Risks Related to the Company’s Business and Industry

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To date, we have not generated revenue, do not foresee generating any revenue in the near future and therefore rely on external financing.

We are a startup company and our business model currently focuses on developing and deploying advanced battery-powered EV Charging Systems, specifically our high-efficiency "Level 3" fast chargers, and establishing the necessary infrastructure for electric vehicles rather than generating revenue. While we intend to generate revenue in the future, we cannot assure you when or if we will be able to do so.

We rely on external financing to fund our operations. We anticipate, based on our current proposed plans and assumptions relating to our operations (including the timetable of, and costs associated with, new product development) that, if the Company raises at least $250,000 in this Offering, it will be sufficient to satisfy our contemplated cash requirements through approximately the next 3-4 months, assuming that we do not accelerate the development of other opportunities available to us, engage in an extraordinary transaction or otherwise face unexpected events, costs or contingencies, any of which could affect our cash requirements.

We expect capital outlays and operating expenditures to increase over the next several years as we expand our infrastructure, commercial operations, development activities and establish offices.

Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including but not limited to the following:

• The cost of expanding our operations;

• The financial terms and timing of any collaborations, licensing or other arrangements into which we may enter;

• The rate of progress and cost of development activities;

• The need to respond to technological changes and increased competition;

• The costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property rights;

• The cost and delays in product development that may result from changes in regulatory requirements applicable to our products;

• Sales and marketing efforts to bring these new product candidates to market;

• Unforeseen difficulties in establishing and maintaining an effective sales and distribution network; and
  

• Lack of demand for and market acceptance of our products and technologies.

We may have difficulty obtaining additional funding and we cannot assure you that additional capital will be available to us when needed, if at all, or if available, will be obtained on terms acceptable to us. If we raise additional funds by issuing additional debt securities, such debt instruments may provide for rights, preferences or privileges senior to the Securities. In addition, the terms of the debt securities issued could impose significant restrictions on our operations. If we raise additional funds through collaborations and licensing arrangements, we might be required to relinquish significant rights to our technologies or product candidates, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. If adequate funds are not available, we may have to delay, scale back, or eliminate some of our operations or our research development and commercialization activities. Under these circumstances, if the Company is unable to acquire additional capital or is required to raise it on terms that are less satisfactory than desired, it may have a material adverse effect on its financial condition.

We have a limited operating history upon which you can evaluate our performance, and accordingly, our prospects must be considered in light of the risks that any new company encounters.

We were incorporated under the laws of Wyoming on October 5, 2022 and subsequently converted to a Delaware corporation. Accordingly, we have limited history upon which an evaluation of our prospects and future performance can be made. Our proposed operations are subject to all business risks associated with a new enterprise. The likelihood of our creation of a viable business must be considered in light of the problems, expenses, difficulties, complications, and delays frequently encountered in connection with the inception of a business, operation in a competitive industry, and the continued development of advertising, promotions, and a corresponding client base. We anticipate that our operating expenses will increase for the near future. There can be no assurances that we will ever operate profitably. You should consider the Company’s business, operations and prospects in light of the risks, expenses and challenges faced as an early-stage company.

We may face potential difficulties in obtaining capital.

We may have difficulty raising needed capital in the future as a result of, among other factors, our lack of an approved product and revenues from sales, as well as the inherent business risks associated with our company and present and future market conditions. Our business currently does not generate any sales and future sources of revenue may not be sufficient to meet our future capital requirements. We will require additional funds to execute our business strategy and conduct our operations. If adequate funds are unavailable, we may be required to delay, reduce the scope of or eliminate one or more of our research, development or commercialization programs, product launches or marketing efforts, any of which may materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our management team has limited experience in our industry and has not managed a business with similar risks and challenges specific to our business.

Members of our management team may make decisions detrimental to our business and/or be unable to successfully manage our operations. The ineffective management of our business will have a negative effect on our results of operations.

In order for the Company to compete and grow, it must attract, recruit, retain and develop the necessary personnel who have the needed experience.

Recruiting and retaining highly qualified personnel is critical to our success. These demands may require us to hire additional personnel and will require our existing management personnel to develop additional expertise. We face intense competition for personnel. The failure to attract and retain personnel or to develop such expertise could delay or halt the development and commercialization of our product candidates. If we experience difficulties in hiring and retaining personnel in key positions, we could suffer from delays in product development, loss of customers and sales and diversion of management resources, which could adversely affect operating results. Our consultants and advisors may be employed by third parties and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with third parties that may limit their availability to us.

The development and commercialization of our products and services is highly competitive.

We face competition with respect to any products that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future. Our competitors include major companies worldwide. Many of our competitors have significantly greater financial, technical and human resources than we have and superior expertise in research and development and marketing approved products and services and thus may be better equipped than us to develop and commercialize products and services. These competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified personnel and acquiring technologies. Smaller or early stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. Accordingly, our competitors may commercialize products more rapidly or effectively than we are able to, which would adversely affect our competitive position, the likelihood that our products and services will achieve initial market acceptance and our ability to generate meaningful additional revenues from our products.

We rely on other companies to provide raw materials, major components, and/or subsystems for our products.

We depend on these suppliers and subcontractors to meet our contractual obligations to our customers and conduct our operations. Our ability to meet our obligations to our customers may be adversely affected if suppliers or subcontractors do not provide the agreed-upon supplies or perform the agreed-upon services in compliance with customer requirements and in a timely and cost-effective manner. Likewise, the quality of our products may be adversely impacted if companies to whom we delegate manufacture of major components or subsystems for our products, or from whom we acquire such items, do not provide raw materials, major components, and/or subsystems meet required specifications and perform to our and our customers’ expectations. Our suppliers may be less likely than us to be able to quickly recover from natural disasters and other events beyond their control and may be subject to additional risks such as financial problems that limit their ability to conduct their operations. The risk of these adverse effects may be greater in circumstances where we rely on only one or two subcontractors or suppliers for a particular raw materials, major components, and/or subsystems.

We depend on third-party service providers and outsource providers for a variety of services and we outsource a number of our non-core functions and operations.

In certain instances, we rely on single or limited service providers and outsourcing vendors around the world because the relationship is advantageous due to quality, price, or lack of alternative sources. If production or service was interrupted and we were not able to find alternate third-party providers, we could experience disruptions in manufacturing and operations including product shortages, higher freight costs and re-engineering costs. If outsourcing services are interrupted or not performed or the performance is poor, this could impact our ability to process, record and report transactions with our customers and other constituents. Such interruptions in the provision of supplies and/or services could result in our inability to meet customer demand, damage our reputation and customer relationships and adversely affect our business.

We depend on third party providers, suppliers and licensors to supply some of the hardware, software and operational support necessary to provide some of our services.

We obtain these materials from a limited number of vendors, some of which do not have a long operating history, or which may not be able to continue to supply the equipment and services we desire. Some of our hardware, software and operational support vendors represent our sole source of supply or have, either through contract or as a result of intellectual property rights, a position of some exclusivity. If demand exceeds these vendors’ capacity or if these vendors experience operating or financial difficulties or are otherwise unable to provide the equipment or services we need in a timely manner, at our specifications and at reasonable prices, our ability to provide some services might be materially adversely affected, or the need to procure or develop alternative sources of the affected materials or services might delay our ability to serve our customers. These events could materially and adversely affect our ability to retain and attract customers, and have a material negative impact on our operations, business, financial results and financial condition.

Quality management plays an essential role in determining and meeting customer requirements, preventing defects, improving the Company’s products and services and maintaining the integrity of the data that supports the safety and efficacy of our products.

