EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1495231
Filing Year: 2021
Filename: 1495231_10-K_2021_0001495231-21-000058.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
ITEM 1 - BUSINESS
Our Mission
Our mission is to champion the world's creators by helping them monetize their content, creativity, and influence.
Our Business
IZEA Worldwide, Inc. (together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, “we,” “us,” “our,” “IZEA” or the “Company”) is a Nevada corporation that was founded in February 2006 under the name PayPerPost, Inc. and became a public company in May 2011. In January 2015, IZEA purchased all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of Ebyline, Inc. (“Ebyline”). In July 2016, IZEA purchased all the outstanding shares of capital stock of ZenContent, Inc. (“ZenContent”). In March 2016, we formed IZEA Canada, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary incorporated in Ontario, Canada, to operate as a sales and support office for IZEA's Canadian customers. On July 26, 2018, we purchased TapInfluence, Inc. (“TapInfluence”) pursuant to the terms of an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of July 11, 2018 and amended July 20, 2018. ZenContent, Ebyline, and TapInfluence were merged into IZEA in December 2017, December 2019 and December 2020, respectively, after all assets were transferred to IZEA.
Our Company is based near Orlando, Florida with all of our employees working remotely since March 16, 2020.
We create and operate online marketplaces that connect marketers, including brands, agencies, and publishers, with content creators such as Instagram influencers, TikTok influencers, YouTube stars, designers, photographers, and writers (“creators”). The creators are compensated by us for producing unique content such as long and short form text, videos, photos, status updates, and illustrations for marketers or distributing such content on behalf of marketers through their personal websites, blogs, and social media channels. Our technology brings the marketers and creators together, enabling their transactions to be completed at scale through the management of custom content workflow, creator search and targeting, bidding, analytics and payment processing.
Marketers engage us to gain access to our industry expertise, technology, data, analytics, and network of creators. The majority of the marketers engage us to perform these services on their behalf, but they also have the ability to use our marketplaces on a self-service basis by licensing our technology. Our technology is used for two primary purposes: the engagement of creators for influencer marketing campaigns and the engagement of creators to create stand-alone custom content for the marketers' own use and distribution.
Influencer Marketing. We work with marketers to enable influencer marketing campaigns at scale. A subset of influencer marketing known as “Sponsored Social” is when a company compensates creators to share sponsored content with the creators’ social network followings. This sponsored content is included within the body of the content stream. We believe that we pioneered the concept of a marketplace for sponsorships on the social web in 2006 with the launch of our first platform, PayPerPost. We have focused on scaling our product and service offerings ever since, including acquiring TapInfluence in July 2018 and launching Shake and BrandGraph in 2020.
Custom Content. We also work with marketers to augment or replace their content development efforts. Our network of creators produces editorial and marketing content that can be published both online and offline. Our network of creators includes professional journalists, subject matter experts, bloggers, and everyday content creators, allowing our customers to produce content ranging from complex white papers to simple product descriptions. Many of our content customers use this service to create a steady stream of posts for their corporate blogs. We first began offering custom content services in 2015 after our acquisition of Ebyline, a leading marketplace in the editorial content space, and continued to expand this offering with our acquisition of ZenContent in July 2016, a company that predominantly focused on e-commerce-related asset creation.
Our Platforms
The IZEA Exchange. The IZEA Exchange (“IZEAx”) is designed to provide a unified ecosystem that enables the creation and publication of multiple types of custom content through our creators’ personal websites, blogs, and social media channels, including among others, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and Instagram. We extensively use this platform to manage influencer marketing campaigns on behalf of our marketers. This platform is also available directly to our marketers as a self-service tool and as a licensed white label product. IZEAx was engineered from the ground-up to replace all of our previous platforms with an integrated offering that is improved and more efficient.
BrandGraph. In March 2020, we launched BrandGraph, a social media intelligence platform. BrandGraph is heavily integrated with IZEAx and both platforms rely heavily on data from each other, but it is also available as a stand-alone platform. BrandGraph offers marketers an analysis of share-of-voice, engagement benchmarking, category spending estimates, influencer identification, and sentiment analysis. The platform maps and classifies the complex hierarchy of corporation-to-brand relationships by category and associates social content with brands through a proprietary content analysis engine. It aggregates and analyzes content data to provide insights for marketers across their competitive landscapes that are particularly useful to influencer marketing professionals including our own managed services team.
Shake. In November 2020, we launched Shake, which is a new online marketplace where buyers can quickly and easily hire creators of all types for influencer marketing, photography, design, and other digital services. The Shake platform is aimed at digital creators seeking freelance “gig” work. Creators list available “Shakes” on their accounts in the platform and marketers select and purchase creative packages from them through a streamlined chat experience, assisted by ShakeBot - a proprietary, artificial intelligence assistant.
Ebyline. In January 2015, we acquired Ebyline and its technology platform that was created to source and compensate creators specifically for the creation and delivery of professional editorial content. Ebyline was originally designed as a self-service content marketplace to replace editorial newsrooms located in the news agencies with a “virtual newsroom” of creators to produce their content needs and to handle their content workflow. After the acquisition, we began to utilize the creators in the Ebyline platform to produce professional custom content for brands, in addition to the self-service functionality used by newspapers. We have been incorporating certain functions of this platform into IZEAx in order to have one consolidated platform in the future and by December 2019, we migrated all remaining customers into our IZEAx platform and dissolved the Ebyline entity.
ZenContent. In July 2016, we acquired ZenContent including its custom content creation workflow technology and database of creators. ZenContent’s platform enabled us to produce highly scalable, multi-part production of content for both e-commerce entities, as well as brand customers. The ZenContent platform allowed us to parse work out to a wide array of qualified creators who together could develop custom content assets with unmatched quality, speed, and price. This platform was utilized by our campaign fulfillment team to service orders for custom content until December 2020.
TapInfluence. In July 2018, we acquired TapInfluence and its technology platform. TapInfluence marketed and sold software-as-a-service “SaaS” software that was complementary to IZEA’s existing influencer marketing products and services. We incorporated certain functions of this platform into IZEAx and improved influencer discovery and content workflow in order to have one consolidated platform. Throughout 2019, we migrated the users of this platform over to IZEAx and we discontinued use of this platform in March 2020.
IZEAx, Shake, Ebyline, ZenContent, and TapInfluence were designed with the same purpose: to streamline transactions between our internal campaign fulfillment team, marketers, and creators. We utilized these proprietary technologies to create efficiencies and economies of scale for all parties. The knowledge base and technology from these platforms provide marketers with access to a large network of creators along with complete workflow management, content control, payment processing, and related performance tracking.
We believe that IZEAx should improve our ability to more efficiently match marketplace participants as the number of marketers and creators using the platform increases. To date, we have completed over 3.8 million influencer and content marketing transactions for customers ranging from small local businesses to Fortune 500 companies. We consider each individual piece of custom content, sponsored post or other update as an individual transaction so long as the creator of that content is being compensated for the transaction.
Industry Background and Trends
When IZEA first launched PayPerPost in 2006, the concept of a brand paying bloggers to create sponsored content on their blogs was highly controversial among both marketers and content creators. The idea was introduced at a time when there were no ads on Facebook, YouTube or Twitter, and social media was largely void of corporate marketing messages. Over the past fifteen years, the landscape has dramatically changed. Today, strategic engagement of online influencers are the table stakes for modern brands - largely in part to changes in consumer behavior and the large-scale adoption of social media platforms. Similarly, those same companies are now producing custom marketing content for their social channels and embracing influencer marketing as a means to reach their customers.
While industry research indicates that brand spending on influencer and content marketing has grown dramatically in the last several years, the business processes and practices have not evolved in a meaningful way for the majority of buyers and
sellers. The markets that we operate in are highly fragmented, highly competitive, and largely limited by the current inefficiencies inherent in our space. Most marketers have been forced to utilize a variety of execution partners and manual processes to navigate the complicated landscape, often resulting in low returns on their time investment or worse-yet, questionable results. We believe this is largely due to marketers and creators lacking an efficient way to identify and engage each other in a marketplace of scale.
At the same time, influencers and content creators seeking to monetize their communities and work product are faced with significant challenges in making marketers aware of their services and in finding quality brands who are motivated to sponsor them. In addition, those creators with smaller followings simply lack the individual influence and audience needed to warrant the processing of a micro-transaction. In many cases, it costs a marketer more money to issue a traditional check to a nano influencer than the value of the sponsorship payment itself. Further complicating the sponsorship process for both parties are federal regulations around social media endorsements, tax reporting generally applicable to anyone receiving income for services, and the associated campaign tracking required to provide compliance. While many marketers would prefer to be “part of the conversation,” we believe the complexity and cost of individual sponsorship often deters them from doing so.
We believe that addressing the current challenges in efficiency and measurable success via technology represents a significant opportunity for us. IZEA ultimately solves these challenges with targeted, scalable marketplaces that aggregate content creators and marketers. In doing so, we offer an efficient, innovative way for creators and marketers of all sizes to find each other and form a compensated relationship.
Our Business Model
Since our inception in 2006, we have worked diligently to establish and leverage key strengths in our business model, including:
A culture of innovation and creativity. We believe the only way to survive and thrive in our rapidly changing world is to change ahead of it. We are in a state of constant evolution and re-invention; this is “The IZEA Way.” We have created a culture committed to innovation and creativity that challenges convention, takes calculated risks, and breaks new ground. IZEA team members are protective and proud of our culture by applying its “humble, yet hungry” attitude to all facets of our business. Our people and their innovations ultimately provide us with what we see as our largest competitive advantage.
First-mover advantage. We believe that by pioneering the modern influencer marketing industry and investing heavily in innovation, acquisitions, and marketing, we have been able to acquire a vast amount of industry knowledge, market insights and technology. The software foundation we have built over time is expansive with the amount of actionable data we have accumulated from our network of creators and the execution of customer programs. Those new to the space face a significant technology investment requirement and steep learning curve in order to compete in a complex and rapidly evolving industry.
Best in class technology. We believe that the feature sets in our platforms are among the most comprehensive for those seeking to execute influencer marketing campaigns. While our industry has a broad and fragmented set of competitors offering various types of technology solutions, we have developed a complete, enterprise-grade solution for those seeking to execute large scale influencer marketing campaigns from beginning to end.
Experienced management team, board of directors, and strategic advisors. Our management team includes not only a highly experienced team of entrepreneurs and executives from the digital media, technology, and entertainment industries, but also outstanding board members who are experts in their respective fields. See Item 10 under Part III of this Annual Report for details.
Our Growth Strategy
After nearly fifteen years of working in and developing the influencer and content marketing categories, we believe our business model is market-tested and our industry is established. Our development efforts have included assembling a diverse and experienced senior management team and engineering team, launching and optimizing our proprietary marketplaces, developing a cross-platform sales force, and refining our message to the market. Key elements of our strategy to accelerate revenue growth and continue product development include:
Software + Service. IZEA’s flexible client engagement model is designed to appeal to both agency and brand customers with various need states. We are able to structure content and influencer marketing programs that align with the goals, resources, and profile of our customers. IZEA clients are able to license our software to run their own programs, hire our
team for fully outsourced managed services, or engage us in a hybrid model which combines access to our software with collaborative execution.
Product development. Since 2009, we have invested over $28.2 million in engineering resources and product development, creating a meaningful competitive moat of features and functionality in our platform. We continue to recruit additional engineering and product innovation team members to enhance IZEAx, Shake, and BrandGraph, and to develop new technology ideas within these platforms that complement our mission as a company.
Large network of users. IZEA is a driving force in the broader “creator economy,” allowing everyone from college students and stay-at-home individuals to celebrities and accredited journalists the opportunity to monetize their content, creativity and influence through our platform. As of December 31, 2020, we had more than 937,000 user accounts in IZEAx. These accounts have connections to over 1,040,000 social media accounts with an approximate aggregate reach to 9.6 billion non-unique fans and followers of IZEAx creators. Our total number of user accounts may be higher than the number of our actual individual creators because some creators may have created multiple user accounts.
Creators are able to join our platforms for free, but they may also choose to pay to upgrade their accounts to enable additional services and benefits. These individuals are compensated by us for producing content for our market clients or distributing such content on behalf of brands through their personal websites, blogs, and social media channels. We continually seek for ways to increase the ability for our creators to generate revenue.
By continually developing our creator network, we make our marketplace more attractive to our customers who seek a wide variety of creators to fulfill their content and advertising needs. As marketers utilize our marketplace to a greater extent, we expect to increase the monetization opportunities for creators, which should, in turn, attract even more creators and further enhance value for our marketers.
Sales and Marketing
We primarily sell influencer marketing and custom content campaigns through our sales team and our platforms. We target regional, national and global brands, and advertising agencies in the following ways:
Client Development Team. We have a client development team each of whom is assigned a geographic region or specific markets, primarily within the United States and Canada. The team members are responsible for identifying and managing sales opportunities to brands and agencies who are seeking to outsource some or all of the planning and production of their content and advertising needs.
SaaS Sales Team. The SaaS Sales team initiates SaaS license opportunities with brands and agencies who seek to utilize additional functionality on our platforms on a self-service basis to facilitate custom content and influencer marketing campaigns.
Self-Service. IZEA offers a version of IZEAx, called IZEAx Discovery, that is tailored to customers who are focused only on the identification of influencers. Customers in need of influencer discovery software can license this technology by signing up directly with a credit card on the IZEA website without the need to speak to a sales representative. Additionally, our Shake platform is 100% self-service and has no sales team. Marketers that would like to hire creators do so by entering in their credit card information on the Shake website to purchases a “Shake” from a creator.
Industry Acumen. Our team possesses a strong marketing and advertising background. We focus our corporate marketing efforts on increasing brand awareness, communicating each of our platform advantages, generating qualified leads for our sales team and growing our creator network, and driving self-service signups to our platforms. Our corporate marketing plan is designed to continually elevate awareness of our brand and generate demand for our software and services. We rely on a number of channels in this area, including third-party social media platforms (e.g., Facebook and YouTube), paid search engine marketing, content marketing, influencer marketing, and virtual events.
Customers and Revenue
We historically generated revenue from five primary sources: (1) revenue from our managed services when a marketer (typically a brand, agency or partner) pays us to provide custom content, influencer marketing, amplification or other campaign management services (“Managed Services”); (2) revenue from fees charged to software customers on their marketplace spend within our IZEAx, Shake, and TapInfluence platforms (“Marketplace Spend Fees”); (3) revenue from fees charged to access the IZEAx, BrandGraph, Ebyline, and TapInfluence platforms (“License Fees”); (4) revenue from transactions generated by the self-service use of our Ebyline platform for professional custom content workflow (“Legacy Workflow Fees”); and (5) revenue derived from other fees such as inactivity fees, early cash-out fees, and subscription plan fees charged to users of our platforms (“Other Fees”). After the migration of the last customers from the Ebyline platform to IZEAx in December 2019, there is no longer any revenue generated from Legacy Workflow Fees and all such revenue is reported as Marketplace Spend Fees under the IZEAx platform.
As discussed in more detail within “Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates” under Part II, Item 7 and in “Note 1. Company and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” under Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, revenue from Marketplace Spend Fees and Legacy Workflow Fees is reported on a net basis and revenue from all other sources, including Managed Services, License Fees, and Other Fees are reported on a gross basis. We further categorize these sources into two primary groups: (1) Managed Services and (2) SaaS Services, which includes revenue from Marketplace Spend Fees, License Fees and Legacy Workflow Fees, and Other Fees.
We provide services to customers in multiple industry segments, including consumer products, retail/e-tail, lifestyle, technology, and travel. Our business serves advertising and public relations agencies, as well as brands and businesses directly. In many cases, influencer marketing dollars flow through the advertising or public relations agency, even when we have a direct relationship with the brand.
We generate the majority of our revenue from our Managed Services customers. Managed Services accounted for approximately 87% and 81% of our revenue during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. SaaS Services accounted for approximately 13% and 19% of our revenue during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Changes in how we control and manage our platforms, our contractual terms, our business practices, or other changes in accounting standards or interpretations, may change the reporting of our revenue. See “Note 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” under Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for more information as it relates to our revenue recognition policies.
Our customers are predominantly located in the United States and Canada. We had one customer that accounted for 12% of our revenue during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and no customer that accounted for more than 10% of our revenue during the twelve months ended December 31, 2019. Revenue from our Canadian customers accounted for approximately $1.1 million (6%) and $1.6 million (8%) of our revenues during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Technology
IZEAx and Shake spans multiple social networks and digital creative services. We aggregate creators in our platforms, which allows us to create scale and choice for marketers. We provide the ability to find and collaborate with our creators based on a variety of software rules, filters, and data enrichment. Our self-service platforms that service all business types and sizes, ranging from Fortune 500 customers to small agencies and brands. We provide trackable results for influencer marketing campaigns by automatically embedding tracking links and pixels, as well as support, for third-party tracking. IZEA technology also provides content review and approval, dashboards for real-time reporting and digital asset management.
Privacy and Security
We are committed to protecting the personal privacy of our marketers and creators. Any personal information that we collect is processed in accordance with our Privacy Notice, and we employ reasonable and appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect the personal information.
Product Development
Our product development team is responsible for platform and infrastructure development, application development, user interface and application design, enterprise connectivity, Internet applications and design, quality assurance, documentation, and release management. One of our core strengths is our knowledge of and experience in launching and operating scalable content and influencer marketing marketplaces. Our product development expenses include salaries, bonuses, commissions, stock-based compensation, employee benefit costs, and miscellaneous departmental costs related to our development team along with hosting and software subscription costs. These costs were approximately $3.8 million and $4.2 million, for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and are included in general and administrative expense.
