Operating Officer and Director |
LeAnn C. Hitchcock | | 45 | | Chief Financial Officer |
Brian W. Brady | | 56 | | Director |
Lindsay A. Gardner | | 54 | | Director |
Daniel R. Rua | | 46 | | Director |
The principal occupations for the past five years (and, in some instances, for prior years) of each of our executive officers and directors are as follows:
Executive Officers
Edward H. (Ted) Murphy, Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, 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 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, Wired, USA Today, Forbes, The New York Times, Business Week, PC World, CNN Money and Fortune. In addition to media coverage, Mr. Murphy has keynoted and spoken on panels at over 100 social media and financial events including SXSW, WOMMA, BlogWorld, Pubcon, and Dow Jones Venture One Summit. Mr. Murphy is a regular guest on FOX Business, CNBC and Bloomberg television. 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 social sponsorship industry knowledge and a deep background in social media, mobile technology and e-commerce, as well as significant experience in financing technology growth companies.
Ryan S. Schram, Chief Operating Officer and Director, joined us in September 2011 as a senior executive leading our client development, account management, brand marketing, public relations and creator 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. Mr. Schram was appointed as a director of our company due to his substantial knowledge and working experience in marketing and client development in quickly evolving industries.
LeAnn C. Hitchcock, Chief Financial Officer, joined us in September 2011 as a financial consultant and was appointed as our Chief Financial Officer in August 2014. During her time as a consultant, she assisted us with financial reporting, internal accounting controls and assistance during our quarterly reviews and annual audits. Prior to working with IZEA, Ms. Hitchcock worked as the Chief Financial Officer of NBI Juiceworks in 2010 and as the SEC Compliance Officer of Workstream Inc. in 2009. From 2002 to 2009, Ms. Hitchcock worked at Galaxy Nutritional Foods as its Chief Financial Officer and later its SEC Compliance Officer until the company was sold and privatized through a tender offer in 2009. Ms. Hitchcock started her career as an auditor with Arthur Andersen and PriceWaterhouse Coopers with a strong emphasis on public companies. Ms. Hitchcock holds a double major in Accounting and Business Administration from Palm Beach Atlantic University and a Masters in Accounting from Florida State University.
Directors
Brian W. Brady, Director, joined our Board of Directors in August 2012. Mr. Brady is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Northwest Broadcasting, Inc., which owns and operates seven television stations including FOX affiliates in four U.S. markets, since 1995. Mr. Brady has also been the President of Eagle Creek Broadcasting, which owns and operates a CBS affiliate in Laredo, Texas, since 2002. Mr. Brady served on the FOX Affiliate Board for nine years, serving as Chairman for four of those years. The FOX Affiliate Board is a representative body of independent stations affiliated with the FOX Network, part of News Corporation. He currently serves on the Boards of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and Syncbak, Inc. Mr. Brady previously served on the Board of Directors of The Ferris Foundation and Saga Communications, a publicly-traded media company. Mr. Brady holds a B.S. degree in advertising from Ferris State University. Mr. Brady was selected to serve as a member of our Board of Directors due to his more than 25 years of experience in the multi-media industry making his input invaluable to us as we expand our portfolio of clients and platform offerings.
Lindsay A. Gardner, Director, joined our Board of Directors in December 2013. Mr. Gardner has 25 years of executive management and leadership experience at companies ranging from technology startups to the world’s largest media and entertainment companies. Currently, Mr. Gardner is Senior Advisor to Oaktree Capital Management, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm with $80 billion under management. Since May 2010, he has focused on global buyout opportunities in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors, as well as providing strategic support to various Oaktree portfolio companies. Until mid-2007, Mr. Gardner was President of Affiliate Sales and Marketing for Fox Networks. During his tenure, he built Fox’s cable network portfolio from a handful of small channels into one of the industry’s largest, launching more than a dozen channels. Mr. Gardner received an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. degree in Economics from Brandeis University. Mr. Gardner was selected to serve as a member of the Board of Directors due to his significant experience in the media, technology and entertainment industries, as both an executive and a private equity investor.
Daniel R. Rua, Director, rejoined our Board of Directors in July 2012. Mr. Rua was previously the executive Chairman from September 2006 to May 2011 and an early investor in our predecessor entity IZEA Innovations, Inc. Mr. Rua has been a Managing Partner of Inflexion Partners, an early-stage venture capital fund, since January 2002. Prior to Inflexion, Mr. Rua was a Partner with Draper Atlantic, the east coast fund of Silicon Valley’s early-stage venture firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, from 1999 to 2002. Prior to Draper Atlantic, Mr. Rua led internet protocol development at IBM’s Networking Labs in Research Triangle, from 1991 to 1999. Mr. Rua is a former director of InphoMatch (acquired by Sybase) and AuctionRover (acquired by Overture/Yahoo), and serves other board and operating roles as part of his technology investing. Mr. Rua holds a B.S. degree in computer engineering from the University of Florida. He also earned a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and an M.B.A. from the Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina. Mr. Rua was selected to serve as a member of our Board of Directors due to his extensive knowledge of our products and services as a director and early investor in our predecessor, as well as his many years of experience in venture capital investing and operational leadership of other technology growth companies.
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.
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 SEC or the Commodity Futures Trading SEC to have violated a federal or state securities or commodities law. |
Compliance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act
Our directors, officers and principal stockholders are not currently required to make Section 16(a) ownership filings.
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 business conduct and ethics available on our website at http://corp.izea.com.
Corporate Governance
We have established an audit committee, compensation committee and nominating committee. To date, our entire Board has performed all of the duties and responsibilities which might be contemplated by each committee. We intend to utilize the committees at such time as we expand the size of our Board.
Audit Committee. The audit committee's duties are to recommend to the Board of Directors the engagement of independent auditors to audit our financial statements and to review our accounting policies and financial statements. The audit committee is responsible to review the scope and fees for the annual audit and the results of audit examinations performed by our independent public accountants, including their recommendations to improve the system of accounting and internal controls. The audit committee would 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 is tasked with reviewing and approving our compensation policies, including compensation of executive officers. The compensation committee would also review and administer our equity incentive compensation plans, and recommend and approve grants of stock options or other awards under that plan.
Nominating Committee. The purpose of the nominating committee is 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 also include considering the adequacy of our corporate governance and overseeing and approving management continuity planning processes.
