Bubblr Inc 10-K for FY2022
Bubblr Inc. (BBLR)
About this 10-K
Bubblr Inc filed this 10-K on March 29, 2023, covering the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 (FY2022).
Headline figures
Fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, as reported in this filing, compared with the same period a year earlier where the filing states it.
- Net loss
- $4.43M
- compared with a net loss of $3.69M a year earlier
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
For the fiscal year ended
or
Commission File Number:
| (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) |
| (Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of Each Class | Trading Symbol | Name of each Exchange on which registered | ||
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2)
has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule
405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant
was required to submit such files).
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| ☐ Large accelerated filer | ☐ Accelerated filer |
| ☒ |
|
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. [ ]
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of
the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. [ ]
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐
The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting
common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2022, the last business day of the registrant’s last completed
second quarter, based upon the closing price of the common stock of on such date is $
As of March 28, 2023, there were shares of the issuer’s common stock, par value $0.01, issued and outstanding.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| 2 |
CAUTIONARY NOTE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some of the statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K of Bubblr, Inc. (hereinafter the “Company,” “Bubblr,” “BBLR,” “we,” “us” or “our”) discuss future expectations, contain projections of our plan of operation or financial condition or state other forward-looking information. In this Annual Report, forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words such as “anticipate,” “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate”, and the like. Forward-looking statements involve future risks and uncertainties, and there are factors that could cause actual results or plans to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the statements. The forward-looking information is based on various factors and is derived using numerous assumptions. A reader should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this Annual Report. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ from projections include, for example:
| • | our strategies, prospects, plans, expectations, forecasts or objectives; |
| • | our ability to achieve a marketable products and the costs and timing thereof; |
| • | acceptance of our products by our target market and our ability to compete in such market; |
| • | our ability to raise additional financing when needed and the terms and timing thereof; |
| • | our ability to expand, protect and maintain our intellectual property rights; |
| • | our future operations, financial position, revenues, costs, expenses, uses of cash, capital requirements, our need for additional financing or the period for which our existing cash resources will be sufficient to meet our operating requirements; |
| • | our analysis of the target market for our platform; |
| • | the impact of COVID-19 and other adverse public health developments on our operations and our industry; |
| • | regulatory developments in the United States and other countries; |
| • | our compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, including those of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC; |
| • | our plans to upgrade our Common Stock on the OTCQB and whether an active trading market for our Common Stock and Warrants will develop; |
| • | our ability to compete in the United States and internationally with larger and more substantial companies; |
| • | general economic, business, political and social conditions; |
| • | our reliance on and our ability to retain (and if necessary, timely recruit and replace) our officers, directors and key employees and their ability to timely and competently perform; |
| • | our ability to generate significant revenues and achieve profitability; |
| • | our ability to manage the growth of our business; |
| • | our commercialization of the platform and marketing capabilities and strategies; |
| • | our ability to expand, protect and maintain our intellectual property position; |
| • | the success of competing third-party platforms; |
| • | our ability to fully remediate our identified internal control material weaknesses; |
| • | our ability to comply with regulatory requirements relating to our business, and the costs of compliance with those requirements; |
| • | the specific risk factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” set forth in this Annual Report; |
| • | various other matters, many of which are beyond our control. |
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained herein, which speak only as of the date hereof. We believe the information contained in this Form 10-K to be accurate as of the date hereof. Changes may occur after that date. We will not update that information except as required by law in the normal course of our public disclosure practices. Additionally, the discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and related notes included in this Form 10-K.
| 3 |
PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
Except as otherwise indicated herein or as the context otherwise requires, references in this Annual Report to “Bubblr,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Bubblr, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including Bubblr Limited and Bubblr Holdings Limited, which are a non-trading company and IP holding company, respectively, both formed and existing in the United Kingdom.
Overview
Bubblr, Inc is a company founded on the principles of digital disruption, innovation and the emerging importance of ethical internet applications. We call this emergent global movement, the “Ethical Web.”
The 5 pillars of the Ethical Web are:
| • | An internet that decentralizes profits; | |
| • | An internet that consecrates citizens’ rights to privacy; | |
| • | An internet that levels the playing field for businesses; | |
| • | An internet that combats social and cultural division; and | |
| • | An internet that is not corrupted by advertising. |
Bubblr’s Mission
Our goal is to fix a broken internet model that currently suffers from the following failures:
| 1. | Systematic abuse of an individual’s personal data; |
| 2. | Prohibitively expensive and complex businesses marketing channels for SMEs; and |
| 3. | A lack of financial incentives to develop and sustain new internet economic models. |
Bubblr brings a holistic approach to the above problems in a fundamentally unique way. Building on its patented alternative online search mechanism and engaging with the global digital developer community, we plan to build a new economic platform that we believe will be sustainable and fair to users, online businesses, and all online stakeholders. Our mission is twofold:
| 1) | Empower the developers of a new Internet in creating Ethical Technologies both through in-house Intellectual Property, and by providing advanced digital tools that enable developers and creators to build fair-forward solutions to build a new Ethical Internet Ecosystem on the Ethical Web, and |
| 2) | Acquire/Commercialize/Invest in Ethical Web products and services developed on our global platform and/or with corporate partners. |
| 4 |
Open-Code Ecosystem
Understanding that the Ethical Web concept is larger than any one entity, requiring various layers of technologies across multiple business sectors. We are building an Open-Code Platform (OCP) to engage and incentivize the world’s developers and engineers in our mission for a more equitable internet, at the DNA level.
With our own intellectual property at its core, we will endeavor to construct our OCP with economic incentives for the developer community in mind, incorporating a number of related digital tools that support the ethical development of new mobile applications that adhere to and reflect the highest standards of the Ethical Web.
We believe that our software as a service (SAAS) Open-Code Platform will allow the open-source community, companies and not-for-profit organizations to be able to build their own mobile applications using templates downloadable from a central code repository. We intend to focus on Low-Code and No-Code applications as much as possible to attract a larger pool of developers. As partners register with our platform, they are provisioned with online dashboards that allow them to utilize the SAAS platform fully and will have their own sandbox provisioned to test their apps.
Mobile-First
All of the consumer-based products subsequently developed by our registered partners are designed to deliver the presentation layer through mobile-first consumer experiences.
While we are a mobile-first company, we understand the need for flexibility in order to maximize market penetration. To this end, we plan to develop relationships with the new wave of security-first browsers such as Brave, TOR and others.
Monetization and Market-Making
We are developing our platform by concentrating on proven value methodologies designed to exponentially increase the adoption of our IP through the following four-tiered process:
| 1. | Research, Development and Commercialization. We are creating an Open-Code Initiative designed to evolve our IP (developed under patent) as well as that of our partners and future potential acquisitions. This should allow us to identify growth areas and expand ecosystems, platforms, and products within those areas, positioning us for commercialization opportunities across a wide range of business sectors. |
| 2. | Licensing and SAAS. We plan to provide revenue opportunities through partnerships with selected start-ups and established corporations to further our reach and rapid development of platform applications. The SAAS platform will allow low volume, free community access. However, platform usage is metered, and those partners who start using the platform for larger volume will be obliged to pay an appropriate license fee. |
| 3. | Venture Funding. We plan to license or otherwise provide our technology to selected start-ups, teams and developers, and fund early stage startups that develop promising applications arising from the platform. This should allow us to grow a multi-sector ecosystem and maximize reach and revenues through multiple streams. |
Advanced Tools and Future Services
We have developed a data-driven conversations (DDC) capability that is in the process of being implemented into our platform and app technologies. This generic application can be used by developers with access to our toolkit and will allow Bubblr to build and alter conversation search dialogues to optimize searching for information and content.
Additionally, we are building complex AI and machine learning to optimize search results regarding relevance and salience for searching for critical information. Our plans include adding these algorithms to the Open-Code platform and development ecosystems and to our overall Software Development Kit (SDK).
The systems architecture to support these innovations continues to evolve and our plan is designed to evolve with it. Our belief is that a collection of technologies, geared to incentivize developed and create multiple revenue streams for Bubblr, is the perfect strategy to create exponential value for our company and significantly enhance our shareholders’ interests.
| 5 |
Intellectual Property
We have created a new search mechanism ‘AN INTERNET-BASED SEARCH MECHANISM’, which has been granted a patent in South Africa (2016/06947), New Zealand (725014), the United States of America (‘Utility Patent No. US 10977387), Canada (2962520), Australia (2015248619) and we have patents pending on the same processes in the European Union (15723990.6) and the United Kingdom (PCT/GB2015/051130), creating an alternative economic ecosystem to tackle the current broken model and better serve all main participant groups.
Bubblr has filed a sister patent to our approved INTERNET SEARCH MECHANISM. This patent entitled “Contextual Enveloping Via Dynamically Generated Hyperlinking.” (US Patent Application No. 17/980,298) will define an alternative mobile search system purely for information rather than goods and service, which our original patent covers. This new search mechanism is designed to change the way search is conducted for information and will bear little resemblance to the established search model.
Competition
The space for online marketplaces and ad networks is rapidly evolving. The Advertising Technology (Ad-tech) industry includes all kinds of tools, software platforms (Google, Facebook), agencies, data-brokers, etc. It facilitates targeted advertisements that have become exponentially more invasive over the past decade due to massive amounts of personal data collection. It's a complex and opaque ecosystem that tracks, profiles, discriminates (both personal and business) and manipulates for profit. It's a multi-billion-dollar industry that is now facing litigation, investigations, and new regulations to curb its practices.
We face intense competition from companies with much larger capital resources than us, and, as a result, we could struggle to attract users and gain market share. Many of our existing or future competitors have greater financial resources and greater brand name recognition than we do and, as a result, may be better positioned to adapt to changes in the industry or the economy as a whole. We will strive to advance our technology in each of these sectors ahead of our competitors to gain market share. We also face intense competition in attracting and retaining qualified employees. Our ability to continue to compete effectively will depend upon our ability to attract new employees, retain and motivate our existing employees and to compensate employees competitively. We face significant competition in several aspects of our business, and such competition might increase, particularly in the market for networks and online marketplaces. A key advantage against better resourced competitors is provisioning our technology and related acquisitions as an Open Source SAAS platform. This pushes all of the consumer and merchant marketing responsibility to the registered partners.
Our competitors may announce new products, services or enhancements that better address changing industry standards or the needs of users, such as mobile access or different market focus. Any such increased competition could cause pricing pressure, loss of business or decreased user activity, any of which could adversely affect our business and operating results.
We believe that we have competitive strengths and protection via our IP which is defensible under the umbrella protection of our granted patents.
Government Regulation
We are subject to a number of foreign and domestic laws and regulations that affect companies conducting business online, many of which are evolving and could be interpreted in ways that could harm our business. In the United States and abroad, laws and regulations relating to the liability of providers of online services for activities of their users and other third parties are being tested by a number of claims, including actions based on invasion of privacy and other torts, unfair competition, copyright and trademark infringement, and other theories based on the nature and content of the materials searched, or the content provided by users. Further, some countries impose regulations regarding or require licenses to conduct various aspects of our business, including employee recruiting and news related services. Any court ruling or other governmental action that imposes liability on providers of online services for the activities of their users or other third parties could harm our business. In addition, rising concern about the use of social networking technologies for illegal conduct, such as the unauthorized dissemination of national security information, money laundering or supporting terrorist activities, may in the future produce legislation or other governmental action that could require changes to our website platform, restrict or impose additional costs upon the conduct of our business or cause users to abandon material aspects of our platform.
| 6 |
In the area of information security and data protection, most states have enacted laws and regulations requiring notification to users when there is a security breach of personal data or requiring the adoption of minimum information security standards that are often vaguely defined and difficult to practically implement. The costs of compliance with these laws and regulations may increase in the future as a result of amendments or changes in interpretation. Furthermore, any failure on our part to comply with these laws and regulations may subject us to significant liabilities.
We are also subject to federal, state, and foreign laws and regulations regarding privacy and protection of data. Our privacy policies describe our practices concerning the use, storage, transmission and disclosure of personal information, including visitor and user data. Any failure by us to comply with these terms or privacy-related laws and regulations could result in proceedings against us by governmental authorities or others, which could harm our business. In addition, the interpretation of privacy and data protection laws and regulations and their application to online services are unclear, evolving and in a state of flux. For example, in October 2015, the highest court in the European Union invalidated reliance on the US-EU Safe Harbor regime as one of the legally recognized mechanisms under which the personal data of European citizens could be transferred to the United States. There is a risk that these laws and regulations may be interpreted and applied in conflicting ways from state to state, country to country, or region to region, and in a manner that is not consistent with our current data protection practices or that new laws or regulations will be enacted. In addition, because our platform will be accessible worldwide, certain foreign governments may claim that we are required to comply with their laws and regulations, including with respect to the storage, use and disclosure of user information, even in jurisdictions where we have no local entity, employees, or infrastructure. Complying with these varying domestic and international requirements could cause us to incur additional costs and change our business practices. Further, any failure by us to adequately protect our users’ privacy and data could result in a loss of user confidence in our services and ultimately in a loss of users, which could adversely affect our business.
Employees
As of March 28, 2023, we have 5 full-time employees. Our employees are not represented by any labor union.
Legal Proceedings
From time to time, we may become party to various lawsuits, claims and other legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of our business. We are not currently a party, as plaintiff or defendant, to any legal proceedings that we believe to be material or which, individually or in the aggregate, would be expected to have a material effect on our business, financial condition or results of operation if determined adversely to us.
Smaller Reporting Company
The Company is a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act. There are certain exemptions available to us as a smaller reporting company, including: (1) not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes Oxley Act; (2) scaled executive compensation disclosures; and (3) the requirement to provide only two years of audited financial statements, instead of three years. As long as we maintain our status as a “smaller reporting company,” these exemptions will continue to be available to us.
Available Information
We make available, free of charge, on or through our website, at www.bubblr.com our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which includes our audited financial statements, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and our Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. The SEC maintains a website that contains these reports and other information at www.sec.gov. Our website and the information contained therein or connected thereto are not intended to be, and are not incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
| 7 |
ITEM 1A – RISK FACTORS.
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. In addition to the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, prospective investors should carefully consider the following risks before investing in our securities. If any of the following risks actually occur, as well as other risks not currently known to us or that we currently consider immaterial, our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. As a result, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment in our common stock. The risks discussed below also include forward-looking statements, and our actual results may differ substantially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. See “Cautionary Note On Forward-Looking Statements” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In assessing the risks below, you should also refer to the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the financial statements and the related notes, before deciding to purchase any of our securities.
Risk Related to Covid 19
A novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) was first identified in December 2019 and subsequently declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. As a result of the outbreak, many companies have experienced disruptions in their operations and in the markets served. The Company has instituted some and may take additional temporary precautionary measures intended to help ensure the well-being of its employees and minimize business disruption. The Company considered the impact of COVID-19 on the assumptions and estimates used and determined that there were no material adverse impacts on the Company’s results of operations and financial position as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Most of the restrictions imposed by governments worldwide have now been relaxed. The Company is not aware of any specific event or circumstance that would require an update to its estimates or judgments or a revision of the carrying value of its assets or liabilities at the date of issuance of these financial statements.
If there is a re-occurrence of government restrictions due to a new Covid-19 outbreak that may cause many companies to experience disruptions in their operations and in markets served, there is a risk that these estimates may change, as new events occur, and additional information is obtained.
Risk Factors Related to the Financial Condition of the Company
Because our auditor has issued a going concern opinion regarding our company, there is an increased risk associated with an investment in our company.
We have continually operated at a loss with an accumulated deficit of $12,875,437 as of December 31, 2022. We have not generated significant revenues and are dependent upon obtaining financing to continue operations for the next twelve months. Our future is dependent upon our ability to obtain financing or upon future profitable operations. We reserve the right to seek additional funds through private placements of our common stock and/or through debt financing.
Our ability to raise additional financing is unknown. Aside from our equity line with GHS Investments, we do not have any formal commitments or arrangements for the advancement or loan of funds. For these reasons, our auditors stated in their report that they have substantial doubt we will be able to continue as a going concern. As a result, there is an increased risk that you could lose the entire amount of your investment in our company.
Because we have a limited operating history, you may not be able to accurately evaluate our operations.
We have had limited operations to date. Therefore, we have a limited operating history upon which to evaluate the merits of investing in our company. Potential investors should be aware of the difficulties normally encountered by new companies and the high rate of failure of such enterprises. The likelihood of success must be considered in light of the problems, expenses, difficulties, complications and delays encountered in connection with the operations that we plan to undertake. These potential problems include, but are not limited to, unanticipated problems relating to the ability to generate sufficient cash flow to operate our business and additional costs and expenses that may exceed current estimates. We expect to continue to incur significant losses into the foreseeable future. We recognize that if the effectiveness of our business plan is not forthcoming, we will not be able to continue business operations. There is no history upon which to base any assumption as to the likelihood that we will prove successful, and it is doubtful that we will generate any operating revenues or ever achieve profitable operations. If we are unsuccessful in addressing these risks, our business will most likely fail.
| 8 |
We are dependent on outside financing for the continuation of our operations.
Because we have generated limited revenues and currently operate at a loss, we are completely dependent on the continued availability of financing in order to continue our business operations. There can be no assurance that financing sufficient to enable us to continue our operations will be available to us in the future.
We will need additional funds to complete further development of our business plan to achieve a sustainable level where ongoing operations can be funded out of revenues. We anticipate that we must raise $5,000,000 for our operations for the next 12 months and $20 million to fully implement our business plan to its fullest potential and achieve our growth plans. There is no assurance that any additional financing will be available or if available, on terms that will be acceptable to us.
Our failure to obtain future financing or to produce levels of revenue to meet our financial needs could result in our inability to continue as a going concern, and, as a result, our investors could lose their entire investment.
As a growing company, we have yet to achieve a profit and may not achieve a profit in the near future, if at all.
We have not yet produced any significant revenues or profits and may not in the near future, if at all. Further, many of our competitors have a significantly larger industry presence and revenue stream but have yet to achieve profitability. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon raising capital from financing transactions, increasing revenue and keeping operating expenses below our revenue levels in order to achieve positive cash flows, none of which can be assured.
Risk Factors Related to Business of the Company
Our operating results may fluctuate, which could have a negative impact on our ability to grow our client base, establish sustainable revenues and succeed overall.
Our results of operations may fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control including but not limited to:
| • | General economic conditions in the geographies and industries where we sell our services and conduct operations; legislative policies where we sell our services and conduct operations; | |
| • | The budgetary constraints of our customers; seasonality; | |
| • | The success of our strategic growth initiatives; | |
| • | Costs associated with the launching or integration of new or acquired businesses; | |
| • | Timing of new product introductions by us, our partners and our competitors; product and service mix, availability, utilization and pricing; | |
| • | The mix, by state and country, of our revenues, personnel and assets; | |
| • | movements in interest rates or tax rates; | |
| • | Changes in, and application of, accounting rules; | |
| • | Changes in the regulations applicable to us; | |
| • | Litigation matters. |
As a result of these factors, we may not succeed in our business, and we could go out of business.
| 9 |
In the event that we are unable to successfully compete in the market to build a new Ethical Internet Ecosystem on an Ethical Web , we may not be able to achieve profitable operations.
We face substantial competition in what we’re looking to disrupt. Due to our small size, it can be assumed that many of our competitors have significantly greater financial, technical, marketing and other competitive resources. Accordingly, these competitors may have already begun to establish brand recognition with consumers. We will attempt to compete against these competitors by developing features that exceed the features offered by competitors. However, we cannot assure you that our products will outperform competing products, or those competitors will not develop new products that exceed what we provide. In addition, we may face competition based on price. If our competitors lower the prices on their products, then it may not be possible for us to market our products at prices that are economically viable. Increased competition could result in:
| • | Lower than projected revenues; | |
| • | Price reductions and lower profit margins; | |
| • | The inability to develop and maintain our products with features and usability sought by potential customers. |
Any one of these results could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our competitors may develop competing products that achieve greater market acceptance. It is also possible that new competitors may emerge and acquire significant market share. Our inability to achieve sales and revenue due to competition will have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If the market for our open-source platform does not experience significant growth or if our projects do not achieve broad acceptance, we will not be able to sustain or grow our revenues.