We launched IZEAx in March 2014 and unveiled our latest version 3.0 of the platform in April 2019. We continue to add new features and additional functionality to this platform each year. These new features enable our platform to facilitate the contracting, workflow, and delivery of direct content as well as provide for invoicing, collaborating and direct payments for our SaaS customers. We incurred and capitalized software development costs of $363,793 and $590,549 in our balance sheet during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Our team believes that relentless innovation is the only way to achieve long-term growth and we consistently invest in new technology both inside and outside of our current software platforms. The launch of Shake and BrandGraph during the pandemic in 2020 underscores that commitment, and we intend to continue to invest in the creation of new technology additions that complement our core offerings.
Competition
We face competition from multiple companies in the influencer and content marketing categories. Direct and indirect competitors in the influencer marketing space include Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Linqia and Upfluence. We also face competition in the creator economy from companies such as Fiverr and Upwork. In addition, there are a number of traditional advertising agencies, public relations firms, and niche consultancies that provide content development and conduct manual influencer outreach programs.
Competition could result in significant price pressure, declining margins, and reductions in our revenue. In addition, as we continue our efforts to expand the scope of our services with IZEAx, Shake, and BrandGraph, we may compete with a greater number of other companies across an increasing range of different services, including in vertical markets where competitors may have advantages in expertise, brand recognition, and other areas. If existing or future competitors develop or offer products or services that provide significant performance, price, creative or other advantages over those offered by us, our business, prospects, results of operations, and financial condition could be negatively affected.
We also compete with traditional advertising media such as direct mail, television, radio, cable, and print for a share of marketers' total advertising budgets. Many current and potential competitors enjoy competitive advantages over us, such as longer operating histories, greater name recognition, larger customer bases, greater access to advertising space on high-traffic websites, and significantly greater financial, technical, sales, and marketing resources.
Proprietary Rights
Proprietary rights are important to our success and our competitive position. To evolve and secure our proprietary rights, we rely on intellectual property and trade secret laws, confidentiality procedures, and contractual provisions.
As of December 31, 2020, we owned 54 trademarks (37 domestic trademark registrations in the United States and 17 foreign registrations on the International Register), and had 4 total pending applications in the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we abandoned 8 inactive U.S. trademarks. As of December 31, 2020, we also owned approximately 339 domain names related to the various aspects of IZEA’s products and services.
We actively protect our intellectual property rights but have encountered challenges following the decisions in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, 573 U.S.208, 134 S. Ct. 2347 (2014) and Intellectual Ventures I LLC vs. Symantec Corp. (Fed. Cir. 2016), which changed the patent environment for software-based applications. As a result, given the difficulty in overcoming U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejections of certain of our pending patent applications, management has decided not to actively pursue, at this time, patent protection for our software-based applications. We met with similar resistance in seeking patent protection for our software-based applications internationally and have abandoned our pending foreign patent application in Brazil.
Government Regulation
We are subject to a number of foreign and domestic laws and regulations that affect companies conducting business on the Internet, many of which are still evolving and could be interpreted by regulators or in the courts in ways that could adversely affect our business model. In the United States and abroad, laws relating to the liability of providers of online services for activities of their users and other third parties are currently being tested by a number of claims. These regulations and laws may involve taxation, tariffs, privacy and data protection, consumer protection, content, copyrights, distribution, electronic contracts and other communications, and online payment services. In addition, governments may seek to censor content available on our platforms or may even attempt to completely block access to our platforms. Accordingly, adverse legal or regulatory developments could substantially harm our business.
We are subject to a variety of federal, state, and international laws and regulations governing privacy, information security, and data protection laws (“Privacy Laws”). Legislators and/or regulators in countries in which we operate are increasingly adopting or revising Privacy Laws. All U.S. states have passed data breach notification laws and others have adopted or expanded laws and regulations that address the security of personal information and the collection and use of personal information through websites. In particular, California passed a broad-reaching consumer privacy law in June 2018 which went into effect January 1, 2020, called the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”). In response to the CCPA, IZEA posted an updated California Privacy Notice on its websites. Virginia’s Consumer Data Protection Act (“CDPA”) will come into effect January 1, 2023, which is also when the California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act of 2020 (“CPRA”) will take effect. The U.S. Congress also is considering implementation of a national Privacy Law. Outside the U.S., the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which became effective May 25, 2018, has extra-territorial scope and substantial fines (up to 4% of global annual revenue or €20M, whichever is greater). In 2018, Brazil passed a law similar to GDPR and other countries are considering similar laws. Enforcement of Privacy Laws also has increased over the past few years. Accordingly, new and revised Privacy Laws, together with stepped-up enforcement of existing Privacy Laws, could significantly affect our current and planned privacy, data protection and information security-related practices, our collection, use, sharing, retention and safeguarding of consumer and/or employee information, and some of our current or planned business activities.
Furthermore, the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act has provisions that limit, but do not necessarily eliminate, our liability for linking to third-party websites that contain materials that infringe copyrights or other intellectual property rights of third parties, so long as we comply with the statutory requirements of this act. Complying with these various laws could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices in a manner adverse to our business.
We, as an e-commerce service provider, are subject to Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 (the “FTC Act”), which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices, including advertising and marketing on the Internet. At the state level, a majority of states have consumer protection laws similar to the FTC Act that also prohibit unfair and deceptive business practices. In certain cases, we are retained by marketers to manage their advertising campaigns through our platforms, thereby increasing our exposure as not only the service provider but also the medium through which advertisements are broadcast. In addition to those requirements, the marketers, creators, and agencies that use our platforms are subject to specific guidance and regulations regarding online advertising, such as the Dot Com Disclosures - Information about Online Advertising, issued by the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”), the FTC’s Enforcement Policy Statement on Deceptively Formatted Advertisements, issued in 2015, and the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (known as the Endorsement Guide) which were adopted in 2009, updated and reissued by the FTC in 2013, and further clarified in 2015 and are regularly enforced. The Endorsement Guide, for example, significantly extends the scope of potential liability associated with the use of testimonials and endorsements, including injecting endorsement requirements into advertising methods such as blogging, posting on Instagram, tweeting, and other online posting of sponsored advertisements by a creator. In particular, the Endorsement Guide provides that creators must always clearly and conspicuously disclose the material connection between the creator and the marketer, such as if they received consideration for blogging or posting about a particular product, service, brand or the like, whether the consideration comprises something tangible (i.e. cash, discounts, objects that are provided to them at no cost, even for testing purposes) or intangible (such as accolades and more prominent future blogging or posting opportunities). In addition, the creator must not make claims about the product or service he or she is discussing that go beyond what the marketer could say about the product or service. The Endorsement Guide further provides that the marketer should ensure that creators speaking on its behalf are provided guidance and training needed to ensure their claims, statements and representations are truthful, transparent and properly substantiated, and monitor the activities of creators speaking on its behalf. If a creator, blogger, agency or marketer should fail to comply with the Dot Com Disclosures, the Endorsement Guide or any other FTC rule, regulation or policy, which may be manifest by making deceptive, misleading or unsubstantiated claims and representations, failing to disclose a sponsorship relationship or otherwise, then various parties related to the advertising campaign (including the service provider of the platform over which the campaign is managed) may be subject to liability as a result of such non-compliance. In the event it was found that we (or one of our marketer customers)
failed to comply with the FTC Act or state consumer protection laws, it could result in the potential imposition of equitable redress or penalties that could include monetary damages, a modification of certain business practices, or an order to cease certain aspects of our operations. Other countries, such as Canada and EU member states, also have laws, regulations and rules that mirror the FTC Endorsement Guide and similar consumer protection laws and guidance.
More generally, if there is negative consumer perception and mistrust of the practice of compensating creators to endorse the marketers' specific products, then marketers may become less interested in using influencer marketing platforms like ours as a means for advertising which could, in turn, materially adversely affect our business and financial results.
We are committed to promoting ethical social sponsorship practices and have established terms of service for users of our platforms, which refer to the Endorsement Guide and include one or more of the following:
Mandatory Disclosure. Our terms of service require the disclosure of the sponsored relationship between the marketer and creator. By default, a sponsorship cannot be published through the platform unless a phrase or paragraph disclosing the sponsored relationship is included. For example, a creator is required to select one of a number of disclosure phrases such as “sponsored,” “advertisement” or “ad” prior to the publication of a tweet or a post. Other social sponsorship forms may be monitored through a Disclosure Audit tool that monitors posts on an ongoing basis to make sure they continue to include disclosure after the initial posts are approved. Failure to disclose the sponsored relationship is a violation of our terms of service, which may result in the withholding of payment for the sponsorship and the creator being removed from our network.
Freedom of Choice. Creators are free to choose which sponsorships to publish. Our platforms do not auto-inject a marketer's message into an influencer's social media network.
Authentic Voice. We encourage honesty of opinion in the selection of sponsorships by a creator and similarly we encourage marketers to create opportunities that allow the creator to write the sponsorship in their own words, provided that a creator always adheres to our terms of service and code of ethics which includes disclosing their sponsored relationships at all times while using any of the platforms.
Transparency of Identity. Our platforms are designed to be open, safe environment for our marketers, creators, and users. In fact, we do not cloak the identities of marketers or creators. Both parties involved in a potential transaction can see each other's profiles and make informed decisions before engaging with each other.
Pre-Publication Marketer Review. Marketers may choose to review their sponsored content before it is published and to request a change to the sponsored content prior to publication in the case of factual inaccuracies.
Reporting Violations. We have zero tolerance for violations of our terms of service and encourage the reporting of violations directly to IZEA. If violations are reported, we promptly investigate them and in appropriate cases, marketers, creators, and users are removed from our network and prohibited from using our sites.
We also believe, and have subsequently included requirements within our terms of service, based on positions taken by certain federal courts and the FTC, that communications and messages disseminated by our platform users are subject to and must comply at all times with CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) requirements.
To date, we have not been materially impacted by the rules governing messaging over social media networks and social sponsorship, including the CAN-SPAM Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. However, we cannot predict the impact of future regulations on us and marketers and creators who use our platforms, nor can we predict the impact of attempts to circumvent our mechanisms that are designed to ensure compliance.
Employees
As of December 31, 2020, we had a total of 107 employees, of which 104 were full-time employees, including 46 in sales and marketing, 19 in campaign fulfillment, 29 in technology and development, and 10 in administration and finance. None of our employees are represented by a collective bargaining agreement, nor have we experienced any work stoppage. We consider our relationship with our employees to be good. Our future success depends on our continuing ability to attract and retain highly qualified engineers, sales and marketing, account management, and senior management personnel.
Available Information
IZEA was founded in February 2006 under the name PayPerPost, Inc. and became a public company incorporated in the state of Nevada in May 2011. Effective August 20, 2018, we changed our name from IZEA, Inc. to IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Our executive offices are located at 501 N. Orlando Avenue, Suite 313, PMB 247 Winter Park, FL 32789 and our telephone number is (407) 674-6911. We maintain a corporate website at https://izea.com. Our Annual Report, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, including exhibits, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are available free of charge on our website, as soon as reasonably practicable after they have been filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Our SEC reports and other filings can be accessed through the investors section of our website, or through https://www.sec.gov. Information on our website does not constitute part of this Annual Report or any other report we file or furnish with the SEC.
Investors and others should note that we use social media to communicate with our subscribers and the public about our Company, our services, new product developments and other matters. Any information that we consider to be material to an investor's evaluation of our Company will be included in filings accessible through the SEC website, and may also be disseminated using our investor relations website (https://izea.com) and press releases. However, we encourage investors, the media, and others interested in our Company to also review our social media channels @izea on Twitter, @izea on Instagram, and IZEA on Facebook. The information contained in these social media channels is not part of, and is not incorporated into or included in, this Annual Report.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
ITEM 1A - RISK FACTORS
You should carefully consider the factors discussed under this item regarding the numerous and varied risks, known and unknown, that may prevent us from achieving our goals. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, financial condition or results of operation may be materially and adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and investors could lose all or part of their investment. These risk factors may not identify all risks that we face, and our operations could also be affected by factors that are not presently known to us or that we currently consider to be immaterial to our operations.
Risks Related to our Business and Industry
We have a history of annual net losses, expect future losses and cannot assure you that we will achieve profitability.
We have incurred significant net losses and negative cash flow from operations for most periods since our inception, which has resulted in a total accumulated deficit of $70,634,776 as of December 31, 2020. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of $10,250,007, including a $10,233,703 loss from operations. We have not achieved profitability and cannot be certain that we will be able to realize sufficient revenue to achieve profitability. If we achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain it. Therefore, we may need to raise capital through new financings, which could include equity financing, such as additional issuances of common stock under our at the market offering program, which may be dilutive to stockholders, or debt financing, which would likely restrict our ability to borrow from other sources. In addition, securities we issue may contain rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of the rights of our current stockholders. There can be no assurance that additional funds will be available on terms attractive to us, or at all. If adequate funds are not available, we may be required to curtail or reduce our operations or forced to sell or dispose of our rights or assets. An inability to raise adequate funds on commercially reasonable terms would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation, and financial condition, including the possibility that a lack of funds could cause our business to fail and liquidate with little or no return to investors.
Our business has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the continuing impacts of COVID-19 are highly unpredictable and could have a significant adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows in the future.
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a global pandemic and recommended containment and mitigation measures worldwide. As the disease spread throughout the United States, we directed all of our staff to work from home effective March 16, 2020 and subsequently did not renew leases for our headquarters and temporary office spaces to reduce fixed costs. We intend to have all employees work remotely for the foreseeable future to protect their health and safety. We believe our business operations and ability to support our customers are fully functional while our employees are working from remote locations; however, their productivity and efficiency may be negatively affected, and we may face increased risk of interruptions. Although countries have begun to distribute vaccinations, many countries face challenges in doing so and new variants of COVID-19 have been identified, and it is uncertain how quickly and effectively such vaccinations will help to control the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, there remains uncertainty around the duration and the total economic impact of the pandemic.
Our business relies heavily on people, and adverse events such as health-related concerns and changes in family working conditions experienced by our employees, the inability to travel and other matters affecting the general work environment have impacted our business near term. We have changed the way we interact with our customers and pivoted to provide alternative forms of advertising for our customer campaigns as large social gatherings were cancelled during the year. The economic conditions caused by COVID-19 have negatively impacted the business activity of our customers, and we have observed declining demand and changes in their advertising decisions, timing, and spending priorities, which have had a negative impact to our sales. We cannot fully quantify the impact to our business operations as a result of COVID-19 at this time. Any of the foregoing could harm our business and we cannot anticipate all the ways in which the current global health crisis and financial market conditions could adversely impact our business.
The outbreak and attempts to slow the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in extreme volatility and disruptions in the capital and credit markets, and future trends remain uncertain. A severe or prolonged economic downturn could result in a variety of additional risks to our business, including weakened demand from our customers and delays in client payments.
We have not extended our monthly arrangements for flexible office space in our remote offices, nor signed a new lease for our headquarters, which could negatively impact our business.
In light of the uncertain and rapidly evolving situation relating to the spread of the COVID-19 - specifically stay-at-home orders imposed by certain states and localities - we did not enter into a new lease for our corporate headquarters in Winter Park, Florida and our Canadian headquarters in Toronto, Canada, for which both leases expired on April 30, 2020. Additionally, we have vacated the various co-working facilities our team members used around the country as their terms expired during 2020. As a result, our management team and all of our employees are working remotely. While our employees are accustomed to working with other remote employees and customers, our workforce had not been fully remote prior to March 16, 2020, when we proactively instituted a work-from-home policy in response to COVID-19 concerns. Although we continue to monitor the situation and may adjust our current plans as more information and guidance become available, not doing business in-person could negatively impact our marketing efforts, challenge our ability to enter into customer contracts in a timely manner, give rise to cybersecurity issues, slow down our recruiting efforts, or create operational or other challenges as we adjust to a fully-remote workforce, any of which could harm our business. Additionally, when we determine it prudent to end or modify our work-from-home policy, we will consider entering into a new lease for office space and/or arrangements for the use of co-working facilities. Although we believe suitable office space will be readily available when this time comes, we may encounter difficulties or delays in finalizing the terms of such lease arrangements or in obtaining rent prices at acceptable rates.
Impairment of our intangible assets has resulted in significant charges that adversely impact our operating results.
We assess the potential impairment of goodwill on an annual basis, as well as whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. In March 2020, we identified a triggering event due to the reduction in projected revenue related to COVID-19 and the continuation of a market capitalization below our carrying value and uncertainty for recovery given the volatility of the capital markets surrounding COVID-19. We performed an interim assessment of goodwill and determined that the carrying value of the Company’s reporting unit as of March 31, 2020 exceeded the fair value. Therefore, we recorded a $4.3 million impairment of goodwill in the twelve months ended December 31, 2020. Future adverse changes in these or other unforeseeable factors could result in further impairment charges that would impact our results of operations and financial position in the reporting period identified.
We make numerous estimates or judgments relating to our critical accounting policies and these estimates create complexity in our accounting. If our accounting is erroneous or based on assumptions that change or prove to be incorrect, our operating results could change from investor expectations, which could cause our stock price to fall.
We are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. Such estimates and assumptions include, but are not limited to, judgments related to revenue recognition, stock based compensation, credit risk, and values surrounding software development, intangible assets and goodwill, and their economic useful lives.