Strategic Advisory Board
We believe that we have assembled a world-class team of strategic advisors to assist our company as we continue to grow. The members of our strategic advisory board and their primary professional affiliations are listed below:
Andy Batkin has led Innovative Media Solutions, creating dynamic events that effectively blend TV, print, online, database development, event marketing and hospitality benefits, since 2002. His most recent venture, Social TV Summit, focuses on the use of technologies that allow viewers to socialize, search, share and purchase content they watch on TV or online. Previously, Mr. Batkin was Vice Chairman/Chief Revenue Officer of Spot411, an interactive and social TV company, and CEO of Prolink Media, a leader in digital out-of-home marketing solutions. A prolific entrepreneur, Mr. Batkin launched his career by founding Interactive Marketing, Inc. (IMI), the first internet media “rep firm,” in 1992. After selling $50 million of media in the business’ first year and servicing clients such as the NFL, Playboy and Yahoo, IMI was sold to Softbank Corp. of Japan in 1996. Mr. Batkin is a graduate of Boston University and was the 1999 recipient of the Albert Einstein Technology Medal, which recognizes individuals who have made significant creative contributions in the technology industry.
John Caron served as the President of Olive Garden at Darden Restaurants Inc. from May 2011 to January 2013 and also served as its Chief Marketing Officer from March 2010 to May 2011. A member of Darden’s operating team, Mr. Caron led brand growth strategy across the enterprise to help ensure each Darden brand was appropriately positioned and had clearly identified plans in place to drive sustainable growth. Mr. Caron has 25 years of marketing experience in the consumer packaged goods and restaurant industries. He joined Olive Garden as Executive Vice President of Marketing in April 2003. During his tenure leading brand management, he oversaw the successful launch of a national Hispanic advertising campaign, provided strategic leadership around the development of a digital media strategy and delivered new promotions and advertising campaigns, all leading to results that outpaced the casual dining industry. Before joining Olive Garden, Mr. Caron served as Vice President and General Manager of Lipton Beverages for Unilever Bestfoods North America. His 17-year tenure with Unilever also included leadership roles for a variety of food businesses and international assignments leading the company’s
portfolio of margarine brands. Mr. Caron received a B.A. degree in Political Science from The Colorado College, an M.A. degree in American Politics from New York University School of Politics, and an M.B.A. in Marketing from New York University School of Business.
Mike Church has nearly 20 years of experience leading technology, marketing and media initiatives at global enterprises including Darden Restaurants, AOL, Google and Diageo. Mr. Church most recently served as Vice President of the Interactive Ecosystem for Darden Restaurants, Inc. The Interactive Ecosystem team partnered with Darden’s portfolio of brands and other key functions to lead Darden’s multimillion-dollar digital transformation, including the successful launch of web and mobile platforms, online ordering, CRM infrastructure, and electronic gift cards. Prior to Darden, Mr. Church served as the Vice President of Customer Solutions at AOL in New York. There, he launched and led AOL’s Client Solutions organization, supporting the advertising goals of AOL’s Fortune 500 clients. Before AOL, Mr. Church served as National Head of Sales Development and Cross-Platform Solutions at Google, where he launched sales development, creative services and media strategy teams that helped deliver hundreds of millions in digital media sales. Previously, he worked as Media Director for Diageo North America, the world’s leading premium-drinks company, where he led strategic media planning, CRM and digital marketing for the company’s priority brands. He has also held a variety of digital-media and product positions at such companies as Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios, Inc.
Roger Clark is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Unified Social, a marketing cloud technology company. Prior to Unified Social, Mr. Clark was Chief Financial Officer at Interclick, a leading provider of digital advertising technology and services, which was acquired by Yahoo in 2011 and rebranded as Genome in 2012. He played a pivotal role in many of Interclick’s achievements, including a successful uplisting to NASDAQ. Mr. Clark previously spent 15 years with IAC/InterActiveCorp in a variety of divisional and corporate capacities, including nine years leading the company’s investor relations and financial communication efforts while IAC transformed into a Fortune 500 conglomerate. Mr. Clark began his career as a Certified Public Accountant with Ernst & Young. He holds a BBA degree from Ohio University and a Business Certificate from Columbia University.
Rich Masterson serves as Audience Partners’ Chairman, leveraging his experience as a serial entrepreneur and pioneer in online marketing to build the company’s culture and identify large market opportunities. Audience Partners is the largest online political advertising network in the country and has recently expanded into healthcare advertising with the nation's only HIPAA compliant addressable advertising solution. Prior to co-founding Audience Partners in 2007, Mr. Masterson focused his energy on a variety of active investments in technology, real estate, hospitality and private equity. Earlier in his career, Mr. Masterson co-founded US Interactive, one of the nation’s first internet professional services firms with clients including Microsoft, IBM, American Express, Disney, Toyota and the U.S. Senate. Mr. Masterson served as US Interactive’s President through 1999, driving the company’s growth from start-up through successful IPO. Mr. Masterson then served as the Chairman of GivingCapital, providing organizations with the capability to increase their assets through the creation, distribution and processing of complex wealth management products and services. Under Mr. Masterson’s leadership, GivingCapital helped its clients raise over $600 million for charity before being acquired by Kintera, a publicly-held company focused on philanthropic services. Mr. Masterson has served on the boards of charitable organizations including The National Philanthropic Trust, The Philadelphia Orchestra and The Wellness Community of Philadelphia. He has also served on the Board of Advisors of Radnor Trust Company and as a trustee to Emerald Mutual Family of Funds.
Rick Milenthal is an internationally recognized leader in building marketing services companies that leverage technology and creativity to fuel growth. He was co-founder and Chairman of Engauge, the leading full service agency for the social age from its inception in1982 until August 2013. Engauge is one of the United States' largest independent marketing agencies serving clients like Coca-Cola, Nationwide, Hershey, Abbott, Mars, The Home Depot, Nestle and UPS. Mr. Milenthal is co-founder and past chairman of Worldwide Partners, Inc., the largest network of independent agencies, with 87 agencies in 53 countries. He is Chairman of Fugent, the leader in communications technology for the financial services industry. He is also Chairman of People to My Site, the leader in digital services that drives local demand for national brands. He is Chairman and co-founder of Loyalty Commerce, a leader in connecting online shoppers and retailers.
