GNAL Generation Alpha Inc (CE)

Item 1A - RISK FACTORS.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS

We have limited operational history in an emerging industry that has been legalized in some states but remains illegal in others and under federal law, making it difficult to accurately predict and forecast business operation.

Because we have only a limited operational history it is and will continue to be extremely difficult to make accurate predictions and forecasts on our growth and finances. There is no guarantee our products and services will remain attractive to potential and current clients as our industry continues to grow and develop.

Additionally, though our management team has varied and extensive business backgrounds and technical expertise, they, along with everyone else involved in the cannabis industry, have limited substantive prior working experience and managing operations in our industry. Because of our limited operating history and the recent development of the cannabis industry in general, it is very difficult to evaluate our business and the future prospects. We will encounter risks and difficulties and, in order to overcome these risks and difficulties, we believe we must:

If these objectives are not achieved our results of operations could suffer.

We are relying heavily upon the various Federal Governmental memos issued in the past (Ogden, Cole, and others) to remain acceptable to those state and Federal entities that regulate, enforce, or choose to defer enforcement of certain current regulations and that the Federal Government will not change its this attitude to those practitioners in the cannabis industry as long as they comply with their state and local jurisdictional rules and authorities. There can be no assurance that the Federal Government will not change such attitudes towards cannabis.

We have incurred significant net losses and cannot assure you that we will achieve or maintain profitable operations, and our auditors have issued a “going concern” audit opinion.

Our net losses were $17,074,005 and $14,628,676 for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. As of December 31, 2018, we had stockholders’ deficit of $3,428,539. We will need to raise additional working capital to continue our normal and planned operations. We will need to generate and sustain significant revenue levels in future periods in order to become profitable, and, even if we do, we may not be able to maintain or increase our level of profitability. We anticipate that our operating expenses will increase in the foreseeable future as we undertake increased technology and production efforts to support our business and increase our marketing and sales efforts to drive an increase in the number of customers and clients utilizing our services. In addition, as a public company, we will incur significant accounting, legal and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. These expenditures will make it necessary for us to continue to raise additional working capital and make it harder for us to achieve and maintain profitability. Our efforts to grow our business may be costlier than we expect, and we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to offset our higher operating expenses. If we are forced to reduce our expenses, our growth strategy could be compromised. We may incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications and delays and other unknown events. Accordingly, substantial doubt exists about our ability to continue as a going concern and we cannot assure you that we will achieve sustainable operating profits as we continue to expand our infrastructure, restructure our balance sheet, further develop our marketing efforts, and otherwise implement our growth initiatives.

Our independent auditors have indicated in their report on our December 31, 2018 consolidated financial statements that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. A “going concern” opinion indicates that the financial statements have been prepared assuming we will continue as a going concern and do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets, or the amounts and classification of liabilities that may result if we do not continue as a going concern. Therefore, you should not rely on our consolidated balance sheet as an indication of the amount of proceeds that would be available to satisfy claims of creditors, and potentially be available for distribution to stockholders, in the event of liquidation.

We must raise additional working capital.

At the present time, our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon raising capital from financing transactions. To stay in business, we will need to raise additional working capital through public or private sales of our equity securities, debt financing or short-term loans, or a combination of the foregoing. In the event that such financing is not procured, we may be forced to curtail our growth plans. There can be no assurance that we will be able to raise sufficient additional working capital financing from the sale of additional securities when needed to sustain our operations on acceptable terms, or at all. If such financing is not available on satisfactory terms or is not available at all, we may be required to delay, scale back or eliminate the development of business opportunities and our operations and our financial condition may be materially adversely affected. Debt financing, if obtained, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions such as incurring additional debt and could increase our expenses and require that our assets be provided as a security for such debt. Debt financing would also be required to be repaid regardless of our operating results. Equity financing, if obtained, could result in dilution to our then existing stockholders.

We depend on the development of the cannabis industry.

Over the past several years, the cannabis industry has grown significantly as a result of an increase of deregulation at a state level. Our revenues depend greatly on the expenditures made by companies within the cannabis industry. In some instances, companies in these industries are reliant on their ability to raise capital in order to fund their operations. Accordingly, economic factors and industry trends that affect our clients in these industries also affect our business. If companies in these industries were to reduce the number of research and development projects they conduct or outsource, our business could be materially adversely affected.

Our success is dependent upon our ability to develop markets.

Our ability to succeed within the cannabis industry as well as other target markets will determine actual operating results. While we anticipate the creation of a compelling services model for our potential clients, we may not be able to fully develop our planned service offering(s) in a manner that is predictable or profitable. We will focus on these factors to help fuel our growth. The overall U.S cannabis market is growing from its own performance dynamics. The strong growth in demand for legal cannabis over the past years is expected to continue in the years ahead, but there can be no assurance that it will continue to grow. The legal cannabis industry is among the fastest growing industries in the U.S projecting $22 billion in revenue by 2020 from $5 billion in 2015.

Competition in our industry is intense.