Our future success depends on our ability to maintain and continuously improve our quality management program. An inability to address a quality or safety issue in an effective and timely manner may also cause negative publicity, a loss of customer confidence in us or our current or future products, which may result in the loss of sales and difficulty in successfully launching new products. In addition, a successful claim brought against us in excess of available insurance or not covered by indemnification agreements, or any claim that results in significant adverse publicity against us, could have an adverse effect on our business and our reputation. 

‍One of the potential risks we face in the distribution of our products is liability resulting from counterfeit or tainted products infiltrating the supply chain.

Because we source ingredients from various sources, we rely on various suppliers and their quality control measures. While we have procedures to maintain the highest quality levels in our products, we may be subject to faulty, spoiled or tainted ingredients or components in our products, which would negatively affect our products and our customers’ experience with them and could decrease customer demand for our products. In addition, if there are serious illness or injury due to our products, there can be no assurance that the insurance coverage we maintain is sufficient or will be available in adequate amounts or at a reasonable cost, or that indemnification agreements will provide us with adequate protection.

Manufacturing or design defects, unanticipated use of our products, or inadequate disclosure of risks relating to the use of the products can lead to injury or other adverse events.

These events could lead to recalls or safety alerts relating to our products (either voluntary or required by governmental authorities) and could result, in certain cases, in the removal of a product from the market. Any recall could result in significant costs as well as negative publicity that could reduce demand for our products. Personal injuries relating to the use of our products can also result in product liability claims being brought against us. In some circumstances, such adverse events could also cause delays in new product approvals. Similarly, negligence in performing our services can lead to injury or other adverse events.

‍An intentional or unintentional disruption, failure, misappropriation or corruption of our network and information systems could severely affect our business.

Such an event might be caused by computer hacking, computer viruses, worms and other destructive or disruptive software, "cyber attacks" and other malicious activity, as well as natural disasters, power outages, terrorist attacks and similar events. Such events could have an adverse impact on us and our customers, including degradation of service, service disruption, excessive call volume to call centers and damage to our plant, equipment and data. In addition, our future results could be adversely affected due to the theft, destruction, loss, misappropriation or release of confidential customer data or intellectual property. Operational or business delays may result from the disruption of network or information systems and the subsequent remediation activities. Moreover, these events may create negative publicity resulting in reputation or brand damage with customers.

Terrorist attacks and threatened attacks have from time to time materially adversely affected the demand for electric vehicle charging systems and EV travel and have also resulted in increased safety and security costs for us and the EV industry generally.

Safety measures create delays and inconveniences and can, in particular, reduce our competitiveness against surface transportation for certain routes. Additional terrorist attacks, even if not made directly on the EV industry, or the fear of such attacks or other hostilities, would likely have a further significant negative impact on the Company and the EV industry. Terrorist-sponsored attacks, both foreign and domestic, could have adverse effects on our business and results of operations. These attacks could accelerate or exacerbate other EV industry risks and also have the potential to interfere with our business by disrupting supply chains and the delivery of products to customers.

Climate Change, Climate Change Regulations and Greenhouse Gas Effects May Adversely Impact our Operations.

There is growing concern from members of the scientific community and the general public that an increase in global average temperatures due to emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and other human activities have or will cause significant changes in weather patterns and increase the frequency and severity of natural disasters. Climate change, including the impact of global warming, creates physical and financial risk. Physical risks from climate change include an increase in sea level and changes in weather conditions, such as an increase in changes in precipitation and extreme weather events. Climate change could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity.

For example, increased severity of storms and flooding can damage our EV charging infrastructure, leading to costly repairs and downtime. Prolonged heatwaves might increase cooling requirements for charging systems, potentially reducing their efficiency and lifespan. Furthermore, changes in regulation aimed at combating climate change could increase operational costs by imposing stricter standards on energy consumption and emissions. On the financial side, there might be an increased insurance premium for our installations or a decrease in investment as the market shifts away from technologies that are perceived as not contributing sufficiently to greenhouse gas reductions. Such physical and financial impacts could disrupt our supply chain, affect demand for EV charging services, and lead to additional capital expenditures to make our systems more resilient.

We may become subject to legislation and regulation regarding climate change, and compliance with any new rules could be difficult and costly. Concerned parties, such as legislators and regulators, shareholders and non-governmental organizations, as well as companies in many business sectors, are considering ways to reduce GHG emissions. Foreign, federal, state and local regulatory and legislative bodies have proposed various legislative and regulatory measures relating to climate change, regulating GHG emissions and energy policies. If such legislation is enacted, we could incur increased energy, environmental and other costs and capital expenditures to comply with the limitations. Due to the uncertainty in the regulatory and legislative processes, as well as the scope of such requirements and initiatives, we cannot currently determine the effect such legislation and regulation may have on our operations.

We could face increased costs related to defending and resolving legal claims and other litigation related to climate change and the alleged impact of our operations on climate change.

The loss of one or more of our key personnel, or our failure to attract and retain other highly qualified personnel in the future, could harm our business.

To be successful, the Company requires capable people to run its day-to-day operations. As the Company grows, it will need to attract and hire additional employees in sales, marketing, engineering, operations, finance, legal, human resources and other areas. Depending on the economic environment and the Company's performance, we may not be able to locate or attract qualified individuals for such positions when we need them. We may also make hiring mistakes, which can be costly in terms of resources spent in recruiting, hiring and investing in the incorrect individual and in the time delay in locating the right employee fit. If we are unable to attract, hire and retain the right talent or make too many hiring mistakes, it is likely our business will suffer from not having the right employees in the right positions at the right time. This would likely adversely impact the value of your investment.

We rely on third-party suppliers for the materials used in the manufacturing of our products.

Since our inception in 2022, the following suppliers provided the following percentage of the listed services, inputs or raw materials.

• BigBattery
  • Service: The largest lithium battery repurposing/recycling supplier in North America. Capable of meeting our needs for recycled and repurposed energy storage.
  • Supply of batteries, BMS, software, cabling and housing.
  • Battery packs, modules and all components are modular, easily hot-swap-able and never proprietary.
  • 10 Year warranty on their products.

• Ampeco
  • Service: Our EV Charging Management Software provider.
  • White Labeled & API capable gives us the flexibility to deliver a comprehensive experience for our customers and end users.

• Stripe
  • Service: Integrated with Ampeco.
  • Global scale payment processor provider.
  • Integrates with ERP gives us the ability to automate.

If any of these suppliers changed its sales strategy to reduce its reliance on distribution channels, or decided to terminate its business relationship with us, sales and earnings could be adversely affected until we are able to establish relationships with suppliers of comparable products. Any delay or interruption in manufacturing operations (or failure to locate a suitable replacement for such suppliers) could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, or results of operations. Most of our agreements with suppliers are terminable by either party on short notice for any reason. Although we believe our relationships with these key suppliers are good, they could change their strategies as a result of a change in control, expansion of their direct sales force, changes in the marketplace or other factors beyond our control, including a key supplier becoming financially distressed.

We rely on various intellectual property rights, including patents in order to operate our business.

Such intellectual property rights, however, may not be sufficiently broad or otherwise may not provide us a significant competitive advantage. In addition, the steps that we have taken to maintain and protect our intellectual property may not prevent it from being challenged, invalidated, circumvented or designed-around, particularly in countries where intellectual property rights are not highly developed or protected. In some circumstances, enforcement may not be available to us because an infringer has a dominant intellectual property position or for other business reasons, or countries may require compulsory licensing of our intellectual property. Our failure to obtain or maintain intellectual property rights that convey competitive advantage, adequately protect our intellectual property or detect or prevent circumvention or unauthorized use of such property, could adversely impact our competitive position and results of operations. We also rely on nondisclosure and noncompetition agreements with employees, consultants and other parties to protect, in part, trade secrets and other proprietary rights. There can be no assurance that these agreements will adequately protect our trade secrets and other proprietary rights and will not be breached, that we will have adequate remedies for any breach, that others will not independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information or that third parties will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or other proprietary rights.