We hope to achieve revenues from our open-source partnerships. We cannot accurately predict, however, future growth rates or the size of the market for application in the United States, United Kingdom and other markets we engage in. Demand for our platform and IP may not occur as anticipated, or may decrease, either generally or in specific geographic markets, during particular time periods. The expansion of our mobile application in the market depends on a number of factors, such as:
| • | The cost, performance and appearance of our mobile application offered by our competitors; | |
| • | Public perceptions regarding our mobile application and the effectiveness and value of it; | |
| • | Customer satisfaction with our mobile application; and | |
| • | Marketing efforts and publicity regarding the needs for application and the public demand for it. |
Even if our platform gains wide market acceptance, we may not adequately address market requirements and may not be able to expand market acceptance. If our products do not achieve wide market acceptance, we may not be able to achieve our anticipated level of growth, we may not achieve revenues and results of operations would suffer.
If we are unable to gauge trends and react to changing partners preferences in a timely manner, our sales will decrease, and our business may fail.
We believe our success depends in substantial part on our ability to offer our intellectual property and our supporting platform that reflect current needs and anticipate, gauge and react to changing partner and consumer demands in a timely manner. Our business is vulnerable to changes in partner and consumer preferences. If we misjudge their needs for our platform, our ability to generate sales could be impaired resulting in the failure of our business. There are no assurances that our mobile application will be successful, and in that regard, any unsuccessful consumer reaction could also adversely affect our business.
| 10 |
If we are unable to successfully manage growth, our operations could be adversely affected.
Our progress is expected to require the full utilization of our management, financial and other resources, which to date has occurred with limited working capital. Our ability to manage growth effectively will depend on our ability to improve and expand operations, including our financial and management information systems, and to recruit, train and manage sales personnel. There can be no absolute assurance that management will be able to manage growth effectively.
If we do not properly manage the growth of our business, we may experience significant strains on our management and operations and disruptions in our business. Various risks arise when companies and industries grow quickly. If our business or industry grows too quickly, our ability to meet customer demand in a timely and efficient manner could be challenged. We may also experience development delays as we seek to meet increased demand for our products. Our failure to properly manage the growth that we or our industry might experience could negatively impact our ability to execute on our operating plan and, accordingly, could have an adverse impact on our business, our cash flow and results of operations, and our reputation with our current or potential customers.
We may fail to successfully integrate our acquisitions or otherwise be unable to benefit from pursuing acquisitions.
We believe there are meaningful opportunities to grow through acquisitions and joint ventures across all product categories and we expect to continue a strategy of selectively identifying and acquiring businesses with complementary products. We may be unable to identify, negotiate, and complete suitable acquisition opportunities on reasonable terms. There can be no assurance that any business acquired by us will be successfully integrated with our operations or prove to be profitable to us. We may incur future liabilities related to acquisitions. Should any of the following problems, or others, occur as a result of our acquisition strategy, the impact could be material:
| • | Difficulties integrating personnel from acquired entities and other corporate cultures into our business; | |
| • | Difficulties integrating information systems; | |
| • | The potential loss of key employees of acquired companies; | |
| • | The assumption of liabilities and exposure to undisclosed or unknown liabilities of acquired companies; or | |
| • | The diversion of management attention from existing operations |
Our commercial success depends significantly on our ability to develop and commercialize our open-source platform without infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties.
Our commercial success will depend, in part, on operating our business without infringing the trademarks or proprietary rights of third parties. Third parties that believe we are infringing on their rights could bring actions against us claiming damages and seeking to enjoin the development, marketing and distribution of our products. If we become involved in any litigation, it could consume a substantial portion of our resources, regardless of the outcome of the litigation. If any of these actions are successful, we could be required to pay damages and/or to obtain a license to continue to develop or market our products, in which case we may be required to pay substantial royalties. However, any such license may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all. Ultimately, we could be prevented from commercializing a product or forced to cease some aspect of our business operations as a result of patent infringement claims, which would harm our business.
A decline in general economic condition could lead to reduced consumer/business adoption and could negatively impact our business operation and financial condition, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our operating and financial performance may be adversely affected by a variety of factors that influence the general economy. Consumer search habits are affected by, among other things, prevailing economic conditions, levels of unemployment, salaries and wage rates, prevailing interest rates, income tax rates and policies, consumer confidence and consumer perception of economic conditions. In addition, consumer purchasing patterns may be influenced by consumers’ disposable income. In the event of an economic slowdown, consumer search habits could be adversely affected and we could experience lower net sales than expected on a quarterly or annual basis which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
| 11 |
The success of our business depends on our ability to maintain and enhance our reputation and brand.
We believe that our reputation in the online marketplace is of significant importance to the success of our business. A well-recognized brand is critical to increasing our customer base and, in turn, increasing our revenue. Since the industry is highly competitive, our ability to remain competitive depends to a large extent on our ability to maintain and enhance our reputation and brand, which could be difficult and expensive. To maintain and enhance our reputation and brand, we need to successfully manage many aspects of our business, such as cost-effective marketing campaigns to increase brand recognition and awareness in a highly competitive market. We will continue to conduct various marketing and brand promotion activities. We cannot assure you, however, that these activities will be successful and achieve the brand promotion goals we expect. If we fail to maintain and enhance our reputation and brand, or if we incur excessive expenses in our efforts to do so, our business, financial conditions and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Reliance on information technology means a significant disruption could affect our communications and operations.
We increasingly rely on information technology systems for our internal communications, controls, reporting and relations with customers and suppliers and information technology is becoming a significantly important tool for our sales staff. Our marketing and distribution strategy are dependent upon our ability to closely monitor consumer and market trends on a highly specified level, for which we are reliant on our highly sophisticated data tracking systems, which are susceptible to disruption or failure. In addition, our reliance on information technology exposes us to cyber-security risks, which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete. Security and privacy breaches may expose us to liability and cause us to lose customers or may disrupt our relationships and ongoing transactions with other entities with whom we contract throughout our supply chain. The failure of our information systems to function as intended, or the penetration by outside parties’ intent on disrupting business processes, could result in significant costs, loss of revenue, assets or personal or other sensitive data and reputational harm.
Security and privacy breaches may expose us to liability and cause us to lose customers.
Federal and state laws require us to safeguard our wholesalers’ and retailers’ financial information, including credit information. Although we have established security procedures to protect against identity theft and the theft of our customers’ and distributors’ financial information, our security and testing measures may not prevent security breaches and breaches of privacy may occur and could harm our business. Typically, we rely on encryption and authentication technology licensed from third parties to enhance transmission security of confidential information in relation to financial and other sensitive information that we have on file. Advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography, inadequate facility security or other developments may result in a compromise or breach of the technology used by us to protect customer data. Any compromise of our security could harm our reputation or financial condition and, therefore, our business. In addition, a party who is able to circumvent our security measures or exploit inadequacies in our security measures, could, among other effects, misappropriate proprietary information, cause interruptions in our operations or expose customers and other entities with which we interact to computer viruses or other disruptions. Actual or perceived vulnerabilities may lead to claims against us. To the extent the measures we have taken prove to be insufficient or inadequate, we may become subject to litigation or administrative sanctions, which could result in significant fines, penalties or damages and harm to our reputation.
We may be unable to support our technology to further scale our operations successfully.
Our plan is to grow rapidly through further integration of our technology in partnerships in with our open-source platform and other partnership electronic platforms. Our growth will place significant demands on our management and technology development, as well as our financial, administrative and other resources. We cannot guarantee that any of the systems, procedures and controls we put in place will be adequate to support the commercialization of our operations. Our operating results will depend substantially on the ability of our officers and key employees to manage changing business conditions and to implement and improve our financial, administrative and other resources. If we are unable to respond to and manage changing business conditions, or the scale of our products, services and operations, then the quality of our services, our ability to retain key personnel and our business could be harmed.
| 12 |
Developing and implementing new and updated applications, features and services for our portals may be more difficult than expected, may take longer and cost more than expected and may not result in sufficient increases in revenue to justify the costs.
Attracting and retaining partner developers and users of our open-source platform requires us to continue to improve the technology underlying those portals and to continue to develop new and updated applications, features and services. If we are unable to do so on a timely basis or if we are unable to implement new applications, features and services without disruption to our existing ones, we may lose potential users and clients. The costs of development of these enhancements may negatively impact our ability to achieve profitability.
We rely on a combination of internal development, strategic relationships, licensing and acquisitions to develop our open-source platform, portals and related applications, features and services. Our development and/or implementation of new technologies, applications, features and services may cost more than expected, may take longer than originally expected, may require more testing than originally anticipated and may require the acquisition of additional personnel and other resources. There can be no assurance that the revenue opportunities from any new or updated technologies, applications, features or services will justify the amounts spent.
Our success is dependent in part on obtaining, maintaining and enforcing our proprietary rights and our ability to avoid infringing on the proprietary rights of others.
We seek patent protection for those inventions and technologies for which we believe such protection is suitable and is likely to provide a competitive advantage to us. A Patent on our Internet-Search Mechanism (“IBSM”) has been granted in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The patent is currently pending in the European Union and United Kingdom. Because patent applications in the United States are maintained in secrecy until either the patent application is published or a patent is issued, we may not be aware of third-party patents, patent applications and other intellectual property relevant to our products that may block our use of our intellectual property or may be used in third-party products that compete with our products and processes. In the event a competitor or other party successfully challenges our products, processes, patents or licenses or claims that we have infringed upon their intellectual property, we could incur substantial litigation costs defending against such claims, be required to pay royalties, license fees or other damages or be barred from using the intellectual property at issue, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
We also rely substantially on trade secrets, proprietary technology, nondisclosure and other contractual agreements, and technical measures to protect our technology, application, design, and manufacturing know-how, and work actively to foster continuing technological innovation to maintain and protect our competitive position. We cannot assure you that steps taken by us to protect our intellectual property and other contractual agreements for our business will be adequate, that our competitors will not independently develop or patent substantially equivalent or superior technologies or be able to design around patents that we may receive, or that our intellectual property will not be misappropriated.
Our business will suffer if our network systems, or open-source platform fails or become unavailable.
A reduction in the performance, reliability and availability of our network infrastructure would harm our ability to distribute our products to our users, as well as our reputation and ability to attract and retain customers. Our systems and operations could be damaged or interrupted by fire, flood, power loss, telecommunications failure, Internet breakdown, earthquake and similar events. Our systems could also be subject to viruses, break-ins, sabotage, acts of terrorism, acts of vandalism, hacking, cyber-terrorism and similar misconduct. We might not carry adequate business interruption insurance to compensate us for losses that may occur from a system outage. Any system error or failure that causes interruption in availability of our product or an increase in response time could result in a loss of potential customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If we suffer sustained or repeated interruptions, then our products and services could be less attractive to our users and our business would be materially harmed.
| 13 |
We face significant competition for developers, users, advertisers, and distributors.
Our intellectual property can face significant competition from online search engines, sites offering integrated internet products and services, social media and networking sites, e-commerce sites, companies providing analytics, monetization and marketing tools for mobile and desktop developers, and digital, broadcast and print media. A number of these competitors are significantly larger than we are and have access to vastly greater financial resources. Additionally, in a number of international markets, we face substantial competition from local Internet service providers and other entities that offer search, communications, and other commercial services.
A number of our competitors offer products and services that directly compete for users of our platform offerings. Further, emerging start-ups may be able to innovate and provide new products and services faster than we can. In addition, competitors may consolidate or collaborate with each other, and new competitors may enter the market. Some of our competitors in international markets have a substantial competitive advantage over us because they have dominant market share in their territories, have greater local brand recognition, are focused on a single market, are more familiar with local tastes and preferences, or have greater regulatory and operational flexibility due to the fact that we may be subject to both U.S. and foreign regulatory requirements.
If our competitors are more successful than we are in developing and deploying compelling products or in attracting and retaining users, developers, or distributors, our users and growth rates could decline.
Changes in regulations or user concerns regarding privacy and protection of user data, or any failure to comply with such laws, could adversely affect our business.
Federal, state, and international laws and regulations govern the collection, use, retention, disclosure, sharing and security of data that we receive from and about our users. The use of consumer data by online service providers is a topic of active interest among federal, state, and international regulatory bodies, and the regulatory environment is unsettled. Many states have passed laws requiring notification to users where there is a security breach for personal data, such as California’s Information Practices Act. We face similar risks in international markets where our products and services are offered. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with or make effective modifications to our policies, or to comply with any applicable federal, state, or international privacy, data-retention or data-protection-related laws, regulations, orders or industry self-regulatory principles could result in proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others, a loss of user confidence, damage to our business and brand, and a loss of users, which could potentially have an adverse effect on our business.
In addition, various federal, state and foreign legislative or regulatory bodies may enact new or additional laws and regulations concerning privacy, data retention, data transfer and data protection issues, including laws or regulations mandating disclosure to domestic or international law enforcement bodies, which could adversely impact our business, our brand or our reputation with users. For example, some countries are considering or have enacted laws mandating that user data regarding users in their country be maintained in their country. In addition, there currently is a data protection regulation applicable to member states of the European Union that includes operational and compliance requirements that are different than those currently in place and that also includes significant penalties for non-compliance.
The interpretation and application of privacy, data protection, data transfer and data retention laws and regulations are often uncertain and in flux in the United States and internationally. These laws may be interpreted and applied inconsistently from country to country and inconsistently with our current policies and practices, complicating long-range business planning decisions. If privacy, data protection, data transfer or data retention laws are interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our current policies and practices, we may be fined or ordered to change our business practices in a manner that adversely impacts our operating results. Complying with these varying international requirements could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices in a manner adverse to our business and operating results.
| 14 |
We may be subject to legal liability associated with providing online services or content.
We host and provide a wide variety of services and technology products that enable and encourage individuals and businesses to exchange information; upload or otherwise generate photos, videos, text, and other content; advertise products and services; conduct business; and engage in various online activities both domestically and internationally. The law relating to the liability of providers of online services and products for activities of their users is currently unsettled both within the United States and internationally. We may be subject to domestic or international actions alleging that certain content we have generated or third-party content that we have made available within our services violates laws in domestic and international jurisdictions.
It is also possible that if any information provided directly by us contains errors or is otherwise wrongfully provided to users, third parties could make claims against us. For example, we offer web-based e-mail services, which expose us to potential risks, such as liabilities or claims, by our users and third parties, resulting from unsolicited e-mail, lost or misdirected messages, illegal or fraudulent use of e-mail, alleged violations of policies, property interests, or privacy protections, including civil or criminal laws, or interruptions or delays in e-mail service. We may also face purported consumer class actions or state actions relating to our online services, including our fee-based services. In addition, our customers, third parties, or government entities may assert claims or actions against us if our online services or technologies are used to spread or facilitate malicious or harmful code or applications.
Investigating and defending these types of claims are expensive, even if the claims are without merit or do not ultimately result in liability and could subject us to significant monetary liability or cause a change in business practices that could negatively impact our ability to compete.
Our business depends on continued and unimpeded access to the Internet by us and our users. Internet access providers may be able to block, degrade, or charge for access to certain of our products and services, which could lead to additional expenses and the loss of users and advertisers.
Our products and services depend on the ability of our users to access the Internet, and certain of our products require significant bandwidth to work effectively. Currently, this access is provided by companies that have significant market power in the broadband and internet access marketplace, including incumbent telephone companies, cable companies, mobile communications companies, and government-owned service providers. Some of these providers may take, or have stated that they may take, measures that could degrade, disrupt, or increase the cost of user access to certain of our products by restricting or prohibiting the use of their infrastructure to support or facilitate our offerings, or by charging increased fees to us or our users to provide our offerings. Such interference could result in a loss of existing users and advertisers, and increased costs, and could impair our ability to attract new users and advertisers, thereby harming our revenues and growth. The adoption of any laws or regulations that limit access to the Internet by blocking, degrading or charging access fees to us or our users for certain services could decrease the demand for, or the usage of, our products and services, increase our cost of doing business and adversely affect our operating results.
We may be unable to achieve some, all or any of the benefits that we expect to achieve from our plan to expand our operations.
In the future we may require additional financing for capital requirements and growth initiatives. Accordingly, we will depend on our ability to generate cash flows from operations and to borrow funds and issue securities in the capital markets to maintain and expand our business. We may need to incur debt on terms and at interest rates that may not be as favorable. If additional financing is not available when required or is not available on acceptable terms, we may be unable to operate our business as planned or at all, fund our expansion, successfully promote our business, develop or enhance our products and services, take advantage of business opportunities or respond to competitive pressures, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
| 15 |
Risks Related with Management and Control Persons
We are dependent on the continued services of our interim Chief Executive Officer, Chair and Chief Financial Officer, and if we fail to keep them or fail to attract and retain qualified senior executive and key technical personnel, our business will not be able to expand.
We are dependent on the continued availability of Stephen Morris, our interim CEO and Chair, and David Chetwood our CFO, and the availability of new employees to implement our business plans. The market for skilled employees is highly competitive, especially for employees in our industry. Although we expect that our planned compensation programs will be intended to attract and retain the employees required for us to be successful, there can be no assurance that we will be able to retain the services of all our key employees or a sufficient number to execute our plans, nor can there be any assurance we will be able to continue to attract new employees as required.
Our personnel may voluntarily terminate their relationship with us at any time, and competition for qualified personnel is intense. The process of locating additional personnel with the combination of skills and attributes required to carry out our strategy could be lengthy, costly and disruptive.
If we lose the services of key personnel or fail to replace the services of key personnel who depart, we could experience a severe negative effect on our financial results and stock price. The loss of the services of any key personnel, marketing or other personnel or our failure to attract, integrate, motivate and retain additional key employees could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating and financial results and stock price.
Our largest shareholder, officer and director and a related party, Stephen Morris, has substantial control over us and our policies and will be able to influence corporate matters.
Stephen Morris is our interim CEO, and Director of our company. Mr. Morris, whose interests may differ from other stockholders, is also our largest stockholder and has the ability to exercise significant control over us. He is able to exercise significant influence over all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors, the approval of significant corporate transactions, and any change of control of our company. Mr. Morris’ interests may not necessarily be in the best interests of the shareholders in general.
The elimination of monetary liability against our directors, officers and employees under our Articles of Incorporation and the existence of indemnification rights to our directors, officers and employees may result in substantial expenditures by our Company and may discourage lawsuits against our directors, officers and employees.
Our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation contain provisions that eliminate the liability of our directors for monetary damages to our Company and shareholders. Our Amended and Restated Bylaws also require us to indemnify our officers and directors. We may also have contractual indemnification obligations under our agreements with our directors, officers and employees. The foregoing indemnification obligations could result in our company incurring substantial expenditures to cover the cost of settlement or damage awards against directors, officers and employees that we may be unable to recoup. These provisions and resulting costs may also discourage our company from bringing a lawsuit against directors, officers and employees for breaches of their fiduciary duties, and may similarly discourage the filing of derivative litigation by our shareholders against our directors, officers and employees even though such actions, if successful, might otherwise benefit our Company and shareholders.
Our officers and directors have limited experience managing a public company.
Our officers and directors have limited experience managing a public company. Consequently, we may not be able to raise any funds or run our public company successfully. Our executive’s officer’s and director’s lack of experience of managing a public company could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
| 16 |
Risks Related to the Market for our Stock
We will likely conduct further offerings of our equity securities in the future, in which case your proportionate interest may become diluted.
We will likely be required to conduct equity offerings in the future to finance our current projects or to finance subsequent projects that we decide to undertake. If our common stock shares are issued in return for additional funds, the price per share could be lower than that paid by our current shareholders. We anticipate continuing to rely on equity sales of our common stock shares in order to fund our business operations. If we issue additional common stock shares or securities convertible into shares of our common stock, your percentage interest in us could become diluted.
We have the right to issue additional common stock and preferred stock without consent of stockholders. This would have the effect of diluting investors’ ownership and could decrease the value of their investment.
