Document:

Exhibit 10.5

 

 

PROTOKINETIX, INCORPORATED

CONSULTING AGREEMENT

This CONSULTING AGREEMENT (the “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of March 30, 2015 and made effective as of January 1, 2015 (the “Effective Date”), by and between ProtoKinetix, Incorporated, a Nevada corporation (“Company”), and Susan M. Woodward, an individual (“Consultant”).

WHEREAS, the Company is a bio-technology company in the business of developing anti-aging glycoproteins (“AAGP”) for the purpose of enhancing cell survival and health in various applications including transplant procedures, engraftment of tissue and cell preservation; and

WHEREAS, the Company desires Consultant to perform certain services for the Company and the Consultant has agreed to provide such services, on the terms and conditions set forth herein.

AGREEMENT:

NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the Company and Consultant agree as follows:

1.            Services.

(a)            General Services.  During the Term (as defined below) of this Agreement the Consultant will provide the Company with such general corporate, administrative, technical and management services as is considered necessary or advisable for the due and proper provision of services as CFO within the normal duties of a CFO (collectively, the “Services”).

(b)            Specific Services.  Without limiting the generality of the Services to be provided as set forth above, it is hereby acknowledged and agreed that the Consultant will provide the following specific services:

(i)   supervision of the hiring and conduct of competent personnel as are required for the management of the Company’s financial affairs and the production of public reporting financial documents;

(ii)   to conduct or supervise, as appropriate, the financial affairs and reporting requirements of the Company;

(iii)  assistance with capital funding projects and resources which are necessarily incidental thereto;

(iv)  assistance in the coordination of the preparation and dissemination of business plans and reports for the Company; and

(v)  such other activities as are necessary or incidental to the above from time to time and as requested by the Board of the Directors of the Company.

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2.            Compensation and Expenses.

(a)            Compensation.  Consultant shall receive compensation equal to $4,000 per month in exchange for the Services provided to the Company (“Base Compensation”).  The Company agrees to pay the Consultant on the first day of every month (or the first preceding business day if the date falls on a non-business day) during the Term of this Agreement.  The parties agree that the Base Compensation has been paid since the Effective Date.  At each and every June 1 during the Term, the Base Compensation will be increased by not less than 5% of the Base Compensation as of March 31 immediately preceding, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties.

(b)            Expenses.  Promptly upon the completion of each month of Services, but no later than the 10th day of the following month, Consultant shall provide the Company with an invoice for Permitted Expenses (defined below).  Such invoice shall be accurate, complete, and include sufficient detail and receipts to substantiate amounts due hereunder.  Amounts due shall be payable within 10 business days of the Company’s receipt of a correct and undisputed invoice from Consultant.  “Permitted Expenses” include the following: (i) when requested by the Company, reasonable expenses for travel, and (ii) other expenses specifically approved by the Company in writing.

(c)            Equity Grants.  On February 26, 2015, the Consultant received equity grants with the following terms:

	
(i)

	
The Consultant shall receive options to purchase 4,000,000 shares of common stock of the Company with the following terms:

	
a.

	
An exercise price of $0.04;

	
b.

	
A term of five years; and

	
c.

	
Which shall vest monthly beginning March 31, 2015 in tranches of 400,000 shares.

	
(ii)

	
The Consultant shall receive options to purchase 2,000,000 shares of common stock of the Company with the following terms:

	
a.

	
An exercise price of $0.04;

	
b.

	
A term of two years; and

	
c.

	
 Which shall vest upon a Change of Control (as defined below) in which the Company receives a price equal to or greater than $0.50 per issued and outstanding share of common stock of the Company as of the effective date of the Change of Control.