Various factors contribute to complexity in our accounting. For example, the recognition of our revenue is governed by certain criteria that determine whether we report revenue either on a gross basis, as a principal, or net basis, as an agent, depending upon the nature of the sales transaction. Changes in how we control and manage our platforms, our contractual terms, our business practices, or other changes in accounting standards or interpretations, may change the reporting of our revenue on a gross to net or net to gross basis. As a result, we may experience significant fluctuations in our revenue depending on the nature of our sales and our reporting of such revenue and related accounting treatment, without any change in our underlying business or net income. Our guidance or estimates about the combination of gross or net revenue are based upon the volumes and characteristics that we believe will be the mix of revenue during the period. Those estimates and assumptions may be inaccurate when made or may be rendered inaccurate by subsequent changes in circumstances, such as changing the characteristics of our offerings or particular transactions in response to client demands, market developments, regulatory pressures, acquisitions, and other factors. In addition, we may incorrectly extrapolate from revenue recognition treatment of prior transactions to future transactions that we believe are similar, but that ultimately are determined to have different characteristics that dictate different revenue reporting treatment. These factors may make our financial reporting more complex and difficult for investors to understand, may make comparison of our results of operations to prior periods or other companies more difficult, may make it more difficult for us to give accurate guidance, and could increase the potential for reporting errors.
Further, our acquisitions have imposed purchase accounting requirements, required us to integrate accounting personnel, systems, and processes, necessitated various consolidation and elimination adjustments, and imposed additional filing and audit requirements. Ongoing evolution of our business, changes in underlying GAAP and any future acquisitions, will compound these complexities. Our operating results may be adversely affected if we make accounting errors or our judgments prove to be wrong, assumptions change or actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our operating results to fall below investor expectations or guidance we may have provided, resulting in a decline in our stock price and potential legal claims.
Historically, we have not relied upon patents to protect our proprietary technology, and our competitors may be able to offer similar products and services, which would harm our competitive position.
Our success depends upon our proprietary technology. We do not have registered patents on any of our current platforms because we have determined that the costs of patent prosecution outweigh the benefits given the alternative of reliance upon copyright law to protect our computer code and other proprietary technology and properties. In addition to copyright laws, we rely upon service mark and trade secret laws, confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions to establish and protect our proprietary rights. As part of our confidentiality procedures, we enter into non-disclosure agreements with our employees and consultants. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy aspects of our products or to obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary or develop similar technology independently. Policing unauthorized use of our products is difficult, and while we are unable to determine the extent to which piracy of our software products exists, software piracy can be expected to be a persistent problem. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to as great an extent as do the laws of the United States, and effective copyright, trademark, trade secret and patent protection may not be available in those jurisdictions. Our means of protecting our proprietary rights may not be adequate to protect us from the infringement or misappropriation of such rights by others, and we cannot assure you that that our competitors will not independently develop similar technology, duplicate our products and services, or design around any intellectual property rights we hold.
We cannot provide any assurance that our proprietary rights with respect to our products or services will be viable or have value in the future since the validity, enforceability, and type of protection of proprietary rights in Internet-related industries are uncertain and still evolving.
If third parties claim that we infringe their intellectual property rights, it may result in costly litigation.
We cannot assure you that third parties will not claim our current or future products or services infringe their intellectual property rights. Any such claims, with or without merit, could cause costly litigation that could consume significant management time. As the number of product and services offerings in our market increases and functionalities increasingly overlap, companies such as ours may become increasingly subject to infringement claims. These claims, even if not meritorious, could be expensive to defend and could divert management's attention from operating our business. These claims also might require us to enter into royalty or license agreements. If required, we may not be able to obtain such royalty or license agreements, or obtain them on terms acceptable to us.
Further, in recent years, there has been significant litigation in the United States involving patents and other intellectual property rights, particularly in the software and Internet-related industries. If we become liable to third parties for infringing their intellectual property rights, we could be required to pay a substantial award of damages and to develop non-infringing technology, obtain a license or cease selling the products that contain the infringing intellectual property. We may be unable to develop non-infringing technology or obtain a license on commercially reasonable terms, if at all.
Intense competition in our target markets could impair our ability to grow and to achieve profitability.
The market for influencer and content marketing is highly competitive. We expect this competition to continue to increase, in part because there are no significant barriers to entry to our industry for those that operate in a Managed Services or an agency-type model. Increased competition may result in reduced pricing for managed campaigns, reduced margins and reduced revenue as a result of lost market share. Our principal competitors include other companies that provide marketers with Internet advertising solutions and companies that offer pay per click search services.
Within the enterprise software unit of IZEA’s business (“SaaS Services”), while there is a higher technological barrier to entry, IZEA is vulnerable to new entrants with access to fresh capital and the ability to replicate upon previous research and development investments made by us. This is particularly challenging given the minimal opportunity to protect our internet-based software via patents.
We also compete with traditional advertising media, such as direct mail, television, radio, cable, and print for a share of marketers' total advertising budgets. Many current and potential competitors enjoy competitive advantages over us, such as longer operating histories, greater name recognition, larger customer bases, greater access to advertising space on high-traffic websites, and significantly greater financial, technical, sales, and marketing resources. As a result, we may be unable to compete successfully. If we fail to compete successfully, we could lose customers and our revenue and results of operations could decline.
In addition, as we continue our efforts to expand the scope of our services, we may compete with a greater number of other media companies across an increasing range of different services, including in vertical markets where competitors may have advantages in expertise, brand recognition and other areas. If existing or future competitors develop or offer products or services that provide significant performance, price, creative or other advantages over those offered by us, our business, prospects, results of operations, and financial condition could be negatively affected.
We are continuing to develop our IZEAx platform and have transitioned certain features and customers from our legacy Ebyline and TapInfluence platforms. Our updated IZEAx, Shake, and BrandGraph platforms may not achieve sufficient market acceptance to be commercially viable for open marketplace or SaaS services.
In April 2019, we released version 3.0 of IZEAx, which allows marketers to make offers that require a single creator to complete multiple tasks or deliverables. Throughout the remainder of 2019, we continued to add additional features to support our SaaS partners and integrate the Ebyline and TapInfluence platform offerings for custom content services within our IZEAx platform. By the end of 2019, nearly all of the Ebyline and TapInfluence customers and creators were migrated off of those platforms and onto the IZEAx platform. With the merging of the two platforms into IZEAx there is a risk of decreased revenue from marketers if they do not understand the changes or do not believe that the IZEAx platform can provide them with a similar or improved service from what they received in the Ebyline or TapInfluence platforms. If our marketers and creators do not perceive this platform to be of high value and quality, we may not be able to retain them or acquire new marketers and creators.
Shake and BrandGraph were both officially launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to invest significant engineering resources into the development and improvement of these platforms and the creation of new technology additions that complement our core offerings. The Shake and BrandGraph platforms and models are new to IZEA and we are still in the very early days of building a customer base for these products. We may fail to achieve significant marketplace inventory in Shake to attract enough buyers and we may fail to create enough product differentiation among social data platforms to drive adoption of BrandGraph. We cannot provide any assurances of the short or long-term commercial success or growth of our platforms. There is no assurance that the amount of money being allocated for the platforms will be sufficient to complete them, or that such completion will result in a competitive edge, significant revenues or profit for us.
We depend on our ability to attract and retain customers that are prepared to offer products or services on compelling terms through IZEAx and Shake. Additionally, we rely on marketers who purchase direct custom content from our creators in our platforms. We must continue to attract and retain customers in order to increase revenue and achieve profitability. If existing or future competitors develop or offer products or services that provide significant performance, price, creative or other advantages over this platform, demand for our platforms may decrease. In addition, we may experience attrition in our customers in the ordinary course of business resulting from several factors, including losses to competitors, mergers, closures or bankruptcies. If we are unable to attract new customers in numbers sufficient to grow our business, or if too many customers are unwilling to offer products or services with compelling terms to our creators through our platforms, of if creators stop offering their services through our platform, our operating results will be adversely affected.
Our total number of user accounts may be higher than the number of our actual individual marketers or creators and may not be representative of the number of persons who are active users.
Our total number of user accounts in the IZEAx and Shake platform may be higher than the number of our actual individual marketers and creators because some may have created multiple accounts for different purposes, including different user connections. We define a user connection as a social account or blog that has been added to IZEAx and Shake under a user account. It is possible for one user to add as many user connections as they like, and it is common for talent mangers and large publishers to add several connections under a single account. Given the challenges inherent in identifying these creators, we do not have a reliable system to accurately identify the number of actual individual creators, and thus we rely on the number of total user connections and user accounts as our measure of the size of our user base. In addition, the number of user accounts includes the total number of individuals that have completed registration through a specific date, less individuals who have unsubscribed, and should not be considered as representative of the number of persons who continue to actively create to fulfill the sponsorships offered through our platforms. Many users may create an account but may not actively participate in marketplace activities.
Delays in releasing enhanced versions of our products and services could adversely affect our competitive position.
As part of our strategy, we expect to periodically release enhanced versions of IZEAx and related services. Even if our new versions contain the features and functionality our customers want, in the event we are unable to timely introduce these new product releases, our competitive position may be harmed. We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully complete the development of currently planned or future products in a timely and efficient manner. Due to the complexity of
these products, internal quality assurance testing and customer testing of pre-commercial releases may reveal product performance issues, undesirable feature enhancements or additional desirable feature enhancements that could lead us to postpone the release of these new versions. In addition, the reallocation of resources associated with any postponement would likely cause delays in the development and release of other future products or enhancements to our currently available products. Any delay in releasing other future products or enhancements of our products could cause our financial results to be adversely impacted.
We rely on third-party social media platforms to provide the mechanism necessary to deliver influencer marketing, and any change in the platform terms, costs, availability, or access to these technologies could adversely affect our business.
We rely on third-party social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube to serve as the mechanism for publishing influencer marketing content to targeted audiences, in order to deliver our influencer marketing services to our customers. These platforms include technologies that provide some of the core functionality required to operate the influencer marketing portion of our platform, as well as functionalities such as user traffic reporting, ad-serving, content delivery services, discovering services, and metrics. There can be no assurance that these providers will continue to make all or any of their technologies available to us on reasonable terms, or at all. Third-party social media platforms may start charging fees or otherwise change their business models in a manner that impedes our ability to use their technologies. In any event, we have no control over these companies or their decision-making with respect to granting us access to their social media platforms or providing us with analytical data, and any material change in the current terms, costs, availability or use of their social media platforms or analytical data could adversely affect our business.
Our business depends on continued and unimpeded access to the Internet by us and by our customers and their end users. Internet access providers or distributors may be able to block, degrade or charge for access to our content, which could lead to additional expenses to us and our customers and the loss of end users and advertisers.
Products and services such as ours depend on our ability and the ability of our customers' users to access the Internet. Currently, this access is provided by companies that have, or in the future may 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 products or services such as ours by restricting or prohibiting the use of their infrastructure to support or facilitate product or service offerings such as ours, or by charging increased fees to businesses such as ours to provide content or to have users access that content. In 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released an order, commonly referred to as net neutrality, that, among other things, prohibited (i) the impairment or degradation of lawful Internet traffic on the basis of content, application or service and (ii) the practice of favoring some Internet traffic over other Internet traffic based on the payment of higher fees. In December 2017, the FCC voted to overturn the net neutrality regulations imposed by the 2015 order. Internet service providers in the U.S. may now be able to impair or degrade the use of, or increase the cost of using, our products or services. Such interference could result in a loss of existing viewers, subscribers and advertisers, and increased costs, and could impair our ability to attract new viewers, subscribers and advertisers, thereby harming our revenues and growth.
Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could result in unanticipated losses that could adversely affect our results of operations and financial position.
We are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations because a portion of our sales, expenses, assets and liabilities are denominated in foreign currencies. Changes in the value of foreign currencies, particularly the Canadian dollar, affect our results of operations and financial position. With respect to international sales initially priced using U.S. dollars as a cost basis, a decrease in the value of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar would make our products less price competitive. Once the product is sold at a fixed foreign currency price, we could experience foreign currency gains or losses that could have a material effect on our operating results.
New tax treatment of companies engaged in Internet commerce may adversely affect the commercial use of our services and our financial results.
Due to the global nature of social media and our services, it is possible that various states or foreign countries might attempt to regulate our transmissions or levy sales, income or other taxes relating to our activities. Tax authorities at the international, federal, state and local levels are currently reviewing the appropriate treatment of companies engaged in Internet commerce. New or revised international, federal, state or local tax regulations may subject us or our creators to additional sales, income and other taxes. We cannot predict the effect of current attempts to impose sales, income or other taxes on commerce over social media. New or revised taxes and, in particular, sales taxes, VAT and similar taxes would likely increase the cost of
doing business online and decrease the attractiveness of advertising and selling goods and services over social media. New taxes could also create significant increases in internal costs necessary to capture data, and collect and remit taxes. Any of these events could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We may become subject to government regulation and legal uncertainties that could reduce demand for our products and services or increase the cost of doing business, thereby adversely affecting our financial results.
As described in the section “Business - Government Regulation,” we are subject to laws and regulations applicable to businesses generally and certain laws or regulations directly applicable to service providers for advertising and marketing Internet commerce. Due to the increasing popularity and use of social media, it is possible that a number of laws and regulations may become applicable to us or may be adopted in the future with respect to social media covering issues such as:
•truth-in-advertising;
•user privacy;
•taxation;
•right to access personal information;
•copyrights;
•distribution; and
•characteristics and quality of services.
The applicability of existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, copyrights and other intellectual property, encryption, taxation, libel and export or import matters to social media platforms is uncertain. The vast majority of these laws were adopted prior to the broad commercial use of social media platforms and related technologies. As a result, they do not contemplate or address the unique issues of social media and related technologies. Changes to these laws intended to address these issues, including some recently proposed changes, could create uncertainty in the social media marketplace. Such uncertainty could reduce demand for our services or increase the cost of doing business due to increased costs of litigation or increased service delivery costs.
Our influencer marketing business is subject to the risks associated with word of mouth advertising and endorsements, such as violations of “truth-in-advertising” laws, the FTC Endorsement Guide and other similar global regulatory requirements and, more generally, loss of consumer confidence.
As the practice of targeted advertising is increasingly scrutinized by both regulators and the industry alike, a greater emphasis has been placed on educating consumers about their privacy choices on the Internet, and providing them with the right to opt in or opt out of targeted advertising. The common thread throughout both targeted advertising and the FTC requirements described in detail in the section “Business - Government Regulation” is the increased importance placed on transparency between the marketer and the consumer to ensure that consumers know the difference between “information” and “advertising” on the Internet, and are afforded the opportunity to decide how their personal information will be used in the manner to which they are marketed. There is a risk regarding negative consumer perception of the practice of “undisclosed compensation” of social media users to endorse specific products. As described in the section “Business - Government Regulation,” we undertake various measures through controls across our platforms and by monitoring and enforcing our code of ethics to ensure that marketers and creators comply with the FTC's Endorsement Guide (and analogous laws and guidance in other countries) when utilizing our websites, but if competitors and other companies do not, it could create a negative overall perception for the industry. Not only will readers stop relying on blogs for useful, timely and insightful information that enrich their lives by having access to up-to-the-minute information that often bears different perspectives and philosophies, but a lack of compliance will almost inevitably result in greater governmental oversight and involvement in an already-highly regulated marketplace. A pervasive overall negative perception caused by a failure of our own preventative measures or by others not complying with the FTC's Endorsement Guide (among the FTC's other acts, regulations and policies, and among analogous laws and guidance in other countries,) could result in reduced revenue and results of operations and higher compliance costs for us.
Failure to comply with federal, state and international privacy laws and regulations, or the expansion of current or the enactment of new privacy laws or regulations, could adversely affect our business.
A variety of federal, state and international laws and regulations govern the collection, use, retention, sharing and security of personal information (“Privacy Laws”). Privacy Laws are evolving and subject to potentially differing interpretations. The European Union adopted the GDPR, which went into effect in May 2018, and requires companies to satisfy stricter requirements regarding the handling of personal and sensitive data, including its collection, use, protection and the ability of persons whose data is stored to correct or delete such data about themselves. EU Member States also are enacting national GDPR-implementing laws that are in some cases stricter or different from GDPR. During 2018, Brazil enacted a law similar to GDPR and other countries are expanding or considering their Privacy Laws to follow suit. Complying with these new and expanded Privacy Laws will cause us to incur substantial operational costs or may require us to change our business practices. For example, noncompliance with the GDPR could result in proceedings against us by governmental entities or others and fines up to the greater of €20 million or 4% of annual global revenues as well as damage to our reputation and brand. We also may find it necessary to establish systems to effectuate cross-border personal data transfers of personal information originating from the European Economic Area, Australia, Japan and other non-U.S. jurisdictions, which may involve substantial expense and distraction from other aspects of our business.
We have made public certain statements about our privacy practices concerning the collection, use and disclosure of creators' personal information on our websites and platforms. Several Internet companies have incurred penalties for failing to abide by the representations made in their public-facing privacy notices. In addition, several states have adopted legislation that requires businesses to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices to protect sensitive personal information and to provide notice to consumers in the event of a security breach. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with our public-facing privacy notices, FTC requirements or orders or other federal, state or international privacy or consumer protection-related laws, regulations or industry self-regulatory principles could result in claims, proceedings or actions against us by governmental or other entities or the incurring by us of other liabilities, which could adversely affect our business. In addition, a failure or perceived failure to comply with industry standards or with our own privacy policies and practices could result in a loss of creators or marketers and adversely affect our business. Federal, state, and international governmental authorities continue to evaluate the privacy implications of targeted advertising, such as the use of cookies and other tracking technology. The regulation of these cookies and other current online advertising practices could adversely affect our business.
Our business depends on a strong brand, and if we are not able to maintain and enhance our brand, or if we receive unfavorable media coverage, our ability to expand our base of creators and marketers will be impaired and our business and operating results will be harmed.