There are many competitors in the cannabis industry, including many who offer similar products and services as those offered by us. There can be no guarantee that in the future other companies won’t enter this arena by developing services that are in direct competition with us or any acquired subsidiary. We anticipate the presence as well as entry of other companies in this market space and acknowledge that we may not be able to establish or if established, maintain a competitive advantage. Some of these companies may have longer operating histories, greater name recognition, larger customer bases and significantly greater financial, technical, sales and marketing resources. This may allow them to respond more quickly than us to market opportunities. It may also allow them to devote greater resources to the marketing, promotion and sale of their products and or services. These competitors may also adopt more aggressive pricing policies and make more attractive offers to existing and potential customers, employees, strategic partners, distribution channels and advertisers. Increased competition is likely to result in price reductions, reduced gross margins and a potential loss of market share.

Our real estate assets are subject to the risks associated with real property.

We recently acquired real estate in Arizona, which is intended to serve as our cultivation and extraction facility, and we may acquire additional real estate property directly or indirectly in the future. Real estate assets are subject to various risks, including:

The occurrence of any of the foregoing or similar events may reduce our return from an affected property or asset and, consequently, may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our property is subject to a mortgage, and such mortgage debt obligation exposes us to the possibility of foreclosure on our ownership interest in the property, which could result in the loss of our investment in a property subject to mortgage debt.

Incurring mortgage and other secured debt obligations increases our risk of property losses because defaults on indebtedness secured by properties may result in foreclosure actions initiated by lenders and ultimately our loss of the property securing any loans for which we are in default. As of the date of this report, the facility we just purchased in Arizona has an outstanding mortgage obligation of approximately $3.5 million. Any foreclosure on our mortgaged property as a result of a default in our mortgage debt obligation could adversely affect our business operations.

Our manufacturing is concentrated with two key manufacturers, and if our relationship with either or both of them terminates or is otherwise impaired, we would likely experience increased costs, disruptions in the manufacture and shipment of our products and a material loss of net sales.

We have no long-term contracts with our manufacturers and as a result, our manufacturers could cease to provide products to us with no notice. Two of our manufacturers, Shenzhen Jayo Technologies Co., Ltd. and Zhuhai Relite Co., Ltd, together accounted for approximately 96% of our cost of goods sold in 2018 and 2017. Each of these manufacturers is the sole source supplier for the products that it produces. We purchase from these two manufacturers on a purchase order basis with orders generally filled between 45 and 60 days after our purchase order is placed. A loss of either or both of these manufacturers or other key manufacturers would result in delayed deliveries to our retailers and distributors, would adversely impact our net sales and may require the establishment of new manufacturing relationships. Additionally, we cannot be certain that we will not experience operational difficulties with our manufacturers, including reductions in the availability of production capacity, errors in complying with product specifications, insufficient quality control, failures to meet production deadlines, increases in manufacturing costs and increased lead times.

Risk of reliance on suppliers and manufacturers in China for production of our lighting related products.

All of our products are imported from and manufactured in China. For this reason, a major change in the political, economic and/or legal environment, or a natural disaster in China or another center of production, could have an impact on our ability to supply products.

We face business, political, operational, financial and economic risks because a portion of our net sales are generated internationally and substantially all of our products are manufactured outside of the United States.

We face business, political, operational, financial and economic risks inherent in international business, many of which are beyond our control, including: difficulties obtaining domestic and foreign export, import and other governmental approvals, permits and licenses, and compliance with foreign laws, which could halt, interrupt or delay our operations if we cannot obtain such approvals, permits and licenses, and that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations; difficulties encountered by our international distributors or us in staffing and managing foreign operations or international sales, including higher labor costs, which could increase our expenses and decrease our net sales and profitability; transportation delays and difficulties of managing international distribution channels, which could halt, interrupt or delay our operations; longer payment cycles for, and greater difficulty collecting, accounts receivable, which could reduce our net sales and harm our financial results; trade restrictions, higher tariffs, currency fluctuations or the imposition of additional regulations relating to import or export of our products, especially in China, where substantially all of our products are manufactured, which could force us to seek alternate manufacturing sources or increase our expenses, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations; political and economic instability, including wars, terrorism, political unrest, boycotts, curtailment of trade and other business restrictions, any of which could materially and adversely affect our net sales and results of operations; and natural disasters, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Any of these factors could reduce our net sales, decrease our gross margin or increase our expenses. Should we establish our own operations in international territories where we currently utilize a distributor, we will become subject to greater risks associated with operating outside of the United States.

Any shortage of raw materials or components could impair our ability to ship orders of our products in a cost-efficient manner or could cause us to miss the delivery requirements of our retailers or distributors, which could harm our business.

The ability of our manufacturers to supply our products is dependent, in part, upon the availability of raw materials and certain components. Our manufacturers may experience shortages in the availability of raw materials or components, which could result in delayed delivery of products to us or in increased costs to us. Any shortage of raw materials or components or inability to control costs associated with manufacturing could increase the costs for our products or impair our ability to ship orders in a timely cost-efficient manner. As a result, we could experience cancellation of orders, refusal to accept deliveries or a reduction in our prices and margins, any of which could harm our financial performance and results of operations.

Our business could suffer if any of our manufacturers fail to use acceptable labor practices.

We do not control our manufacturers or their labor practices. The violation of labor or other laws by a manufacturer utilized by us, or the divergence of an independent manufacturer’s labor practices from those generally accepted as ethical or legal in the United States, could damage our reputation or disrupt the shipment of finished products to us if such manufacturer is ordered to cease its manufacturing operations due to violations of laws or if such manufacturer’s operations are adversely affected by such failure to use acceptable labor practices. If this were to occur, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Exchange rate fluctuation between the U.S. dollar and Non-U.S. currencies may negatively affect our earnings.