We have additional authorized, but unissued shares of our common stock that may be issued by us for any purpose without the consent or vote of our stockholders that would dilute stockholders’ percentage ownership of our company.
In addition, our certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of shares of preferred stock and/or the conversion of existing outstanding preferred stock into common stock, the rights, preferences, designations and limitations of which may be set by the Board of Directors. Our certificate of incorporation has authorized issuance of up 3,000,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, and up to 25,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, in the discretion of our Board.
The shares of authorized but unissued preferred stock may be issued upon Board of Directors approval; no further stockholder action is required. If issued, the rights, preferences, designations and limitations of such preferred stock would be set by our Board and could operate to the disadvantage of the outstanding common stock. Such terms could include, among others, preferences as to dividends and distributions on liquidation.
If a market for our common stock does not develop, shareholders may be unable to sell their shares.
Our common stock is quoted under the symbol “BBLR” on the OTC Pink operated by OTC Markets Group, Inc., an electronic inter-dealer quotation medium for equity securities. We do not currently have an active trading market. There can be no assurance that an active and liquid trading market will develop or, if developed, that it will be sustained.
Our securities are very thinly traded. Accordingly, it may be difficult to sell shares of our common stock without significantly depressing the value of the stock. Unless we are successful in developing continued investor interest in our stock, sales of our stock could continue to result in major fluctuations in the price of the stock.
We have recently terminated an application for our common stock and warrants to be listed on Nasdaq. We plan to revisit listing, if and when we are eligible, but we are currently attempting to upgrade from the OTC Pink tier of OTC Markets to the more sought after OTCQB tier of OTC Markets. Despite any effort, however, an active trading market may not develop or, if developed, may not be sustained. The lack of an active market may impair your ability to sell your shares at the time you wish to sell them or at a price that you consider reasonable. The lack of an active market may also reduce the fair value of your shares. An inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund operations by selling shares and may impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using our shares as consideration.
| 17 |
The market price of our common stock is likely to be highly volatile and could fluctuate widely in price in response to various factors, many of which are beyond our control.
Our stock price is subject to a number of factors, including:
| • | Technological innovations or new products and services by us or our competitors; | |
| • | Government regulation of our products and services; | |
| • | The establishment of partnerships with other ethical web companies; | |
| • | Intellectual property disputes; | |
| • | Additions or departures of key personnel; | |
| • | Sales of our common stock; | |
|
• | Our ability to integrate operations, technology, products and services; |
| • | Our ability to execute our business plan; | |
| • | Operating results below or exceeding expectations | |
| • | Whether we achieve profits or not; | |
| • | Loss or addition of any strategic relationship; | |
| • | Industry developments; | |
| • | Economic and other external factors; and | |
| • | Period-to-period fluctuations in our financial results |
Our stock price may fluctuate widely as a result of any of the above. In addition, the securities markets have from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may also materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
We may not be required to file periodic and other reports after a period if we fail to file a form 8-A.
We are required to file annual and quarterly reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission; however, we will not be subject to the proxy or other rules of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, unless we file a form 8-A or similar registration statement.
Shortly following this annual report, we intend voluntarily to file a registration statement on Form 8-A which will subject us to all of the full reporting requirements of the 1934 Act. This will require us to file quarterly and annual reports with the SEC and will also subject us to the proxy rules of the SEC. In addition, our officers, directors and 10% stockholders will be required to submit reports to the SEC on their stock ownership and stock trading activity. We are not required under Section 12(g) or otherwise to become a mandatory 1934 Act filer unless we have more than 500 shareholders and total assets of more than $10 million.
Potential investors may be less interested in purchasing our stock if we are not required to report to the SEC and the hold period for our securities under Rule 144 would increase from six months to one year.
Because we are subject to the “Penny Stock” rules, the level of trading activity in our stock may be reduced.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted regulations which generally define “penny stock” to be any listed, trading equity security that has a market price less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exemptions. The 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 must also 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. In addition, the penny stock rules generally require that prior to a transaction in a penny stock, the broker-dealer 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 disclosure requirements may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity in the secondary market for a stock that becomes subject to the penny stock rules which may increase the difficulty Purchasers may experience in attempting to liquidate such securities.
| 18 |
We do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. Any return on investment may be limited to the value of our common stock.
We do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. The payment of dividends on our common stock will depend on earnings, financial condition and other business and economic factors affecting it at such time as the board of directors may consider relevant. If we do not pay dividends, our common stock may be less valuable because a return on your investment will occur only if our stock price appreciates.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and divert management’s attention.
As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (which we refer to as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act), the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (which we refer to as the Dodd-Frank Act), the rules of the marketplace we area on, and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer a “smaller reporting company.” The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. We may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants to comply with these requirements, which will increase our costs and expenses.
In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be adversely affected.
As a smaller reporting company we are exempt from certain disclosure requirements, which could make our Common Stock less attractive to potential investors.
Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act defines a “smaller reporting company” as an issuer that is not an investment company, an asset-backed issuer, or a majority-owned subsidiary of a parent that is not a smaller reporting company and that:
| • | had a public float of less than $250 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, computed by multiplying the aggregate worldwide number of shares of our voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates by the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average of the bid and asked prices of common equity, in the principal market for the common equity; or | |
| • | in the case of an initial registration statement under the Securities Act, or the Exchange Act, for shares of our common equity, had a public float of less than $250 million as of a date within 30 days of the date of the filing of the registration statement, computed by multiplying the aggregate worldwide number of such shares held by non-affiliates before the registration plus, in the case of a Securities Act registration statement, the number of such shares included in the registration statement by the estimated public offering price of the shares; or | |
| • | in the case of an issuer whose public float as calculated under paragraph (1) or (2) of this definition was zero, had annual revenues of less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year for which audited financial statements are available. |
As a smaller reporting company, we will not be required and may not include a Compensation Discussion and Analysis section in our proxy statements; we will provide only two years of financial statements; and we need not provide the table of selected financial data. We also will have other “scaled” disclosure requirements that are less comprehensive than issuers that are not smaller reporting companies which could make our Common Stock less attractive to potential investors, which could make it more difficult for our stockholders to sell their shares.
| 19 |
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or publish negative reports about our business, our share price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock will, to some extent, depend on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our shares or change their opinion of our shares, our share price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.
Anti-takeover provisions that may be in our charter and bylaws may prevent or frustrate attempts by stockholders to change the board of directors or current management and could make a third-party acquisition of us difficult.
Our amended and restated articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may contain provisions that may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. These provisions could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our Common Stock.
We may be subject to securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert management attention.
In the past companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Litigation of this type could result in substantial costs and diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could seriously hurt our business. Any adverse determination in litigation could also subject us to significant liabilities.
Foreign currency exchange rates may adversely affect our financial results.
Sales and purchases in currencies other than the United States dollar expose us to fluctuations in foreign currencies relative to the United States dollar and may adversely affect our financial results. Increased strength of the United States dollar increases the effective price of our products sold in United States dollars into other countries, which may require us to lower its prices or adversely affect sales to the extent we do not increase local currency prices. Decreased strength of the United States dollar could adversely affect the cost of materials, products and services we purchase from non-United States denominated locations. Sales and expenses of our non-United States businesses are also translated into United States dollars for SEC reporting purposes and the strengthening or weakening of the United States dollar could result in unfavorable translation effects. We also face exchange rate risk from our investments in subsidiaries owned and operated in foreign countries.
Current economic and political conditions make tax rules in any jurisdiction subject to significant change.
We are subject to income taxes as well as non-income based taxes, in both the U.S. and ultimately various jurisdictions outside the U.S. where we intend to operate. We cannot predict the overall impact that changes or revisions to any such tax laws and regulations, whether in in the United States or in jurisdictions outside the United States, may have on our business. We may be subject to ongoing tax audits in various jurisdictions, and the tax authorities conducting such audits may disagree with certain taxation positions we have taken and assess additional taxes. Although we intend to regularly assess the likely outcomes of these audits in order to determine the appropriateness of our tax obligations, there can be no assurance that we will accurately predict the outcomes of these audits, and the actual outcomes of these audits could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and business operations.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.
None.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.
We own no property. We rent virtual space at 21 West 46th St, New York, NY 10036 and Westpoint, 4 Redheughs Rigg, South Gyle, Edinburgh, Lothian, EH12 9QD. The 12-month agreement for the New York property was signed in August 2021 for twelve months, thereafter on a monthly basis, at a monthly rate of $200. The 12-month agreement for the UK property was signed in June 2022 for twelve months, at a monthly rate of $100.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
We may from time to time be involved in various claims and legal proceedings of a nature we believe are normal and incidental to our business. These matters may include product liability, intellectual property, employment, personal injury cause by our employees, and other general claims. We are not presently a party to any legal proceedings that, in the opinion of our management, are likely to have a material adverse effect on our business. Regardless of outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.
Not applicable.
| 20 |
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.
Market Information
Our common stock is quoted under the symbol “BBLR” on the OTC Pink operated by OTC Markets Group, Inc., an electronic inter-dealer quotation medium for equity securities. We do not currently have an active trading market. There can be no assurance that an active and liquid trading market will develop or, if developed, that it will be sustained.
Our securities are very thinly traded. Accordingly, it may be difficult to sell shares of our common stock without significantly depressing the value of the stock. Unless we are successful in developing continued investor interest in our stock, sales of our stock could continue to result in major fluctuations in the price of the stock.
We have recently terminated an application for our common stock and warrants to be listed on Nasdaq. We plan to revisit listing, if and when we are eligible, but we are currently attempting to upgrade from the OTC Pink tier of OTC Markets to the more sought after OTCQB tier of OTC Markets. Despite any effort, however, an active trading market may not develop or, if developed, may not be sustained. The lack of an active market may impair your ability to sell your shares at the time you wish to sell them or at a price that you consider reasonable. The lack of an active market may also reduce the fair value of your shares. An inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund operations by selling shares and may impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using our shares as consideration.
Holders
As of March 28, 2023 we had 155,738,983 shares of our common stock outstanding, and there were approximately 810 stockholders of record of our common stock. There were 903 shares of preferred stock outstanding as of the same date, which shares are held by two shareholders.
Common Stock
Our authorized common stock consists of 3,000,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share. As of March 28, 2023, there were 155,738,983 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding.
Preferred Stock
Our authorized preferred stock consists of 25,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share. As of March 28, 2023, there were 903 shares of our preferred stock issued and outstanding.
Special 2019 Series A Preferred Stock
We have a designated class of preferred stock known as Special 2019 Series A Preferred Stock. The holders of Special 2019 Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to vote 60% of all votes (including, but not limited to, Common Stock, and Preferred Stock (including on an as converted basis)) entitled to vote at each meeting of stockholders of the Corporation (and written actions of stockholders in lieu of meetings) with respect to any and all matters presented to the stockholders of the Corporation for their action or consideration.
On September 6, 2022, we entered into an agreement with Bubblr Limited and Mr. Morris to add £52,088 ($60,000) to the principal of a loan in exchange for Mr. Morris canceling his Special 2019 Series A Preferred Stock, which has super voting rights. As of March 28, 2023, there are no outstanding shares of Special 2019 Series A Preferred Stock.
| 21 |
Series C Convertible Preferred Stock
On March 4, 2022, the Company filed a Certificate of Designation with the Wyoming Secretary of State, which established Two Thousand (2,000) shares of the Company’s Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, having such designations, rights and preferences as set forth therein.
Below is a summary description of the material rights, designations and preferences of the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock (all capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein shall have that definition assigned to it as per the Certificate of Designation).
The Company has the right to redeem the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, in accordance with the following schedule:
| • | If all of the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock are redeemed within ninety (90) calendar days from the issuance date thereof, the Company shall have the right to redeem the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock upon three (3) business days’ of written notice at a price equal to one hundred and fifteen percent (115%) of the Stated Value together with any accrued but unpaid dividends. |
| • | If all of the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock are redeemed after ninety (90) calendar days from the issuance date thereof, the Company shall have the right to redeem the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock upon three (3) business days of written notice at a price equal to one hundred and twenty percent (120%) of the Stated Value together with any accrued but unpaid dividends; and |
The Stated Value of the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock is $1,200 per share.
The Company shall pay a dividend of eight percent (8%) per annum on the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock. Dividends shall be paid quarterly, and at the Company’s discretion, in cash or Series C Convertible Preferred Stock. Dividend shall be deemed to accrue from the date of issuance of the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock whether or not earned or declared and whether or not there are profits, surplus or other funds of the Company legally available for the payment of dividends.
The Series C Convertible Preferred Stock will vote together with the common stock on an as-converted basis subject to the Beneficial Ownership Limitations (as set forth in the Certificate of Designation).
Each share of the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock is convertible, at any time and from time to time from and after the issuance at the option of the Holder thereof, into that number of shares of Common Stock (subject to Beneficial Ownership Limitations) determined by dividing the Stated Value of such share by the Conversion Price (as set forth in the Certificate of Designation).
There are also Purchase Rights and Most Favored Nation Provisions.
As of March 28, 2023, there were 903 outstanding shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock outstanding.
Options and Warrants
On March 4, 2022, we issued warrants to purchase 941,599 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.3404 per share.
On March 9, 2022, we issued warrants to purchase 472,205 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.3404 per share.
| 22 |
On April 25 2022, we issued warrants to purchase 562,149 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.3505 per share.
On May 25 2022, we issued warrants to purchase 281,074 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.2170 per share.
On June 25 2022, we issued warrants to purchase 281,074 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.2236 per share.
A summary of activity during the year ended December 31, 2022 is as follows:
| Warrants Outstanding | |||||||||||||
| Number of | Weighted Average | Weighted Average Remaining life | |||||||||||
| Warrants | Exercise Price | (years) | |||||||||||
| Outstanding, December 31, 2021 | — | $ | — | — | |||||||||
| Granted | 2,358,101 | 0.32 | 4.27 | ||||||||||
| Exercised | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| Forfeited/canceled | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| Outstanding, December 31, 2022 | 2,358,101 | $ | 0.32 | 4.27 | |||||||||
| Exercisable Warrants, December 31, 2022 | 2,538,101 | $ | 0.32 | 4.27 | |||||||||
The following table summarizes information relating to outstanding and exercisable warrants as of December 31, 2022:
| Warrants Outstanding | Warrants Exercisable | |||||||||||||||||
| Number of | Weighted Average Remaining Contractual life | Weighted Average | Number of | Weighted Average | ||||||||||||||
| Warrants | (in years) |
Exercise Price | Shares | Exercise Price | ||||||||||||||
| 941,599 | 4.18 | 0.34 | 941,599 | 0.34 | ||||||||||||||
| 472,205 | 4.19 | 0.34 | 472,205 | 0.34 | ||||||||||||||
| 562,149 | 4.32 | 0.35 | 562,149 | 0.35 | ||||||||||||||
| 281,074 | 4.40 | 0.22 | 281,074 | 0.22 | ||||||||||||||
| 281,074 | 4.48 | 0.22 | 281,074 | 0.22 | ||||||||||||||
| 2,538,101 | 4.27 | 0.32 | 5,538,101 | 0.32 | ||||||||||||||
As at December 31, 2022, the intrinsic value of the warrants is $0, as the price of the Company’s stock was below the warrant exercise price.
| 23 |
Debt Securities
In January 2021 the Company commenced an offering for a convertible promissory note. The offering closed June 30, 2021. Funds raised during the six months ended June 30, 2021 was $2,112,150, less an original issuance discount of $104,572. The notes matured after eighteen (18) months from issue or on the following events:
| Voluntary Conversion. Investor may, at his/her/its sole option, at any time after nine (9) months, convert all or any portion of the accrued interest and unpaid principal balance of this Note into fully paid and non- assessable shares of common stock of the Company at the conversion price of $1.15 per share. | |
| Mandatory Conversion. Upon sixty (60) days from the date the Company files a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), all of the accrued interest and unpaid principal balance of this Note shall automatically convert into fully paid and non- assessable shares of common stock of the Company at the conversion price of $1.15 per share. | |
| Interest at the rate equal to 2% per annum, computed on the basis of the actual number of days elapsed and a year of 365 days will be due on all outstanding notes. | |
| Interest accrual and debt discount amortization commenced July 1, 2021 upon the closing of the convertible promissory note offering. |
In November 2021 the Company commenced an offering for a convertible promissory note. The offering closed November 30, 2021. Funds raised as of November 30, 2021 was $175,630. The notes matured after eighteen (18) months from issue or on the following events:
| Voluntary Conversion. Investor may, at his/her/its sole option, at any time after nine (9) months, convert all or any portion of the accrued interest and unpaid principal balance of this Note into fully paid and non- assessable shares of common stock of the Company at the conversion price of $1.15 per share. | |
| Mandatory Conversion. Upon sixty (60) days from the date the Company files a Form 10 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), all of the accrued interest and unpaid principal balance of this Note shall automatically convert into fully paid and non- assessable shares of common stock of the Company at the conversion price of $1.15 per share. | |
| Interest at the rate equal to 2% per annum, computed on the basis of the actual number of days elapsed and a year of 365 days will be due on all outstanding notes. | |
| Interest accrual commenced December 1, 2021 upon the closing of the convertible promissory note offering. |
On September 1, 2022, the note holders of the convertible promissory notes issued June 30, 2021 and November 30, 2021 passed, by a majority an amendment to Section 6 of the notes. After the amendment, Section 6 of each of the notes read as follows:
Voluntary Conversion. Investor may, at his/her/its sole option, at any time after nine (9) months, convert all or any portion of the accrued interest and unpaid principal balance of this Note into fully paid and non- assessable shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company at the conversion price of $1.15 per share (the “Conversion Price”). A notice of Conversion is included as Exhibit “A.” If the Company shall at any time or from time to time after issuance of this Note, effect a stock split of the outstanding common stock, the applicable Conversion Price in effect immediately prior to the stock split shall be proportionately decreased. If the Company shall at any time or from time to time after the issuance of this Note, combine the outstanding shares of common stock, the applicable Conversion Price in effect immediately prior to the combination shall be proportionately increased. Any adjustments under this Section 6 shall be effective at the close of business on the date the stock split or combination occurs.
| 24 |
On December 15, 2022, the note holders of the convertible promissory notes issued June 30, 2021 and November 30, 2021 passed, by a majority another amendment to Section 6 of the notes. After the amendment, Section 6 of each of the notes now read as follows:
Voluntary Conversion. Investor may, at his/her/its sole option, at any time after nine (9) months, convert all or any portion of the accrued interest and unpaid principal balance of this Note into fully paid and non-assessable shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company at the conversion price of $0.50 per share (the “Conversion Price”). A notice of Conversion is included as Exhibit “A.” If the Company shall at any time or from time to time after issuance of this Note, effect a stock split of the outstanding common stock, the applicable Conversion Price in effect immediately prior to the stock split shall be proportionately decreased. If the Company shall at any time or from time to time after the issuance of this Note, combine the outstanding shares of common stock, the applicable Conversion Price in effect immediately prior to the combination shall be proportionately increased. Any adjustments under this Section 6 shall be effective at the close of business on the date the stock split or combination occurs.”
On December 15, 2022, the note holders of the convertible promissory note issued June 30, 2021 and November 30, 2021 issued to the Company their request to convert the promissory notes held, plus any accrued interest to common shares. As a result, the Company issued 4,076, 096 common shares for total note and interest conversion of $2,353,048.
Dividends
The Company has not declared any cash dividends on Common Stock since inception and does not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The payment of cash dividends is within the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend on the Company’s earnings, capital requirements, financial condition, and other relevant factors.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, so long as any Series C Convertible Preferred Stock shall remain outstanding, the Company shall not pay or declare any dividend unless each holder of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive, dividends on shares of Preferred Stock equal to (on an as-if-converted-to- Common-Stock basis) and in the same form as dividends actually paid on shares of the Common Stock when, as and if such dividends are paid on shares of the Common Stock.