D.A. Wallach is best known as one-half of Chester French, a critically-acclaimed duo discovered by Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. A 2007 graduate of Harvard College, Mr. Wallach has been featured in GQ, Rolling Stone, Vogue and numerous other publications. He has toured with Lady Gaga, Blink 182, N*E*R*D and Weezer, and has appeared on many TV shows including Jimmy Kimmel Live and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. In addition to Chester French, Mr. Wallach is one-half of D.A. & The Supa Dups, and as a solo vocalist, he has written and performed on recordings with Diddy, Rick Ross, Janelle Monae, Macklemore, Clinton Sparks and Wale. When not recording. Beyond music, he is a recognized social media pioneer, having been the first artist ever to use Facebook and among the most followed artists on twitter (@dachesterfrench). Mr. Wallach advises or invests in several start-up technology companies, and is the official Artist In Residence at Spotify.
Forbes selected Mr. Wallach as one of its 30 Under 30 and Fast Company named him one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business.
Our strategic advisory board meets periodically with our Board of Directors and management to discuss matters relating to our business activities, including formulating business strategies, establishing commercial business alliances and identifying potential acquisitions.
ITEM 11 - EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Summary Compensation Table
The following table sets forth the cash compensation, as well as certain other compensation earned during the last two fiscal years, for (i) each person who served as our principal executive officer (“PEO”) during the year ended December 31, 2014; (ii) our two other most highly compensated executive officers other than the PEO who was serving as an executive officer as of December 31, 2014; and (iii) up to two individuals for whom disclosure would have been required but for the fact that they were not serving as an executive officer as of December 31, 2014 (collectively referred to as the “Named Executive Officers”): |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Name and Principal Position | Year | Salary ($) | Bonus ($) | Stock Awards ($) | Option Awards ($) (1) | Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compen-sation ($) | Non-qualified Deferred Compen-sation Earnings ($) | All Other Compen-sation ($) | Total ($) |
Edward H. (Ted) Murphy | 2014 | 197,500 |
| 96,552 |
| — |
| 320,280 |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 614,332 |
|
President and Chief Executive Officer | 2013 | 195,000 |
| 93,971 |
| — |
| 1,200,973 |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 1,489,944 |
|
Ryan S. Schram | 2014 | 230,000 |
| 110,726 |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 340,726 |
|
Chief Operating Officer | 2013 | 230,000 |
| 127,031 |
| — |
| 162,400 |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| 519,431 |
|
LeAnn C. Hitchcock (2) | 2014 | 67,114 |
| 7,848 |
| — |
| 60,160 |
| — |
| — |
| 130,635 |
| 265,757 |
|
Chief Financial Officer | 2013 | — |
| — |
| — |
| 13,579 |
| — |
| — |
| 147,359 |
| 160,938 |
|
_________________
(1) Represents the aggregate grant date fair value of stock options issued during the year as calculated in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. See "Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates" under "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" for additional information, including valuation assumptions used in calculating the fair value of the awards.
(2) Ms. Hitchcock received other compensation as a financial consultant for the Company prior to her appointment as Chief Financial Officer on August 25, 2014.
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End
Listed below is information with respect to unexercised options and equity incentive awards for each Named Executive Officer as of December 31, 2014 pursuant to our equity incentive plans:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Option Awards |
Name | | Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options: Exercisable (#) | | Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options: Unexercisable (#) | | Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Unearned Options (#) | | Option Exercise Price ($) | | Option Expiration Date |
Edward H. (Ted) Murphy (1) | | 80,729 |
| | 44,271 |
| | — | | $ | 6.00 |
| | 5/25/2017 |
President and Chief Executive Officer | | 62,667 |
| | — |
| | — | | $ | 6.00 |
| | 5/25/2017 |
| | 305,556 |
| | 194,444 |
| | — | | $ | 0.25 |
| | 3/1/2023 |
| | 187,667 |
| | — |
| | — | | $ | 0.25 |
| | 3/1/2023 |
| | 2,199,489 |
| | 2,199,489 |
| | — | | $ | 0.25 |
| | 8/15/2023 |
| | 236,192 |
| | 1,180,959 |
| | — | | $ | 0.365 |
| | 9/9/2019 |
| | 136,585 |
| | 663,415 |
| | — | | $ | 0.26 |
| | 12/26/2024 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Ryan S. Schram (2) | | 40,365 |
| | 22,135 |
| | — | | $ | 6.00 |
| | 5/25/2017 |
Chief Operating Officer | | 10,937 |
| | 1,563 |
| | — | | $ | 6.00 |
| | 5/25/2017 |
| | 61,111 |
| | 38,889 |
| | — | | $ | 0.25 |
| | 3/1/2023 |
| | 75,000 |
| | — |
| | — | | $ | 0.25 |
| | 3/1/2023 |
| | 63,333 |
| | 136,667 |
| | — | | $ | 0.27 |
| | 5/20/2019 |
| | 203,125 |
| | 546,875 |
| | — | | $ | 0.34 |
| | 11/3/2018 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
LeAnn C. Hitchcock (3) | | 1,615 |
| | 885 |
| | — | | $ | 6.00 |
| | 5/25/2017 |
Chief Financial Officer | | 2,500 |
| | — |
| | — | | $ | 6.00 |
| | 5/25/2017 |
| | 31,667 |
| | 68,333 |
| | — | | $ | 0.25 |
| | 3/1/2023 |
| | — |
| | 400,000 |
| | — | | $ | 0.40 |
| | 8/25/2019 |
_________________
| |
(1) | On May 25, 2012, Mr. Murphy received a non-qualified option to purchase 125,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $6 per share (110% of the closing stock price on such date) expiring on May 25, 2017. This option vests as to 31,250 shares on May 25, 2013 and approximately 2,604 shares per month thereafter. Additionally, on May 25, 2012 Mr. Murphy received a non-qualified option to purchase 62,667 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $6 per share (110% of the closing stock price on such date) expiring on May 25, 2017. This option vested immediately on May 25, 2012 as to 47,012 shares and approximately 1,305 shares per month thereafter. On March 1, 2013, Mr. Murphy received an incentive stock option to purchase 500,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.25 per share. The option vests in equal installments of approximately 13,889 shares per month over three years from the grant date and expires on March 1, 2023. Additionally, on March 1, 2013, Mr. Murphy received an incentive stock option to purchase 187,667 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.25 per share. The option vests 100% on March 1, 2014 and expires on March 1, 2023. In connection with our 2013 private placement, Mr. Murphy received a non-qualified stock option to purchase 4,398,978 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.25 per share, expiring ten years from the issuance date. The option vests immediately as to 1,099,745 shares (25%) and in equal installments of approximately 68,734 shares per month over four years. On September 9, 2014, Mr. Murphy received a non-qualified stock option to purchase 1,417,151 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.365 per share. The option vests immediately as to 147,620 shares and the remainder in equal installments of approximately 29,524 shares per month over forty-three months from the grant date and expires on September 9, 2019. On December 26, 2014, Mr. Murphy received a non-qualified stock option to purchase 800,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.26 per share. The option vests immediately as to 120,000 shares and the remainder in equal |
monthly installments of approximately 16,585 shares per month over forty-one months from the grant date and expires on December 26, 2024.