Although most of our products imported for our core business are denominated in U.S. dollars, our operating results and cash flows may be subject to fluctuations due to changes in the relative values of the U.S. dollar and other foreign currencies. These fluctuations could negatively affect our operating results and could cause our revenues and net income or loss to vary from quarter to quarter. Furthermore, to the extent that we increase our revenues in regions, where our sales are denominated in U.S. dollars, a strengthening of the dollar versus other currencies could make our products less competitive in those foreign markets and collection of receivables more difficult.

We may elect from time to time to make changes to our pricing, service, hiring and marketing decisions that could increase our expenses, affect our revenues and impact our financial results.

Because our expense levels in any given quarter are based, in part, on management’s expectations regarding future revenues, if revenues are below expectations, the effect on our operating results may be magnified by our inability to adjust spending in a timely manner to compensate for a shortfall in revenues. The extent to which expenses are not subsequently followed by increased revenues would harm our operating results and could seriously impair our business.

If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow from operations or are unable to obtain additional equity or debt financing, to meet our working capital requirements, we may have to curtail our business operations sharply or cease business altogether.

Defects or disruptions in the delivery of our service could diminish demand, decrease market acceptance or decrease customer satisfaction of our service and subject us to substantial liability.

We may, from time to time, find defects in our products service may be detected in the future. Any defects with our products could hurt our reputation and may damage our customers’ businesses. If that occurs, customers could elect not to renew, or delay or withhold payment to us, we could lose future sales, or, customers may make warranty or other claims against us, which could result in an increase in our provision for doubtful accounts, an increase in collection cycles for accounts receivable or the expense and risk of litigation.

Our inability to effectively manage our growth could harm our business and materially and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

Our strategy envisions growing our business. We plan to expand our product, sales, administrative and marketing organizations. Any growth in or expansion of our business is likely to continue to place a strain on our management and administrative resources, infrastructure and systems. As with other growing businesses, we expect that we will need to further refine and expand our business development capabilities, our systems and processes and our access to financing sources. We also will need to hire, train, supervise and manage new employees. These processes are time consuming and expensive, will increase management responsibilities and will divert management attention. We cannot assure you that we will be able to:

Our inability or failure to manage our growth and expansion effectively could harm our business and materially and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

Our operating results may fluctuate significantly based on customer acceptance of our products. As a result, period-to-period comparisons of our results of operations are unlikely to provide a good indication of our future performance.

Management expects that we will experience substantial variations in our net sales and operating results from quarter to quarter due to customer acceptance of our products. If customers do not accept our products, our sales and revenues will decline, resulting in a reduction in our operating income.

Customer interest for our products could also be impacted by the timing of our introduction of new products. If our competitors introduce new products around the same time that we issue new products, and if such competing products are superior to our own, customers’ desire for our products could decrease, resulting in a decrease in our sales and revenues. To the extent that we introduce new products and customers decide not to migrate to our new products from our older products, our revenues could be negatively impacted due to the loss of revenue from those customers. In the event that our newer products do not sell as well as our older products, we could also experience a reduction in our revenues and operating income.

As a result of fluctuations in our revenue and operating expenses that may occur, management believes that period-to-period comparisons of our results of operations are unlikely to provide a good indication of our future performance.

If we do not successfully generate additional products and services, or if such products and services are developed but not successfully commercialized, we could lose revenue opportunities.

Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to expand our product offerings. To that end we have engaged in the process of identifying new product opportunities to provide additional products to our customers. The process of identifying and commercializing new products is complex and uncertain, and if we fail to accurately predict customers’ changing needs and emerging technological trends our business could be harmed. We may have to commit significant resources to commercializing new products before knowing whether our investments will result in products the market will accept. Furthermore, we may not execute successfully on commercializing those products because of errors in product planning or timing, technical hurdles that we fail to overcome in a timely fashion, or a lack of appropriate resources. This could result in competitors providing those solutions before we do and a reduction in net sales and earnings.

The success of new products depends on several factors, including proper new product definition, timely completion and introduction of these products, differentiation of new products from those of our competitors, and market acceptance of these products. There can be no assurance that we will successfully identify new product opportunities, develop and bring new products to market in a timely manner, or achieve market acceptance of our products or that products and technologies developed by others will not render our products or technologies obsolete or non-competitive.

Our inability to effectively protect our intellectual property would adversely affect our ability to compete effectively, our revenue, our financial condition and our results of operations.

We may be unable to obtain intellectual property rights to effectively protect our technology. Our ability to compete effectively may be affected by the nature and breadth of our intellectual property rights. While we intend to defend against any threats to our intellectual property rights, there can be no assurance that any such actions will adequately protect our interests. If we are unable to secure intellectual property rights to effectively protect our technology, our revenue and earnings, financial condition, or results of operations would be adversely affected.

We may be adversely affected by the financial condition of our retailers and distributors.