The Company is required to pay a dividend of eight percent (8%) per annum on the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock. Dividends shall be paid quarterly, and at the Company’s discretion, in cash or Series C Convertible Preferred Stock. Dividend shall be deemed to accrue from the date of issuance of the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock whether or not earned or declared and whether or not there are profits, surplus or other funds of the Company legally available for the payment of dividends.
Equity Compensation Plans
On May 25, 2022, our board of directors and majority shareholders approved the adoption of the Bubblr, Inc. 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2022 Equity Incentive Plan”) and, unless earlier terminated, will continue until May 25, 2032. A total of 28,400,000 shares of common stock may be issued under the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan. The purpose of the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan is to foster and promote our long-term financial success and increase stockholder value by motivating performance through incentive compensation. The 2022 Equity Incentive Plan is intended to encourage participants to acquire and maintain ownership interests in our company and to attract and retain the services of talented individuals upon whose judgment and special efforts the successful conduct of our business is largely dependent.
If the participant is terminated, the participant will forfeit non-vested Restricted Stock Units (“RSUs”) awarded to date.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company issued pursuant to the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan, a total of 8,400,000 RSUs to two Company executives pursuant to their employment agreements. 4,200,000 shares of performance-based stock compensation were scheduled to vest on each of June 1, 2023 and June 1, 2024, respectively. The Company had elected to treat the award as a single award of 8,400,000 shares that vests ratably over the vesting period.
| 25 |
The RSUs were valued at $2,259,600, based on the market price of the Company’s common stock on the respective dates of the agreements, which was $0.269 per share, and were to be recognized as compensation expense over their two-year vesting period on a straight-line basis. During year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recorded stock-based compensation of $659,052 and had unrecognized stock compensation of $1,600,548 as of December 31, 2022.
The award of 8,400,000 RSUs was forfeited by the executives upon their termination of employment on January 31, 2023, on which date the remaining unrecognized stock compensation of $1,600,548 was expensed in full.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
In the two years preceding the filing of this annual report, we have issued and sold the following securities that were not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended:
On September 9, 2020, we issued 4,573,897 shares of common stock in connection with the acquisition of Bubblr Limited.
On January 18, 2021, we issued 2,651 shares of common stock in conversion of the Series B Preferred Stock.
On January 31, 2021, we issued 306,120 shares of common stock for services.
On January 31, 2021, we issued 24,000 shares of common stock for Investor Relation services.
On May 3, 2021, we issued 7,000,000 shares of common stock for the settlement of debt.
On June 28 2021, we issued 204,080 shares of common stock for services.
On October 11, 2021, we issued 51,020 shares of common stock to Neeta Shah, as per her consulting agreement October 1, 2021.
On October 11, 2021, we issued 33,000 shares of common stock for Investor Relation services, as per the contract signed July 1, 2021.
On February 2, 2022 we issued 103,000 shares of common stock for an Equity incentive to White Lion Capital LLC.
On February 23, 2022, we issued 147,960 shares of common stock for Services.
On March 4, 2022 we issued 587,039 shares of common stock for an Equity incentive to GHS Investments, LLC.
On March 17, 2022, we issued 19,250 shares of common stock for Investor Relation services, as per the contract signed July 1, 2021.
On March 22, 2022 we issued 103,000 shares of common stock in connection with a Termination and Release Agreement that terminated the Common Stock Purchase Agreement and Registration Rights Agreement with White Lion Capital LLC.
In March of 2022, we issued 503 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock.
On April 21, 2022, we issued 200 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock.
| 26 |
On May 1, 2022, we issued 21,807 shares of common stock for Investor Relation services, as per the contract signed March 25, 2021.
On May 25, 2022 we issued 100 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock.
On June 24, 2022, we issued 26,022 shares of common stock for Investor Relation services, as per the contract signed March 25, 2021.
On June 24, 2022, we issued 7,597,244 shares of common stock in connection with Consultancy as per the contract signed 15 June 2019.
On June 24, 2022 we issued 100 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock.
On July 29, 2022, we issued 29,045 shares of common stock for Investor Relation services, as per the contract signed March 25, 2021
On August 23, 2022, we issued 33,333 shares of common stock for Investor Relation services, as per the contract signed March 25, 2021
On September 2, 2022, we issued 345,220 shares of common stock as compensation 345,220 shares as compensation for loan waiver under Series C Convertible Preferred Stock share purchase agreement.
On September 2, 2022, we issued 34,146 shares of common stock for Investor Relation services, as per the contract signed March 25, 2021
On October 20, 2022, we issued 36,939 shares of common stock for Investor Relation services, as per the contract signed March 25, 2021
On November 28, 2022, we issued 175,000 shares of common stock for Investor Relation services, as per the contract signed March 25, 2021
On December 15, 2022, we issued 4,706,096 shares of common stock as per the voluntary conversion of promissory notes issued June 30, 2021 and November 5, 2021
On December 21, 2022, we issued 166,799 shares of common stock as payment of dividend of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, declared September 30, 2022
On December 21, 2022, we issued 41,322 shares of common stock for Investor Relation services, as per the contract signed March 25, 2022
On January 23, 2023 we issued 58,091 shares of common stock for Investor Relation services, as per the contract signed March 25, 2022
On February 24, 2023 46,574 shares of common stock valued at $7,000 were issued to a consultant for investor relation services, as per the contract signed March 25, 2022
On February 24, 2023 we issued 1,000,000 shares of common stock for Investor Relation services, as per the contract signed February 14, 2023
On February 24, 2023 we issued 325,000 shares of common stock for Investor Relation services, as per the contract signed February 23, 2023
The offers, sales, and issuances of the securities described above were deemed to be exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act or Regulation D promulgated thereunder as transactions by an issuer not involving a public offering. The recipients of securities in each of these transactions acquired the securities for investment only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof and appropriate legends were affixed to the securities issued in these transactions. Each of the recipients of securities in these transactions was an accredited or sophisticated person and had adequate access, through employment, business or other relationships, to information about us.
| 27 |
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.
Not applicable to a smaller reporting company.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our results of operations and financial condition should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the notes to those financial statements that are included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our discussion includes forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties, such as our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” at the beginning of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Results of Operation for Years Ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
Revenues
We did not achieve revenues from our current operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 or 2021. We will not achieve revenues unless we are able to market, support and deliver our product and service offerings. There can be no assurances that we will achieve revenues despite our efforts.
Operating Expenses
Our operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 are outlined below:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | % | |||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 65,551 | $ | 126,399 | $ | (60,848 | ) | (48)% | ||||||||||
| Professional Fees | $ | 2,879,759 | $ | 2,069,876 | $ | 809,883 | 39% | |||||||||||
| Market and regulation costs | $ | 198,455 | $ | 170,441 | $ | 28,014 | 16% | |||||||||||
| Compensation | $ | 671,224 | $ | 612,735 | $ | 58,489 | 10% | |||||||||||
| Amortization and depreciation | $ | 387,302 | $ | 379,887 | $ | 7,415 | 2% | |||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 94,645 | $ | 302,808 | (208,163 | ) | (69)% | |||||||||||
| Total | $ | 4,296,936 | $ | 3,662,146 | $ | 634,790 | 17% | |||||||||||
General and administrative
General and administrative expenses consist mainly of costs associated with non-specific costs of running the business. These include but are not limited to the costs of office provision, computer software not associated with research and development, travel, and telecoms.
The decrease in the costs have been mainly due to the decreased costs associated with general advertising spending undertaken in 2021 that was not repeated in 2022.
Professional fees
Professional fees consist of cost in relation to legal, accounting, marketing matters as well as the costs of consultants for our executive and advisory board.
The increase in consultancy costs from 2021 to 2022 is mainly due to the issuance of common stock for consultancy work, and legal fees associated with increased reporting requirements with the SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and the Company’s S-1 filings and application for up-listing to the NASDAQ, as well as of costs regarding the executive board and the recognition of earned stock-based awards under the 2022 incentive plan.
| 28 |
Market and regulation expenses
Market and regulation costs are cost incurred specifically in relation to fees and expenses for investor relations, our transfer agent, compliance consultancy and/or market public relations firm.
The increase in costs from 2021 to 2022 is the result of increase in investor relations and market application fee costs as the Company pursues in stated objective of increasing market awareness and progressing with an application for up-listing.
Compensation
Compensation costs are costs incurred by the company in relation to its employees and includes salaries, health insurance, pension costs, training, and any taxes due on employment.
The increase in costs from 2021 to 2022 was due to the increase of costs regarding the recognition of earned stock-based awards under the 2022 incentive plan offset by savings in salaries and general employment costs from 2021 and 2022 as the Company reduced its UK employees and engaged specialist consultants on an “as needed” basis.
Amortization and depreciation
The significant portion of the costs recorded by the Company in regards amortization and depreciation are from the amortization of patents and intellectual property. The majority of patents and intellectual property are held in the UK subsidiary, Bubblr Ltd.
Increase in costs from 2021 to 2022 are due to the additional amortization applied to intellectual property added in Q4 2021 and patents costs of patents granted in 2021 for our patent entitled “Internet-Search Mechanism” patent, being offset by the adverse effects of foreign currency fluctuation on the value of the Great British Pound which has fallen significantly against the United States Dollar in the 12 months to December 31, 2022.
Research and Development
Cost incurred in relation to development of the Company’s platform includes mainly costs associated with development staff and specialist software for product development and deployments.
The reduction in costs from 2021 to 2022 resulted from the Company reducing the number of software development contractors as we focused on corporate and financing issues.
Our operating expenses are expected to increase as we further implement our business plan and the added expenses associated with this offering and reporting with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other Income (Expenses)
Our other income for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 are outlined below:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | % | ||||||||||||
| Interest income | $ | 1,553 | $ | 1,554 | $ | (1 | ) | — % | |||||||
| Other income | $ | 142,212 | $ | 75,263 | $ | 66,949 | 89% | ||||||||
| Gain on settlement of debt | $ | — | $ | 5,000 | $ | (5,000 | ) | — % | |||||||
| Interest expense | $ | (575,777 | ) | $ | (65,316 | ) | $ | (510,461 | ) | 782% | |||||
| Gain on change in fair value of warrant derivative liability | $ | 494,753 | $ | — | $ | 494,753 | — % | ||||||||
| Foreign currency transaction loss | $ | (191,454 | ) | $ | (47,842 | ) | $ | (143,612 | ) | 300% | |||||
| Total | $ | (128,713 | ) | $ | (31,341 | ) | $ | (497,372 | ) | 311% | |||||
| 29 |
Interest Income
The Company earns interest income on its cash reserves and on advances receivable. Any gain on interest from the advances receivable was offset in part by the decrease in interest income from the Company’s cash, which decreased during the year.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, interest income was received on the following sources:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | % | |||||||||||||||
| Advances receivable | $ | 1,473 | $ | 1,407 | $ | 66 | 5% | |||||||||||
| Cash | $ | 80 | $ | 147 | $ | (67 | ) | (46)% | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | 1,553 | $ | 1,554 | $ | (1 | ) | - % | ||||||||||
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, advances receivable consisted of the following:
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Advance receivable -G | $ | 58,606 | $ | 54,529 | ||||
| Advance receivable -J | 21,643 | 21,643 | ||||||
| Repayment received | (1,231 | ) | — | |||||
| Interest due | 1,891 | 4,079 | ||||||
| Assignment of receivables | (71,540 | ) | — | |||||
| Effects of currency translation | (9,369 | ) | — | |||||
| Total advances receivable | $ | — | $ | 80,251 | ||||
The advance labelled Advance principal receivable-G carried an interest rate of 3%. The advance principal labelled Advance receivable -J is non-interest bearing. Repayment of $1,231 and $0 was received from G in the nine months to September 30, 2022 and 2021
On December 20, 2022, Advances receivable of $71,540 were assigned to our founder, who now bears all risks and rewards of collection. The assignment corresponded with a reduction in the amount due by the same amount.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists mainly of interest the Company has to pay on its borrowings and on vehicle financing held by the Company. In November 2019 the Company entered into a financing arrangement with Alphera Financial Services with which the Company purchased a vehicle. The term of this loan is 5 years and annual interest rate is 6.90%.
The principal amounts outstanding for the Company’s borrowings as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 are as follows:
| December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | % | |||||||||||||
| Vehicle Financing | $ | 22,452 | $ | 35,918 | $ | (12,957 | ) | (36)% | ||||||||
| Convertible Notes, net | $ | — | $ | 2,218,066 | $ | (2,218,066 | ) | - | ||||||||
| Loans Payable - Related Party | $ | 917,461 | $ | 509,339 | $ | 408,122 | 80% | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 939,913 | $ | 2,763,323 | $ | (1,823,410 | ) | (66)% | ||||||||
| 30 |
The decrease in interest expense during the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to 2021 is due to the Company’s converting its convertible notes issued in 2021. On December 15, 2022 noteholders approved a second amendment to the convertible notes for the conversion price to be reduced to $0.50 from $1.15 and immediately elected to voluntarily request for their notes to be converted to common shares at a conversion rate of $0.50c, as a result the company issued 4,706,096 shares of common shares.
Funds raised via the issuance of convertible notes as of December 15, 2022 was $2,287,780 of which $2,112,150 was issued in June 2021, is less an original issuance discount of $104,572 which was amortized over the length of the note to maturity of 18 months and $175,630 issued in November 30, 2021. The Company received a loan from a minority shareholder of $19,709 in February 2022 that bears interest at a rate of 20% per annum and is due for repayment before February 15, 2023. We borrowed a further $501,049 from our founder in Q4 2022. The loan is due for repayment in 3 years and is non-interest bearing. The remaining loan of $374,018 is non-interest bearing and is due for repayment on demand where the maturity date is the earlier of (i) the completion of an offering by Bubblr, Inc., in the amount of no less than $7,500,000 in a public offering, or (ii) May 23, 2024. On September 6, 2023 the loan principal was increased by $60,000 in exchange for Mr. Morris cancelling his Special 2019 Series A Preferred Stock, which has super voting rights. On December 20, 2022, the sum of $71,540 was deducted from the loan principal as a result of the assignment of Advance receivables of $71,540 to our founder.
Gain on change in fair value of warrant derivative liability
The Company analyzed the warrants issued in connection with the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock for derivative accounting consideration under ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging. ASC 815 requires we assess the fair market value of derivative liability at the end of each reporting period and recognize any change in the fair market value as other income or expense item.
The Company did not issue any warrants in 2021.
The Company analyzed the warrants issued during 2022 in connection with the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock for derivative accounting consideration under ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging. ASC 815 requires we assess the fair market value of derivative liability at the end of each reporting period and recognize any change in the fair market value as other income or expense item.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, the estimated fair values of the warrant liabilities measured on a recurring basis are as follows:
| Year Ended | ||||
| December 31, 2022 | ||||
| Expected term | 2.09 - 2.50 years | |||
| Expected average volatility | 177 - 220% | |||
| Expected dividend yield | 8.33% | |||
| Risk-free interest rate | 1.50 – 4.73% | |||
The following table summarizes the changes in the warrant liabilities during the period ended December 31, 2022:
| Fair Value Measurements Using Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) | ||||
| Warrant liability as of December 31, 2021 | $ | — | ||
| Addition of new warrant liabilities | 721,275 | |||
| Day-one loss | (28,043 | ) | ||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability | (494,753 | ) | ||
| Warrant liability as of December 31, 2022 | $ | 198,479 | ||
The market price of the common stock has decreased from the initial award of warrants in the period ending March 31, 2022. If the warrants were exercised at December 31, 2022 at their respective exercise price determined at issue, the Company would realize a gain due to the difference between the cash received on conversion and the issue cost to the Company of $0.1205 per share, the fair value market price of the common stock at December 31, 2022.
| 31 |
Net Loss
We finished the year ended December 31, 2022 with a net loss of $4,425,649 as compared to a loss of $3,693,487 during the year ended December 31, 2021.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Working Capital
The following table provides selected financial data about our company as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
| December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | % | |||||||||||||
| Current Assets | $ | 42,417 | $ | 161,184 | $ | (118,767 | ) | (74 | )% | |||||||
| Current Liabilities | $ | 595,856 | $ | 744,820 | $ | (148,964 | ) | (20 | )% | |||||||
| Working Capital Deficit | $ | (553,439 | ) | $ | (583,636 | ) | $ | 30,197 | (5 | )% | ||||||
We require cash to fund our operating expenses and working capital requirements, including outlays for capital expenditures. As of December 31, 2022, we had $32,533 in the bank, other receivables of $9,884 and advances receivable of $0 as compared to cash of $62,967, other receivables of $17,966, and advances receivable of $80,251 as of December 31, 2021.
During the last two years, and the beginning of this year, we have faced an increasingly challenging liquidity situation that has limited our ability to execute our operating plan. We will need to obtain capital to continue operations. There is no assurance that we will be able to secure such funding on acceptable terms. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we reported a loss from operations of $4,296,936.
As of December 31, 2022, we had assets of cash in the amount of $32,533 and other current assets in the amount of $9,884. As of December 31, 2022, we had current liabilities of $595,856 and a $553,439 working capital deficit. Our accumulated deficit as of December 31, 2022 was $12,875,437.
As of December 31, 2021, we had assets of cash in the amount of $62,967 and other current assets in the amount of $98,217. As of December 31, 2021, we had current liabilities of $744,820 and a $583,363 working capital deficit. Our accumulated deficit as of December 31, 2021 was $8,385,496.
As no revenues are generated from our current operations, we will require additional capital to continue to operate our business, and to further expand our business. Sources of additional capital through various financing transactions or arrangements with third parties may include equity or debt financing, bank loans or revolving credit facilities. We may not be successful in locating suitable financing transactions in the time period required or at all, and we may not obtain the capital we require by other means. Unless we can attract additional investment, our operating as a going concern is in doubt.
We are now obligated to file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“Sarbanes-Oxley”) and the rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) have imposed various requirements on public companies, including requiring changes in corporate governance practices. We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities of ours more time-consuming and costly. In order to meet the needs to comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act, we will need investment of capital.
Management has determined that additional capital will be required. There is no assurance that management will be able to raise capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all.
If we are unable to obtain sufficient amounts of additional capital, we may have to cease filing the required reports and cease operations completely. If we obtain additional funds by selling any of our equity securities or by issuing common stock to pay current or future obligations, the percentage ownership of our stockholders will be reduced, stockholders may experience additional dilution, or the equity securities may have rights preferences or privileges senior to the common stock.
| 32 |
Cash Flow
| Year ended 31 December, | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | ||||||||||
| Cash used in Operating Activities | $ | (1,169,701 | ) | $ | (1,577,936 | ) | $ | 408,235 | ||||
| Cash used in Investing Activities | $ | (237,666 | ) | $ | (441,493 | ) | $ | 203,827 | ||||
| Cash provided by Financing Activities | $ | 1,196,849 | $ | 1,950,510 | $ | (753,661 | ) | |||||
| Cash on Hand | $ | 32,533 | $ | 62,967 | $ | (30,434 | ) | |||||
Operating Activities
During the year ended December 31, 2022, we used $1,169,701 in operating activities, compared to $1,577,936 during the year ended December 31, 2021. The reduction of cash used in operating activities was primarily due to an increase in professional, market and regulation fees and compensation, which was offset by non-cash adjustments.
Investing Activities
During the year ended December 31, 2022, we used funds in investing activities of $237,666 to acquire additional intangible assets. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we used funds in investing activities of $441,493 to acquire property and equipment, as well as additional intangible assets. The decrease in funds used in investing activities was primarily because of the reduction in qualifying in-house research and development effort due to the reduction in research and development staff in the year.
Financing Activities
During the year ended December 31, 2022 we raised $1,196,849 as follows: $789,000 through the issuance of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and associated warrants, $15,000 from loan payable, and $520,758 from loans from related parties. These proceeds were offset through payment of $20,026 dividends due related to our Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, repayment of $9,943 for vehicle financing, $20,000 from loan payable and repayment of $77,940 for loans received from a related party. For the year ended December 31, 2022, we had total cash outflows from financing activities of $127,909, resulting in net cash provided by financing activities of $1,169,849. By comparison, in the year ended December 31, 2021, we raised $2,183,208 from convertible notes offset by repayment of $10,792 for vehicle financing and $303,068 for loans received from a related party. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we had total cash outflows from financing activities of $313,860, resulting in net cash provided by financing activities of $1,950,510.