We believe that the brand identity that we have developed has significantly contributed to the success of our business. We also believe that maintaining and enhancing the “IZEA” brand is critical to expanding our base of creators and marketers. Maintaining and enhancing our brand may require us to make substantial investments and these investments may not be successful. If we fail to promote, maintain, and protect the “IZEA” brand, or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business, prospects, operating results, and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected. We anticipate that, as our market becomes increasingly competitive, maintaining and enhancing our brand may become increasingly difficult and expensive. Unfavorable publicity or consumer perception of our platforms, applications, practices or service offerings, or the offerings of our marketers, could adversely affect our reputation, resulting in difficulties in recruiting, decreased revenue and a negative impact on the number of marketers and the size of our creator base, the loyalty of our creators and the number and variety of sponsorships we offer each day. As a result, our business, prospects, results of operation, and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
Our business depends on our ability to maintain and scale the network infrastructure necessary to operate our platforms and applications, and any significant disruption in service on our platforms and applications could result in a loss of creators or marketers.
Creators and marketers access our services through our platforms and applications. Our reputation and ability to acquire, retain, and serve our creators and marketers are dependent upon the reliable performance of our platforms and applications and the underlying network infrastructure. If our creator base continues to grow, we will need an increasing amount of network capacity and computing power. We have spent and expect to continue to spend substantial amounts for data centers and equipment and related network infrastructure to handle the traffic on our platforms and applications. The operation of these systems is expensive and complex and could result in operational failures. In the event that our creator base or the amount of traffic on our platforms and applications grows more quickly than anticipated, we may be required to incur significant additional costs. Interruptions in these systems, whether due to system failures, computer viruses or physical or
electronic break-ins, could affect the security or availability of our platforms and applications, and prevent our creators and marketers from accessing our services. A substantial portion of our network infrastructure is hosted by third-party providers. Any disruption in these services or any failure of these providers to handle existing or increased traffic could significantly harm our business. Any financial or other difficulties these providers face may adversely affect our business, and we exercise little control over these providers, which increases our vulnerability to problems with the services they provide. If we do not maintain or expand our network infrastructure successfully or if we experience operational failures, we could lose current and potential creators and marketers or transactions between the two groups, which could harm our operating results and financial condition.
If our security measures are breached, or if our services are subject to attacks that degrade or deny the ability of users to access our platforms, our platforms and applications may be perceived as not being secure, marketers and creators may curtail or stop using our services, and we may incur significant legal and financial exposure.
Our platforms and applications and the network infrastructure that is hosted by third-party providers involve the storage and transmission of marketer and creator proprietary information, and security breaches could expose us to a risk of loss of this information, litigation and potential liability. Our security measures may be breached due to the actions of outside parties, employee error, malfeasance, security flaws in the third-party hosting service that we rely upon or any number of other reasons and, as a result, an unauthorized party may obtain access to our data or our marketers' or creators' data. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees, marketers or creators to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our data or our marketers' or creators' data. Although we do have security measures in place, we have had instances where some customers have used fraudulent credit cards in order to pay for our services. While these breaches of our security did not result in material harm to our business, any future breach or unauthorized access could result in significant legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation and a loss of confidence in the security of our platforms and applications that could potentially have an adverse effect on our business. Because the techniques used to obtain and use unauthorized credit cards, obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures on a timely basis. If an actual or perceived breach of our security occurs, the market perception of the effectiveness of our security measures could be harmed and we could lose marketers, creators, and vendors and have difficulty obtaining merchant processors or insurance coverage essential for our operations.
If our technology platforms contain defects, we may need to suspend their availability and our business and reputation would be harmed.
Platforms as complex as ours often contain unknown and undetected defects or performance problems. Many serious defects are frequently found during the period immediately following introduction and initial release of new platforms or enhancements to existing platforms. Although we attempt to resolve all defects that we believe would be considered serious by our customers before making our platforms available to them, our products are not defect-free. We may not be able to detect and correct defects before releasing our product commercially. We cannot ensure that undetected defects or performance problems in our existing or future products will not be discovered in the future or that known defects, considered minor by us, will not result in serious issues for our customers. Any such defects or performance problems may be considered serious by our customers, resulting in a decrease in our revenues.
We may be subject to lawsuits for information by our marketers and our creators, which may affect our business.
Laws relating to the liability of providers of online services for activities of their marketers or of their social media creators and for the content of their marketers' listings are currently unsettled. It is unclear whether we could be subjected to claims for defamation, negligence, copyright or trademark infringement or claims based on other theories relating to the information we publish on our websites or the information that is published across our platforms. These types of claims have been brought, sometimes successfully, against online services and print publications in the past. We may not successfully avoid civil or criminal liability for unlawful activities carried out by our marketers or our creators. Our potential liability for unlawful activities of our marketers or our creators or for the content of our marketers' listings could require us to implement measures to reduce our exposure to such liability, which may require us, among other things, to spend substantial resources or to discontinue certain service offerings. Our insurance may not adequately protect us against these types of claims and the defense of such claims may divert the attention of our management from our operations. If we are subjected to such lawsuits, it may adversely affect our business.
If we fail to detect click-fraud or other invalid clicks, we could lose the confidence of our marketers and advertising partners as a result of lost revenue to marketers or misappropriation of proprietary and confidential information, thereby causing our business to suffer.
“Click-fraud” is a form of online fraud when a person or computer program imitates a legitimate user by intentionally clicking on an advertisement for the purpose of generating a charge per click without having an actual interest in the target of the advertisement's link. We are exposed to the risk of fraudulent or illegitimate clicks on our sponsored listings. The security measures we have in place, which are designed to reduce the likelihood of click-fraud, detect click-fraud from time to time. Although the instances of click-fraud that we have detected to date have not had a material effect on our business, click-fraud could result in a marketer experiencing a reduced return on their investment in our advertising programs because the fraudulent clicks will not lead to revenue for the marketers. As a result, our marketers and advertising partners may become dissatisfied with our advertising programs, which could lead to loss of marketers, advertising partners, and revenue. In addition, anyone who is able to circumvent our security measures could misappropriate proprietary and confidential information or could cause interruptions in our operations. We may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to protect against such security breaches or to address problems caused by such breaches. Concerns over the security of the Internet and other online transactions and the privacy of users may also deter people from using the Internet to conduct transactions that involve transmitting confidential information.
The influencer and content marketing industry is subject to rapid technological change and, to compete, we must continually enhance our products and services.
We must continue to enhance and improve the performance, functionality, and reliability of our products and services. The influencer and content marketing industry is characterized by rapid technological change, changes in user requirements and preferences, frequent new product and service introductions embodying new technologies and the emergence of new industry standards and practices that could render our products and services obsolete. In the past, we have discovered that some of our customers desire additional performance and functionality not currently offered by our products. Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to develop new products and services that address the increasingly sophisticated and varied needs of our customers, and respond to technological advances and emerging industry standards and practices on a cost-effective and timely basis. The development of our technology and other proprietary technology involves significant technical and business risks. We may fail to use new technologies effectively or to adapt our proprietary technology and systems to customer requirements or emerging industry standards. If we are unable to adapt to changing market conditions, customer requirements or emerging industry standards, we may not be able to increase our revenue and expand our business.
If we lose key personnel or are unable to attract and retain additional qualified personnel we may not be able to successfully manage our business and achieve our objectives.
We believe our future success will depend upon our ability to retain our key management, including Edward H. Murphy, our Chief Executive Officer, and Ryan S. Schram, our President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Murphy, who is our founder, has unique knowledge regarding the influencer marketing space, business contacts, and system design and development expertise regarding our platforms that would be difficult to replace. Mr. Schram has sales, marketing, and business development expertise that our other officers do not possess. Even though we have employment agreements in place with each of them, if Messrs. Murphy and Schram were to become unavailable to us, our operations would be adversely affected. Although we maintain “key-man” life insurance for our benefit on the lives of Mr. Murphy and Mr. Schram, this insurance may be inadequate to compensate us for the loss of our executive officers.
Our future success and our ability to expand our operations will also depend in large part on our ability to attract and retain additional qualified engineers, sales and marketing and senior management personnel. Competition for these types of employees is intense due to the limited number of qualified professionals and the high demand for them, particularly in the Orlando, Florida area where our headquarters are located. We have in the past experienced difficulty in recruiting qualified personnel. Failure to attract, assimilate and retain personnel, including key management, technical, sales and marketing personnel, would have a material adverse effect on our business and potential growth.
Public company compliance may make it more difficult to attract and retain officers and directors.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act and new rules subsequently implemented by the SEC have required changes in corporate governance practices of public companies. As a public company, we expect these rules and regulations to increase our compliance costs and to make certain activities more time consuming and costly. As a public company, we also expect that these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult and costly for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our Board of Directors or as executive officers.
Risks Relating to our Common Stock
Our common stock may be delisted if we fail to maintain compliance with the requirements for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, and the price of our common stock and our ability to access the capital markets could be negatively impacted.
Our common stock is listed for trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”). To maintain this listing, we must satisfy Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, including, among other things, a minimum closing bid price requirement of $1.00 per share for continued inclusion on the Nasdaq Capital Market under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1) (the "Bid Price Rule").
On November 12, 2020, we received a notification letter from Nasdaq informing us that for the prior 30 consecutive business days, the bid price of our common stock had closed below $1.00 per share. This notice had no immediate effect on our Nasdaq listing, and we had 180 calendar days, or until May 11, 2021, to regain compliance.
On January 6, 2021, we received notification from Nasdaq that we had regained compliance with the Bid Price Rule after the closing bid price of our common stock was at $1.00 per share or greater for the prior 10 consecutive business days.
Although we are now in compliance with the Bid Price Rule, if we fail to meet this or any of the other continued listing requirements in the future, our common stock may be delisted from Nasdaq, which could reduce the liquidity of our common stock materially and result in a corresponding material reduction in the price of our common stock. In addition, delisting could harm our ability to raise capital through alternative financing sources on terms acceptable to us, or at all, and may result in the potential loss of confidence by investors, employees, and business development opportunities. Such a delisting likely would impair your ability to sell or purchase our common stock when you wish to do so. Further, if we were to be delisted from Nasdaq, our common stock may no longer be recognized as a “covered security” and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities. Thus, delisting from Nasdaq could adversely affect our ability to raise additional financing through the public or private sale of equity securities, would significantly impact the ability of investors to trade our securities and would negatively impact the value and liquidity of our common stock.
We have raised, and may raise, additional capital to meet our business requirements in the future and such capital raising may be costly or difficult to obtain and could dilute current stockholders’ ownership interests.
We have incurred losses since inception and expect to continue to incur losses until we are able to significantly grow our revenues. From 2019 to 2020, we incurred a year-over-year decrease in revenue. If our annual revenue does not increase, we may need additional financing to maintain and expand our business. This financing may be obtained through our at-the-market (ATM) equity offering program under the sales agreement, dated January 25, 2021, with National Securities Corporation acting as sales agent, pursuant to which we may sell common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $35,000,000. Any additional capital raised through our at-the-market equity offering program or any other financing involving the sale of equity or equity linked securities may dilute current stockholders’ ownership percentages and could also result in a decrease in the market value of our equity securities.
The terms of any securities issued by us in future capital transactions may be more favorable to new investors, and may include preferences, superior voting rights and the issuance of warrants or other derivative securities, which may have a further dilutive effect on the holders of any of our securities then outstanding. In addition, we may incur substantial costs in pursuing future capital financing, including investment banking fees, legal fees, accounting fees, securities law compliance fees, printing and distribution expenses, and other costs. We may be required to bear the costs even if we are unable to successfully complete any such capital financing. We may also be required to recognize non-cash expenses in connection with certain securities we issue, such as convertible promissory notes and warrants, which may adversely impact our financial results.
Exercises of stock options, warrants, and other securities will dilute your percentage of ownership and could cause our stock price to fall.
As of March 26, 2021, we had 59,129,390 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding, which included 37,620 shares of unvested restricted stock, outstanding stock options to purchase 1,742,303 shares of our common stock at an average exercise price of $2.55 per share, and unvested restricted stock units of 569,934 shares with an intrinsic value of $2,308,233.
As of March 26, 2021, we also have reserved shares to issue stock options, restricted stock or other awards to purchase or receive up to 3,651,597 shares of common stock under our May 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, 4,375 shares of common stock under our August 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, and 395,613 shares of common stock under our 2014 Employee Stock Purchase
Plan. In the future, we may grant these additional shares or issue new securities, in accordance with terms defined in employment agreements or as part of additional incentive programs. The exercise, conversion or exchange by holders of stock options, restricted stock units, or warrants for shares of common stock, or the issuance of new shares of common stock for additional compensation will dilute the percentage ownership of our stockholders. Issuance of a substantial number of shares of our common stock could cause the price of our common stock to fall and could impair our ability to raise capital by selling additional securities.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business, or our market, or if they adversely change their recommendations regarding our stock, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock is influenced by the research and reports that securities or industry analysts may publish about us, our business, our market, or our competitors. No person is under any obligation to publish research or reports on us, and any person publishing research or reports on us may discontinue doing so at any time without notice. If adequate research coverage is not maintained on our company or if any of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business or provide relatively more favorable recommendations about our competitors, our stock price would likely decline. If any analysts who cover us were to cease coverage of our Company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.
Our earnings are subject to substantial quarterly and annual fluctuations and to market downturns.
Our revenues and earnings may fluctuate significantly in the future. General economic or other political conditions may cause a downturn in the market for our products or services. A future downturn in the market for our products or services could adversely affect our operating results and increase the risk of substantial quarterly and annual fluctuations in our earnings. Our future operating results may be affected by many factors, including, but not limited to: our ability to retain existing or secure anticipated marketers and creators; our ability to develop, introduce and market new products and services on a timely basis; changes in the mix of products developed, produced and sold; disputes with our marketers and creators; and general economic conditions causing a reduction in spending by our customers. These factors affecting our future earnings are difficult to forecast and could harm our quarterly and/or annual operating results. The change in our earnings or general economic conditions may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate.
The price of our common stock in the public markets has experienced, and may in the future experience, extreme volatility due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control.
Since our common stock started trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market, it has been relatively thinly traded and at times been subject to price volatility. Recently our common stock has experienced extreme price and volume volatility. From January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020, the closing price of our common stock ranged from a low of $0.13 on March 18, 2020 to a high of $2.82 on June 11, 2020, with an average daily trading volume of 6.7 million shares. On January 25, 2021, the price increased to an intraday high of $7.45 per share and 25,323,000 shares were traded. Otherwise, in January 2021 the closing price of our common stock averaged $3.65 with an average daily trading volume of 8.9 million shares and, in February 2021, the closing price of our common stock averaged $4.70 with an average daily trading volume of 4.0 million shares.
In addition to shares of our common stock, the stock market in general, and the stock prices of technology-based companies in particular, have experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the operating performance of any specific public company. The market price of our common stock has historically experienced and may continue to experience significant volatility. As a result, the market price could fluctuate widely in price in response to various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including the following:
•changes in our industry;
•competitive pricing pressures;
•our ability to obtain working capital financing;
•additions or departures of key personnel;
•limited “public float” in the hands of a small number of persons whose sales or lack of sales could result in positive or negative pricing pressure on the market prices of our common stock;
•speculative trading practices of certain market participants;
•actual or purported “short squeeze” trading activity;
•expiration of any Rule 144 holding periods or registration of unregistered securities issued by us;
•sales of our common stock;
•our ability to execute our business plan;
•operating results that fall below expectations;
•loss of any strategic relationship;
•regulatory developments; and
•economic and other external factors, including effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
These and other market and industry factors may cause the market price and demand for our common stock to fluctuate substantially, regardless of our actual operating performance, which may limit or prevent investors from readily selling their shares of common stock and may otherwise negatively affect the liquidity of our common stock.
Further, on some occasions, our stock price may be, or may be purported to be, subject to “short squeeze” activity. A “short squeeze” is a technical market condition that occurs when the price of a stock increases substantially, forcing market participants who had taken a position that its price would fall (i.e. who had sold the stock “short”), to buy it, which in turn may create significant, short-term demand for the stock not for fundamental reasons, but rather due to the need for such market participants to acquire the stock in order to forestall the risk of even greater losses. A “short squeeze” condition in the market for a stock can lead to short-term conditions involving very high volatility and trading that may or may not track fundamental valuation models.
In addition, in the past, class action litigation has often been instituted against companies whose securities have experienced periods of volatility in market price. Securities litigation brought against us following volatility in our stock price, regardless of the merit or ultimate results of such litigation, could result in substantial costs, which would hurt our financial condition and operating results and divert management’s attention and resources from our business.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
ITEM 1B - UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
ITEM 2 - PROPERTIES
Our corporate headquarters are based near Orlando using an address at 501 N. Orlando Avenue, Suite 313 PMB 247 in Winter Park, Florida. We do not have any current physical locations and all of our employees are working remotely. When we determine it prudent to end or modify our work-from-home policy, we will consider entering into a new lease for office space and/or arrangements for the use of co-working facilities.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
ITEM 3 - LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
From time to time, we may become involved in various other lawsuits and legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of our business. Litigation is, however, subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may harm our business. As of March 26, 2021, we are not aware of any legal proceedings or claims that we believe would or could have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on us. Regardless of final outcomes, however, any such proceedings or claims may nonetheless impose a significant burden on management and employees and may come with costly defense costs or unfavorable preliminary interim rulings.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
ITEM 4 - MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
ITEM 5 - MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Common Stock Information
Our shares of common stock trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol IZEA. As of March 26, 2021, we had approximately 173 shareholders of record of our common stock. This number does not include beneficial owners whose shares are held in the names of various securities brokers, dealers and registered clearing agencies.