| |
(2) | On May 25, 2012, Mr. Schram received a non-qualified option to purchase 62,500 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $6 per share (110% of the closing stock price on such date) expiring on May 25, 2017. This option vests as to 15,625 shares on May 25, 2013 and approximately 1,302 shares per month thereafter. Additionally, on May 25, 2012 Mr. Schram received a non-qualified option to purchase 12,500 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $6 per share (110% of the closing stock price on such date) expiring on May 25, 2017. This option vests as to 3,125 shares on June 30, 2012 and approximately 260 shares per month thereafter. On March 1, 2013, Mr. Schram received an incentive stock option to purchase 100,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.25 per share. The option vests in equal installments of approximately 2,778 shares per month over three years from the grant date and expires on March 1, 2023. Additionally, on March 1, 2013, Mr. Schram received an incentive stock option to purchase 75,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.25 per share. The option vests 100% on March 1, 2014 and expires on March 1, 2023. On May 20, 2013, Mr. Schram received an incentive stock option to purchase 200,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.27 per share. The option vests in equal installments of approximately 3,333 shares per month over five years from the grant date and expires on May 20, 2019. On November 3, 2013, Mr. Schram received a non-qualified stock option to purchase 750,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.34 per share, expiring on November 3, 2018. The option vests as to 187,500 shares on November 3, 2014 and approximately 15,625 shares per month thereafter. |
| |
(3) | On June 8, 2012, Ms. Hitchcock received a non-qualified stock option to purchase 2,500 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $3.60 per share expiring on June 8, 2017. This option vests as to 625 shares on June 8, 2013 and approximately 52 shares per month thereafter. On March 1, 2013, Ms. Hitchcock received a non-qualified stock option to purchase 2,500 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.25 per share. The option vests 100% on March 1, 2014 and expires on March 1, 2023. On May 20, 2013, Ms. Hitchcock received a non-qualified stock option to purchase 100,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.27 per share. The option vests in equal installments of approximately 1,667 per month over five years and expires on May 20, 2019. On August 25, 2014, Ms. Hitchcock received an option to purchase 400,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $.40 and expiring on August 25, 2019. The option vests as to 100,000 shares (25%) one year from the issuance date and the remainder in equal installments of approximately 8,333 per month over the following three years. |
Employment Agreements
Pursuant to an employment agreement dated May 14, 2011 with a termination date of December 31, 2014, Edward H. Murphy served as our President and Chief Executive Officer 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 based on Mr. Murphy meeting and exceeding mutually agreed upon annual performance goals. For the year ended December 31, 2012, Mr. Murphy was awarded a contingent bonus of $30,000 to be paid in 2013 only if we raised gross proceeds of $1,000,000 in a private placement offering in 2013. In May 2013, the Board voted to cancel this bonus award due to the financial state of the company. In connection with the 2013 Private Placement, the Board awarded to Mr. Murphy a bonus of $50,000 and granted him a stock option to purchase 4,398,978 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.25 per share, expiring ten years from the issuance date. The option vests 25% immediately and the remainder in equal monthly installments over four years. During 2013, Mr. Murphy abstained from taking $42,014 in bonuses earned under his annual bonus plan during the the first and second quarter of 2013. Mr. Murphy was awarded $43,971 in bonuses for the second half of 2013 of which $24,019 was paid in 2014. For the year ended December 31, 2014, Mr. Murphy was awarded bonuses totaling $96,552 of which $29,972 was remaining to be paid in 2015.
On December 26, 2014, the Board of Directors signed a new employment agreement with Mr. Murphy with an initial term commencing December 1, 2014 and ending on November 30, 2017. This agreement supersedes, amends and restates the former employment agreement between the Company and Mr. Murphy that was set to expire on December 31, 2014.
Pursuant to the employment agreement, Mr. Murphy will receive an annual base salary of $225,000 with a guaranteed base salary increase of no less than 2% in April of each year and annual stock options with a fair value of $150,000 vesting over four years in equal monthly installments. However, the number of underlying shares of common stock shall not exceed 800,000 shares. In the event the fair market value of the stock option grant is less than $150,000 as limited by the 800,000 share cap, Mr. Murphy will be entitled to receive either 50% of the difference in fair market value in cash or 100% of the value in Restricted Stock Units with the same vesting schedule as the stock options, at the sole discretion of the Board of Directors. Additionally, he is eligible for annual bonus distributions up to $85,000 in cash and $150,000 in stock options as determined by the Board of Directors, based on meeting and exceeding mutually agreed upon annual performance goals.
In connection with the agreement, Mr. Murphy received a $20,000 signing bonus and an option to purchase 800,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.26 per share, expiring on December 26, 2024. The option vests 15% immediately and the remainder in equal monthly installments over 41 months commencing December 31, 2014.
Mr. Murphy's employment agreement is subject to early termination for any reason upon written notice to him and in the case of death, disability and cause. If terminated, for any reason other than death, disability or cause, Mr. Murphy will be entitled to a severance of six months of his current salary and twelve months of COBRA payments. In the case of termination due to disability, Mr. Murphy will be entitled to a 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 agreement) and Mr. Murphy's employment terminates within six months following the change of control for reasons other than for cause, then Mr. Murphy will be entitled to such amount equal to six months of his then current base salary.