We also plan to seek additional financing in a private or public equity offering to secure funding for operations. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in raising additional funding. If we are not able to secure additional funding, the implementation of our business plan will be impaired. There can be no assurance that such additional financing will be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.
GHS Investments LLC
On March 4, 2022, we entered a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “GHS Securities Purchase Agreement”) with GHS Investments LLC (“GHS”), whereby GHS agreed to purchase, in tranches, up to $700,000 of the Company’s Series C Convertible Preferred Stock in exchange for 700 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock. The first tranche, issued promptly upon execution of the GHS Securities Purchase Agreement, was for the purchase of 300 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock for $300,000. The Company issued to GHS commitment shares of 35 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and a warrant (the “GHS Warrant”) to purchase 75% of the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock (the “GHS Warrant Shares”). The Company has agreed to register the shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to the conversion of the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and the GHS Warrant Shares. GHS delivered gross proceeds of $266,000 to the Company (excluding legal fees and a transaction fee charged by Spartan Capital).
On March 4, 2022, the Company entered into an Equity Financing Agreement and Registration Rights Agreement with GHS. Under the terms of the Equity Financing Agreement, GHS agreed to provide the Company with up to Fifteen Million ($15,000,000) upon effectiveness of a registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
| 33 |
The Company agreed to issue 587,039 shares of Common Stock to GHS in consideration for entering into the Equity Finance Agreement valued at $234,522.
On April 24, 2022 the Company issued the second tranche of 200 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and 562,149 warrant shares in accordance with the GHS Securities Purchase Agreement. GHS delivered gross proceeds of $184,000 to the Company (excluding legal fees and a transaction fee charged by Spartan Capital).
On May 25, 2022 the Company issued the third tranche of 100 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and 281,074 warrant shares in accordance with the GHS Securities Purchase Agreement. GHS delivered gross proceeds of $92,000 to the Company (excluding legal fees and a transaction fee charged by Spartan Capital).
On June 24, 2022 the Company issued the fourth tranche of 100 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and 281,074 warrant shares in accordance with the Securities Purchase Agreement. GHS delivered gross proceeds of $92,000 to the Company (excluding legal fees and a transaction fee charged by Spartan Capital).
Proactive Capital Group
On March 9, 2022, the Company entered a Securities Purchase Agreement with Proactive Capital Partners LP (“Proactive”), whereby Proactive agreed to purchase 160 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock.
The Company agreed to issue Proactive commitment shares of 8 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and 472,205 warrant shares (the “Warrant”). Warrant shares represent 75% of the number of shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Warrant Shares”). The Company agreed to register the shares of common stock issuable pursuant to the conversion of the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and the Warrant Shares.
On March 9, 2022, the Company issued 168 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred stock to Proactive Capital Partners LP as per the Securities Purchase Agreement. Proactive delivered gross proceeds of $155,000 to the Company (excluded were legal fees).
Stephen Morris (Founder)
The Company has 2 separate loans from our founder, Stephen Morris, with a balance of $899,309 and $428,177 at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Loan 1.
On May 23, 2022, the Company entered an amendment to the Loan Agreement between Bubblr Limited and Mr. Morris to change the loan from a demand loan to have maturity date on the earlier of (i) the completion of an offering by Bubblr, Inc., in the amount of no less than $7,500,000 in a public offering, or (ii) two years from the date of the amendment.
In addition, on a date no later than five (5) business days from the completion of bridge financing of no less than $1.5 million USD the Company shall pay to Mr. Morris an amount equal to £115,000 GBP as an instalment payment on the principal of the Loan, and the balance of the principal of the Loan shall be paid at the Maturity Date.
On September 6, 2022, the Company entered into a second amendment (the “Amendment”) with Bubblr Limited and Mr. Morris to add $60,000 (£52,088) to the principal of the loan in exchange for Mr. Morris cancelling his Special 2019 Series A Preferred Stock, which has super voting rights.
On December 20, 2022, the Company entered into a third amendment (the “Amendment”) with Bubblr Limited and Mr. Morris to reduce the outstanding principal amount of the loan by $71,540 (£59,543) in exchange for the Company assigning advances receivables of $71,540 (£59,543) whereon Mr. Morris is entitled to amounts received pursuant to such receivables and will bear the risk of non-payment with respect to such receivables. After this assignment, the Company will have no right to receive any amounts collected with respect to such receivables and will have no liability for non-payment of the receivables or any costs of collections.
| 34 |
Loan 2.
On September 7, 2022, our wholly owned subsidiary, Bubblr Limited, entered into a new loan agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) with Mr. Morris for $501,049 (£434,060). The Loan Agreement is unsecured, carries no interest, is non-convertible and is due upon maturity, which is 3 years after the date of the agreement.
The Company received $501,049 and $0 proceeds and made repayments of $0 and $0 during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. The loan principal due was decreased by $11,540 and $66,000 during the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, in regards the sale of the Special 2019 Series A Preferred Stock to Mr. Morris in 2021, and the Company’s subsequent repurchase and cancellation of preferred stock and the assignment of debt during 2022.
Minority Shareholder
On February 18, 2022 the Company entered into a Loan Agreement with minority shareholder for $19,709. The loan was for twelve months and bore interest at a rate of 20% per annum. The Principal of $19,709 and interest of $2,396 was repaid February 18, 2023.
Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates
This discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported expenses incurred during the reporting periods. Our estimates are based on our historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. While our significant accounting policies are described in more detail in the notes to our financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus, we believe that the following accounting policies are critical to understanding our historical and future performance, as these policies relate to the more significant areas involving management’s judgments and estimates.
We believe our most critical accounting policies and estimates relate to the following:
| • | Foreign Currency Translations | |
| • | Intangible Assets | |
| • | Long-lived Assets | |
| • | Income Taxes |
Foreign Currency Translations
The functional currency of the Company’s international subsidiaries is generally their local currency of Great British pounds (GBP). Local currency assets and liabilities are translated at the rates of exchange on the balance sheet date, and local currency revenues and expenses are translated at weighted average rates of exchange during the period. Equity accounts are translated at historical rates. The resulting translation adjustments are recorded directly into accumulated other comprehensive income.
Intangible Assets
The cost of intangible assets with determinable useful lives is amortized to reflect the pattern of economic benefits consumed on a straight-line basis over the estimated periods benefited. Patents, technology and other intangibles with contractual terms are generally amortized over their respective legal or contractual lives. When certain events or changes in operating conditions occur, an impairment assessment is performed and lives of intangible assets with determinable lives may be adjusted.
| 35 |
Long-Lived Assets
Long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be fully recoverable or that the useful lives of these assets are no longer appropriate. Each impairment test is based on a comparison of the undiscounted future cash flows to the recorded value of the asset. If impairment is indicated, the asset is written down to its estimated fair value.
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method in accordance with ASC 740, “Income Taxes”. The asset and liability method provides that deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities and for operating loss and tax credit carry forwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using the currently enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. The Company records a valuation allowance to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount that is believed more likely than not to be realized.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
For discussion of recently issued and adopted accounting pronouncements, please see Note 2 to the audited consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 included herein.
Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of December 31, 2022, there were no off-balance sheet arrangements.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.
Not required for smaller reporting companies.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.
See Index to Financial Statements and Financial Statement Schedules appearing on pages F-1 to F-29 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.
On March 17, 2023, we dismissed Pinnacle Accountancy Group of Utah, a DBA of the PCAOB-registered firm Heaton & Company, PLLC (the “Former Accountant”) as our independent registered public accounting firm and we engaged BF Borgers CPA PC (the “New Accountant”) as our independent registered public accounting firm. The engagement of the New Accountant was approved by our Board of Directors.
We filed a Form 8-K on March 17, 2023 with the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the change in our independent accounting firm.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain “disclosure controls and procedures,” as that term is defined in Rule 13a-15€, promulgated by the SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Disclosure controls and procedures include controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our company’s reports filed under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management, with the participation of our interim CEO who acts as our principal executive officer and our CFO who acts as our principal financial officer, evaluated our company’s disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this annual report on Form 10-K. Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that as of December 31, 2022, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective. The ineffectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures was due to material weaknesses, which we identified, in our report on internal control over financial reporting.
| 36 |
Management’s Report on Internal Controls over Financial Reporting
Our management, including our interim CEO who acts as our principal executive officer and our FO who acts as our principal financial officer, is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act). Our management, with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022. Our management’s evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting was based on the framework in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013), issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, our management concluded that as of December 31, 2022, our internal control over financial reporting was not effective.
The ineffectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting was due to the following material weaknesses which we identified in our internal control over financial reporting:
| (1) | the lack of multiples levels of management review on complex accounting and financial reporting issues, and business transactions; and | |
| (2) | a lack of adequate segregation of duties and necessary corporate accounting resources in our financial reporting process and accounting function as a result of our limited financial resources to support hiring of personnel and implementation of accounting systems. |
We expect to be materially dependent upon third parties to provide us with accounting consulting services related to accounting services for the foreseeable future. We believe this will be sufficient to remediate the material weaknesses related to our accounting discussed above. Until such time as we have an interim chief financial officer with the requisite expertise in U.S. GAAP, there are no assurances that the material weaknesses and significant deficiencies in our disclosure controls and procedures will not result in errors in our consolidated financial statements which could lead to a restatement of those financial statements.
A material weakness is a deficiency or a combination of control deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls
Our interim CEO who acts as our principal executive officer and our CFO who acts as our principal financial officer does not expect that our disclosure controls or our internal control over financial reporting will prevent all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within our company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of a simple error or mistake. Additional controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions; over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
This annual report does not include an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by the company’s registered public accounting firm pursuant to SEC rules that permit us to provide only management’s report on internal control over financial reporting in this annual report on Form 10-K.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There was no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) during the quarter ended December 31, 2022 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION.
None.
ITEM 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.
Not applicable.
| 37 |
PART III
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
The following information sets forth the names, ages, and positions of our current directors and executive officers.
| Name | Age | Positions and Offices Held | ||||
| Stephen Morris | 67 | Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chair | ||||
| David Chetwood | 61 | Chief Financial Officer | ||||
Set forth below is a brief description of the background and business experience of each of our current executive officers and directors.
Stephen Morris
Prior to founding Bubblr in 2015 and working on it full time, Mr. Morris also worked as an agile coach and scrum master consultant at various companies. From July 2017 to June 2018 – he worked at Royal London Group in Edinburgh Scotland. From 2016 to February 2017, he worked for Accenture in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. From January 2016 to October 2016 he worked at Sky Broadcasting in Livingstone, Scotland.
Aside from that provided above, Mr. Morris does not hold and has not held over the past five years any other directorships in any company with a class of securities registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act or subject to the requirements of Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act or any company registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
On May 30, 2022, Mr. Stephen Morris resigned as a member of the board of directors.
On January 25, 2023 Mr. Stephen Morris was appointed to the Board of Directors and Chief Platform Officer.
On February 2, 2023 Mr. Stephen Morris was appointed as interim Chief Executive Officer.
On February 12, 2023 Mr. Stephen Morris was appointed as Chair of our Board of Directors.
Mr. Morris is qualified to serve on our Board of Directors because of his experience and expertise as the creator of the Bubblr concept and Ethos and the founder of Bubblr Ltd in 2014, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bubblr Inc.
David Chetwood
Prior to Joining Bubblr on February 10, 2023 Mr. Chetwood was retired. From 2004 to 2016, Mr. Chetwood worked for over twelve years at Westmont Industries Group in California as CFO Secretary.
Aside from that provided above, Mr. Chetwood does not hold and has not held over the past five years any other directorships in any company with a class of securities registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act or subject to the requirements of Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act or any company registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Term of Office
Our Directors are appointed for a one-year term to hold office until the next annual general meeting of our shareholders or until removed from office in accordance with our bylaws. Our officers are appointed by our board of directors and hold office until removed by the board, subject to their respective employment agreements.
| 38 |
Significant Employees
We have no significant employees other than our officers and directors.
Family Relationships
There are no family relationships between or among the directors, executive officers or persons nominated or chosen by us to become directors or executive officers.
Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings
During the past 10 years, none of our current directors, nominees for directors or current executive officers has been involved in any legal proceeding identified in Item 401(f) of Regulation S-K, including:
| 1. | Any petition under the Federal bankruptcy laws or any state insolvency law filed by or against, or a receiver, fiscal agent or similar officer was appointed by a court for the business or property of such person, or any partnership in which he or she was a general partner at or within two years before the time of such filing, or any corporation or business association of which he or she was an executive officer at or within two years before the time of such filing; |
| 2. | Any conviction in a criminal proceeding or being named a subject of a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offenses); |
| 3. | Being subject to any order, judgment, or decree, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any court of competent jurisdiction, permanently or temporarily enjoining him or her from, or otherwise limiting, the following activities: |
| a. | Acting as a futures commission merchant, introducing broker, commodity trading advisor, commodity pool operator, floor broker, leverage transaction merchant, any other person regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or an associated person of any of the foregoing, or as an investment adviser, underwriter, broker or dealer in securities, or as an affiliated person, director or employee of any investment company, bank, savings and loan association or insurance company, or engaging in or continuing any conduct or practice in connection with such activity; |
| b. | Engaging in any type of business practice; or |
| c. | Engaging in any activity in connection with the purchase or sale of any security or commodity or in connection with any violation of Federal or State securities laws or Federal commodities laws; |
| 4. | Being subject to any order, judgment or decree, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any Federal or State authority barring, suspending or otherwise limiting for more than 60 days the right of such person to engage in any type of business regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, securities, investment, insurance or banking activities, or to be associated with persons engaged in any such activity; |
| 5. | Being found by a court of competent jurisdiction in a civil action or by the SEC to have violated any Federal or State securities law, and the judgment in such civil action or finding by the Commission has not been subsequently reversed, suspended, or vacated; |
| 6. | Being found by a court of competent jurisdiction in a civil action or by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have violated any Federal commodities law, and the judgment in such civil action or finding by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has not been subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated; |
| 7. | Being subject to, or a party to, any Federal or State judicial or administrative order, judgment, decree, or finding, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, relating to an alleged violation of: |
| a. | Any Federal or State securities or commodities law or regulation; or |
| b. | Any law or regulation respecting financial institutions or insurance companies including, but not limited to, a temporary or permanent injunction, order of disgorgement or restitution, civil money penalty or temporary or permanent cease-and-desist order, or removal or prohibition order; or |
| c. | Any law or regulation prohibiting mail or wire fraud or fraud in connection with any business entity; or |
| 8. | Being subject to, or a party to, any sanction or order, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any self-regulatory organization (as defined in Section 3(a)(26) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(26))), any registered entity (as defined in Section 1(a)(29) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1(a)(29))), or any equivalent exchange, association, entity or organization that has disciplinary authority over its members or persons associated with a member. |
| 39 |
Committees of the Board
Our company currently does not have nominating, compensation or audit committees or committees performing similar functions nor does our company have a written nominating, compensation or audit committee charter. Historically, our directors believed that it is not necessary to have such committees because the functions of such committees can be adequately performed by the board of directors.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to, among other persons, our principal executive officers, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, and persons performing similar functions. The Code of Business Conduct is available on our website at www.bubblr.com. Our Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for overseeing the Code of Conduct, and our board of directors must approve any waivers of the Code of Conduct. In addition, we intend to post on our website all disclosures that are required by law concerning any amendments to, or waivers from, any provision of the Code of Conduct.
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.
The table below summarizes all compensation awarded to, earned by, or paid to our former or current executive officers for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
| Name and principal | Year | Salary ($) | Stock | Option | All Other | Total | |
| Position | Bonus | Awards | Awards | Compensation | ($) | ||
| ($) | ($) | ($) | ($) (1)(2) | ||||
| Rik Willard(1) | 2021 | 41,250 | Nil | 418,364 | Nil | Nil | 459,614 |
| CEO and Director | 2022 | 120,750 | Nil | 423,676 | Nil | Nil | 544,426 |
| Steven Saunders(2) | 2021 | 134,116 | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | 134,116 |
| CCO and Director | 2022 | 257,567 | Nil | 235,376 | Nil | Nil | 492,943 |
| Stephen Morris(3) | 2021 | 122,537 | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | 122,537 |
| CTO and Director | 2022 | 122,643 | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | 122,643 |
| Neeta Shah | 2021 | 22,500 | Nil | 110,713 | Nil | Nil | 133,213 |
| CFO | 2022 | 15,000 | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | 15,000 |
| (1) | On January 23, 2023, the Company entered into a Separation Agreement with Mr. Willard. | |
| (2) | On January 23, 2023, the Company entered into a Separation Agreement with Mr. Saunders. | |
| (3) | Mr. Morris resigned as a Director on May 30, 2022. This allowed Mr. Morris to concentrate all of his abilities on the creation of the ethical web platform. On January 25, 2023, Mr. Morris was appointed to the Board of Directors. On February 2, 2023, Mr. Morris was appointed interim Chief Executive Officer. On February 10, 2023, Mr. Morris was appointed Chairperson of the Board of Directors. |
Management Compensation
The Company entered into an employment agreement with Stephen Morris, our Founder and Chief Technology Officer, the term is three years commencing July 1, 2021. Mr. Morris is to receive cash compensation of $144,000 annually. This compensation will be increased to $180,000 annually if $5,000,000 debt or equity funding has been received.
The Company entered into an employment agreement with David Chetwood, our Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Chetwood is to receive cash compensation of $180,000 annually. This compensation will be increased to $360,000 annually if $5,000,000 debt or equity funding has been received. After the initial period Mr. Chetwood is entitled to receive 102,540 shares of common stock and will be eligible to participate in out 2022 Incentive Plan.
| 40 |
On January 31, 2023, we entered into Separation Agreements with Steven Saunders, our then-Chief Commercial Officer, and Rik Willard, our then-Chief Executive Officer, regarding the terms and conditions of their departures from our company.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Separation Agreement with Mr. Saunders and in consideration for a complete release of claims, we agreed as follows:
- As of the date of the Separation Agreement, Mr. Saunders is no longer an officer or director of our company and all prior agreements with Mr. Saunders, including his employment agreement, are terminated in their entirety;
- We agreed to pay a lump sum of $24,000 by February 20, 2023;
- We agreed to pay $73,500 in installments monthly over a period of six months; and
- We agreed to make a final payment of $18,000 due by August 31, 2023.
In addition, Mr Saunders forfeited 3,000,000 non-vested Restricted Stock Units awarded May 31, 2022, under the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Separation Agreement with Mr. Willard and in consideration for a complete release of claims, we agreed as follows:
- As of the date of the Separation Agreement, Mr. Willard is no longer an officer or director of our company and all prior agreements with Mr. Willard, including his employment agreement, are terminated in their entirety;
- We agreed to pay a lump sum of $12,801 by February 20, 2023;
- We agreed to pay $75,806 in installments monthly over a period of six months from February 28, 2023 and continuing until July 31, 2023;
- We agreed to pay $4,806 in installments monthly over a period of six months from August 31, 2023 and continuing until January, 31, 2024;
- We agreed to make a final payment of $18,000 due by September 30, 2024; and
- Our shareholder, Stephen Morris, has agreed to transfer to Mr. Willard 1,750,000 shares of his common stock.
In addition Mr. Willard forfeited 5,400,000 non-vested Restricted Stock Units awarded May 31, 2022, under the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan.
In 2021 the Company entered into a consulting contract employment agreement with Neeta Shah to act as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Mrs. Shah was to receive monthly cash compensation of $7,500 until at least $5,000,000 funding had been received through debt or equity funding, whereas Mrs. Shah would have become a full-time employee on a monthly cash compensation of $15,000. Mrs. Shah was also granted a signing bonus of 102,040 restricted shares, of which 51,020 were issued in October 2021. Ms. Shah was dismissed on January 29, 2022 with one month’s severance of $7,500.