Dividend Policy
We have never paid dividends to holders of our common stock and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future as we intend to retain any earnings for use in our business. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon our results of operations, financial condition, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our board of directors deems relevant.
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans
See the section “Equity Incentive Plans,” under Part III, Item 11 of this Annual Report.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
Except as previously reported in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC, there were no unregistered sales of equity securities by us during the year ended December 31, 2020.
Share Repurchase Program
On July 1, 2019, the Board authorized and approved a share repurchase program under which the Company could repurchase up to $3,500,000 of its common stock from time to time through December 31, 2020, subject to market conditions. The Company did not repurchase any shares of common stock under the share repurchase program prior to its expiration on December 31, 2020.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
ITEM 6 - SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Not applicable for smaller reporting companies.

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
ITEM 7 - MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Company Overview
IZEA Worldwide, Inc. (“IZEA”, “we”, “us” or “our”) creates and operates online marketplaces that connect marketers, including brands, agencies, and publishers, with content creators such as bloggers and tweeters (“creators”). Our technology brings the marketers and creators together, enabling their transactions to be completed at scale through the management of custom content workflow, creator search and targeting, bidding, analytics, and payment processing.
We help power the creator economy, allowing everyone from college students and stay-at-home individuals to celebrities and accredited journalists the opportunity to monetize their content, creativity and influence through our marketers. These creators are compensated by IZEA for producing unique content such as long and short form text, videos, photos, status updates, and illustrations for marketers or distributing such content on behalf of marketers through their personal websites, blogs, and social media channels.
Marketers engage us to gain access to our industry expertise, technology, data, analytics, and network of creators. The majority of the marketers engage us to perform these services on their behalf, but they also have the ability to use our marketplaces on a self-service basis by licensing our technology. Our technology is used for two primary purposes: the engagement of creators for influencer marketing campaigns, or the engagement of creators to create stand-alone custom content for the marketers’ own use and distribution. Marketers receive influential consumer content and engaging, shareable stories that drive awareness.
Our primary technology platform, The IZEA Exchange (“IZEAx”), enables transactions to be completed at scale through the management of custom content workflow, creator search and targeting, bidding, analytics, and payment processing. IZEAx is designed to provide a unified ecosystem that enables the creation and publication of multiple types of custom content through a creator’s personal websites, blogs, or social media channels including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, among others. Until December 2019 when it was merged into IZEAx, we operated the Ebyline technology platform, which we acquired in January 2015. The Ebyline platform was originally designed as a self-service content marketplace to replace in-house editorial newsrooms in news agencies with a “virtual newsroom” to source and handle their content workflow with outside creators. After the acquisition, we began to utilize the creators in the Ebyline platform to produce professional custom content for brands, in addition to the self-service functionality used by newspapers. In July 2016, we acquired the ZenContent technology platform to use as an in-house workflow tool that enables us to produce highly scalable, multi-part production of content for both e-commerce entities and brand customers. The TapInfluence technology platform, acquired in 2018, performed in a similar manner to IZEAx and was being utilized by the majority of the TapInfluence customers as a self-service platform via a licensing arrangement, allowing access to the platform and its creators for self-managed marketing campaigns. After the migration of the last customers to IZEAx from the Ebyline platform in December 2019 and from the TapInfluence platform in February 2020, all marketplace revenue was solely generated from the IZEAx platform until the launch of Shake in November 2020.
In 2020, we launched two new platforms, BrandGraph and Shake. BrandGraph is a social media intelligence platform that is heavily integrated with IZEAx and both platforms rely heavily on data from each other, but it is also available as a stand-alone platform. The platform maps and classifies the complex hierarchy of corporation-to-brand relationships by category and associates social content with brands through a proprietary content analysis engine. Shake is a new online marketplace where buyers can quickly and easily hire creators of all types for influencer marketing, photography, design, and other digital services. The Shake platform is aimed at digital creatives seeking freelance “gig” work. Creators list available “Shakes” on their accounts in the platform and marketers select and purchase creative packages from them through a streamlined chat experience, assisted by ShakeBot - a proprietary, artificial intelligence assistant.
Impact of COVID-19 on our Business
Our operations, sales, and finances were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020. In an effort to protect the health and safety of our employees, we took precautionary action and directed all staff to work from home effective March 16, 2020. During this work-from-home period, which is ongoing, the term of our leases for our headquarters and temporary office spaces expired. When and if we determine it prudent to end or modify our work-from-home policy, we may need to enter into a new lease for office space and/or arrangements for the use of co-working facilities.
While we are able to maintain full operations remotely, the economic conditions caused by COVID-19 have negatively impacted the business activity of our customers. We observed changes in advertising decisions, timing, and spending priorities from brand and agency customers, which have resulted in a negative impact to our revenue.
In light of the adverse economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented certain cost-reduction measures for the three months ended June 30, 2020, including hiring restrictions and temporary salary and wage reductions. Salary reductions averaged 20%, including a 21% reduction in the base salary for our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer and in the fees of our directors. We also nearly eliminated travel expense for the remainder of 2020. In March 2020, we incurred debt by drawing on our secured credit facility and receiving a loan under the U.S. Small Business Association’s Paycheck Protection Program. After we were able to secure additional capital through sales of our common stock through an at the market offering program in June 2020, the secured credit facility was paid down by June 30, 2020, and the employee salary reductions and hiring restrictions were removed effective July 1, 2020.
In an effort to contain COVID-19 or slow its spread, governments around the world have from time to time enacted various measures, including orders to close all businesses not deemed “essential,” isolate residents to their homes or places of residence, and practice social distancing when engaging in essential activities. These measures have impacted the method and timing of certain business meetings and our attendance at industry events. Rather than attending events in-person, as we have done historically, these events have been held virtually. We believe such events still are a valuable business opportunity, but their relative value without in-person networking is uncertain.
When COVID-19 is demonstrably contained, we anticipate a rebound in economic activity, depending on the rate, pace, and effectiveness of the containment efforts deployed by various national, state, and local governments; however, the timing and extent of any such rebound is uncertain. In the fourth quarter of 2020, we began to see a dramatic year over year increase in Managed Services bookings, our net orders from customers, resulting in 48% growth compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. That growth in bookings led to a 10% growth in overall revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020. While we have seen a continuation of that positive momentum for Managed Services bookings in the first quarter of 2021, there is still risk that bookings will not be recognized as revenue if customers cancel prior to the performance of service.
We will continue to actively monitor the situation and may take further actions altering our business operations that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers, partners, suppliers, and stakeholders, or as required by federal, state, or local authorities. It is not clear what the potential effects any such alterations or modifications may have on our business, including the effects on our customers, employees, and prospects, or on our future financial results.
Key Components of Results of Operations
Overall consolidated results of operations are evaluated based on Revenue, Cost of Revenue, Sales and Marketing expenses, General and Administrative expenses, Depreciation and Amortization, and Other Income (Expense), net.
Revenue
We historically generated revenue from five primary sources: (1) revenue from our managed services when a marketer (typically a brand, agency or partner) pays us to provide custom content, influencer marketing, amplification or other campaign management services (“Managed Services”); (2) revenue from fees charged to software customers on their marketplace spend within our IZEAx, Shake, and TapInfluence platforms (“Marketplace Spend Fees”); (3) revenue from fees charged to access the IZEAx, BrandGraph, Ebyline, and TapInfluence platforms (“License Fees”); (4) revenue from transactions generated by the self-service use of our Ebyline platform for professional custom content workflow (“Legacy Workflow Fees”); and (5) revenue derived from other fees such as inactivity fees, early cash-out fees, and subscription plan fees charged to users of our platforms (“Other Fees”). After the migration of the last customers from the Ebyline platform to IZEAx in December 2019, there is no longer any revenue generated from Legacy Workflow Fees and all such revenue is reported as Marketplace Spend Fees under the IZEAx platform.
As discussed in more detail within “Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates” under “Note 1. Company and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” under Part I, Item 1 herein, revenue from Marketplace Spend Fees and Legacy Workflow Fees is reported on a net basis and revenue from all other sources, including Managed Services, License Fees, and Other Fees are reported on a gross basis. We further categorize these sources into two primary groups: (1) Managed Services and (2) SaaS Services, which includes revenue from Marketplace Spend Fees, License Fees, Legacy Workflow Fees, and Other Fees.
Cost of Revenue
Our cost of revenue consists of direct costs paid to our third-party creators who provide the custom content, influencer marketing or amplification services for our Managed Service customers where we report revenue on a gross basis. It also includes internal costs related to our campaign fulfillment and SaaS support departments. These costs include salaries, bonuses, commissions, stock-based compensation, employee benefit costs, and miscellaneous departmental costs related to the personnel who are primarily responsible for providing support to our customers and ultimately fulfillment of our obligations under our contracts with customers. Where appropriate, we capitalize costs that were incurred with software that is developed or acquired for our revenue supporting platforms and amortize these costs over the estimated useful lives of those platforms. This amortization is separately stated under depreciation and amortization in our consolidated statements of operations.
Sales and Marketing
Our sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries, bonuses, commissions, stock-based compensation, employee benefit costs, travel and miscellaneous departmental costs for our marketing, sales and sales support personnel, as well as marketing expenses such as brand marketing, public relation events, trade shows and marketing materials, and travel expenses.
General and Administrative
Our general and administrative expense consists primarily of salaries, bonuses, commissions, stock-based compensation, employee benefit costs, and miscellaneous departmental costs related to our executive, finance, legal, human resources, and other administrative personnel. It also includes travel, public company and investor relations expenses, as well as accounting and legal professional services fees, leasehold facilities, and other corporate-related expenses. General and administrative expense also includes our technology and development costs consisting primarily of our payroll costs for our internal engineers and contractors responsible for developing, maintaining, and improving our technology, as well as hosting and software subscription costs. These costs are expensed as incurred, except to the extent that they are associated with internal use software that qualifies for capitalization, which are then recorded as software development costs in the consolidated balance sheet. We also capitalize costs that are related to our acquired intangible assets. Depreciation and amortization related to these costs are separately stated under depreciation and amortization in our consolidated statements of operations. General and administrative expense also includes current period gains and losses on our acquisition costs payable, as well as gains and losses from the sale of fixed assets. Impairments on fixed assets, intangible assets and goodwill, are included as part of general and administrative expense when they are not material and broken out separately in our consolidated statements of operations when they are material.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation and amortization expense consists primarily of amortization of our internal use software and acquired intangible assets from our business acquisitions. To a lesser extent, we also have depreciation and amortization on equipment and leasehold improvements used by our personnel. Costs are amortized or depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the associated assets.
Other Income (Expense)
Interest Expense. Interest expense is mainly related to the imputed interest on our acquisition costs payable and interest when we use our secured credit facility.
Other Income (Expense). Other income (expense) consists primarily of interest income for interest earned or changes in the value of our foreign assets and liabilities and foreign currency exchange gains and losses on foreign currency transactions, primarily related to the Canadian Dollar.
Results of Operations for the Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
The following table sets forth a summary of our consolidated statements of operations and the change between the periods:
Twelve Months Ended December 31,
2020 2019 $ Change % Change
Revenue $ 18,329,555 $ 18,955,672 $ (626,117) (3) %
Costs and expenses:
Cost of revenue (exclusive of amortization) 8,000,038 8,521,353 (521,315) (6) %
Sales and marketing 5,999,671 6,240,263 (240,592) (4) %
General and administrative 8,611,423 9,193,032 (581,609) (6) %
Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets 4,300,000 418,099 3,881,901 928 %
Depreciation and amortization 1,652,126 1,750,629 (98,503) (6) %
Total costs and expenses 28,563,258 26,123,376 2,439,882 9 %
Loss from operations (10,233,703) (7,167,704) (3,065,999) 43 %
Other income (expense):
Interest expense (63,012) (233,654) 170,642 (73) %
Other income, net 46,708 111,238 (64,530) (58) %
Total other income (expense), net (16,304) (122,416) 106,112 (87) %
Net loss $ (10,250,007) $ (7,290,120) $ (2,959,887) 41 %
Revenue
The following table illustrates our revenue by type, the percentage of total revenue by type, and the change between the periods:
Twelve Months Ended December 31,
2020 2019 $ Change % Change
Managed Services Revenue $ 15,987,226 87 % $ 15,432,868 81 % $ 554,358 4 %
Legacy Workflow Fees - - % 156,119 1 % (156,119) (100) %
Marketplace Spend Fees 621,931 4 % 1,270,560 7 % (648,629) (51) %
License Fees 1,507,336 8 % 1,986,285 10 % (478,949) (24) %
Other Fees 213,062 1 % 109,840 1 % 103,222 94 %
SaaS Services Revenue 2,342,329 13 % 3,522,804 19 % (1,180,475) (34) %
Total Revenue $ 18,329,555 100 % $ 18,955,672 100 % $ (626,117) (3) %
Managed Services revenue during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, increased 4% from the same period in 2019, primarily due to several customers completing larger fourth quarter projects based on their marketing objectives as compared to the prior year period.
SaaS Services revenue is generated by the self-service use of our technology platforms by marketers to manage their own content workflow and influencer marketing campaigns. It consists of fees earned on the marketer’s spend within the IZEAx, BrandGraph, TapInfluence, and Ebyline platforms, along with the license and support fees to access the platform services.
•Legacy Workflow Fees are no longer generated after the migration of the last customers from the Ebyline platform to IZEAx in December 2019. Any activity from former legacy workflow customers is now generated under the IZEAx platform and reported as Marketplace Spend Fees.
•Marketplace Spend Fees decreased by $648,629 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 when compared with the same period in 2019, primarily as a result of lower spend levels from our marketers and lower fees assessed on those spends as a result of competitive pricing efforts and the incorporation of lower margin legacy
workflow customers into IZEAx. Revenue from Marketplace Spend Fees represents our net margins received on this business. After the migration of the last customers from the TapInfluence platform to IZEAx in February 2020, all revenue was solely generated from the IZEAx platform until the launch of Shake in November 2020.
•License Fees revenue decreased during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 to $1,507,336 compared to $1,986,285 in the same period of 2019. The decrease was partly due to former TapInfluence customers who churned during the second half of 2019. Additionally, we implemented a competitive standardized pricing system for all IZEAx license fee customers that was at a lower price point than the former TapInfluence licensing contracts.
•Other Fees revenue increased 94% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 due to increases in the number of subscriptions for certain new self-service offerings such as IZEAx Discovery and BrandGraph.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 decreased by $521,315, or approximately 6%, compared to the same period in 2019 primarily as a result of the decrease in Managed Services revenue. Cost of revenue as a percentage of revenue remained consistent at 45% in 2019 and 44% in 2020.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expense for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 decreased by $240,592, or approximately 4%, compared to the same period in 2019. Our payroll and personnel related expenses and stock compensation for sales and marketing personnel decreased $52,000 as a result of the cost reductions and operating changes implemented after the outbreak of COVID-19. Travel related expenses decreased by $176,000 due to the impact of COVID-19 restricting travel beginning in March 2020 and subscription based software expenses decreased by $10,000 due to the non-renewal of non-essential software as part of our operating changes.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expense for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 decreased by $581,609, or approximately 6%, compared to the same period in 2019. General and administrative expense for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 decreased due to a $802,000 reduction in payroll and personnel related expenses as a result of a 13% decrease in the number of employees compared to the prior year period and the 20% average decrease in salaries that was implemented for the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 cost reduction efforts. Rent expense also decreased by $370,000 due to the non-renewal of expiring office facility leases and travel costs decreased by $142,000 as our employees continue to work from home. These decreases were offset by an increase of $133,000 in contractor expenses as we began to increase the number of engineers working on our technology offerings. We also recorded a gain of $602,410 related to the settlement of our acquisition cost liabilities in 2019 that did not recur in 2020. The gain resulted due to the actual closing market price of our common stock on the date of settlement being lower than the 30-day volume weighted average price used to calculate the number of shares used to pay for the liability pursuant to the terms of the purchase agreements.
Impairment of Goodwill and Intangible Assets
In March 2020, we identified triggering events due to the reduction in our projected revenue due to adverse economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the continuation of a market capitalization below our carrying value, and uncertainty for recovery given the volatility of the capital markets surrounding COVID-19. We performed an interim assessment of goodwill, using the discounted cash flow method under the income approach and the guideline transaction method under the market approach, and determined that the carrying value of our Company’s reporting unit as of March 31, 2020 exceeded the fair value. As a result of the valuation, we recorded a $4.3 million impairment of goodwill resulting in an expense for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020.
For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, we recorded impairment charges of $418,099 associated with our reduction in use of certain developed technology upon implementation of IZEAx 3.0 and the migration of TapInfluence customers and creators into the IZEAx platform.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation and amortization expense for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 decreased by $98,503, or approximately 6%, compared to the same period in 2019.
Depreciation and amortization expense on property and equipment was $135,077 and $131,121 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Depreciation expense has increased slightly due to the purchase of new equipment in the fourth quarter of 2019 and first quarter of 2020.
Amortization expense was $1,517,049 and $1,619,508 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Amortization expense related to intangible assets acquired in the Ebyline, ZenContent, and TapInfluence acquisitions was $1,105,960 and $1,228,433 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, while amortization expense related to internal use software development costs was $411,089 and $391,075 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Amortization on our intangible acquisition assets decreased in 2020 as several of these assets were fully amortized during 2020. Amortization on our internal use software increased due to the release of IZEAx 3.0 in April 2019.
Other Income (Expense)
Interest expense decreased by $170,642 to $63,012 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 due primarily to the elimination of amounts owed on our acquisition costs payable and amortization thereon after July 2019 and partly to the reduction in our average borrowings on our secured credit facility during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.