3.            Ownership.  (a)  Ownership of Work Products. To the extent that the Services provided hereunder include original material subject to copyright (referred to as “Work Product”), Consultant agrees that the Services are done as a “work for hire” as that term is defined under U.S. copyright law, and that as a result, the Company shall own all copyrights in and to the Work Product.  To the extent that the Work Product does not qualify as a work for hire under applicable law, and to the extent that the Work Product includes material subject to copyright, patent, trade secret, or other proprietary right protection, Consultant hereby assigns to the Company, its successors and assigns, all right, title and interest in and to the Work Product, including all copyrights, patents, trade secrets, and other proprietary rights therein (including renewals thereof).  Consultant shall execute and deliver such instruments and take such other action as may be required and requested by the Company to carry out the assignment contemplated by this paragraph.  To the extent permitted by applicable law, Consultant hereby waives all moral rights in and to the Work Product.

 

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(b)  License for Prior Works.  By incorporating into any Services any original work or authorship created prior to this Agreement (“Prior Works”), Consultant thereby grants the Company a worldwide, perpetual, nonexclusive, transferable license to use, distribute, publish, or publicly display such Prior Works and modify such Prior Works as incorporated into the Services.

(c)  Ownership of Equipment.  Unless otherwise expressly set forth elsewhere in this Agreement, any and all tangible equipment, materials, documentation, or other items provided by the Company in connection with this Agreement shall remain the property of the Company.

(d)  Ownership of Intellectual Property.  The Company shall retain title to and all rights in all intellectual property provided by the Company in connection with the Services, including, but not limited to, any know-how related to the Services or products provided or developed in the course of Consultant’s Services or the creation of Work Product, such as hardware, software, data, media or other tools or technologies.

4.            Confidentiality.

(a)            Nature of Confidential Information.  In this Agreement, “Confidential Information” includes, but is not limited to, information, whether or not in written form, which has a business purpose and is not known or generally available from sources outside the Company or typical of industry practice, including but not limited to, the Company’s internal structure, financial affairs, programs, software systems, procedures, manuals, confidential reports, marketing methods, the amount, nature and type of services and methods used and preferred by the Company’s vendors and customers and the fees paid by such persons or entities; the identity of the Company's present and prospective customers and vendors; customer and vendor lists; any data relating to a customer or vendor of the Company; the Company's business arrangements and costs; and information regarding earnings, forecasts, reports and technical data of the Company, provided that Confidential Information does not include:

	
(i)

	
Information that is in the public domain at the date hereof or becomes part of the public domain after the date hereof through no act or omission of the Consultant;

	
(ii)

	
Information which the Consultant can prove was in its possession prior to the date hereof and was not acquired by the Consultant from the Company or any person under a confidentiality obligation to the Company;

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(iii)

	
Documents or information independently developed by or for the Consultant; and

	
(iv)

	
Information received by the Consultant without restriction as to disclosure from a third party who has the lawful right to disclose the same.

(b)            Agreement to Keep Information Confidential.  The Consultant acknowledges the confidential and proprietary nature of the Confidential Information, shall keep all Confidential Information in strict confidence and will not disclose or dispose of any Confidential Information to any third party.  The Consultant may, however, disclose the Confidential Information to its officers, employees, advisers and agents who need to know the Confidential Information for the purposes of the evaluating and assessing the Confidential Information.  All individuals receiving any Confidential Information under this Agreement shall be directed by the Consultant to treat the Confidential Information confidentially pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.  Nothing in this Agreement prevents the Consultant from disclosing any Confidential Information as may be required by applicable law, regulation, court order or securities regulatory authority.

5.            Termination.

(a)            Term. This Agreement shall commence as of the Effective Date and continue until December 31, 2018 (the “End Date”), and on a year-to-year basis thereafter ending each December 31 thereafter (the “Term”), unless: (i) either party provides a notice of non-renewal not less than 30 days before the last day of the then-current Term (as then effective) (the “Non-Renewal Notice”) and if the Company issues the Non-Renewal Notice, such non-renewal shall be subject to the Termination Fee in Section 5(d) of this Agreement; or (ii) the Agreement is otherwise terminated as described in Section 5.

(b)            Termination for Cause.  The Company will have the right to terminate the Consultant upon written notice for Cause.  The term “Cause” means as a result of (i) any breach of any written policy of the Company; (ii) conduct involving moral turpitude, including, but not limited to, misappropriation or conversion of assets of the Company (other than immaterial assets); (iii) Consultant’s conviction of, or entry of a plea of nolo contendere to, a felony; and (iv) a material breach of this Agreement.  The term “Cause” shall not mean as a result of the death or disability of the Consultant.