As we expand our business, protecting our intellectual property will become increasingly important. The protective steps we have taken may be inadequate to deter our competitors from using our proprietary information. In order to protect or enforce our patent rights, we may be required to initiate litigation against third parties, such as infringement lawsuits. Also, these third parties may assert claims against us with or without provocation. These lawsuits could be expensive, take significant time and could divert management’s attention from other business concerns. The law relating to the scope and validity of claims in the technology field in which we operate is still evolving and, consequently, intellectual property positions in our industry are generally uncertain. We cannot assure you that we will prevail in any of these potential suits or that the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, would be commercially valuable.

From time to time, third parties may claim that one or more of our products or services infringe their intellectual property rights.

Any dispute or litigation regarding patents or other intellectual property could be costly and time-consuming due to the complexity of our technology and the uncertainty of intellectual property litigation and could divert our management and key personnel from our business operations. A claim of intellectual property infringement could force us to enter into a costly or restrictive license agreement, which might not be available under acceptable terms or at all, could require us to redesign our products, which would be costly and time-consuming, and/or could subject us to an injunction against development and sale of certain of our products or services. We may have to pay substantial damages, including damages for past infringement if it is ultimately determined that our products infringe on a third party’s proprietary rights. Even if these claims are without merit, defending a lawsuit takes significant time, may be expensive and may divert management’s attention from other business concerns. Any public announcements related to litigation or interference proceedings initiated or threatened against us could cause our business to be harmed. Our intellectual property portfolio may not be useful in asserting a counterclaim, or negotiating a license, in response to a claim of intellectual property infringement. In certain of our businesses we rely on third party intellectual property licenses and we cannot ensure that these licenses will be available to us in the future on favorable terms or at all.

Although dependent on certain key personnel, the Company does not have any key man life insurance policies on any such people.

The Company is dependent on Brad Bakema, Michael Rhodes, Peter Bakema, Donald Klahre, and Joe Lynch in order to conduct its operations and execute its business plan, however, the Company has not purchased any insurance policies with respect to those individuals in the event of their death or disability. Therefore, if any of Brad Bakema  Michael Rhodes, Peter Bakema, Donald Klahre, and Joe Lynch die or become disabled, the Company will not receive any compensation to assist with such person’s absence. The loss of such person could negatively affect the Company and its operations.

We are or may become subject to income taxes as well as non-income based taxes, such as payroll, sales, use, value-added, net worth, property and goods and services taxes, in both the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions.

Significant judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Although we believe that our tax estimates are reasonable: (i) there is no assurance that the final determination of tax audits or tax disputes will not be different from what is reflected in our income tax provisions, expense amounts for non- income based taxes and accruals and (ii) any material differences could have an adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations in the period or periods for which determination is made.

We are not subject to Sarbanes-Oxley regulations and lack the financial controls and safeguards required of public companies.

We do not have the internal infrastructure necessary, and are not required, to complete an attestation about our financial controls that would be required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act of 2002. There can be no assurance that there are no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the quality of our financial controls. We expect to incur additional expenses and diversion of management’s time if and when it becomes necessary to perform the system and process evaluation, testing and remediation required in order to comply with the management certification and auditor attestation requirements.

The Company has indicated that it has engaged in certain transactions with related persons.

Please see the section of this Memorandum entitled "Transactions with Related Persons and Conflicts of Interest" for further details.

Changes in employment laws or regulation could harm our performance.

Various federal and state labor laws govern our relationship with our employees and affect operating costs. These laws include minimum wage requirements, overtime pay, healthcare reform and the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, unemployment tax rates, workers’ compensation rates, citizenship requirements, union membership and sales taxes. A number of factors could adversely affect our operating results, including additional government-imposed increases in minimum wages, overtime pay, paid leaves of absence and mandated health benefits, mandated training for employees, increased tax reporting and tax payment, changing regulations from the National Labor Relations Board and increased employee litigation including claims relating to the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The Company’s business operations may be materially adversely affected by a pandemic such as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, which spread throughout other parts of the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID- 19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic.” COVID-19 resulted in a widespread health crisis that adversely affected the economies and financial markets worldwide. The Company’s business could be materially and adversely affected. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts the Company’s business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extended period of time, the Company’s operations may be materially adversely affected.

We face risks related to health epidemics and other outbreaks, which could significantly disrupt the Company’s operations and could have a material adverse impact on us.

The outbreak of pandemics and epidemics could materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition, and results of operations. If a pandemic occurs in areas in which we have material operations or sales, the Company’s business activities originating from affected areas, including sales, materials, and supply chain related activities, could be adversely affected. Disruptive activities could include the temporary closure of facilities used in the Company’s supply chain processes, restrictions on the export or shipment of products necessary to run the Company’s business, business closures in impacted areas, and restrictions on the Company’s employees’ or consultants’ ability to travel and to meet with customers, vendors or other business relationships. The extent to which a pandemic or other health outbreak impacts the Company’s results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of a virus and the actions to contain it or treat its impact, among others. Pandemics can also result in social, economic, and labor instability which may adversely impact the Company’s business.

If the Company’s employees or employees of any of the Company’s vendors, suppliers or customers become ill or are quarantined and in either or both events are therefore unable to work, the Company’s operations could be subject to disruption. The extent to which a pandemic affects the Company’s results will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.

We face risks relating to public health conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which could adversely affect the Company’s customers, business, and results of operations.

Our business and prospects could be materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic or recurrences of that or any other such disease in the future. Material adverse effects from COVID-19 and similar occurrences could result in numerous known and currently unknown ways including from quarantines and lockdowns which impair the Company’s business including: reduced effectiveness of marketing and sales efforts due to the inability to engage with customers and stakeholders in person, disruptions to our supply chain due to restrictions on movement affecting delivery of parts and final products, and delays in receiving essential components for our e500 EV chargers from affected areas.

The need for our employees to quarantine has in the past and may in the future result in reduced productivity as the complexity and technical nature of our work requires collaborative development that is more efficient in person. This can delay product enhancements and the rollout of our charging stations. Remote work can also impact the team dynamics and slow decision-making processes.

Similarly, quarantines can affect our suppliers and their workforce, leading to a ripple effect of delays and potential quality control issues as they struggle to maintain operations with a reduced or remote workforce. This could lead to longer lead times or shortages of materials necessary for the manufacturing of our e500 EV chargers.

If the Company purchases materials from suppliers in affected areas, the Company may not be able to procure such products in a timely manner, leading to potential delays in installation commitments and the inability to meet demand spikes, potentially eroding customer trust.

The effects of a pandemic can place travel restrictions on key personnel which could impede our ability to manage on-site installations, attend critical meetings, or engage in necessary travel to secure new business opportunities. In addition, a significant outbreak of contagious diseases in the human population could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets of many countries, resulting in an economic downturn that could reduce the demand for the Company’s products and impair the Company’s business prospects including as a result of being unable to raise additional capital on acceptable terms to us, if at all.

We hope to generate a portion of our revenue through contract revenues from publicly funded construction projects at the federal, state and local levels. As a result, if publicly funded construction decreases due to reduced federal, state or local funding or otherwise, our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity could be materially adversely affected.

In January 2011, Congress repealed a 1998 transportation law that protected annual highway funding levels from amendments that could reduce such funding. This change subjected federal highway funding to annual appropriation reviews, which has increased the uncertainty of many state DOTs regarding the availability of highway project funds. This uncertainty could cause state DOTs to be reluctant to undertake large multi-year highway projects, which could, in turn, negatively affect our results of operations.