Equity incentive Plan
On May 25, 2022, our board of directors and majority shareholders approved the adoption of the Bubblr, Inc. 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2022 Equity Incentive Plan”) and, unless earlier terminated, will continue until May 25, 2032. A total of 28,400,000 shares of common stock may be issued under the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan through the grant of non-qualified options (the “Non-qualified Options”), incentive options (the “Incentive Options” and together with the Non-qualified Options, the “Options”) and restricted stock (the “Restricted Stock”) restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights (“SARs”) and other equity-based awards to directors, officers, consultants, attorneys, advisors and employees. The purpose of the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan is to foster and promote our long-term financial success and increase stockholder value by motivating performance through incentive compensation. The 2022 Equity Incentive Plan is intended to encourage participants to acquire and maintain ownership interests in our company and to attract and retain the services of talented individuals upon whose judgment and special efforts the successful conduct of our business is largely dependent.
| 41 |
If the employee is terminated for cause or leaves employment before Restricted Stock Units (“RSUs”) have vested, the employee will forfeit the Restricted Stock Units awarded to date.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company issued pursuant to the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan, a total of 8,400,000 RSUs to two Company executives as pursuant to their employment agreements.
The RSUs were valued at $2,259,600, based on the market price of the Company’s common stock on the respective dates of the agreements, which was $0.269 per share, and were to be recognized as compensation expense over their two-year vesting period on a straight-line basis. 4,200,000 shares of performance-based stock compensation were scheduled to vest on each of June 1, 2023 and June 1, 2024, respectively. The Company had elected to treat the award as a single award of 8,400,000 shares that vests ratably over the vesting period.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recorded $659,052 in stock compensation, resulting in $1,600,548 in unrecognized compensation at December 31, 2022. The remaining unvested award was scheduled to vest $1,129,800 and $470,748 during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
The award of 8,400,000 RSUs was forfeited by two Company executives on January 31, 2023 as a result of leaving the Company’s employ before any portion of the award was vested. On that same date, the remaining $1,600,548 of unrecognized stock compensation was expensed in full.
Compensation of Directors
All Directors shall receive reimbursement for reasonable travel expenses incurred to attend Board and committee meetings.
Pension, Retirement or Similar Benefit Plans
There are no arrangements or plans in which we provide pension, retirement or similar benefits to our directors or executive officers. We have no material bonus or profit sharing plans pursuant to which cash or non-cash compensation is or may be paid to our directors or executive officers, except that stock options may be granted at the discretion of the board of directors or a committee thereof.
Health Insurance costs were reimbursed to Steven Saunders and Rik Willard
Indebtedness of Directors, Senior Officers, Executive Officers and Other Management
None of our directors or executive officers or any associate or affiliate of our company during the last two fiscal years is or has been indebted to our company by way of guarantee, support agreement, letter of credit or other similar agreement or understanding currently outstanding.
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.
The following table sets forth, as March 28, 2023, certain information as to shares of our voting stock owned by (i) each person known by us to beneficially own more than 5% of our outstanding voting stock, (ii) each of our directors, and (iii) all of our executive officers and directors as a group.
Unless otherwise indicated below, to our knowledge, all persons listed below have sole voting and investment power with respect to their shares of voting stock, except to the extent authority is shared by spouses under applicable law. Unless otherwise indicated below, each entity or person listed below maintains an address of 21 West 46th Street, New York, New York 10036.
| 42 |
The number of shares beneficially owned by each stockholder is determined under rules promulgated by the SEC. The information is not necessarily indicative of beneficial ownership for any other purpose. Under these rules, beneficial ownership includes any shares as to which the individual or entity has sole or shared voting or investment power and any shares as to which the individual or entity has the right to acquire beneficial ownership within 60 days through the exercise of any stock option, warrant or other right. The inclusion in the following table of those shares, however, does not constitute an admission that the named stockholder is a direct or indirect beneficial owner.
| Common Stock | ||||||||
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner | Number of Shares Owned (1) | Percent of Class (2) | ||||||
| Stephen Morris | 49,808,693 | 31.98 | % | |||||
| David Chetwood | 4,035,000 | 2.59 | % | |||||
| All Directors and Executive Officers as a Group (2 persons) | 53,843,693 | 34.57 | % | |||||
| 5% Holders | Common Stock | |||||||
Number of Shares Owned (1) | Percent of Class (2) | |||||||
| Stephen Morris | 49,808,693 | 31.98 | % | |||||
| All 5% Holders as a Group (1 persons) | 49,808,693 | 31.98 | % | |||||
| (1) | Unless otherwise indicated, each person or entity named in the table has sole voting power and investment power (or shares that power with that person’s spouse) with respect to all shares of voting stock listed as owned by that person or entity. |
| (2) | Pursuant to Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 of the Exchange Act, beneficial ownership includes any shares as to which a shareholder has sole or shared voting power or investment power, and also any shares which the shareholder has the right to acquire within 60 days, including upon exercise of common shares purchase options or warrants. The percent of class is based on 155,738,983 voting shares as of March 28, 2023 . |
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.
Other than described below or the transactions described under the heading “Executive Compensation,” there have not been, and there is not currently proposed, any transaction or series of similar transactions to which we were or will be a participant in which the amount involved exceeded or will exceed the lesser of $120,000 or one percent of the average of our total assets at year-end for the last two completed fiscal years, and in which any director, executive officer, holder of 5% or more of any class of our capital stock or any member of the immediate family of any of the foregoing persons had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.
We have two loans from Stephen Morris, our Founder, totaling $899,309.
The first loan of $374,018 at December 31, 2021 (December 31, 2021: $428,177).
On May 23, 2022, the Company entered an amendment to the Loan Agreement between Bubblr Limited and Mr. Morris to change the loan from a demand loan to have maturity date on the earlier of (i) the completion of an offering by Bubblr, Inc., in the amount of no less than $7,500,000 in a public offering, or (ii) two years from the date of the amendment.
| 43 |
In addition, on a date no later than five (5) business days from the completion of bridge financing of no less than $1.5 million the Company shall pay to Mr. Morris an amount equal to £115,000 GBP as an instalment payment on the principal of the Loan, and the balance of the principal of the Loan shall be paid at the Maturity Date.
On September 6, 2022, the Company entered into a second amendment with Bubblr Limited and Mr. Morris to increase the principal amount of the loan by $60,000 (£52,088)in exchange for Mr. Morris cancelling his Special 2019 Series A Preferred Stock, which carried super voting rights.
On December 20, 2022, the Company entered into a third amendment with Bubblr Limited and Mr. Morris to reduce the outstanding principal amount of the loan by $71,540 (£59,543) in exchange for the Company assigning advances receivables of $71,540 (£59,543)whereon Mr. Morris is entitled to amounts received pursuant to such receivables and will bear the risk of non-payment with respect to such receivables. After this assignment, the Company will have no right to receive any amounts collected with respect to such receivables and will have no liability for non-payment of the receivables or any costs of collections.
On September 7, 2022, our wholly owned subsidiary, Bubblr Limited, entered into a new loan agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) with Mr. Morris for $501,049 (£501,049) The Loan Agreement is unsecured, carries no interest, is non-convertible and is due upon maturity, which is 3 years after the date of the agreement.
On February 15, 2022 the Company received a loan from a minority shareholder for $19,709. The loan bears interest at a rate of 20% and is due for repayment before February 15, 2023.
During the year ended December 2021, the Company received one loan from a minority shareholder of $81,162. The loan is non-interest bearing and due was repaid on April 30, 2022
During the fourth quarter of 2020, the Company received two loans from minority shareholders totaling $297,006. The loan of $245,234 was non-interest bearing and due for repayment on January 31, 2021. The loan of $51,772 carried an original interest rate of 20% and was due for repayment on December 31, 2020. These loans were repaid in full during the year ended December 31, 2021.
Director Independence
The Board of Directors is currently composed of two members. None of them qualify as independent in accordance with the published listing requirements of the NASDAQ Global Market. The NASDAQ independence definition includes a series of objective tests, such as that the Director is not, and has not been for at least three years, one of the Company’s employees and that neither the Director, nor any of his family members has engaged in various types of business dealings with us.
Indemnification
Our Articles of Incorporation contain provisions that eliminate the liability of our directors for monetary damages to our Company and shareholders. Our bylaws also require us to indemnify our officers and directors. We may also have contractual indemnification obligations under our agreements with our directors, officers and employees. The foregoing indemnification obligations could result in our company incurring substantial expenditures to cover the cost of settlement or damage awards against directors, officers and employees that we may be unable to recoup. These provisions and resulting costs may also discourage our company from bringing a lawsuit against directors, officers and employees for breaches of their fiduciary duties, and may similarly discourage the filing of derivative litigation by our shareholders against our directors, officers and employees even though such actions, if successful, might otherwise benefit our Company and shareholders.
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.
On March 17, 2023, our Board of Directors agreed to dismiss the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, Pinnacle Accountancy Group of Utah, a DBA of the PCAOB-registered firm Heaton & Company, PLLC (the “Former Accountant”), effective as of March 17, 2023. Also on March 17, 2023, the Company engaged the accounting firm of BF Borgers CPA PC (the “New Accountant”) as the Company’s new independent registered public accounting firm. The Board approved of the dismissal of the Former Accountant and the engagement of the New Accountant. The following table sets forth the fees billed to our company for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 for professional services rendered by our independent registered public accounting firms:
| Fees | 2021 | 2022 | ||||||
| Audit Fees | $ | 37,500 | $ | 50,000 | ||||
| Audit-Related Fees | ||||||||
| Tax Fees | ||||||||
| All Other Fees | 3,750 | |||||||
| Total | $ | 37,500 | $ | 53,750 | ||||
| 44 |
Audit Fees
Audit fees were for professional services rendered for the audits of our annual financial statements and for review of our quarterly financial statements during the 2022 and 2021 fiscal years. The audit fee for our December 31, 2022 financial statements was $29,000. Of which $21,000 was incurred by our Former Accountant and $8,000 with our New Accountant.
Audit-related Fees
This category consists of assurance and related services by the independent registered public accounting firm that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported above under “Audit Fees”.
Tax Fees
As our independent registered public accountants did not provide any services to us for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, no tax fees were billed or paid during those fiscal years.
All Other Fees
The Former Accountants reviewed all Form S-1’s prior to submission to the Securities and Exchange commission by the Company during the 2022 fiscal year.
Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures
Our board of directors, which acts as our audit committee, pre-approves all services provided by our independent auditors. All of the above services and fees were reviewed and approved by our board of directors before the respective services were rendered.
Our board of directors has considered the nature and amount of fees billed by our independent registered public accounting firm and believe that the provision of services for activities unrelated to the audit is compatible with maintaining their respective independence.
| 45 |
PART IV
ITEM 15. EXHIBIT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.
(a) 1. Financial Statements
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
| Report of Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm - BF Borgers CPA PC (ID |
F-1 |
| Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting
Firm - Pinnacle Accountancy Group of Utah (ID |
F-2 |
| Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021; | F-3 |
| Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021; | F-4 |
| Consolidated Statement of Stockholders’ Equity as of December 31, 2022 and 2021; | F-5 |
| Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021; and | F-6 |
| Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. | F-7 |
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
| 46 |
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the shareholders and the board of directors of Bubblr, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Bubblr, Inc. (the "Company") as of December 31, 2022, the related statement of operations, stockholders' equity (deficit), and cash flows for the year then ended, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
Substantial Doubt about the Company’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company’s significant operating losses raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
Critical audit matters are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or are required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments.
We determined that there are no critical audit matters.
/s BF Borgers CPA PC
We have served as the Company's auditor since 2023
March 29, 2023
| F-1 |
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders
Bubblr Inc.
New York, NY
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Bubblr Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 2021, and the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, changes in stockholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for the year then ended, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the financial statements). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Going Concern Considerations
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. The Company has suffered recurring losses since inception and has not achieved profitable operations, which raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
Going Concern – Disclosure
The financial statements of the Company are prepared on a going concern basis, which assumes that the Company will continue in operation for the foreseeable future and, accordingly, will be able to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of operations. As noted in “Going Concern Considerations” above, the Company has a history of recurring net losses, a significant accumulated deficit and currently has net working capital deficit. The Company has contractual obligations, such as commitments for repayments of accounts payable, accrued liabilities, loans payable, convertible notes payable, and related party loans (collectively “obligations”). Currently, management’s forecasts and related assumptions illustrate their intent to meet the obligations through management of expenditures, implementation of planned business operations, obtaining additional debt financing, and issuance of capital stock for additional funding to meet its operating needs. Should there be constraints on the ability to implement its planned business operations or access financing through stock issuances, the Company will continue to manage cash outflows and meet the obligations through debt financing.
We identified management’s assessment of the Company’s intent and ability to continue as a going concern as a critical audit matter. Management made judgments to assess the Company’s intent and ability to effectively implement its plans and provide the necessary cash flows to fund the Company’s obligations as they become due. Specifically, the judgments with the highest degree of impact and subjectivity in determining the Company’s intent and ability to effectively implement its plans include its ability to manage expenditures, access funding from the capital market, obtain debt financing, and successfully implement its planned business operations. Auditing the judgments made by management required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of audit effort.
Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the financial statements. These procedures included the following, among others: evaluating the probability that the Company will be able to (i) access funding from the capital market; (ii) manage expenditures (iii) obtain debt financing, and (iv) implement its planned business operations.
Pinnacle Accountancy Group of Utah
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
(a dba of Heaton & Company, PLLC)
March 31, 2022
| F-2 |
| BUBBLR INC. |
| Consolidated Balance Sheets |
|
December 31, 2022 and 2021 |
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| Current Assets: | ||||||||
| Cash | $ | $ | ||||||
| Other receivables | ||||||||
| Advances receivable | ||||||||
| Total current assets | ||||||||
| Non-current Assets: | ||||||||
| Property and equipment, net | ||||||||
| Intangible assets, net | ||||||||
| Total non-current assets | ||||||||
| TOTAL ASSETS | $ | $ | ||||||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (DEFICIT) | ||||||||
| Current Liabilities: | ||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | $ | ||||||
| Accrued liabilities | ||||||||
| Loan payable, current portion | ||||||||
| Loan payable - related party | ||||||||
| Total current liabilities | ||||||||
| Non-current Liabilities: | ||||||||
| Convertible note payable - net of discount of $ | ||||||||
| Loan payable, non-current portion | ||||||||
| Loan payable – related party, non-current portion | ||||||||
| Warrant derivative liability | ||||||||
| Total non-current liabilities | ||||||||
| Total Liabilities | ||||||||
| Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) | ||||||||
| Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, par value, authorized, and shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2022 and 2021 | ||||||||
| Common stock, par value, shares authorized; and shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2022 and 2021 | ||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | ||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | ||||||||
| Total Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) | ( | ) | ||||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (DEFICIT) | $ | $ | ||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
| F-3 |
| BUBBLR INC. |
| Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss |
| For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 |
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Operating Expenses | ||||||||
| General and administrative | $ | $ | ||||||
| Professional fees | ||||||||
| Market and regulation costs | ||||||||
| Compensation | ||||||||
| Amortization and depreciation | ||||||||
| Research and development | ||||||||
| Total operating expense | ||||||||
| Operating loss | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Other income (expense) | ||||||||
| Other income | ||||||||
| Interest income | ||||||||
| Gain on debt settlement | ||||||||
| Interest expense | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Gain on change in fair value of warrant derivative liability | ||||||||
| Foreign currency transaction loss | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Total other income (expense) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Net loss before income tax | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
| Provision for income tax | ||||||||
| Net loss after income tax | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
| Other comprehensive income (loss) | ||||||||
| Foreign currency translation gain | ||||||||
| Total other comprehensive income (loss) | ||||||||
| Net comprehensive loss | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
| Net loss per common share, basic and diluted | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
| Weighted average number of common shares outstanding, basic and diluted | ||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
| F-4 |
BUBBLR INC.
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)
For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
| 2019
Series A Preferred Stock | Series
B Preferred Stock | Series
C Convertible Preferred Stock | Common Stock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of Shares | Amount | Number of Shares | Amount | Number of Shares | Amount | Number of Shares | Amount | Additional
Paid-in Capital | Accumulated Deficit | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) | Treasury Stock | Total Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance - December 31, 2020 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common shares for conversion of Preferred B shares | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common shares for Services - Advisory Board | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common shares for services – Consulting | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Special 2019 Series A Preferred Stock to related party in satisfaction of debt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common shares for debt conversion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common shares for note conversion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive income | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance - December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common shares for Services - -Executive Board | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common shares for Services – Consulting | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common shares for Equity Finance Agreement Incentive | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common shares for debt conversion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common shares for loan waiver | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common shares for note conversion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common shares for Series C Preferred Shares Dividend | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Series C Preferred Shares | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Repurchase and cancellation of Special 2019 Series A Preferred Stock via issuance of related party note payable | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vesting of restricted stock units | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series C Preferred Shares Dividend | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive income | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance -December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
| F-5 |
| Bubblr Inc. |
|
Consolidated Statements of Cashflows For the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 |
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
| Adjustments for: | ||||||||
| Net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||
| Stock based compensation | ||||||||
| Vesting of restricted stock units | ||||||||
| Stock based finance incentive | ||||||||
| Gain on settlement of debt | ( | ) | ||||||
| Gain on change in fair value of warrant derivative liability | ( | ) | ||||||
| Amortization of debt discount | ||||||||
| Amortization of intangible asset | ||||||||
| Depreciation | ||||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
| (Increase) decrease in other receivables | ( | ) | ||||||
| Increase (decrease) in accounts payable | ( | ) | ||||||
| Increase in accrued liabilities | ||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Cash flows from investing activities | ||||||||
| Purchase of fixed assets | ( | ) | ||||||
| Proceeds from repayment of advances receivable | ||||||||
| Purchase of intangible assets | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Cash flows from financing activities | ||||||||
| Payment of dividends | ( | ) | ||||||
| Proceeds from loans payable | ||||||||
| Repayment of loans payable | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Proceeds from loans payable - related party | ||||||||
| Repayment of loans payable - related party | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Net proceeds from issuance of Series C Preferred Stock and associated warrants | ||||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of convertible notes payable | ||||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | ||||||||
| Effects of exchange rate changes on cash | ||||||||
| Net Change in Cash | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Cash - Beginning of Period | ||||||||
| Cash - End of Period | $ | $ | ||||||
| Supplemental information: | ||||||||
| Cash paid for interest | $ | $ | ||||||
| Cash paid for taxes | $ | $ | ||||||
| Non-cash investing and financing activities | ||||||||
| Original issue discount on convertible notes | $ | $ | ||||||
| Common stock issued for conversion of debt | $ | $ | ||||||
| Special 2019 Series A Preferred Stock issued to/from Treasury to related party in increase/satisfaction of debt | $ | $ | ||||||
| Common stock issued to related party for conversion of Series B Preferred Stock | $ | $ | ||||||
| Warrant liability | $ | $ | ||||||
| Declared dividends | $ | $ | ||||||
| Repurchase and cancellation of Special 2019 Series A Preferred Stock via issuance of related party note payable | $ | $ | ||||||
| Assignment of advances repayable to debt payable | $ | $ | ||||||
| Common stock issued for conversion of notes | $ | $ | ||||||
| Common stock issued in satisfaction of dividend payable | $ | $ | ||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
| F-6 |
BUBBLR, INC.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
December 31, 2022 and 2021
NOTE 1 - ORGANIZATION, BUSINESS AND LIQUIDITY
Organization and Operations
On March
26, 2020, Bubblr Holdings Ltd. (a UK company formed on February 18, 2016) merged into U.S. Wireless Online, Inc. (“UWRL”),
a Wyoming corporation formed on
Bubblr, Inc. is an application software company that is currently developing its disruptive Ethical Web platform This WEB.Ɛ platform will provide a holistic view of progress in the development of digital products, services and teams — designed to inform our ability to use our in-house and code and that of our partners, lead advances in development criteria, and respond quickly to shifts in trends and applications.