(c)            Termination Upon a Change of Control.  This Agreement shall terminate automatically upon a Change of Control of the Company.  Upon termination pursuant to this provision, the Consultant shall be entitled to two times the Termination Fee set forth in Section 5(d) of this Agreement.  For purposes of this Agreement, a “Change of Control” shall mean any of the following:

(i)  Any consolidation or merger of the Company with or into any other corporation or other entity or person, or any other corporate reorganization, other than any such consolidation, merger or reorganization in which the shareholders of the Corporation immediately prior to such consolidation, merger or reorganization, continue to hold at least a majority of the voting power of the surviving entity in substantially the same proportions (or, if the surviving entity is a wholly owned subsidiary, its parent) immediately after such consolidation, merger or reorganization; or (B) any transaction or series of related transactions to which the Company is a party in which in excess of 50% of the Company’s voting power is transferred; or

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(ii)  The sale, lease, transfer, or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, except where such sale, lease transfer or other disposition is to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.

(d)            Payment Upon Termination.  If this Agreement is terminated by the Company (other than for Cause), the Company shall pay the Consultant a termination fee (the “Termination Fee”) equal to:

(i)  If the Agreement is terminated within 12 months of the Effective Date, three times the Base Compensation in effect on the date of termination, or if the Agreement is terminated 12 months after the Effective Date, six times the Base Compensation in effect on the date of termination; and

(ii)  Treatment of any stock options or warrants held at the time of the Consultant’s termination will be governed by the option or warrant agreement granting the same.

(e)            Survival.  In the event of termination of this Agreement for any reason, Sections 3 through 6 shall survive indefinitely.

6.            Indemnification.

(a)            Indemnification.  The Company shall indemnify and hold harmless the Consultant from and against any claims, damages, losses or expenses incurred by the Consultant which arise out of any acts or omissions taken in good faith by the Consultant in connection with or related to Consultant’s performance of the Services.

7.            General Terms.

(a)            Return of Work Product.  Consultant agrees, promptly upon completion of the Services or other termination of this Agreement, to deliver to the Company all Work Product and to return all notes, designs, code, storage devices, documents and any other Company materials, including Confidential Information.  Consultant shall not retain any such materials without the Company’s written approval.

(b)            No Employer-Employee Relationship.  The Company and the Consultant understand, acknowledge, and agree that Consultant’s relationship with the Company will be that of an “independent contractor” and not that of an employee.  Contractor will be an “independent contractor” and Contractor will be entitled to work at such times and places as Contractor determines appropriate, will not be under the direction or control of the Company or the manner in which Contractor performs the Services.  Consultant will not be entitled to any of the benefits which the Company may make available to its employees (which benefits may in the future include, but not be limited to, group health or life insurance, profit-sharing or retirement benefits).

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(c)            Taxes.  Consultant is and will be solely responsible for, and will file, on a timely basis, all tax returns and payments required to be filed with, or made to, any federal, state or local tax authority (including, but not limited to Social Security, federal, state, Medicare, and all of other taxes) with respect to the performance of Services and receipt of fees under this Agreement.  No part of the compensation payable to Consultant will be subject to withholding by the Company for the payment of any social security, federal, state or any other employee payroll taxes.

(d)            Client Solicitation.  While providing Services to the Company, Consultant shall not solicit work, remuneration or other benefits of any kind directly from any the Company contacts or affiliates without the express, prior written consent of the Company.

(e)            Assignment.  This Agreement may not be assigned by either party without prior written consent of the other.

(f)            Entire Agreement. This Agreement, not including any other agreement pursuant to which securities of the Company are issued to Consultant, represents the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes all prior negotiations, representations, agreements, arrangements, and understandings, if any, either written or oral, between the parties with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement, none of which shall be used to interpret or construe this Agreement.  If any term, covenant, condition or provision of this Agreement or the documents and instruments executed and delivered in connection herewith is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the provisions shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated.