Federal highway bills provide spending authorizations that represent maximum amounts. Each year, Congress passes an appropriation act establishing the amount that can be used for particular programs. The annual funding level is generally tied to receipts of highway user taxes placed in the Highway Trust Fund (as defined in the FAST Act). Once Congress passes the annual appropriation, the federal government distributes funds to each state based on formulas or other procedures. States generally must spend these funds on the specific programs outlined in the federal legislation. In recent years, the Highway Trust Fund has faced insolvency as outlays have outpaced revenues. Annual shortfalls have been addressed primarily by short-term measures, including the transfer of funds from the General Fund (as defined in the FAST Act) into the Highway Trust Fund. As a result, we cannot be assured of the existence, timing or amount of future federal highway funding. Any reduction in federal highway funding, particularly in the amounts allocated to applicable states, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Each state funds its infrastructure spending from specially allocated amounts collected from various taxes, typically fuel taxes and vehicle fees, as well as from voter-approved bond programs. Shortages in state tax revenues can reduce the amount spent on state infrastructure projects. Delays in state infrastructure spending can adversely affect our business. Many states have experienced state-level funding pressures caused by lower tax revenues and an inability to finance approved projects. Prior to the FAST Act, states took on a larger role in funding sustained infrastructure investment. During the past two years, many states have again taken on a significantly larger role in funding infrastructure investment, including initiating special-purpose taxes and increased fuel taxes.

While the current administration has announced an infrastructure stimulus plan, we cannot predict the impact, if any, that it or other proposed changes in law and regulations may have on our business.

Our operations are subject to various environmental laws and regulations relating to the management, disposal, and/or remediation of hazardous substances, climate change and the emission and discharge of pollutants into the air and water. We could be held liable for such contamination created not only from our own activities but also from the historical activities of others on our project sites or on properties that we acquire or lease. Our operations are also subject to laws and regulations relating to workplace safety and worker health, which, among other things, regulate employee exposure to hazardous substances. Violations of such laws and regulations could subject us to substantial fines and penalties, cleanup costs, third-party property damage or personal injury claims. In addition, these laws and regulations have become, and enforcement practices and compliance standards are becoming, increasingly stringent. Moreover, we cannot predict the nature, scope or effect of legislation or regulatory requirements that could be imposed, or how existing or future laws or regulations will be administered or interpreted, with respect to products or activities to which they have not been previously applied. Compliance with more stringent laws or regulations, as well as more vigorous enforcement policies of the regulatory agencies, could require us to make substantial expenditures for, among other things, pollution control systems and other equipment that we do not currently possess, or the acquisition or modification of permits applicable to our activities.

Our EV charging system manufacturing facilities could subject us to costs and liabilities. As owner and operator of the EV charger production plants, we could be held responsible for any contamination or regulatory violations resulting from activities or operations at the facility. Any such costs and liabilities could be significant and could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.

‍Our employees and customers are exposed to numerous hazards during the conduct of our business, including electric contacts and flashes, fires, natural gas explosions, mechanical failures, transportation accidents and damage to infrastructure upon which we work. These hazards can cause personal injury and loss of life, severe damage to or destruction of property and equipment and other consequential damages, including widespread blackouts and service interruptions, and may result in suspension of operations, civil damage claims and criminal fines and penalties that could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Further, regulatory changes implemented by OSHA could impose additional costs on us. Although most, if not all, of our operating units have safety performance records better than applicable OSHA safety metrics, from time to time in the past some of our operating units have not been successful in obtaining work as a result of their safety record and in some locations our 2008 safety performance declined from prior years.

Our safety record is important. If serious accidents or fatalities occur or our safety record deteriorates, we may be ineligible to bid on certain projects and could be terminated from existing projects. Our reputation and our prospects for being awarded future projects could be negatively affected. Further, our insurance carrier may be unwilling to provide current levels of coverage without a significant increase in premiums and collateral requirements to cover our deductible obligations, and as a result, we may not be able to maintain adequate insurance.

‍Our profitability may be negatively affected by inventory shrinkage.

We are subject to the risk of inventory loss and theft. We experience significant inventory shrinkage and cannot be sure that incidences of inventory loss and theft will decrease in the future or that the measures we are taking will effectively reduce the problem of inventory shrinkage. Although some level of inventory shrinkage is an unavoidable cost of doing business, if we were to experience higher rates of inventory shrinkage or incur increased security costs to combat inventory theft, our business and results of operations could be affected adversely.

Failure to execute our opportunistic buying could adversely affect our business.

We purchase the majority of our inventory opportunistically, with our buyers purchasing close to need. While opportunistic buying provides our buyers the ability to buy at desirable times and prices, in the quantities we need and into market trends, it places considerable discretion in our buyers, subjecting us to risks related to the pricing, quantity, nature and timing of inventory flowing to our stores. If we are unable to provide frequent replenishment of fresh, high quality, attractively priced merchandise in our stores, it could adversely affect traffic to our stores as well as our sales and margins. We base our purchases of inventory, in part, on our sales forecasts. If our sales forecasts do not match customer demand, we may experience higher inventory levels and need to markdown excess or slow-moving inventory, leading to decreased profit margins, or we may have insufficient inventory to meet customer demand, leading to lost sales, either of which could adversely affect our financial performance.

Failure to execute our inventory management process could adversely affect our business.

We must also properly execute our inventory management strategies by appropriately allocating merchandise among our stores, timely and efficiently distributing inventory to stores, maintaining an appropriate mix and level of inventory in stores, appropriately changing the allocation of floor space of stores among product categories to respond to customer demand and effectively managing pricing and markdowns, and there is no assurance we will be able to do so. Failure to effectively execute our inventory management strategies could adversely affect our performance and our relationship with our customers.

Our business could suffer if we are unsuccessful in making, integrating, and maintaining commercial agreements, strategic alliances, and other business relationships.

We provide e-commerce and other services to businesses through commercial agreements, strategic alliances, and business relationships. Under these agreements, we enable sellers to offer products or services through our websites. These arrangements are complex and require substantial infrastructure capacity, personnel, and other resource commitments, which may limit the amount of business we can service. We may not be able to implement, maintain, and develop the components of these commercial relationships, which may include web services, fulfillment, customer service, inventory management, tax collection, payment processing, hardware, content, and third-party software, and engaging third parties to perform services. The amount of compensation we receive under certain of our commercial agreements is partially dependent on the volume of the other company’s sales. Therefore, if the other company’s offering is not successful, the compensation we receive may be lower than expected or the agreement may be terminated. Moreover, we may not be able to enter into additional commercial relationships and strategic alliances on favorable terms. We also may be subject to claims from businesses to which we provide these services if we are unsuccessful in implementing, maintaining, or developing these services.

As our agreements terminate, we may be unable to renew or replace these agreements on comparable terms, or at all. We may in the future enter into amendments on less favorable terms or encounter parties that have difficulty meeting their contractual obligations to us, which could adversely affect our operating results.

Our present and future e-commerce services agreements, other commercial agreements, and strategic alliances create additional risks such as: disruption of our ongoing business, including loss of management focus on existing businesses; impairment of other relationships; variability in revenue and income from entering into, amending, or terminating such agreements or relationships; and difficulty integrating under the commercial agreements.

Our business may be adversely affected by catastrophic events and extreme or unseasonable weather conditions.

Unforeseen events, including war, terrorism and other international conflicts, public health issues and natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes or tornadoes, whether occurring in the United States or abroad, could disrupt our supply chain operations, international trade or result in political or economic instability. Any of the foregoing events could result in property losses, reduce demand for our products or make it difficult or impossible to obtain merchandise from our suppliers.