The $64,530 decrease in other income during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 when compared to the same period in 2019 resulted primarily from reduced interest income received on cash balances as short term interest rates declined to near zero in 2020 after the outbreak of COVID-19 and currency exchange losses on our Canadian transactions in 2020.
Net Loss
Net loss for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 was $10,250,007, a $2,959,887 increase in the net loss of $7,290,120 for the same period in 2019. The increase in net loss was primarily the result of the impairment on intangible assets discussed above offset by reductions in operating expenses.
Key Metric
We review information provided by our key financial metric, gross billings, to assess the progress of our business and make decisions on where to allocate our resources. As our business evolves, we may make changes to the key financial metrics that we consider to measure our business in future periods.
Gross Billings by Revenue Type
Company management evaluates our operations and makes strategic decisions based, in part, on our key metric of gross billings from our two primary types of revenue, Managed Services and SaaS Services. We define gross billings as the total dollar value of the amounts charged to our customers for the services we perform and the amounts billed to our SaaS customers for their self-service purchase of goods and services on our platforms. The amounts billed to our SaaS customers are on a cost plus basis. Gross billings are the amounts of our reported revenue plus the cost of payments we made to third-party creators providing the content or sponsorship services, which are netted against revenue for generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) reporting purposes.
Gross billings for Managed Services are the same as revenue reported for those services in our consolidated statements of operations on a GAAP basis, as there is no requirement to net the costs of revenue against the revenue. Gross billings for SaaS Services differ from revenue reported for these services in our consolidated statements of operations on a GAAP basis, as revenue for these services are presented net of the amounts we collect and pay to the third-party creators providing the content or sponsorship services to the self-service SaaS customer.
We consider gross billings to be an important indicator of our potential performance as it measures the total dollar volume of transactions generated through our marketplaces. Tracking gross billings allows us to monitor the percentage of gross billings that we are able to retain after payments to our creators. Additionally, tracking gross billings is critical as it pertains to our credit risk and cash flow. We invoice our customers based on our services performed or based on their self-service transactions plus our fee. Then we remit the agreed-upon transaction price to the creators. If we do not collect the money from our customers prior to the time of payment to our creators, we could experience large swings in our cash flows. Finally, gross billings allow us to evaluate our transaction totals on an equal basis in order for us to see our contribution margins by revenue stream so that we can better understand where we should be allocating our resources.
The following tables set forth our gross billings by revenue type, the percentage of total gross billings by type, and the change between the periods:
Twelve Months Ended December 31,
2020 2019 $ Change % Change
Managed Services Gross Billings $ 15,987,226 66% $ 15,432,868 53% $ 554,358 4%
Legacy Workflow Fees - -% 2,155,550 7% (2,155,550) (100)%
Marketplace Spend Fees 6,476,261 27% 9,264,892 32% (2,788,631) (30)%
License Fees 1,507,336 6% 1,986,285 7% (478,949) (24)%
Other Fees 213,062 1% 109,840 1% 103,222 94%
SaaS Services Gross Billings 8,196,659 34% 13,516,567 47% (5,319,908) (39)%
Total Gross Billings $ 24,183,885 100% $ 28,949,435 100% $ (4,765,550) (16)%
Non-GAAP Financial Measure
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is a “non-GAAP financial measure” as defined under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). We define Adjusted EBITDA as earnings or loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash stock-based compensation, gain or loss on asset disposals or impairment, changes in acquisition cost estimates, and certain other unusual or non-cash income and expense items such as gains or losses on settlement of liabilities and exchanges, and changes in the fair value of derivatives, if applicable.
We use Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of operating performance, for planning purposes, to allocate resources to
enhance the financial performance of our business, and in communications with our Board of Directors regarding our financial performance. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA also provides useful information to investors as it excludes transactions not related to our core cash-generating operating business activities, and it provides consistency to facilitate period-to-period comparisons. We believe that excluding these transactions allows investors to meaningfully trend and analyze the performance of our core cash-generating operations.
All companies do not calculate Adjusted EBITDA in the same manner, and Adjusted EBITDA as presented by us may not be comparable to Adjusted EBITDA presented by other companies, which limits its usefulness as a comparative measure. Moreover, Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for an analysis of our results of operations as under GAAP. These limitations are that Adjusted EBITDA:
•does not include stock-based compensation expense, which is a non-cash expense, but has been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, a significant recurring expense for our business and an important part of our compensation strategy;
•does not include stock issued for payment of services, which is a non-cash expense, but has been, and is expected to be for the foreseeable future, an important means for us to compensate our directors, vendors and other parties who provide us with services;
•does not include changes in acquisition cost estimates as a result of the allocation of acquisition costs payable to compensation expense which may be a significant recurring expense for our business if we continue to make business acquisitions;
•does not include gains or losses on the settlement of acquisition costs payable or liabilities when the stock value, as agreed upon in the agreement, varies from the market price of our stock on the settlement date. This is a non-cash expense, but was a recurring expense for our business on certain business contracts where the amounts could vary;
•does not include depreciation and intangible assets amortization expense, impairment charges and gains or losses on disposal of equipment, which is not always a current period cash expense, but the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future; and
•does not include interest expense and other gains, losses, and expenses that we believe are not indicative of our ongoing core operating results, but these items may represent a reduction or increase in cash available to us.
Because of these limitations, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as a measure of discretionary cash available to us to invest in the operation and growth of our business or as a measure of cash that will be available to us to meet our obligations. You should compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using these non-GAAP financial measures as supplements. In evaluating these non-GAAP financial measures, you should be aware that in the future, we may incur expenses similar to those for which adjustments are made in calculating Adjusted EBITDA. Our presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures should also not be construed to infer that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items.
The following table sets forth a reconciliation from the GAAP measurement of net loss to our non-GAAP financial measure of Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:
Twelve Months Ended December 31,
2020 2019
Net loss $ (10,250,007) $ (7,290,120)
Non-cash stock-based compensation 477,993 634,651
Non-cash stock issued for payment of services 125,000 141,665
Gain on settlement of acquisition costs payable - (602,410)
Increase in value of acquisition costs payable - 6,222
Interest expense 63,012 233,654
Depreciation and amortization 1,652,126 1,750,629
Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets 4,300,000 418,099
Other non-cash items (22,598) 18,786
Adjusted EBITDA $ (3,654,474) $ (4,688,824)
Revenue $ 18,329,555 $ 18,955,672
Adjusted EBITDA as a % of Revenue (20) % (25) %
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We had cash and cash equivalents of $33,045,225 as of December 31, 2020 as compared to $5,884,629 as of December 31, 2019, an increase of $27,160,596, primarily due to net proceeds received from the sale of our common stock in our at the market offering program, offset by operating losses. We have incurred significant net losses and negative cash flow from operations for most periods since our inception, which has resulted in a total accumulated deficit of $70,634,776 as of December 31, 2020. To date, we have financed our operations through revenue from operations, borrowings under our secured credit facility, the PPP Loan (described below) and the sale of our equity securities.
Twelve Months Ended December 31,
2020 2019
Net cash (used for)/provided by:
Operating activities $ (2,095,651) $ (2,914,114)
Investing activities (354,407) (679,350)
Financing activities 29,610,654 7,509,690
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents $ 27,160,596 $ 3,916,226
Cash used for operating activities was $2,095,651 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and is primarily the result of continued use of cash to cover operating losses. Net cash used for investing activities was $354,407 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 primarily due to the payment of $363,793 in the development of our proprietary software. Net cash provided by financing activities during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 was $29,610,654, which consisted primarily of net proceeds of approximately $27.7 million from the sale of our common stock in our at the market offering program and approximately $1.9 million from the PPP Loan (described below).
Secured Credit Facility
We have a secured credit facility agreement with Western Alliance Bank, the parent company of Bridge Bank, National Association. Pursuant to this agreement, we may submit requests for funding up to 80% of our eligible accounts receivable up to a maximum credit limit of $5 million. As of December 31, 2020, we had no amounts outstanding under this agreement. Assuming that our unfunded remaining trade accounts receivable balance was eligible for funding, we had approximately $4.1 million in available credit under the agreement as of December 31, 2020.
PPP Loan
On April 23, 2020, we received a loan from Western Alliance Bank (the “Lender”) in the principal amount of $1,905,100 (the “PPP Loan”) under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), which was established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (the “SBA”). The term of the promissory note (the “Note”) issued in respect of the loan is two years, though it may be payable sooner in connection with an event of default under the Note. The PPP Loan carries a fixed interest rate of one percent per year. Certain amounts received under the PPP Loan may be forgiven if the loan proceeds are used for eligible purposes, including payroll costs and certain rent or utility costs, and we meet other requirements regarding, among other things, the maintenance of employment and compensation levels. Loan payments on the PPP Loan may be deferred to either (1) the date that the SBA remits our loan forgiveness amount to the Lender or (2) ten months after the end of our loan forgiveness covered period, if we do not apply for loan forgiveness. We submitted our forgiveness application for the entire amount of the loan in December 2020 and, as of the date of this Annual Report, are awaiting approval from the SBA. The forgiveness of the PPP Loan is based on our adherence to the forgiveness criteria under the CARES Act, and no assurance is provided that we will obtain forgiveness of the PPP Loan in whole or in part.
At the Market (ATM) Offering
On June 4, 2020 and January 25, 2021, we entered into ATM Sales Agreements (as amended, the “Sales Agreements”) with National Securities Corporation, as sales agent (“National Securities”), pursuant to which we may offer and sell, from time to time, through National Securities, shares of our common stock, by any method deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ATM Offering”), for aggregate purchase prices of up to $40,000,000 and $35,000,000, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, we had sold 14,819,740 shares at an average price of $1.92 per share for total gross proceeds of $28,455,096. From January 1, 2021 to March 26, 2021, we sold 8,691,391 shares at an average price of $3.95 per share for gross proceeds of $34,311,634. Thus, total proceeds raised in the ATM Offering under our shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-238619) as of March 26, 2021 were $62,766,730.
Financial Condition
We have seen impacts on our operations due to changes in advertising decisions, timing and spending priorities from our customers as a result of COVID-19, which has had and may continue to have a negative impact to our expected future sales and valuation estimates. With our cash on hand as of December 31, 2020, we expect to have sufficient cash reserves and financing sources available to cover expenses at least one year from the issuance of this Annual Report based on our current estimates of revenue and expenses for the next twelve months. While the disruption caused by COVID-19 is currently expected to be temporary, it is generally outside of our control and there is uncertainty around the duration and the total economic impact. Therefore, this matter could have a further material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, and financial position in future periods.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
The Company did not engage in any “off-balance sheet arrangements” (as that term is defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K) as of December 31, 2020.
Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
We prepare our financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). Certain of our accounting policies require that we apply significant judgment in defining the appropriate assumptions for calculating financial estimates. By their nature, these judgments will be subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty. Our judgments are based upon the historical experience of the Company, terms of existing contracts, observance of trends in the industry, information provided by our customers and information available from other outside sources, as appropriate. For a summary of our significant accounting policies, please refer to Note 1 - Company and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies included in Item 8 of this Annual Report. We consider accounting estimates to be critical accounting policies when:
•The estimates involve matters that are highly uncertain at the time the accounting estimate is made; and
•different estimates or changes to estimates could have a material impact on the reported financial position, changes in financial position, or results of operations.
When more than one accounting principle, or method of its application, is generally accepted, we select the principle or method that we consider to be the most appropriate when given the specific circumstances. Application of these accounting principles requires us to make estimates about the future resolution of existing uncertainties. Due to the inherent uncertainty involving estimates, actual results reported in the future may differ from our estimates. The following critical accounting policies are significantly affected by judgments, assumptions and estimates used in the preparation of the financial statements.
Accounts Receivable and Concentration of Credit Risk
Accounts receivable are customer obligations due under normal trade terms. We consider an account to be delinquent when the customer has not paid its balance due by the associated due date. Uncollectibility of accounts receivable is not significant since most customers are bound by contract and are required to fund us for all the costs of an “opportunity,” defined as an order created by a marketer for a creator to develop or share content on behalf of a marketer. If a portion of the account balance is deemed uncollectible, we will either write-off the amount owed or provide a reserve based on our best estimate of the uncollectible portion of the account. Management estimates the collectibility of accounts by regularly evaluating individual customer receivables and considering a customer’s financial condition, credit history, and current economic conditions. We have a reserve of $155,000 for doubtful accounts as of December 31, 2020. We believe that this estimate is reasonable, but there can be no assurance that the estimate will not change as a result of a change in economic conditions or business conditions within the industry, the individual customers or our Company. Any adjustments to this account are reflected in the consolidated statements of operations as a general and administrative expense. Bad debt expense was less than 1% of revenue for each of the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.
Concentrations of credit risk with respect to accounts receivable were typically limited, because a large number of geographically diverse customers make up our customer base, thus spreading the trade credit risk. However, with our acquisition of TapInfluence, we have increased credit exposure on certain customers who carry significant credit balances related to their Marketplace Spend. We control credit risk through credit approvals, credit limits, and monitoring procedures.
We perform credit evaluations of our customers, but generally do not require collateral to support accounts receivable. We had no customer that accounted for more than 10% of total accounts receivable at December 31, 2020 and 2019. We had one customer that accounted for 12% of our revenue during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and no customer that accounted for more than 10% of our revenue during the twelve months ended December 31, 2019.
Software Development Costs and Acquired Intangible Software
In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 350-40, Internal Use Software, we capitalize certain internal use software development costs associated with creating and enhancing internally developed software related to our platforms. Software development activities generally consist of three stages (i) the research and planning stage, (ii) the application and development stage, and (iii) the post-implementation stage. Costs incurred in the research and planning stage and in the post-implementation stage of software development, or other maintenance and development expenses that do not meet the qualification for capitalization, are expensed as incurred. Costs incurred in the application and infrastructure development stage, including significant enhancements and upgrades, are capitalized. These costs include personnel and related employee benefits expenses for employees or consultants who are directly associated with and who devote time to software projects, and external direct costs of materials obtained in developing the software. We also capitalize certain costs associated with cloud computing arrangements ("CCAs"). We have capitalized software development costs of $3,036,810 in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2020. We also have additional proprietary software platforms valued at $820,000 from our acquisitions of Ebyline, ZenContent, and TapInfluence. These costs are reflected as intangible assets in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2020. We do not transfer ownership of our software to third parties. These software development, acquired technology and CCA costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of five years upon initial release of the software or additional features. We review the software development costs for impairment when circumstances indicate that their carrying amounts may not be recoverable. If the carrying value of an asset group is not recoverable, we recognize an impairment loss for the excess of carrying value over the fair value in our consolidated statements of operations.
Goodwill and Business Combinations
Goodwill represents the excess of the consideration transferred for an acquired business over the fair value of the underlying identifiable net assets. We have goodwill in connection with our acquisitions of Ebyline, ZenContent, and TapInfluence. Goodwill is not amortized, but instead it is tested for impairment at least annually. In the event that management determines that the value of goodwill has become impaired, we will record a charge for the amount of impairment during the fiscal quarter in which the determination is made.
We perform our annual impairment tests of goodwill as of October 1 of each year, or more frequently, if certain indicators are present. For instance, in March 2020, we identified triggering events, including the reduction in our projected revenue due to adverse economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the continuation of a market capitalization below our carrying value, and uncertainty for recovery given the volatility of the capital markets surrounding COVID-19. Therefore, we performed an interim assessment of goodwill, using the discounted cash flow method under the income approach and the guideline transaction method under the market approach, and determined that the carrying value of our Company’s reporting unit as of March 31, 2020 exceeded the fair value. As a result of the March 2020 valuation, we recorded a $4.3 million impairment of goodwill which is reflected as an expense in the consolidated statements of operations for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020.
Goodwill is required to be tested for impairment at the reporting unit level. A reporting unit is an operating segment or one level below the operating segment level, which is referred to as a component. Management identifies its reporting units by assessing whether components (i) have discrete financial information available; (ii) engage in business activities; and (iii) whether a segment manager regularly reviews the component's operating results. Net assets and goodwill of acquired businesses are allocated to the reporting unit associated with the acquired business based on the anticipated organizational structure of the combined entities. If two or more components are deemed economically similar, those components are aggregated into one reporting unit when performing the annual goodwill impairment review. We have determined that we have one reporting unit.
Revenue Recognition
We historically generated revenue from five primary sources: (1) revenue from our managed services when a marketer (typically a brand, agency or partner) pays us to provide custom content, influencer marketing, amplification or other campaign management services (“Managed Services”); (2) revenue from fees charged to software customers on their marketplace spend
within our IZEAx, Shake, and TapInfluence platforms (“Marketplace Spend Fees”); (3) revenue from fees charged to access the IZEAx, BrandGraph, Ebyline, and TapInfluence platforms (“License Fees”); (4) revenue from transactions generated by the self-service use of our Ebyline platform for professional custom content workflow (“Legacy Workflow Fees”); and (5) revenue derived from other fees such as inactivity fees, early cash-out fees, and subscription plan fees charged to users of our platforms (“Other”). After the migration of the last customers from the Ebyline platform to IZEAx in December 2019, there is no longer any revenue generated from Legacy Workflow Fees and all such revenue is reported as Marketplace Spend Fees under the IZEAx platform.