Going Concern Matters
The accompanying
consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States
of America (“GAAP”), which contemplates the Company’s continuation as a going concern. The Company incurred a net comprehensive
loss of $
Management intends to raise additional operating funds through equity and/or debt offerings. However, there can be no assurance management will be successful in its endeavors. (see Note 15 – Subsequent Events).
There are no assurances that the Company will be able to either (1) achieve a level of revenues adequate to generate sufficient cash flow from operations; or (2) obtain additional financing through either private placement, public offerings and/or bank financing necessary to support its working capital requirements. To the extent that funds generated from operations and any private placements, public offerings and/or bank financing are insufficient, the Company will have to raise additional working capital. No assurance can be given that additional financing will be available, or if available, will be on terms acceptable to the Company. If adequate working capital is not available to the Company, it may be required to curtail or cease its operations.
Due to uncertainties related to these matters, there exists a substantial doubt about the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments related to the recoverability or classification of asset-carrying amounts or the amounts and classification of liabilities that may result should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.
COVID-19
A novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) was first identified in December 2019, and subsequently declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. As a result of the outbreak, many companies have experienced disruptions in their operations and in markets served. The Company instituted some temporary precautionary measures intended to help ensure the well-being of its employees and minimize business disruption. The Company considered the impact of COVID-19 on the assumptions and estimates used and determined that there were no material adverse impacts on the Company’s results of operations and financial position as of at December 31, 2022.
Most of the restrictions imposed by governments worldwide have now been relaxed. The Company is not aware of any specific event or circumstance that would require an update to its estimates or judgments or a revision of the carrying value of its assets or liabilities at the date of issuance of these financial statements. These estimates may change, as new events occur, and additional information is obtained.
| F-7 |
NOTE 2 - SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The Company’s fiscal year-end is December 31.
Principles of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries: Bubblr Holdings Ltd., Bubblr Ltd., and Bubblr CLN Ltd. All significant inter-company balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Some of these judgments can be subjective and complex, and, consequently, actual results may differ from these estimates.
Convertible Financial Instruments
The Company bifurcates conversion options from their host instruments and accounts for them as free-standing derivative financial instruments if certain criteria are met. The criteria include circumstances in which (a) the economic characteristics and risks of the embedded derivative instrument are not clearly and closely related to the economic characteristics and risks of the host contract, (b) the hybrid instrument that embodies both the embedded derivative instrument and the host contract is not remeasured at fair value under otherwise applicable generally accepted accounting principles with changes in fair value reported in earnings as they occur, and (c) a separate instrument with the same terms as the embedded derivative instrument would be considered a derivative instrument. The Company uses the Black Scholes Options Pricing Model to estimate the value of its derivative liabilities and remeasures them at each reporting period.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The Company accounts for financial instruments in accordance with ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” which establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). The three levels of the fair value hierarchy under ASC 820 are described below:
Level 1 – Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities.
Level 2 – Quoted prices in non-active markets or in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, observable inputs other than quoted prices, and inputs that are not directly observable but are corroborated by observable market data;
Level 3 – Prices or valuations that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable.
The carrying
value of the Company’s current assets and liabilities are deemed to be their fair value due to the short-term maturity and realization.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company acquired warrant derivative liabilities, which are Level 3 financial instruments
that are adjusted to fair market value on reporting dates. At December 31, 2022, the warrant liabilities balance was $
| F-8 |
The Company accounts for stock-based compensation in accordance with ASC Topic 718, “Compensation–Stock Compensation,” which prescribes accounting and reporting standards for all share-based payment transactions in which employee and non-employee services are acquired. Share-based payments to employees and non-employees, including grants of stock options, are recognized as compensation expense in the financial statements based on the stock awards’ fair values on the grant date. That expense is recognized over the period required to provide services in exchange for the award, known as the requisite service period (usually the vesting period). Restricted stock units (“RSUs”) issued as compensation in accordance with the Company’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (see Note 13 – Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)) are deemed to be unissued until fully vested. RSU compensation is recognized as expense over the vesting period, with any unrecognized compensation expensed immediately upon forfeiture of the award due to unfulfillment of obligations, such as termination of employment, prior to the award being fully vested.
Common Stock Purchase Warrants and Derivative Financial Instruments
Common stock purchase warrants and other derivative financial instruments are classified as equity if the contracts (1) require physical settlement or net-share settlement, or (2) give the Company a choice of net-cash settlement or settlement in its own shares (physical settlement or net-share settlement). Contracts which (1) require net-cash settlement (including a requirement to net cash settle the contract if an event occurs and if that event is outside the control of the Company), (2) give the counterparty a choice of net-cash settlement or settlement in shares (physical settlement or net-share settlement), or (3) that contain reset provisions that do not qualify for the scope exception are classified as liabilities. The Company assesses classification of its common stock purchase warrants and other derivatives at each reporting date to determine whether a change in classification between equity and liabilities is required.
Pursuant to ASC 260, “Earnings Per Share,” basic net income and net loss per share are computed by dividing the net income and net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted net income and net loss per share is the same as basic net income and net loss per share when their inclusion would have an anti-dilutive effect due to our continuing net losses.
For the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the following outstanding stock equivalents were excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share, as the result of the computation was anti-dilutive.
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| (Shares) | (Shares) | |||||||
| Series C Preferred Stock | ||||||||
| Warrants | ||||||||
| Convertible Notes | ||||||||
| Total | ||||||||
Leases
We determine if an arrangement is a lease at inception. Operating leases are included in operating lease right-of-use (“ROU”) assets, operating lease liabilities - current, and operating lease liabilities - noncurrent on the balance sheets. Finance leases are included in property and equipment, other current liabilities, and other long-term liabilities in our balance sheets.
ROU assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating lease ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As most of our leases do not provide an implicit rate, we generally use our incremental borrowing rate based on the estimated rate of interest for collateralized borrowing over a similar term of the lease payments at commencement date. The operating lease ROU asset also includes any lease payments made and excludes lease incentives. Our lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise that option. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.
The Company leases office space that meets the definition of a short-term lease because the lease term is 12 months or less. Consequently, consistent with Company’s accounting policy election, the Company does not recognize the right-of-use asset and the lease liability arising from this lease.
| F-9 |
Intangible Assets
The cost of intangible assets with determinable useful lives is amortized to reflect the pattern of economic benefits consumed on a straight-line basis over the estimated periods benefited. Patents, technology and other intangibles with contractual terms are generally amortized over their respective legal or contractual lives. When certain events or changes in operating conditions occur, an impairment assessment is performed and lives of intangible assets with determinable lives may be adjusted.
Research and Development
Research and Development costs are evaluated by the Company to determine if they meet the requirements to be capitalized as intellectual property. The criteria the Company uses to determine the treatment of research and development are:
| • | There is a clearly defined project |
| • | Expenditure is separately identifiable |
| • | The project is commercially viable |
| • | The project is technically feasible |
| • | Project income is expected to outweigh cost |
| • | Resources are available to complete the project |
Any research and development costs that do not meet the requirements are expensed in the period in which they occur.
United Kingdom tax incentive reduces company Research and Development costs by offering tax offsets for eligible Research and Development expenditure. Eligible companies with a turnover of less than $20 million receive a refundable tax offset, allowing the benefit to be paid as a cash refund if they are in a tax loss position.
For the years
ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company received other income of $
Long-Lived Assets
Long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be fully recoverable or that the useful lives of these assets are no longer appropriate. Each impairment test is based on a comparison of the undiscounted future cash flows to the recorded value of the asset. If impairment is indicated, the asset is written down to its estimated fair value.
Property and Equipment
Property and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method. The depreciation and amortization methods are designed to amortize the cost of the assets over their estimated useful lives, in years, of the respective assets as follows:
| Computer equipment | ||||
| Fixtures and Furniture | ||||
| Vehicles |
Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. Improvements of a major nature are capitalized. At the time of retirement or other disposition of property and equipment, the cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any gains or losses are reflected in income.
| F-10 |
Beneficial Conversion Feature
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, ASC Subtopic 470-20 “Debt—Debt with “Conversion and Other Options” and ASC subtopic 815-40 “Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity.” The standard reduced the number of accounting models for convertible debt instruments and convertible preferred stock. Convertible instruments that continue to be subject to separation models are (1) those with embedded conversion features that are not clearly and closely related to the host contract, that meet the definition of a derivative, and that do not qualify for a scope exception from derivative accounting; and, (2) convertible debt instruments issued with substantial premiums for which the premiums are recorded as paid-in capital. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted, but no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company early-adopted the new guidance on January 1, 2021. As the result of the adoption of this ASU, no beneficial conversion feature was recorded on convertible notes described in Note 8 – Convertible Notes Payable.
Foreign Currency Translations
The functional currency of the Company’s international subsidiaries is generally their local currency of Great British pounds (GBP). Local currency assets and liabilities are translated at the rates of exchange on the balance sheet date, and local currency revenues and expenses are translated at weighted average rates of exchange during the period. Equity accounts are translated at historical rates. The resulting translation adjustments are recorded directly into accumulated other comprehensive income.
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Year-end GBP£:US$ exchange rate | ||||||||
| Annual average GBP£:US$ exchange rate | ||||||||
Aggregate transaction gains or losses,
including gains or losses related to foreign-denominated cash and cash equivalents and the re-measurement of certain inter-company balances,
are included in the statement of operations as other income and expense. Losses on foreign exchange transactions totaling $
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method in accordance with ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” The asset and liability method provides that deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities and for operating loss and tax credit carry forwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using the currently enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. The Company records a valuation allowance to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount that is believed more likely than not to be realized.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company did not have any amounts recorded pertaining to uncertain tax positions.
UK Taxes
We do not consider ourselves to be engaged in a trade or business in the UK and, as such, do not expect to be subject to UK corporate income taxation. We have subsidiaries based in the UK that are subject to the tax laws of that country. Under current law, those subsidiaries are taxed at the applicable corporate income tax rates. Should any UK subsidiaries be deemed to undertake business activities in the US, they would be subject to US corporate income tax in respect of their US activities only. Relief would then be available against the UK tax liabilities in respect of the overseas taxes arising from US activities. At present, this is not applicable as our UK subsidiaries only undertake activities in the UK. Our UK subsidiaries file separate UK income tax returns.
| F-11 |
UK Tax Risk
Companies which are incorporated outside the UK may become subject to UK taxes in a number of circumstances, including circumstances in which (1) they are deemed resident in the UK for tax purposes by reason of their central management and control being exercised from the UK or (2) they are treated as carrying on a trade, investing or carrying on any other business activity in the UK, whether or not through a UK Permanent Establishment (“PE”).
In addition, the Finance Act 2015 introduced a new tax known as the diverted profits tax (“DPT”) which is charged at 25% of any “taxable diverted profits.” The DPT has had effect since April 1, 2015 and may apply in circumstances including: (1) where arrangements are designed to ensure that a non-UK resident company does not carry on a trade in the UK through a PE; and (2) where a tax reduction is obtained through the involvement of entities or transactions lacking economic substance. We intend to operate in such a manner that none of our companies should be subject to the UK DPT and that none of our companies (other than those companies incorporated in the UK) should: (1) be treated as resident in the UK for tax purposes; (2) carry on a trade, invest or carry on any other business activity in the UK (whether or not through a UK PE).
However, this result is based on certain legal and factual determinations, and since the scope and the basis upon which the DPT will be applied by HM Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”) in the UK remains uncertain and since applicable law and regulations do not conclusively define the activities that constitute conducting a trade, investment or business activity in the UK (whether or not through a UK PE), and since we cannot exclude the possibility that there will be a change in law that adversely affects the analysis, HMRC might successfully assert a contrary position. The terms of an income tax treaty between the UK and the home country of the relevant Bubblr subsidiary, if any, could contain additional protections against UK tax.
Any arrangements between UK-resident entities of Bubblr and other entities of Bubblr are subject to the UK transfer pricing regime. Consequently, if any agreement between a UK resident entity of Bubblr and any other Bubblr entity (whether that entity is resident in or outside of the UK) is found not to be on arm’s length terms and as a result a UK tax advantage is being obtained, an adjustment will be required to compute UK taxable profits as if such an agreement were on arm’s length terms. Any transfer pricing adjustment could adversely impact the tax charge incurred by the relevant UK resident entities of Bubblr.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
The Company has reviewed all recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements and does not believe the future adoption of any such pronouncements may be expected to cause a material impact on our financial statements.
NOTE 3 – OTHER RECEIVABLES
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, other receivables consisted of the following:
| December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Deposit | $ | $ | ||||||
| UK VAT receivable | ||||||||
| Prepayments | ||||||||
| Total other receivables | $ | $ | ||||||
The
UK company moved premises in the year and $
| F-12 |
NOTE 4 – ADVANCES RECEIVABLE
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, cash advances receivable consisted of the following:
| December 31, | December 31, | ||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||
| Advance receivable - G | $ | $ | |||||
| Advance receivable - J | |||||||
| Repayment received | ( | ) | |||||
| Interest due | |||||||
| Assignment of receivable | ( | ) | |||||
| Effects of Currency translation | ( | ) | |||||
| Total advances receivable | $ | $ | |||||
The advance labelled Advance principal receivable-G
carries an interest rate of
On December 20, 2022, our founder, Mr. Stephen Morris,
came to agreement with the Company to have all risks and responsibilities in connection to the collection of the advances assigned to
him. As a result, the loan payable to Mr. Morris was reduced by the same amount of $
NOTE 5 - PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, property and equipment consisted of the following:
| Motor Vehicles | Computer Equipment | Office Equipment | Total | |||||||||||||
| Cost | ||||||||||||||||
| At December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Additions | ||||||||||||||||
| Effects of currency translation | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| At December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Less accumulated depreciation | ||||||||||||||||
| At December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation expense | ||||||||||||||||
| Effects of currency translation | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| At December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Net book value | ||||||||||||||||
| At December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| At December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021,
the Company recorded purchases of $
| F-13 |
NOTE 6 - INTANGIBLE ASSETS
Patents
A Patent on the Internet-Search Mechanism (“IBSM”) has been granted in the United States, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand. and Australia. The patent is currently pending in the European Union and the United Kingdom.
A Patent entitled “Contextual Enveloping Via Dynamically Generated Hyperlinking.” (US Patent Application No. 17/980,298) has been filed. This will define an alternative mobile search system purely for information rather than goods and service, which our original patent covers.
Patents are reported at cost, less accumulated
amortization and accumulated impairment loss. Costs includes expenditure that is directly attributable to the acquisition of the asset.
Once a patent is providing economic benefit to the Company, amortization is provided on a straight-line basis on all patents over their
expected useful lives of
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property represents capitalized
costs of the Company’s qualifying internal research and developments. Intellectual property is amortized over its useful
life of
Trademarks
The Company has the following trademarks.
| Mark | Category | Proprietor | Country | Class(es) | Status | Reg. Date. | File No. |
| CITIZENS JOURNALIST | Words | Bubblr Limited | European Union | 9 38 | REGISTERED | 16-Nov-2019 | 206382.EM.01 |
| CITIZENS JOURNALIST | Word | Bubblr Limited | United Kingdom | 9 38 | REGISTERED | 05-Jul-2019 | 206382.GB.01 |
| CITIZENS JOURNALIST | Words | Bubblr Limited | United Kingdom | 9 38 | REGISTERED | 16-Nov-2019 | 206382.GB.02 |
| CITIZENS JOURNALIST | Word | Bubblr Limited | United States | 9 38 41 42 | REGD-DEC USE | 08-Feb-2022 | 206382.US.01 |
 |
Words and Colour Device | Bubblr Limited | European Union | 9 38 | REGISTERED | 16-Nov-2019 | 206383.EM.01 |
 |
Series of Logos | Bubblr Limited | United Kingdom | 9 38 | REGISTERED | 05-Jul-2019 | 206383.GB.01 |
|
Words and Colour Device | Bubblr Limited | United Kingdom | 9 38 | REGISTERED | 16-Nov-2019 | 206383.GB.02 |
 |
Words and Device | Bubblr Limited | United States | 9 38 41 42 | ACCEPTED | 206383.US.01 | |
| BAU NOT OK/BAU Not OK | Series of Marks | Bubblr Limited | United Kingdom | 9 38 | REGISTERED | 11-Oct-2019 | 208674.GB.01 |
| NEWZMINE/NewzMine | Series of Marks | Bubblr Limited | United Kingdom | 9 38 42 | REGISTERED | 25-Dec-2020 | 227753.GB.01 |
The Company capitalizes trademark costs where the likelihood of acceptance is expected. Each trademark has been determined to have an infinite useful life and is assessed each reporting period for impairment. If there has been a reduction in the value of the trademark or if the trademark is not successfully registered, the asset will be impaired and charged to expense in the period of impairment.
| F-14 |
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, trademarks consisted of the following:
| December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Trademarks: | ||||||||
| NewzMineTM | $ | $ | ||||||
| Citizens Journalist™ | ||||||||
| Effects of currency translation | ( | ) | ||||||
| $ | $ | |||||||
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, intangible assets consisted of the following:
| Cost | Patents | Trademarks | Intellectual Property | Capitalized Acquisition Costs | Total | |||||||||||||||
| At December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
| Additions | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Effects of currency translation | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| At December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
| Less accumulated amortization | ||||||||||||||||||||
| At December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
| Amortization expense | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Effects of currency translation | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| At December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
| Net book value | ||||||||||||||||||||
| At December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
| At December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
During the year ended December 30, 2022 and 2021,
the Company purchased $
| Year ended December 31, | Patents | Intellectual Property | Capitalized Acquisition Costs | Total | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2027 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Thereafter | ||||||||||||||||||
| $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
| F-15 |
NOTE 7 – ACCRUED LIABILITIES
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, accrued liabilities consisted of the following:
| December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Accrued Interest | $ | $ | ||||||
| Dividend Payable | ||||||||
| Payroll Payable | ||||||||
| Total accrued liabilities | $ | $ | ||||||
NOTE 8 - CONVERTIBLE NOTES PAYABLE
In January 2021, the Company commenced an offering
for a convertible promissory note. The offering closed June 30, 2021. Funds raised during the six months ended June 30, 2021 totaled $
Interest accrual and debt discount amortization commenced July 1, 2021 upon the closing of the convertible promissory note offering.
In November 2021 the Company commenced an offering
for a convertible promissory note. The offering closed November 5, 2021. Funds raised as of November 5, 2021 totaled $
Interest accrual commenced December 1, 2021 upon the closing of the convertible promissory note offering.
| F-16 |
On September 1, 2022 the note holders of the convertible promissory note issued June 30, 2021 and November 5, 2021 passed, by a majority, an amendment of Section 6 of the Notes.
Section 6 of each of the Notes is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:
On December 15, 2022, the note holders of the convertible promissory note issued June 30, 2021 and November 5, 2021 passed, by a majority, an amendment of Section 6 of the Notes.
Section 6 of each of the Notes is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:
There were no accounting ramifications as a result of the above amendments.
At December 31, 2022 and 2021, convertible notes consisted of the following.
| December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Promissory notes - issued in fiscal year 2021 | $ | $ | ||||||
| Total convertible notes payable | ||||||||
| Less: unamortized debt discount | ( | ) | ||||||
| Less: notes converted to common stock | ( | ) | ||||||
| Less: current portion of convertible notes | ||||||||
| Long-term convertible notes | $ | $ | ||||||
| F-17 |
During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021,
the Company recorded interest expense of $
| December 31, | |||
| 2022 | |||
| Convertible notes payable | $ | ||
| Interest due on notes | |||
| Total convertible notes payable | $ | ||
| Common shares issued at voluntary conversion rate of $ |
|||
During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company
converted the 2019 note of $
NOTE 9 – LOAN PAYABLE
On February 4, 2022 the Company issued a promissory
note for the principal sum of $
The Company has purchased a vehicle under a capital
finance arrangement. The term of this loan is
At December 31, 2022, future minimum payments under the loan, are as follows:
| Total | ||||
| 2023 | $ | |||
| 2024 | ||||
| Thereafter | ||||
| Less: Imputed interest | ( | ) | ||
| Loan payable | ||||
| Loan payable – current | ||||
| Loan payable - non-current | $ | |||
NOTE 10 - RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Loans from Related Parties
The Company has a loan from
our founder, Stephen Morris, with a balance of $
Loan 1.
| F-18 |
On September
6, 2022, the Company entered into a second amendment (the “Amendment”) with Bubblr Limited and Mr. Morris to add $
On December 20, 2022, the
Company entered into a third amendment (the “Amendment”) with Bubblr Limited and Mr.