Pursuant to an employment agreement dated August 25, 2014, LeAnn C. Hitchcock will receive an annual base salary of $185,000 and be eligible for bonus distributions as determined by the Board of Directors, based on meeting and exceeding mutually agreed upon annual performance goals. Ms. Hitchcock's employment agreement is subject to early termination for any reason upon written notice to her and in the case of death, disability and cause. If terminated, for any reason other than death, disability or cause, Ms. Hitchcock will be entitled to a severance of three months of her then current salary. In the case of termination due to disability, Ms. Hitchcock will be entitled to a 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 agreement) and Ms. Hitchcock's employment terminates within six months following the change of control for reasons other than for cause, then Ms. Hitchcock will be entitled to such amount equal to her then current compensation for the greater of three months or the time remaining between the termination and the six month anniversary of the change of control. For the year ended December 31, 2014, Ms. Hitchcock was awarded bonuses totaling $7,848 of which $5,283 was remaining to be paid in 2015.
On July 30, 2011, we entered into an employment agreement with Ryan S. Schram pursuant to which he now serves as our Chief Operating Officer. The employment agreement had a termination date of December 31, 2014, subject to renewal, in consideration for an annual salary of $230,000. Mr. Schram was eligible for annual cash bonus based on meeting certain key performance indicators set forth in his employment agreement, as well as an annual override cash bonus based on our gross revenue. For the year ended December 31, 2013, Mr. Schram was awarded bonuses totaling $127,031 of which $33,822 was paid in 2014. For the year ended December 31, 2014, Mr. Schram was awarded bonuses totaling $110,726 of which $29,934 was remaining to be paid in 2015.
On January 25, 2015, we entered into an Amended and Restated Executive Employment Agreement, effective January 1, 2015, with Ryan S. Schram to serve as our Chief Operating Officer through December 31, 2017, subject to renewal, in consideration for an annual base salary of $240,000. Mr. Schram will also be eligible to receive an annual bonus in the form of cash and stock options based on meeting certain key performance indicators set forth in his amended employment agreement, as well as an annual override cash bonus based on our gross revenue and annual stock option grants. If Mr. Schram is terminated for any reason other than death, disability or cause, or if he resigns for good reason (as those terms are defined in his amended employment agreement), Mr. Schram will be entitled to severance of six months’ current salary and bonus and override bonus as in effect on the date of termination. A change of control, under which Mr. Schram fails to retain his responsibilities, will be deemed to constitute good reason under his amended employment agreement.
Director Compensation
The following table sets forth the cash compensation, as well as certain other compensation earned by each person who served as a director of our company, during the year ended December 31, 2014:
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
Name | Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($) | Stock Awards ($) | Option Awards ($) (1) | All Other Compen-sation ($) | Total ($) |
Brian W. Brady (2) | 30,000 |
| 25,000 |
| — |
| — |
| 55,000 |
|
Lindsay A. Gardner (3) | 30,000 |
| 25,000 |
| — |
| — |
| 55,000 |
|
Daniel R. Rua (4) | 30,000 |
| 25,000 |
| — |
| — |
| 55,000 |
|
_________________
| |
(1) | Represents the aggregate grant date fair value of stock options issued during the year as calculated in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. See "Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates" under "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" for additional information, including valuation assumptions used in calculating the fair value of the awards. |
| |
(2) | On August 7, 2012, we appointed Brian W. Brady to our Board of Directors. In 2014, Mr. Brady received 64,144 shares of restricted stock valued at $25,000 and cash compensation of $30,000 in accordance with the non-employee director compensation program effected in March 2013. |
| |
(3) | On December 10, 2013, we appointed Lindsay A. Gardner to our Board of Directors. In 2014, Mr. Gardner received 64,144 shares of restricted stock valued at $25,000 and cash compensation of $30,000 in accordance with the non-employee director compensation program effected in March 2013. |
| |
(4) | On July 31, 2012, we reappointed Daniel R. Rua to our Board of Directors. In 2014, Mr. Rua received 64,144 shares of restricted stock valued at $25,000 and cash compensation of $30,000 in accordance with the non-employee director compensation program effected in March 2013. |
Effective March 1, 2013, the disinterested members of the Board implemented a compensation program for the directors that entitles each serving non-employee director to receive the following compensation:
| |
• | An annual board retainer fee of $25,000 to be paid in restricted stock at the end of each calendar year earned equally over the year of service. |
| |
• | A cash retainer fee of $20,000 per year, payable in cash or restricted stock. |
| |
• | Reimbursement of actual and necessary travel and related expenses in connection with attending in-person Board meetings. |
| |
• | A $1,000 per meeting fee for all meetings of the Board of Directors, subject to a $6,000 annual cap. |
| |
• | A $1,000 per audit committee meeting fee, subject to a $4,000 annual cap. |
Equity Compensation Plan Information
In May 2011, the board of directors adopted the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan of IZEA, Inc. (the “May 2011 Plan”). The May 2011 Plan allows us to provide options as an incentive for employees and consultants. On April 16, 2014, upon consent from holders of a majority of our outstanding voting capital stock, we increased the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the May 2011 Plan from 11,613,715 to 20,000,000 shares. As of March 12, 2015, options to purchase 12,889,878 shares have been granted and are outstanding and 2,484 option shares have been exercised, leaving an aggregate of 7,107,638 shares of common stock available for future grants under the May 2011 Plan.
On August 22, 2011, we adopted the 2011 B Equity Incentive Plan of IZEA, Inc. (the “August 2011 Plan”) reserving for issuance an aggregate of 87,500 shares of common stock. As of December 31, 2013, all 87,500 option shares have been granted and are outstanding under the August 2011 Plan.
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 and non-qualified stock options may not be less than 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 must be equal to or exceed 110% of fair market value.
On April 16, 2014, stockholders holding a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock, upon previous recommendation and approval of our Board of Directors, adopted the IZEA, Inc. 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”) and reserved 1,500,000 shares of our common stock for issuance thereunder. Any employee regularly employed by our company for 90 days or more on a full-time or part-time basis (20 hours or more per week on a regular schedule) will be eligible to participate in the ESPP. The ESPP will operate in successive six month offering periods commencing at the beginning of each fiscal year half. Each eligible employee who has elected to participate may purchase up to 10% of their annual compensation in common stock not to exceed $21,250 annually or 20,000 shares per offering period. The purchase price will be the lower of (i) 85% of the fair market value of a share of common stock on the first trading day of the offering period or (ii) 85% of the fair market value of a share of common stock on the last trading day of the offering period. The ESPP will continue until January 1, 2024, unless otherwise terminated by our Board. As of March 12, 2015, 7,603 shares have been issued under the ESPP.