Some of our retailers and distributors have experienced financial difficulties in the past. A retailer or distributor experiencing such difficulties will generally not purchase and sell as many of our products as it would under normal circumstances and may cancel orders. In addition, a retailer or distributor experiencing financial difficulties generally increases our exposure to uncollectible receivables. We extend credit to our retailers and distributors based on our assessment of their financial condition, generally without requiring collateral. While such credit losses have historically been within our reserves, we cannot assure you that this will continue to be the case. Financial difficulties on the part of our retailers or distributors could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

We will be required to attract and retain top quality talent to compete in the marketplace.

We believe our future growth and success will depend in part on our ability to attract and retain highly skilled managerial, product development, sales and marketing, and finance personnel. There can be no assurance of success in attracting and retaining such personnel. Shortages in qualified personnel could limit our ability to increase sales of existing products and launch new product and service offerings.

Our future success depends on our ability to grow and expand our customer base. Our failure to achieve such growth or expansion could materially harm our business.

To date, our revenue growth has been derived primarily from the sale of our products. Our success and the planned growth and expansion of our business depend on us achieving greater and broader acceptance of our products, expanding our customer base and successfully moving into providing management services. There can be no assurance that customers will purchase our products, that we will continue to expand our customer base or that we will successfully be able to provide management services to other companies in the cannabis space. If we are unable to effectively market or expand our product offerings, we will be unable to grow and expand our business or implement our business strategy. This could materially impair our ability to increase sales and revenue and materially and adversely affect our margins.

Weakened global economic conditions may adversely affect our industry, business and results of operations .

Our overall performance will depend, in part, on worldwide economic conditions. The United States and other key international economies have been impacted by falling demand for a variety of goods and services, restricted credit, going concern threats to major multinational companies and medium and small businesses, poor liquidity, reduced corporate profitability, volatility in credit, equity and foreign exchange markets and bankruptcies. These conditions affect the rate of information technology spending and could adversely affect our customers’ ability or willingness to purchase our proposed enterprise cloud computing application service, delay prospective customers’ purchasing decisions, reduce the value or duration of their subscription contracts, or affect renewal rates, all of which could adversely affect our operating results.

If we experience significant fluctuations in our rate of anticipated growth and fail to balance our expenses with our revenue forecasts, our results could be harmed.

Due to our evolving business model, the unpredictability of new markets that we intend to enter and the unpredictability of future general economic and financial market conditions, we may not be able to accurately forecast our rate of growth. We plan our expense levels and investment on estimates of future revenue and future anticipated rate of growth. As a result, we expect that our revenues, operating results and cash flows may fluctuate significantly on a quarterly basis.

We may in the future be sued by third parties for alleged infringement of their proprietary rights.

The lighting industry are characterized by the existence of a large number of patents, trademarks and copyrights and by frequent litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. We may receive in the future communications from third parties claiming that we have infringed the intellectual property rights of others. We may in the future be, sued by third parties for alleged infringement of their proprietary rights. Our technologies may not be able to withstand any third-party claims against their use. The outcome of any litigation is inherently uncertain. Any intellectual property claims, whether with or without merit, could be time-consuming and expensive to resolve, could divert management attention from executing our business plan and could require us to change our technology, change our business practices and/or pay monetary damages or enter into short- or long-term royalty or licensing agreements which may not be available in the future at the same terms or at all. In addition, many of our subscription agreements require us to indemnify our customers for third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which would increase the cost to us of an adverse ruling on such a claim. Any adverse determination related to intellectual property claims or litigation could prevent us from offering our service to others or could otherwise adversely affect our operating results or cash flows or both in a particular quarter.

Supporting a growing customer base could strain our personnel and corporate infrastructure, and if we are unable to scale our operations and increase productivity, we may not be able to successfully implement our business plan.

Our current Management and human resources infrastructure is comprised of our CEO, President, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Our success will depend, in part, upon the ability of our Management to manage our proposed business effectively. To do so, we will need to hire, train and manage new employees as needed. To manage the expected domestic growth of our operations and personnel, we will need to continue to improve our operational, financial and management controls and our reporting systems and procedures. If we fail to successfully scale our operations and increase productivity, we will be unable to execute our business plan.

We are dependent on our CEO, President, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and the loss of one or more of these individuals could harm our business and prevent us from implementing our business plan in a timely manner.

Our success depends substantially upon the continued services of our executive officers and other key members of management, particularly Alan Lien, our Chief Executive Officer, President, and Chief Financial Officer, Alvin Hao, our Executive Vice President and Tiffany Davis, our Chief Operating Officer. We do not maintain key person life insurance policies on our Chief Executive Officer, President and Chief Financial Officer or our Executive Vice President. The loss of the services of Loss of the services of Messrs. Lien or Hao or Ms. Davis would have a material adverse effect on our growth, revenues, and prospective business. The loss of any of our key personnel, or the inability to attract and retain qualified personnel, may significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our research, development or business objectives and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any employment agreement we enter into will not ensure the retention of the employee who is a party to the agreement. In addition, we have only limited ability to prevent former employees from competing with us. Furthermore, our future success will also depend in part on the continued service of our key management personnel and our ability to identify, hire, and retain additional personnel. We experience intense competition for qualified personnel and may be unable to attract and retain the personnel necessary for the development of our business. Moreover, competition for personnel with the technical skills that we seek is extremely high and is likely to remain high. Because of this competition, our compensation costs may increase significantly.

Failure to manage growth properly could seriously harm our business.