Extreme weather conditions in the areas in which our stores are located, particularly in markets where we have multiple stores, could adversely affect our business. For example, heavy snowfall, rainfall or other extreme weather conditions over a prolonged period might make it difficult for our customers to travel to our stores and thereby reduce our sales and profitability. Our business is also susceptible to unseasonable weather conditions. For example, extended periods of unseasonably warm temperatures during the winter season or cool weather during the summer season could render a portion of our inventory incompatible with those unseasonable conditions. Reduced sales from extreme or prolonged unseasonable weather conditions could adversely affect our business.

We may not timely identify or effectively respond to consumer trends or preferences, whether involving physical retail, e-commerce retail or a combination of both retail offerings, which could negatively affect our relationship with our customers and the demand for our products and services.

It is difficult to predict consistently and successfully the products and services our customers will demand. The success of our business depends in part on how accurately we predict consumer demand, availability of merchandise, the related impact on the demand for existing products and the competitive environment, whether for customers purchasing products at our stores and clubs, through our e-commerce businesses or through the combination of both retail offerings. A critical piece of identifying consumer preferences involves price transparency, assortment of products, customer experience and convenience. These factors are of primary importance to customers and they continue to increase in importance, particularly as a result of digital tools and social media available to consumers and the choices available to consumers for purchasing products online, at physical locations or through a combination of both retail offerings. Failure to timely identify or effectively respond to changing consumer tastes, preferences (including the key factors described above) and spending patterns, whether for our physical retail offerings, e-commerce offerings or through a combination of these retail offerings, could negatively affect our relationship with our customers and the demand for our products and services.

Decreases in discretionary consumer spending may have an adverse effect on us.

A substantial portion of the products and services we offer are products or services that consumers may view as discretionary items rather than necessities. As a result, our results of operations are sensitive to changes in macroeconomic conditions that impact consumer spending, including discretionary spending. Difficult macroeconomic conditions, particularly high levels of unemployment, also impact our customers’ ability to obtain consumer credit. Other factors, including consumer confidence, employment levels, interest rates, tax rates, consumer debt levels, and fuel and energy costs could reduce consumer spending or change consumer purchasing habits. Slowdowns in the U.S. or global economy, or an uncertain economic outlook, could adversely affect consumer spending habits and our results of operations.

If we do not continue to source new products, our ability to compete will be undermined, and we may be unable to implement our business plan.

Our ability to compete in the direct marketing industry and to expand into the traditional retail environment depends to a great extent on our ability to develop or acquire new innovative products under particular brands and to complement these products with related families of products under those brands. If we do not source new products as our existing products mature through their product life cycles, or if we do not develop related families of products under our brands, we will not be able to implement our business plan, and the value of your investment may decrease.

Our business and results of operations may be adversely affected if we are unable to maintain our customer experience or provide high quality customer service.

The success of our business largely depends on our ability to provide superior customer experience and high quality customer service, which in turn depends on a variety of factors, such as our ability to continue to provide a reliable and user-friendly website interface for our customers to browse and purchase our products, reliable and timely delivery of our products, and superior after sales services. Our sales may decrease if our website services are severely interrupted or otherwise fail to meet our customer requests. Should we or our third-party delivery companies fail to provide our product delivery and return services in a convenient or reliable manner, or if our customers are not satisfied with our product quality, our reputation and customer loyalty could be negatively affected. In addition, we also depend on our call center and online customer service representatives to provide live assistance to our customers. If our call center or online customer service representatives fail to satisfy the individual needs of customers, our reputation and customer loyalty could be negatively affected and we may lose potential or existing customers and experience a decrease in sales. As a result, if we are unable to continue to maintain our customer experience and provide high quality customer service, we may not be able to retain existing customers or attract new customers, which could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

We depend upon designers, vendors and other sources of merchandise, goods and services. 

Our business could be affected by disruptions in, or other legal, regulatory, political or economic issues associated with, our supply network. Our relationships with established and emerging designers have been a significant contributor to our past success. Our ability to find qualified vendors and access products in a timely and efficient manner is often challenging, particularly with respect to goods sourced outside the United States. In addition, our procurement of all our goods and services is subject to the effects of price increases, which we may or may not be able to pass through to our customers. All of these factors may affect our ability to access suitable merchandise on acceptable terms, are beyond our control and could negatively affect our business and results of operations.

‍Our advertising and marketing efforts may be costly and may not achieve desired results.

We incur substantial expense in connection with our advertising and marketing efforts. Although we target our advertising and marketing efforts on current and potential customers who we believe are likely to be in the market for the products we sell, we cannot assure you that our advertising and marketing efforts will achieve our desired results. In addition, we periodically adjust our advertising expenditures in an effort to optimize the return on such expenditures. Any decrease in the level of our advertising expenditures, which may be made to optimize such return could adversely affect our sales.

We may be required to collect sales tax on our direct marketing operations.

With respect to the direct sales, sales or other similar taxes are collected primarily in states where we have retail stores, another physical presence or personal property. However, various states or foreign countries may seek to impose sales tax collection obligations on out-of-state direct mail companies. A successful assertion by one or more states that we or one or more of our subsidiaries should have collected or should be collecting sales taxes on the direct sale of our merchandise could have an adverse effect on our business.

Government regulation is evolving and unfavorable changes could harm our business.

We are subject to general business regulations and laws, as well as regulations and laws specifically governing the Internet, e-commerce, electronic devices, and other services. Existing and future laws and regulations may impede our growth. These regulations and laws may cover taxation, privacy, data protection, pricing, content, copyrights, distribution, mobile communications, electronic device certification, electronic waste, energy consumption, environmental regulation, electronic contracts and other communications, competition, consumer protection, web services, the provision of online payment services, information reporting requirements, unencumbered Internet access to our services, the design and operation of websites, the characteristics and quality of products and services, and the commercial operation of unmanned aircraft systems. It is not clear how existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, libel, and personal privacy apply to the Internet, e-commerce, digital content, and web services. Jurisdictions may regulate consumer-to-consumer online businesses, including certain aspects of our seller programs. Unfavorable regulations and laws could diminish the demand for our products and services and increase our cost of doing business.

Changes in federal, state or local laws and regulations could increase our expenses and adversely affect our results of operations.

Our business is subject to a wide array of laws and regulations. The current political environment, financial reform legislation, the current high level of government intervention and activism and regulatory reform may result in substantial new regulations and disclosure obligations and/or changes in the interpretation of existing laws and regulations, which may lead to additional compliance costs as well as the diversion of our management’s time and attention from strategic initiatives. If we fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations we could be subject to legal risk, including government enforcement action and class action civil litigation that could disrupt our operations and increase our costs of doing business. Changes in the regulatory environment regarding topics such as privacy and information security, product safety or environmental protection, including regulations in response to concerns regarding climate change, collective bargaining activities, minimum wage laws and health care mandates, among others, could also cause our compliance costs to increase and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our profitability is vulnerable to cost increases, inflation and energy prices.

Future increases in our costs, such as the cost of merchandise, shipping rates, freight and fuel costs, and store occupancy costs, may reduce our profitability. The minimum wage has increased or is scheduled to increase in multiple states and local jurisdictions, and there is a possibility Congress will increase the federal minimum wage. These cost changes may be the result of inflationary pressures, which could further reduce our sales or profitability. Increases in other operating costs, including changes in energy prices, wage rates and lease and utility costs, may increase our costs of sales or operating expenses and reduce our profitability.

The Company could be negatively impacted if found to have infringed on intellectual property rights.