The following table sets forth information regarding our equity compensation plans as of March 12, 2015:
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
Plan Category | | Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights | | Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights | | Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a)) |
| | (a) | | (b) | | (c) |
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders | | 12,977,378 |
| | $ | 0.44 |
| | 7,107,638 |
|
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
|
Total | | 12,977,378 |
| | $ | 0.44 |
| | 7,107,638 |
|
ITEM 12 - SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners
The table and accompanying footnotes set forth information as of March 12, 2015 with respect to the ownership of our common stock by:
| |
• | each person or group who beneficially owns more than 5% of our common stock, |
| |
• | our executive officers, and |
| |
• | all of our directors and executive officers as a group. |
A person is deemed to be the beneficial owner of securities that can be acquired within 60 days from the exercise of stock options and warrants or the conversion of convertible securities. Accordingly, common stock issuable upon exercise of stock options and warrants that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days after the date of this annual report, and common stock issuable upon conversion of convertible securities, have been included in the table with respect to the beneficial ownership of the person owning the stock options, warrants and convertible securities, but not with respect to any other persons.
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the following table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by them and that person’s address is c/o IZEA, Inc., 480 N. Orlando Avenue, Suite 200, Winter Park, FL 32789.
|
| | | | | | |
Name of Beneficial Owner | | Shares Beneficially Owned | | Percentage of Common Stock Beneficially Owned (1) |
Executive Officers and Directors: | | | | |
Edward H. (Ted) Murphy (2) | | 4,317,836 |
| | 7.0 | % |
Ryan S. Schram (3) | | 587,561 |
| | 1.0 | % |
LeAnn C. Hitchcock (4) | | 44,323 |
| | 0.1 | % |
Brian W. Brady (5) | | 17,952,393 |
| | 25.8 | % |
Lindsay A. Gardner (6) | | 1,304,850 |
| | 2.2 | % |
Daniel R. Rua (7) | | 188,693 |
| | 0.3 | % |
| | | | |
5% Stockholders: | | | | |
Special Situations Technology Fund II, L.P. (8) | | 11,657,144 |
| | 18.4 | % |
Special Situations Private Equity Fund, L.P. (8) | | 8,000,000 |
| | 13.0 | % |
Special Situations Technology Fund, L.P. (8) | | 2,057,144 |
| | 3.5 | % |
Goldman Partners, L.P. (9) | | 5,469,564 |
| | 9.0 | % |
Privet Fund LP (10) | | 5,122,122 |
| | 8.5 | % |
Perry A. Sook (11) | | 5,000,000 |
| | 8.3 | % |
John Pappajohn (12) | | 4,057,144 |
| | 6.8 | % |
William M. Smith Revocable Trust (13) | | 3,559,000 |
| | 6.0 | % |
Potomac Capital Partners, LP (14) | | 3,099,699 |
| | 5.2 | % |
Diker MicroCap Fund LP (15) | | 3,325,338 |
| | 5.6 | % |
| | | | |
All executive officers and directors as a group (6 persons) (16) | | 24,395,656 |
| | 32.7 | % |
_________________
| |
(1) | Applicable percentage of ownership for each holder is based on 57,697,666 shares outstanding as of March 12, 2015. |
| |
(2) | Includes 476,633 shares, exercisable stock options to purchase 3,832,489 shares of common stock under our May 2011 Equity Incentive Plan and exercisable warrants to purchase 8,714 shares of common stock. |
| |
(3) | Includes 10,426 shares, exercisable stock options to purchase 577,135 shares of common stock under our May 2011 Equity Incentive Plan. |
| |
(4) | Includes exercisable stock options to purchase 44,323 shares of common stock under our May 2011 Equity Incentive Plan. |
| |
(5) | Includes 6,167,211 shares, 1,701,388 vested shares of restricted common stock, exercisable warrants to purchase 10,058,794 shares of common stock, exercisable stock options to purchase 12,500 shares of common stock under our May 2011 Equity Incentive Plan and exercisable stock options to purchase 12,500 shares of common stock under our August 2011 Equity Incentive Plan. |
| |
(6) | Includes 645,574 shares, 13,888 vested shares of restricted common stock, exercisable warrants to purchase 571,430 shares of common stock, exercisable stock options to purchase 23,958 shares of common stock under our May 2011 Equity Incentive Plan and exercisable stock options to purchase 50,000 shares of common stock under our August 2011 Equity Incentive Plan. |
| |
(7) | Includes 149,805 shares, 13,888 vested shares of restricted common stock, exercisable stock options to purchase 12,500 shares of common stock under our May 2011 Equity Incentive Plan and exercisable stock options to purchase 12,500 shares of common stock under our August 2011 Equity Incentive Plan. |
| |
(8) | Special Situations Technology Fund II, L.P. (SSFTechII) is the registered holder of 5,828,572 shares and warrants to purchase 5,828,572 shares, Special Situations Private Equity Fund, L.P. (SSFPE) is the registered holder of 4,000,000 shares and warrants to purchase 4,000,000 shares, and Special Situations Technology Fund, L.P. (SSFTech) is the registered holder of 1,028,572 shares and warrants to purchase 1,028,572 shares. As a result of the beneficial ownership limitations included in the warrants held by SSFTechII, SSFPE and SSFTech, the warrants may be |
exercised to the extent that the total number of shares of common stock then beneficially owned does not exceed 19.99% of the outstanding stock. AWM Investment Company, Inc. (AWM) is the investment adviser to SSFTechII, SSFPE and SSFTech. Austin W. Marxe, David M. Greenhouse and Adam C. Stettner are the principal owners of AWM. Through their control of AWM, Messrs. Marxe, Greenhouse and Stettner share voting and investment control over the portfolio securities of each of the Special Situations funds listed above. The address of the Special Situations funds is 527 Madison Avenue, Suite 2600, New York, NY 10022.