We have experienced, and may continue to experience, significant growth in our business. If we do not effectively manage our growth, the quality of our business may suffer, which could negatively affect our reputation and demand for our offerings. Our growth has placed, and is expected to continue to place, a significant strain on our managerial, administrative, operational, and financial resources and our infrastructure. Our future success will depend, in part, upon the ability of our senior management to manage growth effectively. Among other things, this will require us to: implement additional management information systems; further develop our operating, administrative, legal, financial, and accounting systems and controls; hire additional personnel; develop additional levels of management within our company; locate additional office space; maintain and improve coordination among our engineering, product, operations, legal, finance, sales, marketing, and customer service and support organizations; and manage our expanding international operations.

Moreover, as our sales increase, we may be required to concurrently deploy our business infrastructure at multiple additional locations and/or provide increased levels of customization. As a result, we may lack the resources to deploy our products on a timely and cost-effective basis. Failure to accomplish any of these requirements could impair our ability to deliver our products in a timely fashion, fulfill existing customer commitments or attract and retain new customers.

Our ability to grow our business may depend on developing a positive brand reputation and member loyalty.

Establishing and maintaining a positive brand reputation and nurturing customer loyalty is critical to attracting new customers. We expect to expend reasonable but limited resources to develop, maintain and enhance our brand in the near future. In addition, nurturing customer loyalty will depend on our ability to provide high-quality products which we may not do successfully. If we are unable to maintain and enhance our brand reputation and customer loyalty, our ability to attract new marketplace participants will be harmed.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR INDUSTRY

Our business is dependent on state laws pertaining to the cannabis industry.

The Federal Controlled Substances Act, or CSA, classifies cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance and makes cannabis use and possession illegal on a national level. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that it is the Federal Government that has the right to regulate and criminalize cannabis, even for medical purposes, and thus federal law criminalizing the use of cannabis preempts state laws that legalize its use. As of the date of this Annual Report, thirty-three (33) states and the District of Columbia allow their residents to use medical cannabis, of which ten (10) states and the District of Columbia have legalized the recreational use of cannabis. While some states have either approved ballot measures or approved legislation to legalize cannabis for adult recreational use, continued expansion of such ‘recreational use’ is not well defined at this time and any continued development of the cannabis industry will be dependent upon continued new legislative authorization of cannabis at the state, and perhaps the federal level. Any number of events or occurrences could slow or halt progress all together in this space. While progress within the cannabis industry channel is currently encouraging, growth is not assured. While there appears to be ample public support for favorable legislative action, numerous factors may impact or negatively affect the legislative process(s) within the various states we have business interests in. Any one of these factors could slow or halt use of cannabis, which would negatively impact our business up to possibly causing us to discontinue operations as a whole.

Cannabis remains illegal under federal law, and any change in the enforcement priorities of the federal government could render our current and planned future operations unprofitable or even prohibit such operations.

Our business is dependent on laws pertaining to the cannabis industry, which, in turn, is dependent on state laws and regulations pertaining to such industry; however, under federal law, cannabis remains illegal.

The United States federal government regulates drugs through the CSA, which places controlled substances, including cannabis, on one of five schedules. Cannabis is currently classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, which is viewed as having a high potential for abuse and having no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. No prescriptions may be written for Schedule I substances, and such substances are subject to production quotas imposed by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Because of this, doctors may not prescribe cannabis for medical use under federal law, although they can recommend its use under the First Amendment.

Currently, 33 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories of Guam and Puerto Rico allow the use of medical cannabis. Voters in the states of Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have approved ballot measures to legalize cannabis for adult recreational use. Such state and territorial laws are in conflict with the federal CSA, which makes cannabis use and possession illegal at the federal level. Because cannabis is a Schedule I controlled substance, the development of a legal cannabis industry under the laws of these states is in conflict with the CSA, which makes cannabis use and possession illegal on a national level. The United States Supreme Court has confirmed that the federal government has the right to regulate and criminalize cannabis, including for medical purposes, and that federal law criminalizing the use of cannabis preempts state laws that legalize its use.

In light of such conflict between federal laws and state laws regarding cannabis, the previous administration under President Obama had effectively stated that it was not an efficient use of resources to direct federal law enforcement agencies to prosecute those lawfully abiding by state-designated laws allowing the use and distribution of medical cannabis. For example, the prior DOJ Deputy Attorney General of the Obama administration, James M. Cole, issued a memorandum (the “Cole Memo”) to all United States Attorneys providing updated guidance to federal prosecutors concerning cannabis enforcement under the CSA. The Cole Memo ultimately emphasizes the need for robust state regulation of marijuana. The memorandum “rests on its expectation that state and local governments that have enacted laws authorizing marijuana-related conduct will implement strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems that will address the threat those state laws could pose to public safety, public health, and other law enforcement interests.” In addition, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) provided guidelines (the “FinCEN Guidelines”) on February 14, 2014, regarding how financial institutions can provide services to cannabis-related businesses consistent with their Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) obligations.