Morris to reduce the outstanding principal amount of the loan by $
Loan 2.
On September
7, 2022, our wholly owned subsidiary, Bubblr Limited, entered into a new loan agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) with Mr. Morris
for $
The Company received $
| Year Ended December 31, | Year Ended December 31, | |||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Beginning balance | $ | $ | ||||||
| Effects of currency translation | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Loan Payable | ||||||||
| Conversions from (into) preferred stock | ( | ) | ||||||
| Assignment of advances receivable | ( | ) | ||||||
| Balance – current | $ | $ | ||||||
| Add: additions – non-current | $ | $ | ||||||
| Effects of currency translation | ||||||||
| Balance – non-current | $ | $ | ||||||
| Ending balance | $ | $ | ||||||
At December 31, 2020, the Company had loans from two minority shareholders totaling . During the fourth quarter of 2021, the Company received an additional loan from one of these minority shareholders totalling . The loan is non-interest bearing and due for repayment on . Agreement was reached to extend repayment of the loan to April 30, 2022, with no penalties. All outstanding amounts were paid by this date. On February 15, 2022 the Company received a loan from a minority shareholder for . The loan bears interest at a rate of and is due for repayment before . During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company received proceeds on these loans of and , respectively, made repayments of and , respectively, and accrued interest of and , respectively. Activity on this loan to arrive at the December 31, 2022 and 2021 balances is as follows:
| F-19 |
| December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Beginning balance | $ | $ | ||||||
| Effects of currency translation | ( | ) | ||||||
| Loan Payable | ||||||||
| Add: additions | ||||||||
| Less: repayments | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Ending balance | $ | $ | ||||||
NOTE 11 - WARRANT LIABILITY
The Company analyzed the warrants issued in connection with the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock (see Note 13) for derivative accounting consideration under ASC 815, “Derivatives and Hedging,” and determined that the instrument should be classified as a liability due to reset provisions and variability in exercise price resulting in there being no fixed value or explicit limit to the number of shares to be delivered upon exercise.
ASC 815 requires we assess the fair market value of derivative liability at the end of each reporting period and recognize any change in the fair market value as other income or expense item.
The Company determined our warrant liabilities to be a Level 3 fair value measurement during the year based on management’s estimate of the expected future cash flows required to settle the liabilities and used the Black Scholes pricing model to calculate the fair value as of December 31, 2022. The Black Scholes model requires six basic data inputs: the exercise or strike price, time to expiration, the risk-free interest rate, the current stock price, the estimated volatility of the stock price in the future, and the dividend rate. Changes to these inputs could produce a significantly higher or lower fair value measurement. The fair value of each warrant is estimated using the Black Scholes valuation model.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, the estimated fair values of the warrant liabilities measured on a recurring basis are as follows:
| Year Ended | |||
| December 31, | |||
| 2022 | |||
| Expected term | - years | ||
| Expected average volatility | - | ||
| Expected dividend yield | |||
| Risk-free interest rate | – | ||
The following table summarizes the changes in the warrant liabilities during the year ended December 31, 2022:
| Fair Value Measurements Using Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) | ||||
| Warrant liability as of December 31, 2021 | $ | |||
| Addition of new warrant liabilities | ||||
| Day-one loss | ( | ) | ||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability | ( | ) | ||
| Warrant liability as of December 31, 2022 | $ | |||
| F-20 |
NOTE 12 – INCOME TAXES
The Company provides for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” Under the asset and liability method of ASC 740, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recorded based on the differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities and the tax rates in effect when these differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided for certain deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that the Company will not realize tax assets through future operations.
For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the local (“United States of America”) and foreign components of loss before income taxes were comprised of the following:
| Year Ended | ||||||||
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Tax jurisdiction from: | ||||||||
| - Local | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
| - Foreign | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Loss before income taxes | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
The components of the Company’s deferred tax asset and reconciliation of income taxes computed at the statutory rate to the income tax amount recorded as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, are as follows:
| Year Ended | |||||||
| December 31, | |||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||
| Net Operating loss carryforward | $ | $ | |||||
| Effective tax rate | % | ||||||
| Deferred tax asset | |||||||
| Foreign taxes | ( | ) | ( | ||||
| Less: valuation allowance | ( | ) | ( | ||||
| Net deferred tax asset | $ | $ | |||||
The Company has provided for a full valuation allowance
against the deferred tax assets, on the expected future tax benefits from the net operating loss carryforwards, as the management believes
it is more likely than not that these assets will not be realized in the future. The valuation allowance decreased by $
United States of America
Bubblr, Inc. is registered in the State of Wyoming
and is subject to the tax laws of United States of America at a standard tax rate of
As of December 31, 2022, the operations in the United
States of America incurred approximately $
The Company’s tax returns are subject to examination by United States tax authorities beginning with the year ended December 31, 2017.
United Kingdom
The Company’s subsidiaries operating in the
United Kingdom (“UK”) are subject to tax at a standard income tax rate of
As of December 31, 2021, the operations in the UK
incurred $
The Company’s tax returns are subject to examination by HM Revenue & Customs, for the years ended 2022 and 2021.
| F-21 |
NOTE 13 - STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
Preferred Stock
The Company has authorized preferred shares with a par value of per share. The Board of Directors is authorized to divide the authorized shares of Preferred Stock into one or more series, each of which shall be so designated as to distinguish the shares thereof from the shares of all other series and classes.
Special 2019 Series A Preferred Stock
The Company has designated one () share of Series A Preferred Stock, par value .
On September
6, 2022, the Company repurchased for $
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had and share, respectively, of 2019 Series A Preferred stock issued and outstanding.
Series B Preferred Stock
At December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had designated and shares of Series B Preferred Stock, par value . On March 31, 2021 the Company amended and restates its Articles of Incorporation and in doing so, retired the Series B Preferred Stock.
Prior to the retirement of the Series B Preferred Stock, the following designations were in effect:
During 2021, the Company converted the shares of
Series B Preferred to shares of common stock valued at $
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had shares of Series B preferred stock issued and outstanding.
Series C Convertible Preferred Stock
On March
4, 2022, the Company filed a Certificate of Designation with the Wyoming Secretary of State, which established shares of the Company’s
Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, Stated Value $
| F-22 |
During the
year ended December 31, 2022, the Company declared dividends of $
The Company has the right to redeem the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, in accordance with the following schedule:
| • | ||
| • | ||
| • | The Company shall pay a dividend
of |
The Series C Convertible Preferred Stock will vote together with the common stock on an as-converted basis subject to the Beneficial Ownership Limitations (as set forth in the Certificate of Designation).
On March
4, 2022, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “GHS Securities Purchase Agreement”) with GHS Investments,
LLC (“GHS”), whereby GHS agreed to purchase, in tranches, up to $
On March
4, 2022, the Company issued to GHS the first tranche of shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, as well as commitment shares
of shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and warrant shares (the “GHS Warrant”). Warrant shares represent
GHS delivered gross proceeds
of $
On March 9, 2022, the Company entered a Securities Purchase Agreement with Proactive Capital Partners LP (“Proactive”), whereby Proactive agreed to purchase shares of Series C Preferred Stock.
The Company
agreed to issue Proactive commitment shares of shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and warrant shares (the “Warrant”).
Warrant shares represent
On
March 9, 2022, the Company issued shares of Series C Convertible Preferred stock to Proactive Capital Partners LP as per the Securities
Purchase Agreement. Proactive delivered gross proceeds of $
| F-23 |
On April 24, 2022 the Company
issued the second tranche of shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and warrant shares
as per its Securities Purchase Agreement (the “GHS Securities Purchase Agreement”) with GHS Investments, LLC (“GHS”),
of March 4, 2022. GHS delivered gross proceeds of $
On May 25, 2022 the Company
issued the third tranche of shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and warrant shares
as per its Securities Purchase Agreement (the “GHS Securities Purchase Agreement”) with GHS Investments, LLC (“GHS”),
of March 4, 2022. GHS delivered gross proceeds of $
On June 24, 2022 the Company
issued the fourth tranche of shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and warrant shares
as per its Securities Purchase Agreement (the “GHS Securities Purchase Agreement”) with GHS Investments, LLC (“GHS”),
of March 4, 2022. GHS delivered gross proceeds of $
On
September 7, 2022, our wholly owned subsidiary, Bubblr Limited, entered into a new loan agreement (the “Loan Agreement”)
with Mr. Morris for £434,060 ($
As a result
of the above transactions, the Company received total net proceeds of $
Common Stock
The Company has authorized common shares with a par value of per share. Each common share entitles the holder to one vote, in person or proxy, on any matter on which action of the stockholders of the corporation is sought.
During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company issued common shares as follows:
Year ended December, 2021
| • | shares for Advisory
Board services valued at $ | |
| • | shares for Investor Relations
services valued at $ | |
| • | shares for conversion of B preferred shares in satisfaction of related party debt of . | |
| • |
Year ended December 31, 2022
| • | shares for Executive
Board Chair services valued at $ | |
| • | shares for Investor
Relations and Consulting services valued at $ | |
| • | 140,000 shares for Debt conversion of Investor Relations fee valued at $28,000. | |
| • | shares as commitment shares under the Equity Financing Agreement valued at . | |
| • | shares as compensation for loan waiver under Series C Preferred Stock share purchase agreement valued at $ | |
| • | shares for conversion of convertible notes issued in 2021 valued at $ | |
| • | shares for dividend due on Series C Preferred Stock to September 30, 2022 valued at $ |
As at December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had and shares, respectively, of common stock issued and outstanding.
| F-24 |
Warrants
The Company identified conversion features embedded within warrants issued during the year ended December 31, 2022. The Company has determined that the conversion feature of the Warrants represents an embedded derivative since the conversion price includes a reset provision which could cause adjustments in redemption value and number of shares issued upon exercise (see Note 11 - Warrant Liability).
A summary of activity during the period ended December 31, 2022 follows:
| Warrants Outstanding | ||||||||||||
| Number of | Weighted Average | Weighted Average Remaining life | ||||||||||
| Warrants | Exercise Price | (years) | ||||||||||
| Outstanding, December 31, 2021 | $ | |||||||||||
| Granted | ||||||||||||
| Exercised | ||||||||||||
| Forfeited/canceled | ||||||||||||
| Outstanding, December 31, 2022 | $ | |||||||||||
| Exercisable Warrants, December 31, 2022 | $ | |||||||||||
The following table summarizes information relating to outstanding and exercisable warrants as of September 30, 2022:
| Warrants Outstanding | Warrants Exercisable | |||||||||||||||||
| Number of | Weighted Average Remaining | Weighted Average | Number of | Weighted Average | ||||||||||||||
| Warrants | Contractual
life (in years) | Exercise Price | Shares | Exercise Price | ||||||||||||||
| $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
As at December 31, 2022 the intrinsic value of the warrants is , as the price of the Company’s stock was below the warrant exercise price.
| F-25 |
Equity Incentive Plan
On May 25, 2022, our board of directors and majority shareholders approved the adoption of the Bubblr, Inc. 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2022 Equity Incentive Plan”) and, unless earlier terminated, will continue until May 25, 2032. A total of shares of common stock may be issued under the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan. The purpose of the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan is to foster and promote our long-term financial success and increase stockholder value by motivating performance through incentive compensation. The 2022 Equity Incentive Plan is intended to encourage participants to acquire and maintain ownership interests in our company and to attract and retain the services of talented individuals upon whose judgment and special efforts the successful conduct of our business is largely dependent.
If the employee is terminated for cause, the employee will forfeit the Restricted Stock Units (“RSUs”) awarded to date.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company issued pursuant to the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan, a total of RSUs
to two Company executives pursuant to their employment agreements. (See Note 14 - Commitments and Contingencies)
The RSUs were
valued at , based on the market price of the Company’s common stock on the respective grant dates of the agreements, which
was per share, and were to be recognized as compensation expense over their two-year vesting period on a straight-line basis.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recorded stock-based compensation of $
The award of RSUs was forfeited by the executives
upon their termination of employment on January 31, 2023, on which date the remaining unrecognized stock compensation of $
Equity Financing Agreements
On February 1, 2022, Bubblr,
Inc. entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “SPA”) and Registration Rights Agreement with White Lion Capital LLC (“WLC”).
In consideration for entering
into the SPA, on February 1, 2022 the Company issued shares of common stock to WLC valued at $
On March 22, 2022, the Company entered into a Termination
and Release Agreement with WLC to extinguish the SPA and Registration Rights Agreement in exchange for the issuance of shares
of common stock. The stock was issued on March 22, 2022, and was valued at $
On
March 4, 2022, the Company entered into an Equity Financing Agreement (the “EFA”) and Registration Rights Agreement with
GHS Investments LLC (“GHS”).
The registration statement
on Form S-1 was effective as of June 24, 2022. During the year ended December 31, 2022 GHS has provided $
In consideration for entering
into the EFA, on March 4, 2022 the Company issued shares of common stock to GHS valued at $
| F-26 |
NOTE 14 - COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
During the years
ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company paid $
During the years
ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company paid $
On May 31, 2022, our board of directors approved amended and restated employment agreements in favor of our then-Chief Executive Officer, Rik Willard, and our then-Chief Commercial Officer, Steven Saunders.
On January 31, 2023, Steven Saunders and Rik Willard entered into a separation agreement with the Company regarding the terms and conditions of their departures from the Company. (see Note 15 - Subsequent Events)
On March 25, 2022, the Company entered into a service
agreement with PCG Advisory, Inc. The term was
| F-27 |
NOTE 15 - SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company has evaluated subsequent events through the date of issuance of these consolidated financial statements and noted the following significant events requiring disclosure.
On February 15, 2023, the Company filed a request to withdraw the registration statement on Form S-1 File No. 333-267373 initially filed September 9, 2022 and amended September 14, 2022.
Investor Relations
On February 14, 2023, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with Beyond Media SEZC. The term is twelve months commencing February 14, 2023. Beyond Media will receive cash of $7,000 per month and were issued 1,000,000 shares of common stock valued at $180,000 in consideration for entrance into the agreement.
On February 23, 2023 the Company entered into a consulting agreement with Milestone Management Services. The term is six months commencing February 23, 2023. Milestone Management were issued 325,000 shares of common stock valued at $84,338 in consideration for entrance into the agreement.
On January 23, 2023, 58,091 shares of common stock valued at $7,000 were issued to a consultant for investor relation services.
On February 24, 2023, 46,574 shares of common stock valued at $7,000 were issued to a consultant for investor relation services.
Steven Saunders, Rik Willard, and Mathew Loeb
On January 31, 2023 we entered into a Separation Agreements with Mr. Steven Saunders and Mr. Rik Willard regarding the terms and conditions of their departures from our company.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Separation Agreement with Mr. Saunders and in consideration for a complete release of claims, we agreed as follows:
| • | As of the date of the Separation Agreement, Mr. Saunders is no longer an officer or director of our company and all prior agreements with Mr. Saunders, including his employment agreement, are terminated in their entirety; | |
| • | We agreed to pay a lump sum of $24,000 by February 20, 2023; | |
| • | We agreed to pay $73,500 in installments monthly over a period of six months; and | |
| • | A final payment of $18,000 due by August 31, 2023. |
| F-28 |
Mr. Saunders forfeited 3,000,000 non-vested Restricted Stock Units awarded May 31, 2022 under the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Separation Agreement with Mr. Willard and in consideration for a complete release of claims, we agreed as follows:
| • | As of the date of the Separation Agreement, Mr. Willard is no longer an officer or director of our company and all prior agreements with Mr. Willard, including his employment agreement, are terminated in their entirety; | |
| • | We agreed to pay a lump sum of $12,801 by February 20, 2023; | |
| • | We agreed to pay $75,806 in instalments monthly over a period of six months from February 28, 2023 and continuing until July 31, 2023; | |
| • | We agreed to pay $4,806 in instalments monthly over a period of six months from August 31, 2023 and continuing until January, 31, 2024; | |
| • | A final payment of $18,000 due by September 30, 2024; and | |
| • | Our shareholder, Stephen Morris, has agreed to transfer to Mr. Willard 1,750,000 shares of his common stock. |
Mr. Willard forfeited 5,400,000 non-vested Restricted Stock Units awarded May 31, 2022 under the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan.
On February 10, 2023 Mr. Mathew Loeb resigned as Chair of our Board of Directors
David Chetwood
On February 12 2023, David Chetwood was appointed as Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of our Company.
| F-29 |
2. Financial Statement Schedules
All schedules for which provision is made in the applicable accounting regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) are either not required under the related instructions, are not applicable (and therefore have been omitted), or the required disclosures are contained in the financial statements included herein.
3. Exhibits (including those incorporated by reference).
(b) The following exhibits are filed as a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:
| 47 |
* Filed herewith.
** Furnished herewith.
| (1) | Incorporated by reference to the Form S-1, filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 9, 2021. | |
| (2) | Incorporated by reference to the Form S-1/A, filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 23, 2021 | |
| (3) | Incorporated by reference to the Form 8-K, filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 10, 2022. | |
| (4) | Incorporated by reference to the Form 8-K, filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2022. | |
| (5) | Incorporated by reference to the Form 8-K, filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 26, 2022. | |
| (6) | Incorporated by reference to the Form 8-K, filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 4, 2022. | |
| (7) | Incorporated by reference to the Form 8-K, filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 25, 2022. | |
| (8) | Incorporated by reference to the Form 8-K, filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 1, 2022. | |
| (9) | Incorporated by reference to the Form S-1/A, filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 4, 2022 | |
| (10) | Incorporated by reference to the Form 8-K, filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 21, 2022. | |
| (11) | Incorporated by reference to the Form 8-K, filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 23, 2022. | |
| (12) | Incorporated by reference to the Form 8-K, filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 6, 2022. | |
| (13) | Incorporated by reference to the Form 8-K, filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 14, 2022. |
ITEM 16. FORM 10-K SUMMARY.
None.
| 48 |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Bubblr, Inc.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Signature | Title | Date | ||
| /s/ Stephen Morris | Interim Chief Executive Officer, Principal Executive Officer and Director | March 29, 2023 | ||
| Stephen Morris | ||||
| /s/ David Chetwood | Chief Financial Officer, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer | March 29, 2023 | ||
| David Chetwood |
| 49 |
| CERTIFICATIONS |
I, Stephen Morris, certify that;
| 1. | I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 of Bubblr, Inc. (the “registrant”); |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
| 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
| 4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have: |
| a. | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; |
| b. | Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, 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; |
| c. | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
| d. | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
| 5. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| a. | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
| b. | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
Date: March 29, 2023
/s/ Stephen Morris
By: Stephen Morris
Title: Interim Chief Executive Officer
| CERTIFICATIONS |
I, David Chetwood, certify that;
| 1. | I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 of Bubblr, Inc. (the “registrant”); |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
| 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
| 4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have: |
| a. | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; |
| b. | Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, 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; |
| c. | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
| d. | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
| 5. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| a. | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
| b. | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
Date: March 29, 2023
/s/ David Chetwood
By: David Chetwood
Title: Chief Financial Officer
CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with the Annual Report of Bubblr, Inc. (the “Company”) on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Report”), I, Stephen Morris, Interim Chief Executive Office, and I, David Chetwood, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:
| 1. | The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and |
| 2. | The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the consolidated financial condition of the Company as of the dates presented and the consolidated result of operations of the Company for the periods presented. |
| By: | /s/ Stephen Morris |
| Name: | Stephen Morris |
| Title: | Interim Chief Executive Officer |
| Date: | March 29, 2023 |
| By: | /s/ David Chetwood |
| Name: | David Chetwood |
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer |
| Date: | March 29, 2023 |
This certification has been furnished solely pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.