| |
(9) | Goldman Partners, L.P. is the registered holder of 2,612,420 shares and warrants to purchase 2,857,144 shares. Neal Goldman, as General Partner of Goldman Partners, L.P., has voting and disposition power of the shares and warrants owned by Goldman Partners, L.P. The address for Goldman Partners, L.P. is 767 Third Avenue, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10017. |
| |
(10) | Privet Fund LP is the registered holder of 2,607,836 shares and warrants to purchase 2,514,286 shares. Ryan Levenson, as General Partner of Privet Fund LP, has voting and disposition power of the shares and warrants owned by Privet Fund LP. The address for Privet Fund LP is 3280 Peachtree Road N.E., Suite 2670, Atlanta, GA 30305. |
| |
(11) | Includes 2,500,000 shares and warrants to purchase 2,500,000 shares. The address for Perry A. Sook is 545 E. John Carpenter Freeway, Suite 700, Irving, TX 75062. |
| |
(12) | Includes 2,028,572 shares and warrants to purchase 2,028,572 shares. The address for John Pappajohn is 666 Walnut Street, Suite 2116, Des Moines, IA 50309. |
| |
(13) | William M. Smith Revocable Trust is the registered holder of 1,616,000 shares and warrants to purchase 1,943,000 shares. William M. Smith, as the trustee of the William M. Smith Revocable Trust, is deemed to be the beneficial owner of these shares and warrants and has voting and disposition power of the shares and warrants owned by the trust. The address for the William M. Smith Revocable Trust is 155 Middle Plantation Lane, Suite 1301, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561. |
| |
(14) | Potomac Capital Partners, LP is the registered holder of 1,385,413 shares and warrants to purchase 1,714,286 shares. Paul J. Solit, as the Managing Member of the general partner of Potomac Capital Partners, LP, has voting and disposition power of the shares and warrants owned by Potomac Capital Partners, LP. The address for Potomac Capital Partners, LP is 825 Third Avenue, 33rd Floor, New York, NY 10022. |
| |
(15) | Diker MicroCap Fund LP is the registered holder of 1,182,480 shares and warrants to purchase 2,142,858 shares. Mark Diker, as the Chief Executive Officer of Diker Management LLC, the investment advisor for Diker MicroCap Fund LP, has voting and disposition power of the shares and warrants owned by Diker MicroCap Fund LP. The address for Diker MicroCap Fund LP is c/o Diker Management LLC 730 Fifth Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019. |
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(16) | For all executive officers and directors as a group, this amount includes 7,449,649 shares, 1,729,164 vested shares of restricted common stock, exercisable warrants to purchase 10,638,938 shares and exercisable stock options to purchase 4,577,905 shares of common stock under our Equity Incentive Plans as further detailed in footnotes (2) through (7) above. |
ITEM 13 - CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
We review all transactions involving us in which any of our directors, director nominees, significant shareholders and executive officers and their immediate family members are participants to determine whether such person has a direct or indirect material interest in the transaction. All directors, director nominees and executive officers must notify us of any proposed transaction involving us in which such person has a direct or indirect material interest. Such proposed transaction is then reviewed by either the Board as a whole or the Audit Committee, which determines whether or not to approve the transaction. After such review, the reviewing body approves the transaction only if it determines that the transaction is in, or not inconsistent with, the best interests of our company and our shareholders.
Certain Transactions
Except as described below, since the beginning of our last fiscal year, there have been no transactions, whether directly or indirectly, between us and any of our respective officers, directors, beneficial owners of more than 5% of our outstanding common stock or their family members, that exceeded the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of our total assets at year end for the last two completed fiscal years.
In our private placement completed on February 21, 2014, Messrs. Murphy, Brady and Gardner, directors of our company, purchased from us 8,714, 714,286 and 571,430 shares of our common stock, respectively, at a purchase price of $0.35 per share, pursuant to the Purchase Agreement dated as of February 12, 2014. They each purchased the shares under the same terms and conditions as all the other investors in the private placement. As part of the private placement, they each received warrants to purchase up to 50% of their number of shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.35 per share and warrants to purchase up to another 50% of their number of shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.50 per share. The warrants will expire on February 21, 2019, five years after the date on which they were issued.
In September 2014, we settled a dispute in arbitration with our former chief financial officer concerning the amount of severance owed following her separation of employment in May 2013. In settlement, we made a total payment in an amount that was less than the amount required for disclosure under this Item 13, and received a final release of all claims.
Director Independence
Our shares are not currently listed for trading on a national securities exchange and, as such, we are not subject to any director independence standards. However, Lindsay Gardner and Dan Rua qualify as “independent” in accordance with the published listing requirements of Nasdaq. As provided by the Nasdaq rules, the Board has made a subjective determination as to each independent director that no relationships exists which, in the opinion of the Board, would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. In making these determinations, the directors reviewed and discussed information provided by the directors with regard to the director's business and personal activities as they may relate to us and our management.
ITEM 14 - PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
On May 16, 2011, the Board selected Cross, Fernandez & Riley, LLP (“CFR”), an independent member of the BDO Alliance network of firms, as its independent accountant to audit the registrant's financial statements. Since they were retained, there have been (1) no disagreements between us and CFR on any matters of accounting principle or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedures and (2) no reportable events within the meaning set forth in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K. CFR has not issued any reports on our financial statements during the previous two fiscal years that contained any adverse opinion or a disclaimer of opinion or were qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principle.
Audit Fees
Audit Fees consisted of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements and review of the interim financial statements included in quarterly reports, and review of other documents filed with the SEC within those fiscal years. Audit fees billed by CFR during the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 were $110,306 and $103,836, respectively. All of these fees were pre-approved by our Board of Directors.
Audit-Related Fees
There were no audit-related fees billed by CFR to us during the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013.
Tax Fees
Tax fees relate to preparation of annual and state income tax returns, tax consultation and compliance services, and additional tax research. Tax fees billed by CFR during the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 were $6,982 and $7,088, respectively. All of these fees were pre-approved by the Board of Directors.
All Other Fees
Other fees for compensation review services billed by CFR was $1,750 during the year ended December 31, 2014. There were no fees for other services billed by CFR to us during the year ended December 31, 2013.
Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures
Section 10A(i)(1) of the Exchange Act and related SEC rules require that all auditing and permissible non-audit services to be performed by our principal accountants be approved in advance by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. Pursuant to Section 10A(i)(3) of the Exchange Act and related SEC rules, the Audit Committee has established procedures by which the Chairman of the Audit Committee may pre-approve such services provided that the pre-approval is detailed as to the particular service or category of services to be rendered and the Chairman reports the details of the services to the full Audit Committee at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
The audit committee has considered the services provided by CFR as disclosed above in the captions “audit fees” and “tax fees” and has concluded that such services are compatible with the independence of CFR as our principal accountant.