In 2014, the United States House of Representatives passed an amendment (the “Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment”) to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, which funds the United States Department of Justice (the “DOJ”). The Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment prohibits the DOJ from using funds to prevent states with medical cannabis laws from implementing such laws. In August 2016, a 9th Circuit federal appeals court ruled in United States v. McIntosh that the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment bars the DOJ from spending funds on the prosecution of conduct that is allowed by state medical cannabis laws, provided that such conduct is in strict compliance with applicable state law. In March 2015, bipartisan legislation titled the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States Act (the “CARERS Act”) was introduced, proposing to allow states to regulate the medical use of cannabis by changing applicable federal law, including by reclassifying cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act to a Schedule II controlled substance and thereby changing the plant from a federally-criminalized substance to one that has recognized medical uses. More recently, the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2017 has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, which proposes to exclude persons who produce, possess, distribute, dispense, administer or deliver marijuana in compliance with state laws from the regulatory controls and administrative, civil and criminal penalties of the CSA.

Although these developments have been met with a certain amount of optimism in the cannabis industry, neither the CARERS Act nor the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2017 have yet been adopted. In addition, the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment, being an amendment to an appropriations bill that must be renewed annually, has been renewed as part of an omnibus spending bill, in effect through September 30, 2019.

Furthermore, on January 4, 2018, the now former U.S. Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, issued a written memorandum (the “Sessions Memo”) to all U.S. Attorneys stating that the Cole Memo was rescinded effectively immediately. In particular, Mr. Sessions stated that “prosecutors should follow the well-established principles that govern all federal prosecutions,” which require “federal prosecutors deciding which cases to prosecute to weigh all relevant considerations, including federal law enforcement priorities set by the Attorney General, the seriousness of the crime, the deterrent effect of criminal prosecution, and the cumulative impact of particular crimes on the community.” Mr. Sessions went on to state in the memorandum that given the Justice Department’s well-established general principles, “previous nationwide guidance specific to marijuana is unnecessary and is rescinded, effective immediately.”

In response to the Sessions Memo, U.S. Attorney Bob Troy for the District of Colorado, the state in which our principal business operations are presently located, issued a statement on January 4, 2018, stating that the United States Attorney’s Office in Colorado is already guided by the well-established principles referenced in the Sessions Memo, “focusing in particular on identifying and prosecuting those who create the greatest safety threats to our communities around the state. We will, consistent with the Attorney General’s latest guidance, continue to take this approach in all of our work with our law enforcement partners throughout Colorado.”

The current U.S. Attorney General, William Barr, has signaled that he will be taking a different approach towards interfering with state medical marijuana laws than his predecessor Jeff Sessions. Mr. Barr was confirmed as the U.S. Attorney General on February 14, 2019. During his confirmation hearing on February 15, 2019, Mr. Barr addressed the conflict between federal and state cannabis policies, stating that his approach would be “not to upset settled expectations and the reliant interests that have arisen as a result of the Cole memorandum.” Mr. Barr went even further, stating that “to the extent that people are complying with the state laws—distribution and production and so forth—[the DOJ is] not going to go after that.” Despite the more relaxed approach, Mr. Barr voiced his desire for clarity and uniformity on the issue and preference that the United States has a federal law that prohibits marijuana everywhere.

It is unclear at this time whether the Trump administration will strongly enforce the federal laws applicable to cannabis or what types of activities will be targeted for enforcement. However, a significant change in the federal government’s enforcement policy with respect to current federal laws applicable to cannabis could cause significant financial damage to us. While we do not currently harvest, distribute or sell cannabis, we intend to do so in the future, and thus we may be irreparably harmed by a change in enforcement policies of the federal government depending on the nature of such change. At such time, we could be deemed to be aiding and abetting illegal activities, a violation of federal law.

Additionally, as we are always assessing potential strategic acquisitions of new businesses, we may in the future also pursue opportunities that include growing and distributing medical or recreational cannabis, should we determine that such activities are in the best interest of our company and our stockholders. Any such pursuit would involve additional risks with respect to the regulation of cannabis.

As the possession and use of cannabis is illegal under the CSA, us and our customers may be deemed to be aiding and abetting illegal activities through the services that they provide to users. As a result, they may be subject to enforcement actions by law enforcement authorities, which would materially and adversely affect our business.

Under federal law, and more specifically the CSA, the possession, use, cultivation, and transfer of cannabis is illegal. Our business provides services to customers that are engaged in the business of possession, use, cultivation, and/or transfer of cannabis. As a result, law enforcement authorities, in their attempt to regulate the illegal use of cannabis, may seek to bring an action or actions against us, including, but limited to, a claim of aiding and abetting another’s criminal activities. The federal aiding and abetting statute provides that anyone who “commits an offense against the United States or aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures its commission, is punishable as a principal.” 18 U.S.C §2(a). As a result of such an action, we may be forced to cease operations and our investors could lose their entire investment. Such an action would have a material negative effect on our business and operations.

Federal enforcement practices could change with respect to services providers to participants in the cannabis industry, which could adversely impact us. If the federal government were to change its practices, or were to expend its resources enforcing existing federal laws on such providers in the cannabis industry, such action could have a materially adverse effect on our operations, our customers, or the sales of our products up to and including a complete interruption of our business.

It is possible that additional Federal or State legislation could be enacted in the future that would prohibit our clients from selling or providing services related to cannabis, and if such legislation were enacted, such clients may discontinue the use of our services, and our potential source of customers would be reduced causing revenues to decline. Further, additional government disruption in the cannabis industry could cause potential customers and users to be reluctant to use our services, which would be detrimental to us. We cannot predict the nature of any future laws, regulations, interpretations or applications, nor can we determine what effect additional governmental regulations or administrative policies and procedures, when and if promulgated, could have on our business.