We recognize revenue in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”). Under ASC 606, revenue is recognized based on a five-step model as follows: (i) identify the contract with the customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) performance obligations are satisfied. The core principle of ASC 606 is that revenue is recognized when the transfer of promised goods or services to customers is made in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. We apply the five-step model to contracts when it is probable that it will collect the consideration it is entitled to in exchange for the goods or services it transfers to the customer. At contract inception, once the contract is determined to be within the scope of ASC 606, we assess the goods or services promised within each contract and determine those that are distinct performance obligations. We also determine whether we act as an agent or a principal for each identified performance obligation. The determination of whether we act as the principal or the agent is highly subjective and requires us to evaluate a number of indicators individually and as a whole in order to make our determination. For transactions in which we act as a principal, revenue is reported on a gross basis as the amount paid by the marketer for the purchase of content or sponsorship, promotion and other related services and we record the amounts we pay to third-party creators as cost of revenue. For transactions in which we act as an agent, revenue is reported on a net basis as the amount we charged to the self-service marketer using our platforms, less the amounts paid to the third-party creators providing the service.
We maintain separate arrangements with each marketer and content creator either in the form of a master agreement or terms of service, which specify the terms of the relationship and access to its platforms, or by statement of work, which specifies the price and the services to be performed, along with other terms. The transaction price is determined based on the fixed fee stated in the statement of work and does not contain variable consideration. Marketers who contract with us to manage their advertising campaigns or custom content requests may prepay for services or request credit terms. Payment terms are typically 30 days from the invoice date. The agreement typically provides for either a non-refundable deposit, or a cancellation fee if the agreement is canceled by the customer prior to completion of services. Billings in advance of completed services are recorded as a contract liability until earned. We assess collectibility based on a number of factors, including the creditworthiness of the customer and payment and transaction history.
Managed Services Revenue
For Managed Services Revenue, we enter into an agreement to provide services that may include multiple distinct performance obligations in the form of: (i) an integrated marketing campaign to provide influencer marketing services, which may include the provision of blogs, tweets, photos or videos shared through social network offerings and content promotion, such as click-through advertisements appearing in websites and social media channels; and (ii) custom content items, such as a research or news article, informational material or videos. Marketers typically purchase influencer marketing services for the purpose of providing public awareness or advertising buzz regarding the marketer’s brand and they purchase custom content for internal and external use. We may provide one type or a combination of all types of these performance obligations on a statement of work for a lump sum fee. We allocate revenue to each performance obligation in the contract at inception based on its relative standalone selling price. These performance obligations are to be provided over a stated period that generally ranges from one day to one year. Revenue is accounted for when the performance obligation has been satisfied depending on the type of service provided. We view our obligation to deliver influencer marketing services, including management services, as a single performance obligation that is satisfied over time as the customer receives the benefits from the services. Revenue is recognized using an input method of costs incurred compared to total expected costs to measure the progress towards satisfying the overall performance obligation of the marketing campaign. The delivery of custom content represents a distinct performance obligation that is satisfied over time as we have no alternative for the custom content, and we have an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date under the contracts. We consider custom content to be a series of distinct services that are substantially the same and that have the same pattern of transfer to the customer, and revenue is recognized over time using an output method based on when each individual piece of content is delivered to the customer. Based on our evaluations, revenue from Managed Services is reported on a gross basis because we have the primary obligation to fulfill the performance obligations and we create, review, and control the services. We take on the risk of payment to any third-party creators, and we establish the contract price directly with our customers based on the services requested in the statement of work.
Marketplace Spend Fees and Legacy Workflow Fees Revenue
For Marketplace Spend Fees and Legacy Workflow Fees Revenue, the self-service customer instructs creators found through the Company’s platforms to provide and/or distribute custom content for an agreed upon transaction price. Our platforms control the contracting, description of services, acceptance of and payment for the requested content. This service is used primarily by news agencies or marketers to control the outsourcing of their content and advertising needs. We charge the self-service customer the transaction price plus a fee based on the contract. Revenue is recognized when the transaction is completed by the creator and accepted by the marketer or verified as posted by the system. Based on our evaluations, this revenue is reported on a net basis since we are acting as an agent solely arranging for the third-party creator or influencer to provide the services directly to the self-service customer through the platform or by posting the requested content.
License Fees Revenue
License Fees Revenue is generated through the granting of limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licenses to customers for the use of the IZEAx, BrandGraph, and until February 2020, the TapInfluence technology platforms for an agreed-upon subscription period. Customers license the platforms to manage their own influencer marketing campaigns. Fees for subscription or licensing services are recognized straight-line over the term of the service.
Other Fees Revenue
Other Fees Revenue is generated when fees are charged to our platform users primarily related to monthly plan fees, inactivity fees, and early cash-out fees. Plan fees are recognized within the month they relate to, inactivity fees are recognized at a point in time when the account is deemed inactive, and early cash-out fees are recognized when a cash-out is either below certain minimum thresholds or when accelerated payout timing is requested.
We do not typically engage in contracts that are longer than one year. Therefore, we do not capitalize costs to obtain our customer contracts as these amounts generally would be recognized over a period of less than one year and are not material.
Changes in how we control and manage our platforms, our contractual terms, our business practices, or other changes in accounting standards or interpretations, may change the reporting of our revenue.
Stock-Based Compensation
Stock-based compensation is measured at the grant date, based on the fair value of the award, and is recognized as an expense over the employee’s requisite service period. We estimate the fair value of each stock option as of the date of grant using the Black-Scholes pricing model. Options typically vest ratably over four years with one-fourth of options vesting one year from the date of grant and the remaining options vesting monthly, in equal increments over the remaining three-year period and generally have five or ten-year contract lives. We use the simplified method to estimate the expected term of employee stock options, because we do not believe historical exercise data will provide a reasonable basis for estimating the expected term for the current share options granted. The simplified method assumes that employees will exercise share options evenly between the period when the share options are vested and ending on the date when the options would expire.We use the closing stock price of our common stock on the date of the grant as the associated fair value of our common stock. For issuances after June 30, 2019, we estimate the volatility of our common stock at the date of grant based on the volatility of our stock during the period. For issuances on or prior to June 30, 2019, we estimated the volatility of our common stock at the date of grant based on the volatility of comparable peer companies that were publicly traded and had a longer trading history than us. We determine the expected life based on historical experience with similar awards, giving consideration to the contractual terms, vesting schedules and post-vesting forfeitures. We use the risk-free interest rate on the implied yield currently available on U.S. Treasury issues with an equivalent remaining term approximately equal to the expected life of the award. We have never paid any cash dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We estimate forfeitures when recognizing compensation expense and this estimate of forfeitures is adjusted over the requisite service period based on the extent to which actual forfeitures differ, or are expected to differ, from such estimates. Changes in estimated forfeitures are recognized through a cumulative catch-up adjustment, which is recognized in the period of change, and a revised amount of unamortized compensation expense to be recognized in future periods.
The following table shows the number of stock options granted under our 2011 Equity Incentive Plans and the assumptions used to determine the fair value of those options during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:
Twelve Months Ended Total Options Granted Weighted Average Exercise Price Weighted Average Expected Term Weighted Average Volatility Weighted Average Risk-Free Interest Rate Expected Dividends Weighted Average
Grant Date
Fair Value Weighted average expected forfeiture rate
December 31, 2019 586,552 $0.67 6.0 years 64.38% 1.92% - $0.40 9.26%
December 31, 2020 411,350 $0.69 6.0 years 108.58% 0.46% - $0.56 7.72%
Total stock-based compensation expense recorded in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations for restricted stock, restricted stock units, stock options, and employee stock purchase plan issuance during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $477,993 and $634,651, respectively.
There were outstanding options to purchase 1,712,806 shares with a weighted average exercise price of $2.56 per share, of which options to purchase 997,320 shares were exercisable with a weighted average exercise price of $3.84 per share, as of December 31, 2020. The intrinsic value on outstanding options as of December 31, 2020 was $1,127,194. The intrinsic value on exercisable options as of December 31, 2020 was $364,866.
As of December 31, 2020, we had unvested restricted stock units representing 970,349 shares of common stock with an intrinsic value of $1,766,035 and 13,666 unvested shares of issued restricted stock with an intrinsic value of $24,872.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See “Note 1. Company and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” under Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for information on additional recent pronouncements.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
ITEM 7A - QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Not applicable to smaller reporting companies.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
ITEM 8 - FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Stockholders and Board of Directors
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Winter Park, Florida
Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of IZEA Worldwide, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2020 and 2019 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audits. 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 audits 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 consolidated 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 audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated 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 consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated 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 consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
Revenue Recognition - Estimated Costs to Complete for Managed Services Revenue
As described in Notes 1 and 10 to the consolidated financial statements, for Managed Services Revenue, the Company enters into an agreement to provide services that may include multiple distinct performance obligations in the form of: (i) an integrated marketing campaign to provide influencer marketing services, which may include the provision of blogs, tweets, photos or videos shared through social network offerings and content promotion, such as click-through advertisements appearing in websites and social media channels; and (ii) custom content items, such as a research or news article, informational material or videos. The Company views its obligation to deliver influencer marketing services, including management services, as a single performance obligation that is satisfied over time as the customer receives the benefits from the services. Revenue is
recognized using an input method of costs incurred compared to total expected costs to measure the progress towards satisfying the overall performance obligation of the marketing campaign. The delivery of custom content represents a distinct performance obligation that is satisfied over time as the Company has no alternative for the custom content and the Company has an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date under the contracts. The Company considers custom content to be a series of distinct services that are substantially the same and that have the same pattern of transfer to the customer, and revenue is recognized over time based on an output model method based on when each individual piece of content is delivered to the customer.
We identified the estimation of costs to complete on the Company’s obligation to deliver influencer marketing services, including management services, on Managed Services contracts to be a critical audit matter. The determination of the total estimated cost and progress toward completion on contracts not completed requires management to make significant estimates and assumptions primarily related to estimated direct labor and applicable subcontract costs needed to complete contracts. Changes in these estimated direct labor and applicable subcontract costs can have a significant impact on the revenue recognized in each period. Auditing such estimates involved especially challenging and subjective auditor judgment to determine the reasonableness of management’s assumptions and estimates that ultimately determine the amount of revenue to recognize.
The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included:
•Evaluating management’s ability to accurately estimate total costs to complete by (i) performing a retrospective review to compare prior year estimates of costs to complete for open Managed Services contracts to actual costs incurred upon completion of the contract or updated estimated costs at completion if the contract is still not complete and (ii) evaluating whether contracts which were previously completed earned any additional revenues after the contract was assumed to be completed.
•Assessing the reasonableness of the estimated costs to complete on open contracts as of December 31, 2020 through evaluation of the consistency of expected margins on open contracts to historical margins on completed contracts.
Goodwill Impairment
As described in Notes 1 and 3 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has goodwill of $4.0 million as of December 31, 2020, all of which relates to the Company’s single reporting unit. The Company’s goodwill is the result of the acquisitions of Ebyline, ZenContent, and TapInfluence in previous years. Goodwill is not amortized, but instead is tested for impairment at least annually, or more frequently, if certain indicators are present. In the event that management determines that the value of goodwill has become impaired, they will record a charge for the amount of impairment during the fiscal quarter in which the determination is made. During the first quarter of 2020, the Company identified triggering events related to the reduction in its projected revenue due to adverse economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the continuation of a market capitalization below the Company’s carrying value and uncertainty for recovery given the volatility of the capital markets surrounding COVID-19 and performed an interim valuation to estimate the fair value of the reporting unit. As a result of the impairment assessment performed by the Company a $4.3 million impairment of goodwill was recorded during the year ending December 31, 2020. The Company used the discounted cash flow method under the income approach and the guideline transaction method under the market approach to estimate the fair value of the reporting unit.
We identified the estimate of the fair value of the Company’s single reporting unit as a critical audit matter. Estimation of the fair value of the Company’s single reporting unit requires management to make significant estimates and assumptions related to future cash flows, growth rates for the business, future economic conditions, and discount rates. Auditing management’s assumptions used in the determination of the fair value of the single reporting unit was especially challenging due to the nature of audit effort required to address the subjective estimates, including the extent of specialized skill and knowledge needed.
The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included:
•Assessing the reasonableness of estimated future cash flows based on the growth rates for the business and future economic conditions, including the impact of COVID-19, by comparing the estimated future cash flows to (i) historical operating results of the Company, and (ii) information included in industry reports and publicly available information related to the industry in which the Company operates.
•Utilizing personnel with specialized knowledge and skill in valuation to assist in: (i) evaluating the reasonableness of the valuation methodologies utilized by the Company, (ii) testing the reasonableness of the Company-specific discount rate used against other comparable publicly traded companies, and (iii) evaluating the appropriateness of the revenue multiple used, including testing the source information utilized.
/s/ BDO USA, LLP
We have served as the Company's auditor since 2015.
Orlando, Florida
March 30, 2021
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
December 31,
2020 December 31,
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 33,045,225 $ 5,884,629
Accounts receivable, net 5,207,205 5,596,719
Prepaid expenses 199,294 400,181
Other current assets 74,467 153,031
Total current assets 38,526,191 12,034,560
Property and equipment, net 230,918 309,780
Goodwill 4,016,722 8,316,722
Intangible assets, net 505,556 1,611,516
Software development costs, net 1,472,684 1,519,980
Security deposits - 151,803
Total assets $ 44,752,071 $ 23,944,361
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 1,880,144 $ 2,252,536
Accrued expenses 1,924,973 1,377,556
Contract liabilities 7,180,264 6,466,766
Current portion of notes payable 1,477,139 -
Lease liability - 83,807
Total current liabilities 12,462,520 10,180,665
Finance obligation, less current portion 43,808 45,673
Notes payable, less current portion 459,383 -
Total liabilities 12,965,711 10,226,338
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 7) - -
Stockholders’ equity:
Preferred stock; $.0001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding - -
Common stock; $.0001 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized; 50,050,167 and 34,634,172, respectively, issued and outstanding 5,005 3,464
Additional paid-in capital 102,416,131 74,099,328
Accumulated deficit (70,634,776) (60,384,769)
Total stockholders’ equity 31,786,360 13,718,023
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 44,752,071 $ 23,944,361
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss
Twelve Months Ended December 31,
2020 2019
Revenue $ 18,329,555 $ 18,955,672
Costs and expenses:
Cost of revenue (exclusive of amortization) 8,000,038 8,521,353
Sales and marketing 5,999,671 6,240,263
General and administrative 8,611,423 9,193,032
Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets 4,300,000 418,099
Depreciation and amortization 1,652,126 1,750,629
Total costs and expenses 28,563,258 26,123,376
Loss from operations (10,233,703) (7,167,704)
Other income (expense):
Interest expense (63,012) (233,654)
Other income, net 46,708 111,238
Total other income (expense), net (16,304) (122,416)
Net loss $ (10,250,007) $ (7,290,120)
Weighted average common shares outstanding - basic and diluted 41,289,705 25,516,573
Basic and diluted loss per common share $ (0.25) $ (0.29)
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
Common Stock Additional
Paid-In Accumulated Total
Stockholders’
Shares Amount Capital Deficit Equity
Balance, December 31, 2018 12,075,708 $ 1,208 $ 60,311,756 $ (53,094,649) $ 7,218,315
Sale of securities 14,285,714 1,429 9,998,571 - 10,000,000
Stock issued for payment of acquisition liability 8,015,876 801 4,003,596 - 4,004,397
Stock purchase plan issuances 26,411 3 6,976 - 6,979
Stock issued for payment of services 83,826 8 141,657 - 141,665
Stock issuance costs - - (788,752) - (788,752)
Stock-based compensation 146,637 15 425,524 - 425,539
Net loss - - - (7,290,120) (7,290,120)
Balance, December 31, 2019 34,634,172 $ 3,464 $ 74,099,328 $ (60,384,769) $ 13,718,023
Sale of securities 14,819,740 1,482 28,453,614 - 28,455,096
Stock purchase plan & option exercise issuances 15,573 1 7,633 - 7,634
Stock issued for payment of services 390,625 39 124,961 - 125,000
Stock issuance costs - - (747,379) - (747,379)
Stock-based compensation 190,057 19 477,974 - 477,993
Net loss - - - (10,250,007) (10,250,007)
Balance, December 31, 2020 50,050,167 $ 5,005 $ 102,416,131 $ (70,634,776) $ 31,786,360
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Twelve Months Ended December 31,
2020 2019
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net loss $ (10,250,007) $ (7,290,120)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used for) operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 135,077 131,121
Amortization of software development costs and other intangible assets 1,517,049 H 1,619,508
Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets 4,300,000 418,099
(Gain) loss on disposal of equipment (22,598) 18,786
Provision for losses on accounts receivable 154,576 5,510
Stock-based compensation 477,993 634,651
Fair value of stock issued for payment of services 125,000 141,665
Gain on settlement of acquisition costs payable - (602,410)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable 234,938 1,469,586
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 171,620 (87,323)
Security deposits 151,803 (8,629)
Accounts payable (372,392) (365,567)
Accrued expenses 543,768 (466,444)
Contract liabilities 713,498 1,508,897
Right-of-use asset and lease liability, net 24,024 (24,024)
Deferred rent - (17,420)
Net cash used for operating activities (2,095,651) (2,914,114)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of equipment (19,797) (138,379)
Proceeds from sale of equipment 29,183 49,578
Software development costs (363,793) (590,549)
Net cash used for investing activities (354,407) (679,350)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from sale of securities 28,455,096 10,000,000
Proceeds from stock purchase plan and option exercise issuances 7,634 6,979
Proceeds from notes payable 1,936,522 -
Net repayments on line of credit - (1,526,288)
Payments on acquisition liabilities - (156,111)
Payments on finance obligation (41,219) (26,138)
Stock issuance costs (747,379) (788,752)
Net cash provided by financing activities 29,610,654 7,509,690
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 27,160,596 3,916,226
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 5,884,629 1,968,403
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 33,045,225 $ 5,884,629
Supplemental cash flow information:
Interest paid $ 47,290 $ 393,584
Non-cash financing and investing activities:
Equipment acquired with financing arrangement $ 43,003 $ 98,648
Common stock issued for payment of acquisition liability $ - $ 4,004,397
Operating right-of-use asset $ - $ 410,852
Fair value of common stock issued for future services $ 125,000 $ 192,550
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
NOTE 1. COMPANY AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Nature of Business
IZEA Worldwide, Inc. (together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, “we,” “us,” “our,” “IZEA” or the “Company”) is a public company incorporated in the state of Nevada. In January 2015, IZEA purchased all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of Ebyline, Inc. (“Ebyline”). In March 2016, the Company formed IZEA Canada, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, incorporated in Ontario, Canada, to operate as a sales and support office for IZEA’s Canadian customers. In July 2016, IZEA purchased all the outstanding shares of capital stock of ZenContent, Inc. (“ZenContent”) and in July 2018, a subsidiary of the Company merged with TapInfluence, Inc. (“TapInfluence”). The legal entity of ZenContent was dissolved in December 2017, Ebyline was dissolved in December 2019 and TapInfluence was dissolved in December 2020.