PART IV
ITEM 15 – EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
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3.1 | | Articles of Incorporation (Incorporated by reference to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on July 2, 2010). |
3.2 | | Certificate of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation (Incorporated by reference to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 15, 2013). |
3.3 | | Certificate of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation (Incorporated by reference to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 16, 2011). |
3.4 | | Bylaws (Incorporated by reference to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on July 2, 2010). |
3.5 | | Certificate of Designation (Incorporated by reference to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 27, 2011). |
3.6 | | Amendment to Certificate of Designation (Incorporated by reference to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 27, 2011). |
3.7 | | Certificate of Change of IZEA, Inc., filed with the Nevada Secretary of State on July 30, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 1, 2012). |
3.8 | | Certificate of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada on April 17, 2014 (Incorporated by reference to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 18, 2014). |
3.9 | | Certificate of Withdrawal of Certificate of Designation filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada effective January 23, 2015 (Incorporated by reference to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 29, 2015). |
4.1 | | Form of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock of IZEA, Inc. issued to Investors in the 2013 Private Placement (Incorporated by reference to Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on August 21, 2013). |
4.2 | | Form of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock of IZEA, Inc. issued to Investors in the 2014 Private Placement (Incorporated by reference to Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on February 24, 2014). |
10.1 | | Amended 2011 Equity Incentive Plan as of February 6, 2013 (Incorporated by reference to Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 29, 2013). |
10.2 | | Financing Agreement between the Company and Bridge Bank, dated March 1, 2013 (Incorporated by reference to Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 29, 2013). |
10.3 | | Loan Agreement and Promissory Note between IZEA, Inc. and Brian W. Brady dated April 11, 2013 (Incorporated by reference to the Company's current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 16, 2013). |
10.4 | | Loan Agreement and Promissory Note between IZEA, Inc. and Brian W. Brady dated May 22, 2013 (Incorporated by reference to the Company's current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 28, 2013). |
10.5 | | Loan Extension between IZEA, Inc. and Brian W. Brady dated May 31, 2013 (Incorporated by reference to the Company's current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 3, 2013). |
10.6 | | Loan Agreement and Promissory Note between IZEA, Inc. and Brian W. Brady dated June 7, 2013 (Incorporated by reference to the Company's current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 21, 2013). |
10.7 | | Loan Agreement and Promissory Note between IZEA, Inc. and Brian W. Brady dated June 14, 2013 (Incorporated by reference to the Company's current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 21, 2013). |
10.8 | | Loan Agreement and Promissory Note between IZEA, Inc. and Brian W. Brady dated July 25, 2013 (Incorporated by reference to the Company's current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 30, 2013). |
10.90 | | Loan Agreement and Promissory Note between IZEA, Inc. and Brian W. Brady dated August 12, 2013 (Incorporated by reference to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 14, 2013). |
10.1 | | Form of Securities Purchase Agreement executed by IZEA, Inc. and Investors in the 2013 Private Placement (Incorporated by reference to Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on August 21, 2013). |
10.11 | | Form of Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of February 12, 2014, by and among IZEA, Inc. and the Investors (Incorporated by reference to Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on February 19, 2014). |
10.12 | | Form of Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of February 21, 2014, among IZEA, Inc. and each of the Investors (Incorporated by reference to Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on February 24, 2014). |
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10.13 | | Amended and Restated 2011 Equity Incentive Plan as of April 16, 2014 (Incorporated by reference to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 18, 2014). |
10.14 | | 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (Incorporated by reference to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 18, 2014). |
10.15 | | Employment Agreement between IZEA, Inc. and LeAnn Hitchcock dated August 25, 2014 (Incorporated by reference to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 25, 2014). |
10.16 | | Employment Agreement between IZEA, Inc. and Edward Murphy dated December 26, 2014 (Incorporated by reference to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 31, 2014). |
10.17 | | Employment Agreement between IZEA, Inc. and Ryan Schram dated January 25, 2015 (Incorporated by reference to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 29, 2015). |
10.18 | | Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of January 27, 2015, by and among IZEA, Inc., Ebyline, Inc. and the Stockholders of Ebyline, Inc. listed on the signature pages thereto (Incorporated by reference to the Company's current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 29, 2015). |
21.1 | * | List of Subsidiaries |
23.1 | * | Consent of Cross, Fernandez & Riley LLP |
31.1 | * | Section 302 Certification of Principal Executive Officer |
31.2 | * | Section 302 Certification of Principal Financial and Accounting Officer |
32.1 | ** | Section 906 Certification of Principal Executive Officer |
32.2 | ** | Section 906 Certification of Principal Financial and Accounting Officer |
101 | *** | The following materials from IZEA, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 are formatted in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language): (i) the Consolidated Balance Sheets, (ii) the Consolidated Statements of Operations, (iii) the Consolidated Statement of Stockholders' Equity (Deficit), (iv) the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow, and (iv) Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. |
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** | In accordance with Item 601of Regulation S-K, this Exhibit is hereby furnished to the SEC as an accompanying document and is not deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933. |
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*** | In accordance with Rule 406T of Regulation S-T, the XBRL related information in Exhibit 101 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section, and shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing. |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
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| IZEA, Inc.
a Nevada corporation |
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March 19, 2015 | By: | /s/ Edward H. Murphy |
| | Edward H. Murphy Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) |
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March 19, 2015 | By: | /s/ LeAnn C. Hitchcock |
| | LeAnn C. Hitchcock Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
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/s/ Edward H. Murphy | | March 19, 2015 |
Edward H. Murphy | | |
President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board | | |
(Principal Executive Officer) | | |
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/s/ LeAnn C. Hitchcock | | March 19, 2015 |
LeAnn C. Hitchcock | | |
Chief Financial Officer | | |
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | | |
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/s/ Ryan S. Schram | | March 19, 2015 |
Ryan S. Schram | | |
Chief Operating Officer and Director | | |
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/s/ Brian W. Brady | | March 19, 2015 |
Brian W. Brady | | |
Director | | |
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/s/ Lindsay A. Gardner | | March 19, 2015 |
Lindsay A. Gardner | | |
Director | | |
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/s/ Daniel R. Rua | | March 19, 2015 |
Daniel R. Rua | | |
Director | | |