The cannabis industry faces significant opposition, and any negative trends will adversely affect our business operations.

We are substantially dependent on the continued market acceptance, and the proliferation of consumers, of medical and recreational cannabis. We believe that with further legalization, cannabis will become more accepted, resulting in a growth in consumer demand. However, we cannot predict the future growth rate or future market potential, and any negative outlook on the cannabis industry may adversely affect our business operations.

Large, well-funded business sectors may have strong economic reasons to oppose the development of the cannabis industry. For example, medical cannabis may adversely impact the existing market for the current “cannabis pill” sold by mainstream pharmaceutical companies. Should cannabis displace other drugs or products, the medical cannabis industry could face a material threat from the pharmaceutical industry, which is well-funded and possesses a strong and experienced lobby. Any inroads the pharmaceutical or any other potentially displaced, industry or sector could make in halting or impeding the cannabis industry could have a detrimental impact on our business.

Cannabis continues to be a Controlled Substance under the CSA and our business may result in federal civil or criminal prosecution.

We will be directly engaged in the medical and adult-use cannabis industry in the U.S. where local state law permits such activities however all such activities remain illegal under federal law in the U.S. Investors are cautioned that in the U.S., cannabis is highly regulated at the state level. To our knowledge, there are to date a total of 33 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam that have legalized medical cannabis in some form, although not all states have fully implemented their legalization programs. 10 states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for adult use. Fifteen additional states have legalized high-CBD, low THC oils for a limited class of patients. Notwithstanding the permissive regulatory environment of cannabis at the state level, cannabis continues to be categorized as a Schedule I controlled substance under the CSA (codified in 21 U.S.C.A. Section 812). Under United States federal law, a Schedule I drug is considered to have a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for the use of the substance under medical supervision. Federal law prohibits commercial production and sale of all Schedule I controlled substances, and as such, cannabis-related activities, including without limitation, the importation, cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale and possession of cannabis remain illegal under U.S. federal law. It is also illegal to aid or abet such activities or to conspire or attempt to engage in such activities. Strict compliance with state and local laws with respect to cannabis may neither absolve us of liability under U.S. federal law, nor provide a defense to any federal proceeding brought against us. An investor’s contribution to and involvement in such activities may result in federal civil and/or criminal prosecution, including, but not limited to, forfeiture of his, her or its entire investment, fines and/or imprisonment.

An appropriations rider contained in the fiscal year 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Acts provides budgetary constraints on the federal government’s ability to interfere with the implementation of state-based medical cannabis laws. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and other courts have interpreted the language to mean that the DOJ cannot expend funds to prosecute state-law-abiding medical cannabis operators complying strictly with state medical cannabis laws. The Amendment prohibits the federal government from using congressionally appropriated funds to prevent states from implementing their own medical cannabis laws. As stated previously, the amendment is effective through September 2019. As of the date of this Amendment, the Amendment has not yet been re-approved. Continued reauthorization of the Amendment is predicated on future political developments and cannot be guaranteed. If the Amendment expires, federal prosecutors could prosecute even state-compliant medical cannabis operators for conduct within the five-year statute of limitations. The Amendment does not protection to state legal adult-use cannabis businesses and the DOJ may spend funds to prosecute persons that are operating in accordance with state adult use cannabis laws.

Violations of any federal laws and regulations could result in significant fines, penalties, administrative sanctions, convictions or settlements arising from civil proceedings conducted by either the federal government or private citizens, or criminal charges and penalties, including, but not limited to, disgorgement of profits, cessation of business activities, divestiture, or prison time. This could have a material adverse effect on the Company, including its reputation and ability to conduct business, its holding (directly or indirectly) of medical and adult-use cannabis licenses in the U.S., its financial position, operating results, profitability or liquidity or the market price of its publicly traded shares. In addition, it is difficult for the Company to estimate the time or resources that would be needed for the investigation or defense of any such matters or its final resolution because, in part, the time and resources that may be needed are dependent on the nature and extent of any information requested by the applicable authorities involved, and such time or resources could be substantial.

We are subject to certain tax risks and treatments that could negatively impact our results of operations.

Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, prohibits businesses from deducting certain expenses associated with trafficking controlled substances (within the meaning of Schedule I and II of the CSA). The IRS has invoked Section 280E in tax audits against various cannabis businesses in the U.S. that are permitted under applicable state laws. Although the IRS issued a clarification allowing the deduction of certain expenses, the scope of such items is interpreted very narrowly and the bulk of operating costs and general administrative costs are not permitted to be deducted. While there are currently several pending cases before various administrative and federal courts challenging these restrictions, there is no guarantee that these courts will issue an interpretation of Section 280E favorable to cannabis businesses.

RISKS RELATED TO OWNERSHIP OF OUR COMMON STOCK

There is minimal active liquid trading market for our common stock.

Our common stock is quoted on the OTCQB. However, there is relatively small active trading market in our common stock, and we cannot give an assurance that a more active trading market will develop. If a more active market for our common stock develops, there is a significant risk that our stock price may fluctuate dramatically in the future in response to any of the following factors, some of which are beyond our control, such as:

Our board of directors has the authority to issue up to 20 million shares of “blank check” preferred stock. The issuance of any preferred stock may adversely affect the holders of common stock.