(g)            Law Governing.  This Agreement shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Nevada even though the Consultant may perform services or reside in other states.

(h)            Amendments.  Neither party may amend this Agreement or rescind any of its existing provisions without the prior written consent of the other party.

(i)            Counterparts.  This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, and will become effective and binding upon the parties at such time as all of the signatories hereto have signed a counterpart of this Agreement.  All counterparts so executed shall constitute one Agreement binding on all of the parties hereto, notwithstanding that all of the parties are not signatory to the same counterpart.  In all other respects, this Agreement shall continue to remain in full force and effect.  Facsimile or .pdf transmissions containing signatures shall be considered delivery and shall be deemed binding.

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(j)            Remedies. As the violation by Consultant of the provisions of Sections 3 and/or 4 of this Agreement would cause irreparable injury to the Company, and there is no adequate remedy at law for such violation, the Company shall have the right to seek specific performance or injunctive relief against Consultant without the posting of a bond or other security.  The remedies available with respect to the rights and obligations under this Agreement are cumulative, and this section shall not be construed to limit in any manner whatsoever any other rights or remedies that may be available for any breach of this Agreement.

8.            Venue.  All disputes arising out of or relating to this Agreement and all actions to enforce this Agreement shall be adjudicated in the state courts of West Virginia or the federal courts sitting in Clarksburg, West Virginia.  The parties hereto irrevocably submit to the jurisdiction of such courts in any suit, action or proceeding relating to any such dispute.  So far as is permitted under applicable law, this consent to personal jurisdiction shall be self-operative and no further instrument or action, other than service of process or as permitted by law, shall be necessary in order to confer jurisdiction upon the undersigned in any such court.

[Signature Page Follows]

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Consulting Agreement on the date first written above.

	
ProtoKinetix, Incorporated

 

 

 

 

/s/ Clarence E. Smith

By:  Clarence E. Smith, President and CEO

	
Consultant

 

 

 

 

/s/ Susan M. Woodward

Susan M. Woodward

 

 

 

 

8EX10.1 Bridge Bank Modification 20150413

EXHIBIT 10.1

BUSINESS FINANCING MODIFICATION AGREEMENT

This Business Financing Modification Agreement is entered into as of April 13, 2015 by and between IZEA, INC. (“IZEA”), Ebyline, INC. (“Ebyline”) and BRIDGE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (“LENDER”).

1.    DESCRIPTION OF EXISTING INDEBTEDNESS: Among other indebtedness which may be owing by IZEA to Lender, IZEA is indebted to Lender pursuant to, among other documents, a Business Financing Agreement, dated March 1, 2013 by and between IZEA and Lender, as may be amended from time to time (the “Business Financing Agreement”).  Capitalized terms used without definition herein shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Business Financing Agreement.  IZEA and Ebyline are also referred to herein individually as a “Borrower” and collectively, as the “Borrowers”.

Hereinafter, all indebtedness owing to Lender under the Business Financing Agreement shall be referred to as the "Indebtedness" and the Business Financing Agreement and any and all other documents executed in connection therewith in favor of Lender shall be referred to as the “Existing Documents.”

2.    ADDITIONAL BORROWER. As of the date hereof, Ebyline hereby joins as a party to the Business Financing Agreement and all other Existing Documents as a “Borrower” thereunder and hereunder and each reference to “Borrower” in the Existing Documents, and herein shall mean and refer to each of IZEA and Ebyline, individually and collectively.  Any reference in the Existing Documents to Borrower, IZEA, or other terms that refer to a Borrower shall also mean and refer to Ebyline, and Borrowers and Lender acknowledge and agree that the Existing Documents shall remain in full force and effect in accordance with their terms. Ebyline (i) assumes, as a joint and several obligor thereunder, all of the Obligations, liabilities and indemnities of a Borrower under the Business Financing Agreement and all other Existing Documents; and (ii) covenants and agrees to be bound by and adhere to all of the terms, covenants, waivers, releases, agreements and conditions of or respecting a Borrower with respect to the Existing Documents and all of the representations and warranties contained in the Business Financing Agreement and the other Existing Documents with respect to a Borrower. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Ebyline grants Lender a security interest in the Collateral described in the Business Financing Agreement to secure performance and payment of all Obligations under the Business Financing Agreement, and authorizes Lender to file financing statements with all appropriate jurisdictions to perfect or protect Lender’s interest or rights hereunder and under the Existing Documents. Within 60 days of the date hereof, for each account that Ebyline maintains outside of Lender, Borrower shall cause the applicable Lender or financial institution at or with which any such account is maintained (including its account at Bank of America existing as of the date hereof) to execute and deliver an account control agreement or other appropriate instrument in form and substance satisfactory to Lender, and failure to comply with the foregoing shall constitute an Event of Default to which no cure period shall apply.