Technology companies, including many of the Company’s competitors, frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of patent infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. In addition, patent holding companies seek to monetize patents they have purchased or otherwise obtained. As the Company grows, the intellectual property rights claims against it will likely increase. The Company intends to vigorously defend infringement actions in court and before the U.S. International Trade Commission. The plaintiffs in these actions frequently seek injunctions and substantial damages. Regardless of the scope or validity of such patents or other intellectual property rights, or the merits of any claims by potential or actual litigants, the Company may have to engage in protracted litigation. If the Company is found to infringe one or more patents or other intellectual property rights, regardless of whether it can develop non- infringing technology, it may be required to pay substantial damages or royalties to a third-party, or it may be subject to a temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting the Company from marketing or selling certain products. In certain cases, the Company may consider the desirability of entering into licensing agreements, although no assurance can be given that such licenses can be obtained on acceptable terms or that litigation will not occur. These licenses may also significantly increase the Company’s operating expenses.

Regardless of the merit of particular claims, litigation may be expensive, time-consuming, disruptive to the Company’s operations and distracting to management. In recognition of these considerations, the Company may enter into arrangements to settle litigation. If one or more legal matters were resolved against the Company’s consolidated financial statements for that reporting period could be materially adversely affected. Further, such an outcome could result in significant compensatory, punitive or trebled monetary damages, disgorgement of revenue or profits, remedial corporate measures or injunctive relief against the Company that could adversely affect its financial condition and results of operations.

Indemnity provisions in various agreements potentially expose us to substantial liability for intellectual property infringement and other losses.

Our agreements with advertisers, advertising agencies, customers and other third parties may include indemnification provisions under which we agree to indemnify them for losses suffered or incurred as a result of claims of intellectual property infringement, damages caused by us to property or persons, or other liabilities relating to or arising from our products, services or other contractual obligations. The term of these indemnity provisions generally survives termination or expiration of the applicable agreement. Large indemnity payments would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, any type of intellectual property lawsuit, whether initiated by us or a third party, would likely be time consuming and expensive to resolve and would divert management’s time and attention.

We rely heavily on our technology and intellectual property, but we may be unable to adequately or cost-effectively protect or enforce our intellectual property rights, thereby weakening our competitive position and increasing operating costs.

To protect our rights in our services and technology, we rely on a combination of copyright and trademark laws, patents, trade secrets, confidentiality agreements with employees and third parties, and protective contractual provisions. We also rely on laws pertaining to trademarks and domain names to protect the value of our corporate brands and reputation. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may copy aspects of our services or technology, obtain and use information, marks, or technology that we regard as proprietary, or otherwise violate or infringe our intellectual property rights. In addition, it is possible that others could independently develop substantially equivalent intellectual property. If we do not effectively protect our intellectual property, or if others independently develop substantially equivalent intellectual property, our competitive position could be weakened.

Effectively policing the unauthorized use of our services and technology is time-consuming and costly, and the steps taken by us may not prevent misappropriation of our technology or other proprietary assets. The efforts we have taken to protect our proprietary rights may not be sufficient or effective, and unauthorized parties may copy aspects of our services, use similar marks or domain names, or obtain and use information, marks, or technology that we regard as proprietary. We may have to litigate to enforce our intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets, or to determine the validity and scope of others’ proprietary rights, which are sometimes not clear or may change. Litigation can be time consuming and expensive, and the outcome can be difficult to predict.

We rely on agreements with third parties to provide certain services, goods, technology, and intellectual property rights necessary to enable us to implement some of our applications.

Our ability to implement and provide our applications and services to our clients depends, in part, on services, goods, technology, and intellectual property rights owned or controlled by third parties. These third parties may become unable to or refuse to continue to provide these services, goods, technology, or intellectual property rights on commercially reasonable terms consistent with our business practices, or otherwise discontinue a service important for us to continue to operate our applications. If we fail to replace these services, goods, technologies, or intellectual property rights in a timely manner or on commercially reasonable terms, our operating results and financial condition could be harmed. In addition, we exercise limited control over our third- party vendors, which increases our vulnerability to problems with technology and services those vendors provide. If the services, technology, or intellectual property of third parties were to fail to perform as expected, it could subject us to potential liability, adversely affect our renewal rates, and have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We depend on profitable royalty-bearing licenses of our technology, and if we are unable to maintain and generate such license agreements, then we may not be able to sustain existing levels of revenue or increase revenue.

We depend upon the identification, investment in and license of new patents for our revenues. If we are unable to maintain such license agreements and to continue to develop new license arrangements, then we may not have the resources to identify new technology-based opportunities for future patents and inventions in order to maintain sustainable revenue and growth.

Our current or future license agreements may not provide the volume or quality of royalty revenue to sustain our business. In some cases, other technology sources may compete against us as they seek to license and commercialize technologies. These and other strategies may reduce the number of technology sources and potential clients to whom we can market our services. Our inability to maintain current relationships and sources of technology or to secure new licensees, may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

If we fail to maintain or expand our relationships with our suppliers we may not have adequate access to new or key technology necessary for our products, which may impair our ability to deliver leading-edge products.

In addition to the technologies we develop, our suppliers develop product innovations at our direction that are requested by our customers. Further, we rely heavily on our component suppliers to provide us with leading-edge components that conform to required specifications or contractual arrangements on time and in accordance with a product roadmap. If we are not able to maintain or expand our relationships with our suppliers or continue to leverage their research and development capabilities to develop new technologies desired by our customers, our ability to deliver leading-edge products in a timely manner may be impaired and we could be required to incur additional research and development expenses. Also, disruption in our supply chain or the need to find alternative suppliers could impact the costs and/or timing associated with procuring necessary products, components and services. Similarly, suppliers have operating risks that could impact our business. These risks could create product time delays, inventory and invoicing problems, staging delays, and other operational difficulties.

We must acquire or develop new products, evolve existing ones, address any defects or errors, and adapt to technology change.

Technical developments, client requirements, programming languages, and industry standards change frequently in our markets. As a result, success in current markets and new markets will depend upon our ability to enhance current products, address any product defects or errors, acquire or develop and introduce new products that meet client needs, keep pace with technology changes, respond to competitive products, and achieve market acceptance. Product development requires substantial investments for research, refinement, and testing. We may not have sufficient resources to make necessary product development investments. We may experience technical or other difficulties that will delay or prevent the successful development, introduction, or implementation of new or enhanced products. We may also experience technical or other difficulties in the integration of acquired technologies into our existing platform and applications. Inability to introduce or implement new or enhanced products in a timely manner could result in loss of market share if competitors are able to provide solutions to meet customer needs before we do, give rise to unanticipated expenses related to further development or modification of acquired technologies as a result of integration issues, and adversely affect future performance.

‍Our failure to deliver high quality server solutions could damage our reputation and diminish demand for our products, and subject us to liability.

Our customers require our products to perform at a high level, contain valuable features and be extremely reliable. The design of our server solutions is sophisticated and complex, and the process for manufacturing, assembling and testing our server solutions is challenging. Occasionally, our design or manufacturing processes may fail to deliver products of the quality that our customers require. For example, a vendor may provide us with a defective component that failed under certain heavy use applications. As a result, our product would need to be repaired. The vendor may agree to pay for the costs of the repairs, but we may incur costs in connection with the recall and diverted resources from other projects. New flaws or limitations in our products may be detected in the future. Part of our strategy is to bring new products to market quickly, and first-generation products may have a higher likelihood of containing undetected flaws. If our customers discover defects or other performance problems with our products, our customers’ businesses, and our reputation, may be damaged. Customers may elect to delay or withhold payment for defective or underperforming products, request remedial action, terminate contracts for untimely delivery, or elect not to order additional products. If we do not properly address customer concerns about our products, our reputation and relationships with our customers may be harmed. In addition, we may be subject to product liability claims for a defective product. Any of the foregoing could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

The products we sell are advanced, and we need to rapidly and successfully develop and introduce new products in a competitive, demanding and rapidly changing environment.