Our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock with designations, rights and preferences determined from time to time by its Board of Directors. Accordingly, our Board of Directors is empowered, without stockholder approval, to issue preferred stock with dividend, liquidation, conversion, voting, or other rights which could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of the common stock. In the event of issuance, the preferred stock could be utilized, under certain circumstances, as a method of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change in control of our company. Although we have no present intention to issue any shares of our authorized preferred stock, there can be no assurance that we will not do so in the future.

Future issuance of our Common Stock could dilute the interests of existing shareholders.

We may issue additional shares of our Common Stock in the future. The issuance of a substantial amount of Common Stock could have the effect of substantially diluting the interests of our shareholders. In addition, the sale of a substantial amount of Common Stock in the public market, either in the initial issuance or in a subsequent resale by the target company in an acquisition which received such Common Stock as consideration or by investors who acquired such Common Stock in a private placement could have an adverse effect on the market price of our Common Stock.

We do not anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future.

We anticipate that we will retain all future earnings and other cash resources for the future operation and development of our business and we do not intend to declare or pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Future payment of cash dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors after taking into account many factors, including our operating results, financial condition and capital requirements. Corporations that pay dividends may be viewed as a better investment than corporations that do not.

The application of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “penny stock” rules to our Common Stock could limit trading activity in the market, and our shareholders may find it more difficult to sell their stock.

It is expected our Common Stock will be trading at less than $5.00 per share and is therefore subject to the SEC penny stock rules. Penny stocks generally are equity securities with a price of less than $5.00. Penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document that provides information about penny stocks and the risks in the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, the compensation of the broker-dealer and its salesperson in the transaction, and monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer’s account. The broker-dealer must also make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive the purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction. These requirements may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity, if any, in the secondary market for a security that becomes subject to the penny stock rules. The additional burdens imposed upon broker-dealers by such requirements may discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our securities, which could severely limit their market price and liquidity of our securities. These requirements may restrict the ability of broker-dealers to sell our Common Stock and may affect your ability to resell our Common Stock.

If we are unable to establish appropriate internal financial reporting controls and procedures, it could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations, result in the restatement of our financial statements, harm our operating results, subject us to regulatory scrutiny and sanction, cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and have a negative effect on the market price for shares of our Common Stock.

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and to effectively prevent fraud. We maintain a system of internal control over financial reporting, which is defined as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by our board of directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

As a public company, we have significant requirements for enhanced financial reporting and internal controls. We will be required to document and test our internal control procedures in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which requires annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting. The process of designing and implementing effective internal controls is a continuous effort that requires us to anticipate and react to changes in our business and the economic and regulatory environments and to expend significant resources to maintain a system of internal controls that is adequate to satisfy our reporting obligations as a public company.

We cannot assure you that we will not, in the future, identify areas requiring improvement in our internal control over financial reporting. We cannot assure you that the measures we will take to remediate any areas in need of improvement will be successful or that we will implement and maintain adequate controls over our financial processes and reporting in the future as we continue our growth. If we are unable to establish appropriate internal financial reporting controls and procedures, it could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations, result in the restatement of our financial statements, harm our operating results, subject us to regulatory scrutiny and sanction, cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and have a negative effect on the market price for shares of our Common Stock.

Lack of experience as officers of publicly-traded companies of our management team may hinder our ability to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

It may be time consuming, difficult and costly for us to develop and implement the internal controls and reporting procedures required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We may need to hire additional financial reporting, internal controls and other finance staff or consultants in order to develop and implement appropriate internal controls and reporting procedures.

We incur costs as a public company which may affect our profitability.

As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. We are subject to the SEC’s rules and regulations relating to public disclosure. SEC disclosures generally involve a substantial expenditure of financial resources. Compliance with these rules and regulations will significantly increase our legal and financial compliance costs and some activities will become more time-consuming and costly. Management may need to increase compensation for senior executive officers, engage additional senior financial officers who are able to adopt financial reporting and control procedures, allocate a budget for an investor and public relations program, and increase our financial and accounting staff in order to meet the demands and financial reporting requirements as a public reporting company. Such additional personnel, public relations, reporting and compliance costs may negatively impact our financial results.

Public company compliance may make it more difficult to attract and retain officers and directors.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act and rules implemented by the SEC require changes in corporate governance practices of public companies. As a public company, these rules and regulations increase our compliance costs and make certain activities more time consuming and costly. As a public company, these rules and regulations make it more difficult and expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance in the future and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers.

Because our directors and executive officers are among our largest shareholders, they can exert significant control over our business and affairs and have actual or potential interests that may depart from those of shareholders.

Our directors and executive officers own or control a significant percentage of the Common Stock. Additionally, the holdings of our directors and executive officers may increase in the future if they otherwise acquire additional shares of our Common Stock. The interests of such persons may differ from the interests of our other shareholders. As a result, in addition to their board seats and offices, such persons will have significant influence over and control all corporate actions requiring shareholder approval, irrespective of how our other shareholders, including purchasers in the Offering, may vote, including the following actions:

Such persons’ stock ownership may discourage a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company, which in turn could reduce our stock price or prevent our shareholders from realizing a premium over our stock price.