3.    DESCRIPTION OF CHANGE IN TERMS.

A.    Modification(s) to Business Financing Agreement:

		
	(1)
	The following defined terms set forth in Section 14.1 are hereby amended and restated in their entirety to read as follows:

“Credit Limit” means $5,000,000, which is intended to be the maximum amount of Advances at any time outstanding.

“Facility Fee” means a payment of an annual fee equal to 0.40% of the Credit Limit, due on May 1 of each year until this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 17 hereof.

“Termination Fee” means a payment equal to 0.70% of the Credit Limit divided by 80%.

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(2)    Section 4.2(b) is amended and restated in its entirety to read as follows:

(b)    Termination Fee.  In the event this Agreement is terminated by Borrower for any reason, or by Lender due to an Event of Default, prior to May 1, 2016, Borrower shall pay the Termination Fee to lender.

(3)    Section 6.15 is amended and restated in its entirety to read as follows:

6.15    Maintain all of its depository and operating accounts with Lender, provided however, Borrower may maintain (i) disbursement accounts with Paypal with a monthly average aggregate balance not to exceed $300,000, (ii) an operating account with CNL Bank with a monthly average aggregate balance not to exceed $25,000, (iii) a certificate of deposit with American Express Bank in an amount not to exceed $200,000 at any time and (iv) an operating account with Bank of America with a monthly aggregate average balance not to exceed $150,000 (together, the “Permitted Accounts”); provided, that such deposit account with Bank of America shall at all times after June 12, 2015 be subject to a deposit account control agreement in favor of Lender in form and substance satisfactory to Lender in its sole discretion). Borrower shall provide to Lender no later than 30 days after the end of each month, the monthly statements and such other reports related to the Permitted Accounts as Lender may request in its sole discretion.

(4)    The following is added as a new Section 19:

19.    Co-Borrowers.
19.1    Co-Borrowers.  Borrowers are jointly and severally liable for the Obligations and Lender may proceed against one Borrower to enforce the Obligations without waiving its right to proceed against any other Borrower.  This Agreement and the Loan Documents are a primary and original obligation of each Borrower and shall remain in effect notwithstanding future changes in conditions, including any change of law or any invalidity or irregularity in the creation or acquisition of any Obligations or in the execution or delivery of any agreement between Lender and any Borrower.  Each Borrower shall be liable for existing and future Obligations as fully as if all of the Credit Extensions were advanced to such Borrower.  Lender may rely on any certificate or representation made by any Borrower as made on behalf of, and binding on, all Borrowers, including without limitation advance request forms and compliance certificates.  Each Borrower appoints each other Borrower as its agent with all necessary power and authority to give and receive notices, certificates or demands for and on behalf of all Borrowers, to act as disbursing agent for receipt of any Credit Extensions on behalf of each Borrower and to apply to Lender on behalf of each Borrower for any Credit Extensions, any waivers and any consents.  This authorization cannot be revoked, and Lender need not inquire as to one Borrower’s authority to act for or on behalf of another Borrower.
19.2    Subrogation and Similar Rights.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement or any other Loan Document, each Borrower irrevocably waives, until all obligations are paid in full and Lender has no further obligation to make Credit Extensions to Borrowers, all rights that it may have at law or in equity (including, without limitation, any law subrogating a Borrower to the rights of Lender under the Loan Documents) to seek contribution, indemnification, or any other form of reimbursement from any other Borrower, or 