To succeed in our intensely competitive industry, we must continually improve, refresh and expand our product and service offerings to include newer features, functionality or solutions, and keep pace with price-to-performance gains in the industry. Shortened product life cycles due to customer demands and competitive pressures impact the pace at which we must introduce and implement new technology. This requires a high level of innovation by both our software developers and the suppliers of the third-party software components included in our systems. In addition, bringing new solutions to the market entails a costly and lengthy process, and requires us to accurately anticipate customer needs and technology trends. We must continue to respond to market demands, develop leading technologies and maintain leadership in analytic data solutions performance and scalability, or our business operations may be adversely affected.

We must also anticipate and respond to customer demands regarding the compatibility of our current and prior offerings. These demands could hinder the pace of introducing and implementing new technology. Our future results may be affected if our products cannot effectively interface and perform well with software products of other companies and with our customers’ existing IT infrastructures, or if we are unsuccessful in our efforts to enter into agreements allowing integration of third-party technology with our database and software platforms. Our efforts to develop the interoperability of our products may require significant investments of capital and employee resources. In addition, many of our principal products are used with products offered by third parties and, in the future, some vendors of non-Company products may become less willing to provide us with access to their products, technical information and marketing and sales support. As a result of these and other factors, our ability to introduce new or improved solutions could be adversely impacted and our business would be negatively affected.

Industry consolidation may result in increased competition, which could result in a loss of customers or a reduction in revenue.

Some of our competitors have made or may make acquisitions or may enter into partnerships or other strategic relationships to offer more comprehensive services than they individually had offered or achieve greater economies of scale. In addition, new entrants not currently considered to be competitors may enter our market through acquisitions, partnerships or strategic relationships. We expect these trends to continue as companies attempt to strengthen or maintain their market positions. The potential entrants may have competitive advantages over us, such as greater name recognition, longer operating histories, more varied services and larger marketing budgets, as well as greater financial, technical and other resources. The companies resulting from combinations or that expand or vertically integrate their business to include the market that we address may create more compelling service offerings and may offer greater pricing flexibility than we can or may engage in business practices that make it more difficult for us to compete effectively, including on the basis of price, sales and marketing programs, technology or service functionality. These pressures could result in a substantial loss of our customers or a reduction in our revenue.

Our business could be negatively impacted by cyber security threats, attacks and other disruptions.

Like others in our industry, we continue to face advanced and persistent attacks on our information infrastructure where we manage and store various proprietary information and sensitive/confidential data relating to our operations. These attacks may include sophisticated malware (viruses, worms, and other malicious software programs) and phishing emails that attack our products or otherwise exploit any security vulnerabilities. These intrusions sometimes may be zero-day malware that are difficult to identify because they are not included in the signature set of commercially available antivirus scanning programs. Experienced computer programmers and hackers may be able to penetrate our network security and misappropriate or compromise our confidential information or that of our customers or other third-parties, create system disruptions, or cause shutdowns. Additionally, sophisticated software and applications that we produce or procure from third-parties may contain defects in design or manufacture, including "bugs" and other problems that could unexpectedly interfere with the operation of the information infrastructure. A disruption, infiltration or failure of our information infrastructure systems or any of our data centers as a result of software or hardware malfunctions, computer viruses, cyber attacks, employee theft or misuse, power disruptions, natural disasters or accidents could cause breaches of data security, loss of critical data and performance delays, which in turn could adversely affect our business.

If we do not respond to technological changes or upgrade our websites and technology systems, our growth prospects and results of operations could be adversely affected.

To remain competitive, we must continue to enhance and improve the functionality and features of our websites and technology infrastructure. As a result, we will need to continue to improve and expand our hosting and network infrastructure and related software capabilities. These improvements may require greater levels of spending than we have experienced in the past. Without such improvements, our operations might suffer from unanticipated system disruptions, slow application performance or unreliable service levels, any of which could negatively affect our reputation and ability to attract and retain customers and contributors. Furthermore, in order to continue to attract and retain new customers, we are likely to incur expenses in connection with continuously updating and improving our user interface and experience. We may face significant delays in introducing new services, products and enhancements. If competitors introduce new products and services using new technologies or if new industry standards and practices emerge, our existing websites and our proprietary technology and systems may become obsolete or less competitive, and our business may be harmed. In addition, the expansion and improvement of our systems and infrastructure may require us to commit substantial financial, operational and technical resources, with no assurance that our business will improve.

We currently obtain components from single or limited sources, and are subject to significant supply and pricing risks.

Many components, including those that are available from multiple sources, are at times subject to industry-wide shortages and significant commodity pricing fluctuations. While the Company has entered into agreements for the supply of many components, there can be no assurance that we will be able to extend or renew these agreements on similar terms, or at all. A number of suppliers of components may suffer from poor financial conditions, which can lead to business failure for the supplier or consolidation within a particular industry, further limiting our ability to obtain sufficient quantities of components. The follow-on effects from global economic conditions on our suppliers, also could affect our ability to obtain components. Therefore, we remain subject to significant risks of supply shortages and price increases.

Our products often utilize custom components available from only one source. Continued availability of these components at acceptable prices, or at all, may be affected for any number of reasons, including if those suppliers decide to concentrate on the production of common components instead of components customized to meet our requirements. The supply of components for a new or existing product could be delayed or constrained, or a key manufacturing vendor could delay shipments of completed products to us adversely affecting our business and results of operations.

The Company depends on the performance of distributors, carriers and other resellers.

The Company distributes its products through  wholesalers, national and regional retailers, and value-added resellers, many of whom distribute products from competing manufacturers. The Company also sells its products and third-party products in most of its major markets directly to education, enterprise and government customers, and consumers and small and mid-sized businesses through its online and retail stores.

Many resellers have narrow operating margins and have been adversely affected in the past by weak economic conditions. Some resellers have perceived the expansion of the Company’s direct sales as conflicting with their business interests as distributors and resellers of the Company’s products. Such a perception could discourage resellers from investing resources in the distribution and sale of the Company’s products or lead them to limit or cease distribution of those products. The Company has invested and will continue to invest in programs to enhance reseller sales, including improving product placement displays. These programs could require a substantial investment while providing no assurance of return or incremental revenue. The financial condition of these resellers could weaken, these resellers could stop distributing the Company’s products, or uncertainty regarding demand for the Company’s products could cause resellers to reduce their ordering and marketing of the Company’s products.

Government mandated safety standards are costly and technologically challenging.

Meeting or exceeding government-mandated safety standards is costly and often technologically challenging, especially where one or more government mandated standards may conflict. Government safety standards require manufacturers to remedy defects related to motor vehicle safety through safety recall campaigns, and a manufacturer is obligated to recall vehicles if it determines that they do not comply with a safety standard. Should we or government safety regulators determine that a safety or other defect or noncompliance exists with respect to certain of our vehicles, there could be a recall of a product and/or a significant increase in warranty claims, the costs of which could be substantial.

‍We may be subject to litigation despite compliance with regulations and industry standards. 

We spend substantial resources ensuring that we comply with governmental safety regulations, mobile and stationary source emissions regulations, and other standards. Compliance with governmental standards, however, does not necessarily prevent individual or class actions, which can entail significant cost and risk. In certain circumstances, courts may permit tort claims even where our vehicles comply with federal and/or other applicable law. Litigation also is inherently expensive and uncertain, and we could experience significant adverse results, including negative public opinion.