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any other Person now or hereafter primarily or secondarily liable for any of the Obligations, for any payment made by a Borrower with respect to the Obligations in connection with the Loan Documents or otherwise and all rights that it might have to benefit from, or to participate in, any security for the Obligations as a result of any payment made by a Borrower with respect to the Obligations in connection with the Loan Documents or otherwise.  Any agreement providing for indemnification, reimbursement or any other arrangement prohibited under this Section shall be null and void.  If any payment is made to a Borrower in contravention of this Section, such Borrower shall hold such payment in trust for Lender and such payment shall be promptly delivered to Lender for application to the Obligations, whether matured or unmatured.
19.3     Waivers of Notice.  Each Borrower waives, to the extent permitted by law, notice of acceptance hereof; notice of the existence, creation or acquisition of any of the Obligations; notice of an Event of Default except as set forth herein; notice of the amount of the Obligations outstanding at any time; notice of any adverse change in the financial condition of any other Borrower or of any other fact that might increase a Borrower’s risk; presentment for payment; demand; protest and notice thereof as to any instrument; and all other notices and demands to which a Borrower would otherwise be entitled by virtue of being a co-borrower or a surety.  Each Borrower waives any defense arising from any defense of any other Borrower, or by reason of the cessation from any cause whatsoever of the liability of any other Borrower.  Lender’s failure at any time to require strict performance by any Borrower of any provision of the Loan Documents shall not waive, alter or diminish any right of Lender thereafter to demand strict compliance and performance therewith.  Each Borrower also waives any defense arising from any act or omission of Lender that changes the scope of a Borrower’s risks hereunder.  Each Borrower hereby waives any right to assert against Lender any defense (legal or equitable), setoff, counterclaim, or claims that such Borrower individually may now or hereafter have against another Borrower or any other Person liable to Lender with respect to the Obligations in any manner or whatsoever.
19.4    Subrogation Defenses.  Until all Obligations are paid in full and Lender has no further obligation to make Credit Extensions to Borrowers, each Borrower hereby waives any defense based on impairment or destruction of its subrogation or other rights against any other Borrower and waives all benefits which might otherwise be available to it under California Civil Code Sections 2809, 2810, 2819, 2839, 2845, 2848, 2849, 2850, 2899, and 3433 and California Code of Civil Procedure Sections 580a, 580b, 580d and 726, as those statutory provisions are now in effect and hereafter amended, and under any other similar statutes now and hereafter in effect.
19.5    Right to Settle, Release.
(a)The liability of Borrowers hereunder shall not be diminished by (i) any agreement, understanding or representation that any of the Obligations is or was to be guaranteed by another Person or secured by other property, or (ii) any release or unenforceability, whether partial or total, of rights, if any, which Lender may now or hereafter have against any other Person, including another Borrower, or property with respect to any of the Obligations.
(b)Without notice to any given Borrowers and without affecting the liability of any given Borrowers hereunder, Lender may (i) compromise, settle, renew, extend the time for payment, change the manner or terms of payment, discharge the performance of, decline to enforce, or release all or any of the 

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Obligations with respect to any other Borrower by written agreement with such other Borrower, (ii) grant other indulgences to another Borrower in respect of the Obligations, (iii) modify in any manner any documents relating to the Obligations with respect to any other Borrower by written agreement with such other Borrower, (iv) release, surrender or exchange any deposits or other property securing the Obligations, whether pledged by a Borrower or any other Person, or (v) compromise, settle, renew, or extend the time for payment, discharge the performance of, decline to enforce, or release all or any obligations of any guarantor, endorser or other Person who is now or may hereafter be liable with respect to any of the Obligations.
19.6    Subordination.  All indebtedness of a Borrower now or hereafter arising held by another Borrower is subordinated to the Obligations and a Borrower holding the indebtedness shall take all actions reasonably requested by Lender to effect, to enforce and to give notice of such subordination.
4.    PAYMENT OF REMAINING FACILITY FEE. On the date hereof, Borrowers shall pay Lender the Facility Fee in the amount of $20,000 in advance of its scheduled due date of May 1, 2015, plus all out-of-pocket expenses.