Manufacturers are required to remedy defects related to safety and to emissions through safety recall campaigns, and a manufacturer is obligated to recall vehicles if it determines that they do not comply with an applicable regulatory standard.

In addition, if we determine that a safety or emissions defect or non-compliance exists with respect to certain of our products prior to the start of production, the launch of such product could be delayed until we remedy the defect or non-compliance.

We are dependent on a number of patents and other intellectual property rights, including licenses that are critical to our respective businesses and competitive positions.

Notwithstanding our intellectual property portfolio, our competitors may develop similar or superior proprietary technologies. Further, as we expand into regions where the protection of intellectual property rights is less robust, the risk of others replicating our proprietary technologies increases, which could result in a deterioration of our competitive position. We may assert claims against third parties who are taking actions that we believe are infringing on our intellectual property rights or may have such claims asserted against us. Claims are costly to prosecute, defend or settle and divert the efforts and attention of our management and employees. Claims of this sort also could harm our relationships with our customers and might deter future customers from doing business with us. If any such claim were to result in an adverse outcome, we may have to develop or license non-infringing products; pay damages to third parties, or cease the manufacture, use or sale of the infringing products. Any of the foregoing results could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or our competitive position.

We own or are licensed under U.S. patents and patent applications, trademarks and copyrights.

Our intellectual property rights may expire or be challenged, invalidated or infringed upon by third parties or we may be unable to maintain, renew or enter into new licenses of third party proprietary intellectual property on commercially reasonable terms. Any of these events or factors could diminish or cause us to lose the competitive advantages associated with our intellectual property, subject us to judgments, penalties and significant litigation costs, and/or temporarily or permanently disrupt our sales and marketing of the affected products or services.

We may be subject to indemnity claims for third-party infringement.

Many of our supply agreements require us to indemnify our customers and distributors from third-party infringement claims, and require that we defend those claims and might require that we pay damages in the case of adverse rulings. Claims are costly to prosecute, defend or settle and divert the efforts and attention of our management and employees. Claims of this sort also could harm our relationships with our customers and might deter future customers from doing business with us.

As a provider of global logistics services, we depend on a variety of asset-based third party suppliers.

The quality and profitability of our services depend upon effective selection, management and discipline of third party suppliers. In recent years, many of our third party service providers have incurred significant operating losses and/or are highly leveraged with debt. Changes in the financial stability, operating capabilities and capacity of asset-based carriers and space allotment made available to us by asset-based carriers could affect us in unpredictable ways, including volatility of pricing, and challenge our ability to achieve profitability.

We rely on single suppliers for component parts.

Many components used in our products are available only from a single supplier and cannot be re-sourced quickly or inexpensively to another supplier due to long lead times, new contractual commitments that may be required by another supplier before ramping up to provide the components or materials, etc. In addition to the general risks described above regarding interruption of supplies, which are exacerbated in the case of single-source suppliers, the exclusive supplier of a key component potentially could exert significant bargaining power over price, quality, warranty claims, or other terms relating to a component.

Demand for and pricing of our products are subject to economic conditions and other factors present in the various markets where the products are sold.

Demand for our products is subject to the level of consumer demand for electric vehicles (EVs). The level of new EV purchases is cyclical, affected by such factors as general economic conditions, interest rates and availability of credit, consumer confidence, patterns of consumer spending, fuel cost and the EV replacement cycle. Consumer preferences also impact the demand for new EV purchases. A decrease in demand due to any of these factors would have a negative effect on our business and operations.

We believe that increasingly stringent environmental standards for emissions have required and will continue to require the Company to expend significant resources.

If environmental standards for emissions continue to become more stringent we will be required to institute the proper procedures and utilize the mandated equipment in order to comply, which will require significant expenditures. In addition, the adoption of any new standards beyond our expectations will require expenditures in excess of what we have budgeted and could negatively affect our business and operations.

International conflicts such as war, terrorist attacks and political uprisings could negatively affect both demand for our services and our cost of doing business.

International conflicts such as the war in the Middle East, political turmoil in the Middle and Far East, and the possibility of future terrorist attacks cause significant uncertainty with respect to U.S. and other business and financial markets and may adversely affect our business. These international conflicts also affect the price of oil, which has a significant impact on the financial health of our commercial customers. Although our electric vehicle infrastructure business may experience greater demand for its products as a result of increased government defense spending on sustainable technologies, factors arising (directly or indirectly) from international conflicts or terrorism which may adversely affect our commercial business include reduced investment in new infrastructure projects, upgrades, maintenance, and spending on discretionary products such as advanced battery-powered EV Charging Systems, as well as increases in the cost of property and casualty insurance and increased restrictions placed on our insurance policies. 

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Risks Related to the Securities

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Neither the Offering nor the Securities have been registered under federal or state securities laws, leading to an absence of certain regulation applicable to the Company.

No governmental agency has reviewed or passed upon this Offering, the Company or any Securities of the Company. The Company also has relied on exemptions from securities registration requirements under applicable state securities laws. Investors in the Company, therefore, will not receive any of the benefits that such registration would otherwise provide. Prospective investors must therefore assess the adequacy of disclosure and the fairness of the terms of this Offering on their own or in conjunction with their personal advisors.

There is no assurance that purchasers of the Securities will receive a return on their investment. 

The Securities are highly speculative and any return on an investment in the Securities is contingent upon numerous circumstances, many of which (including legal and regulatory conditions) are beyond the Company’s control. There is no assurance that purchasers will realize any return on their investments or that their entire investments will not be lost. For this reason, each purchaser should carefully read this offering circular and should consult with their own attorney, financial and tax advisors prior to making any investment decision with respect to the Securities. Investors should only make an investment in the Securities if they are prepared to lose the entirety of such investment. 

The Company’s management will have broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from this Offering. 

At present, we intend to use the net proceeds for (1) conducting pre‐clinical, clinical development for our drug candidates, and related research programs; (2) the development of one or more Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient(s); (3) manufacturing, marketing, and other related costs for the nutritional supplement products; and (4) intellectual property development or acquisition; and (5) general corporate purposes. The failure by the Company’s management to apply these funds effectively could have a material adverse effect on the Company and the value of the Securities. 

Holders of the Securities will not have voting rights and will have no ability to influence the decisions of the Company. 

Holders of the Securities have no voting rights. As a result, all matters submitted to stockholders will be decided by the vote of holders of the Company’s capital stock entitled to vote thereon, which shall not include the Securities. Holders of the Securities will have no ability to elect directors or determine the outcome of any other matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s stockholders. 

The Securities may be subject to registration under the Exchange Act if the Company has assets above $10 million and more than 2,000 purchasers participate in the Offering, which would increase the Company’s costs and require substantial attention from management. 

Companies with total assets above $10 million and more than 2,000 holders of record of its equity securities, or 500 holders of record of its equity securities who are not accredited investors, at the end of their fiscal year must register that class of equity securities with the SEC under the Exchange Act. The Company could trigger this requirement as a result of the Offering and be required to register the Capital Stock with the SEC under the Exchange Act, which would be a laborious and expensive process. Furthermore, if such registration takes place, the Company will have materially higher compliance and reporting costs going forward. 

Purchasers may lack information for monitoring their investment. 

The Securities do not have any information rights attached to them and purchasers may not be able to obtain all the information they would want regarding the Company or the Securities. Investors may not be able to receive information regarding the financial performance of the Company with respect to the ability of the Company. The Company is not currently registered with the SEC and currently has no periodic reporting requirements. As a result of these difficulties, as well as other uncertainties, a purchaser may not have accurate or accessible information about the Company or the Securities.

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