5.    CONSISTENT CHANGES.  The Existing Documents are each hereby amended wherever necessary to reflect the changes described above.

6.    NO DEFENSES OF BORROWER/GENERAL Release. Each Borrower agrees that, as of this date, it has no defenses against the obligations to pay any amounts under the Indebtedness.  Each Borrower acknowledges that Lender would not enter into this Business Financing Modification Agreement without Borrowers’ assurance that it has no claims against Lender or any of Lender’s officers, directors, employees or agents.  Except for the obligations arising hereafter under this Business Financing Modification Agreement, each Borrower releases Lender, and each of Lender’s and entity’s officers, directors and employees from any known or unknown claims that a Borrower now has against Lender of any nature, including any claims that a Borrower, its successors, counsel, and advisors may in the future discover they would have now had if they had known facts not now known to them, whether founded in contract, in tort or pursuant to any other theory of liability, including but not limited to any claims arising out of or related to the Business Financing Agreement or the transactions contemplated thereby.  Each Borrower waives the provisions of California Civil Code section 1542, which states:

A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS WHICH THE CREDITOR DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE, WHICH IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER, MUST HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR.
The provisions, waivers and releases set forth in this section are binding upon Borrowers and its shareholders, agents, employees, assigns and successors in interest.  The provisions, waivers and releases of this section shall inure to the benefit of Lender and its agents, employees, officers, directors, assigns and successors in interest.  The provisions of this section shall survive payment in full of the Obligations, full performance of all the terms of this Business Financing Modification Agreement and the Loan and Security Agreement, and/or Lender’s actions to exercise any remedy available under the Loan and Security Agreement or otherwise.
7.    CONTINUING VALIDITY.  Each Borrower understands and agrees that in modifying the existing Indebtedness, Lender is relying upon each Borrower's representations, warranties, and agreements, as set forth in the Existing Documents.  Except as expressly modified pursuant to this Business Financing Modification Agreement, the terms of the Existing Documents remain unchanged and in full force and effect.  Lender's agreement to modifications to the existing Indebtedness pursuant to this Business Financing Modification Agreement in no way shall obligate Lender to make any future modifications to the Indebtedness.  Nothing in this Business Financing Modification Agreement shall constitute a satisfaction of the Indebtedness.  It is the intention of Lender and Borrowers to retain as liable parties all makers and endorsers of Existing Documents, unless the party is expressly released by Lender in writing.  No maker, endorser, or guarantor will be released by virtue of this Business Financing Modification Agreement.  

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The terms of this paragraph apply not only to this Business Financing Modification Agreement, but also to any subsequent Business Financing modification agreements.
8.    NOTICE OF FINAL AGREEMENT. BY SIGNING THIS DOCUMENT EACH PARTY REPRESENTS AND AGREES THAT: (A) THIS WRITTEN AGREEMENT REPRESENTS THE FINAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PARTIES, (B) THERE ARE NO UNWRITTEN ORAL AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE PARTIES, AND (C) THIS WRITTEN AGREEMENT MAY NOT BE CONTRADICTED BY EVIDENCE OF ANY PRIOR, CONTEMPORANEOUS, OR SUBSEQUENT ORAL AGREEMENTS OR UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE PARTIES.

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9.    COUNTERSIGNATURE.  This Business Financing Modification Agreement shall become effective only when executed by Lender and Borrowers.
                    

BORROWERS:                    LENDER:

IZEA, INC.                    BRIDGE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

By:      /s/ LeAnn C. Hitchcock            By:      __/s/ Cynthia Tung__________________

Name:      LeAnn C. Hitchcock            Name: __Cynthia Tung        ___________

Title:        Chief Financial Officer            Title:   ___Senior Vice President_____________

    
EBYLINE, INC.                    

By:          /s/ LeAnn C. Hitchcock             

Name:         LeAnn C. Hitchcock            

Title:         Chief Financial Officer            

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