The Company creates and operates online marketplaces that connect marketers with content creators. The creators are compensated by the Company for producing unique content such as long and short form text, videos, photos, status updates, and illustrations for marketers or distributing such content on behalf of marketers through their personal websites, blogs, and social media channels. Marketers receive influential consumer content and engaging, shareable stories that drive awareness.
The Company’s primary technology platform, the IZEA Exchange (“IZEAx”), enables transactions to be completed at scale through the management of custom content workflow, creator search and targeting, bidding, analytics, and payment processing. IZEAx is designed to provide a unified ecosystem that enables the creation and publication of multiple types of custom content through a creator’s personal websites, blogs, or social media channels including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, among others. Until December 2019 when it was merged into IZEAx, the Company operated the Ebyline technology platform, which was originally designed as a self-service content marketplace to replace in-house editorial newsrooms in news agencies with a “virtual newsroom” to source and handle their content workflow with outside creators. In July 2016, the Company acquired the ZenContent technology platform to use as an in-house workflow tool that enables the Company to produce highly scalable, multi-part production of content for both e-commerce entities and brand customers. The TapInfluence technology platform, acquired in 2018, performed in a similar manner to IZEAx and was being utilized by the majority of the TapInfluence customers as a self-service platform via a licensing arrangement, allowing access to the platform and its creators for self-managed marketing campaigns. After the migration of the last customers to IZEAx from the Ebyline platform in December 2019 and from the TapInfluence platform in February 2020, all marketplace revenue was solely generated from the IZEAx platform until the launch of Shake in November 2020.
In 2020, the Company launched two new platforms, BrandGraph and Shake. BrandGraph is a social media intelligence platform that is heavily integrated with IZEAx and both platforms rely heavily on data from each other, but it is also available as a stand-alone platform. The platform maps and classifies the complex hierarchy of corporation-to-brand relationships by category and associates social content with brands through a proprietary content analysis engine. Shake is a new online marketplace where buyers can quickly and easily hire creators of all types for influencer marketing, photography, design, and other digital services. The Shake platform is aimed at digital creatives seeking freelance “gig” work. Creators list available “Shakes” on their accounts in the platform and marketers select and purchase creative packages from them through a streamlined chat experience, assisted by ShakeBot - a proprietary, artificial intelligence assistant.
Impact of COVID-19
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) as a global pandemic and recommended containment and mitigation measures worldwide. As the spread continued throughout the United States, the Company directed all of its staff to work from home effective March 16, 2020. All of the Company’s business operations and ability to support its customers is fully functional while its employees are working from remote locations. However, the Company has seen impacts on its operations due to changes in advertising decisions, timing and spending priorities from customers, which resulted in a negative impact to Company bookings, its net orders from customers, and timing of future revenue. While the disruption caused by COVID-19 is currently expected to be temporary, it is generally outside of the Company’s control and there is uncertainty around the duration and the total economic impact. Therefore, this matter could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s business, results of operations, and financial position in future periods. As a result, the Company leveraged its balance sheet by drawing on its secured credit facility and obtaining a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) established under the CARES Act as administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) to increase the Company’s cash position and help preserve its financial flexibility. The secured credit facility was paid down by June 30, 2020 after the Company was able to secure additional capital as described in Note 8.
In light of the adverse economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company implemented temporary salary and wage reductions averaging 20%, including a 21% reduction in base salary for the Company’s Chief Executive
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Officer and Chief Operating Officer. These salary reductions were effective as of April 6, 2020 until the earlier of December 31, 2020 or the Company’s restoring normal payroll rates to the majority of its employees. Members of the Company’s Board of Directors also agreed to a similar temporary reduction to their fees. In addition to the salary reductions, the Company also temporarily reduced certain employee benefits and implemented a new employee hiring freeze, during the three months ended June 30, 2020. The employee salary reductions and hiring restrictions were removed effective July 1, 2020 after the Company was able to secure additional capital as described in Note 8.
The Company did not renew leases for its headquarters and temporary office spaces as additional means to reduce fixed costs and the Company intends to have all employees work from home for the foreseeable future to protect the health and safety of its workers. There can be no assurance that the Company will return to a typical office environment in the future, nor can the Company say what that office environment may look like. The Company also reduced and shifted marketing expenses and eliminated travel for the near-term future. These measures may not be sustainable and could prove detrimental long term. Therefore, management reviews these initial actions and other options in conjunction with the changing internal and external economic conditions on an ongoing basis.
Principles of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of IZEA Worldwide, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, subsequent to the subsidiaries’ individual acquisition, merger or formation dates, as applicable. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of 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 revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
The extent to which COVID-19 impacts the Company’s business and financial results will depend on numerous evolving factors including, but not limited to: the magnitude and duration of COVID-19, the extent to which it impacts worldwide macroeconomic conditions, the speed of the anticipated recovery, access to capital markets, and governmental and business reactions to the pandemic. The Company assessed certain accounting matters that generally require consideration of forecasted financial information in context with the information reasonably available to the Company and the unknown future impacts of COVID-19 as of December 31, 2020 and through the date of the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The accounting matters assessed included, but were not limited to estimates related to revenue, the accounting for potential liabilities and accrued expenses, the assumptions utilized in valuing stock-based compensation issued for services, the realization of deferred tax assets, and assessments of impairment related to long-lived assets, intangible assets, and goodwill. The Company’s future assessment of the magnitude and duration of COVID-19, as well as other factors, could result in additional material impacts to the Company’s consolidated financial statements in future reporting periods.
Despite the Company’s efforts, the ultimate impact of COVID-19 depends on factors beyond the Company’s knowledge or control, including the duration and severity of the outbreak, as well as third-party actions taken to contain its spread and mitigate its public health effects. As a result, the Company is unable to estimate the full extent to which COVID-19 will negatively impact its financial results or liquidity. However, in consideration of the effect of COVID-19 on the assumptions and estimates used in the preparation of the December 31, 2020 financial statements, the Company identified the goodwill impairment disclosed in Note 3 as a material adverse effect on its results of operations and financial position in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 that was caused by COVID-19’s effect on economic conditions.
Reclassifications
Certain items have been reclassified in the 2019 financial statements to conform to the 2020 presentation. The Company has reclassified its 2019 impairment on intangible assets and software development costs (see Notes 3 and 4) out of general and administrative expense and into a separately stated line item labeled impairment of goodwill and intangible assets within the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less from the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. Deposits in our banks are insured by the FDIC up to a maximum amount of $250,000. Deposit balances exceeding this limit were approximately $31.4 million and $4.1 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Accounts Receivable and Concentration of Credit Risk
The Company’s accounts receivable balance consists of trade receivables, unbilled receivables, and a reserve for doubtful accounts. Trade receivables are customer obligations due under normal trade terms. Unbilled receivables represent amounts owed for work that has been performed, but not yet billed. The Company had trade receivables of $5,148,213 and unbilled receivables of $58,992 at December 31, 2020. The Company had trade receivables of $5,106,314 and unbilled receivables of $490,405 at December 31, 2019. Management considers an account to be delinquent when the customer has not paid an amount due by its associated due date. Uncollectibility of accounts receivable is not significant since most customers are bound by contract and are required to fund the Company for all the costs of an “opportunity,” defined as an order created by a marketer for a creator to develop or share content on behalf of a marketer. If a portion of the account balance is deemed uncollectible, the Company will either write-off the amount owed or provide a reserve based on its best estimate of the uncollectible portion of the account. Management determines the collectibility of accounts by regularly evaluating individual customer receivables and considering a customer’s financial condition, credit history, and current economic conditions. The Company had a reserve for doubtful accounts of $155,000 and $145,000 as of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. Management believes that this estimate is reasonable, but there can be no assurance that the estimate will not change as a result of a change in economic conditions or business conditions within the industry, the individual customers or the Company. Any adjustments to this account are reflected in the consolidated statements of operations as a general and administrative expense. Bad debt expense was less than 1% of revenue for each of the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.
Concentrations of credit risk with respect to accounts receivable have been typically limited because a large number of geographically diverse customers make up the Company’s customer base, thus spreading the trade credit risk. However, with the Company’s addition of SaaS customers, it has increased credit exposure on certain customers who carry significant credit balances related to their marketplace spend. The Company controls credit risk through credit approvals, credit limits, and monitoring procedures. The Company performs credit evaluations of its customers, but generally does not require collateral to support accounts receivable. The Company had no customer that accounted for more than 10% of total accounts receivable at December 31, 2020 and 2019. The Company had one customer that accounted for 12% of its revenue during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and no customer that accounted for more than 10% of its revenue during the twelve months ended December 31, 2019.
Property and Equipment
Property and equipment are recorded at cost, or if acquired in a business combination, at the acquisition date fair value. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows:
Computer Equipment 3 years
Office Equipment 3 - 10 years
Furniture and Fixtures 5 - 10 years
Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the term of the lease or the estimated useful lives of the improvements. Expenditures for repairs and maintenance are charged to expense as incurred. Expenditures for betterments and major improvements are capitalized and depreciated over the remaining useful lives of the assets. The carrying amounts of assets sold or retired and the related accumulated depreciation are eliminated in the year of disposal, with resulting gains or losses included in general and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of operations. There were no material impairment charges associated with the Company’s long-lived tangible assets during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of the consideration transferred for an acquired business over the fair value of the underlying identifiable net assets. The Company has goodwill in connection with its acquisitions of Ebyline, ZenContent and TapInfluence. Goodwill is not amortized but instead it is tested for impairment at least annually. In the event that management
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
determines that the value of goodwill has become impaired, the Company will record a charge for the amount of impairment during the fiscal quarter in which the determination is made.
The Company performs its annual impairment tests of goodwill as of October 1 of each year, or more frequently, if certain indicators are present. For instance, in March 2020, the Company identified triggering events, including the reduction in its projected revenue due to adverse economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the continuation of a market capitalization below the Company’s carrying value, and uncertainty for recovery given the volatility of the capital markets surrounding COVID-19. Therefore, the Company performed an interim assessment of goodwill, as described in Note 3. Goodwill is required to be tested for impairment at the reporting unit level. A reporting unit is an operating segment or one level below the operating segment level, which is referred to as a component. Management identifies its reporting units by assessing whether components (i) have discrete financial information available; (ii) engage in business activities; and (iii) whether a segment manager regularly reviews the component’s operating results. Net assets and goodwill of acquired businesses are allocated to the reporting unit associated with the acquired business based on the anticipated organizational structure of the combined entities. If two or more components are deemed economically similar, those components are aggregated into one reporting unit when performing the annual goodwill impairment review. The Company had one reporting unit as of December 31, 2020.
In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment (“ASU 2017-04”). To address concerns over the cost and complexity of the two-step goodwill impairment test, the new standard removes the requirement for the second step of the goodwill impairment test for certain entities. An entity may apply a one-step quantitative test and record the amount of goodwill impairment as the excess of a reporting unit's carrying amount over its fair value, not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. The Company adopted this method in the third quarter of 2019 and there were no changes to its financial statements at the time of the adoption.
Intangible Assets
The Company acquired the majority of its intangible assets through its acquisitions of Ebyline, ZenContent, and TapInfluence. The Company is amortizing the identifiable intangible assets over periods of 12 to 60 months. See Note 3 for further details.
Management reviews long-lived assets, including property and equipment, software development costs and other intangible assets, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying amounts may not be recoverable. If an evaluation is required, the estimated future undiscounted cash flows associated with the asset are compared with the asset's carrying amount to determine if there has been an impairment, which is calculated as the difference between the fair value of the asset and the carrying value. Estimates of future undiscounted cash flows are based on expected growth rates for the business, anticipated future economic conditions and estimates of residual values. Fair values take into consideration management estimates of risk-adjusted discount rates, which are believed to be consistent with assumptions that marketplace participants would use in their estimates of fair value. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, the Company recorded impairment charges of $418,099 associated with the Company's reduction in use of certain developed technology upon implementation of IZEAx 3.0 and the migration of TapInfluence customers and creators into the IZEAx platform. There were no impairment charges associated with the Company’s acquired intangible assets in the twelve months ended December 31, 2020.
Software Development Costs
In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 350-40, Internal Use Software, the Company capitalizes certain internal use software development costs associated with creating and enhancing internally developed software related to its platforms. Software development activities generally consist of three stages (i) the research and planning stage, (ii) the application and development stage, and (iii) the post-implementation stage. Costs incurred in the research and planning stage and in the post-implementation stage of software development, or other maintenance and development expenses that do not meet the qualification for capitalization, are expensed as incurred. Costs incurred in the application and infrastructure development stage, including significant enhancements and upgrades, are capitalized. These costs include personnel and related employee benefits expenses for employees or consultants who are directly associated with and who devote time to software projects, and external direct costs of materials obtained in developing the software. The Company also capitalizes certain costs associated with cloud computing arrangements ("CCAs"). These software development, acquired technology, and CCA costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of five years upon initial release of the software or additional features. The Company reviews the software development costs for impairment when circumstances indicate that their carrying amounts may not be recoverable. If the carrying value of an asset group is not recoverable, the Company recognizes an impairment loss for the excess of carrying value over the fair value in its consolidated statements of operations. See Note 4 for further details.
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Leases
On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which established a right-of-use model that requires a lessee to record a right-of-use asset and a right-of-use liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than 12 months. Leases are classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. The Company does not record leases on the balance sheet that have a lease term of 12 months or less at the commencement date.
Revenue Recognition
The Company historically generated revenue from five primary sources: (1) revenue from its managed services when a marketer (typically a brand, agency or partner) pays the Company to provide custom content, influencer marketing, amplification or other campaign management services (“Managed Services”); (2) revenue from fees charged to software customers on their marketplace spend within the Company's IZEAx, Shake, and TapInfluence platforms (“Marketplace Spend Fees”); (3) revenue from fees charged to access the IZEAx, BrandGraph, Ebyline, and TapInfluence platforms (“License Fees”); (4) revenue from transactions generated by the self-service use of the Company's Ebyline platform for professional custom content workflow (“Legacy Workflow Fees”); and (5) revenue derived from other fees such as inactivity fees, early cash-out fees, and subscription plan fees charged to users of the Company's platforms (“Other”). After the migration of the last customers from the Ebyline platform to IZEAx in December 2019, there is no longer any revenue generated from Legacy Workflow Fees and all such revenue is reported as Marketplace Spend Fees under the IZEAx platform.
The Company recognizes revenue in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”). Under ASC 606, revenue is recognized based on a five-step model as follows: (i) identify the contract with the customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) performance obligations are satisfied. The core principle of ASC 606 is that revenue is recognized when the transfer of promised goods or services to customers is made in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The Company applies the five-step model to contracts when it is probable that it will collect the consideration it is entitled to in exchange for the goods or services it transfers to the customer. At contract inception, once the contract is determined to be within the scope of ASC 606, the Company assesses the goods or services promised within each contract and determines those that are distinct performance obligations. The Company also determines whether it acts as an agent or a principal for each identified performance obligation. The determination of whether the Company acts as the principal or the agent is highly subjective and requires the Company to evaluate a number of indicators individually and as a whole in order to make its determination. For transactions in which the Company acts as a principal, revenue is reported on a gross basis as the amount paid by the marketer for the purchase of content or sponsorship, promotion and other related services and the Company records the amounts it pays to third-party creators as cost of revenue. For transactions in which the Company acts as an agent, revenue is reported on a net basis as the amount the Company charged to the self-service marketer using the Company’s platforms, less the amounts paid to the third-party creators providing the service.
The Company maintains separate arrangements with each marketer and content creator either in the form of a master agreement or terms of service, which specify the terms of the relationship and access to its platforms, or by statement of work, which specifies the price and the services to be performed, along with other terms. The transaction price is determined based on the fixed fee stated in the statement of work and does not contain variable consideration. Marketers who contract with the Company to manage their advertising campaigns or custom content requests may prepay for services or request credit terms. Payment terms are typically 30 days from the invoice date. The agreement typically provides for either a non-refundable deposit, or a cancellation fee if the agreement is canceled by the customer prior to completion of services. Billings in advance of completed services are recorded as a contract liability until earned. The Company assesses collectibility based on a number of factors, including the creditworthiness of the customer and payment and transaction history.
Managed Services Revenue
For Managed Services Revenue, the Company enters into an agreement to provide services that may include multiple distinct performance obligations in the form of: (i) an integrated marketing campaign to provide influencer marketing services, which may include the provision of blogs, tweets, photos or videos shared through social network offerings and content promotion, such as click-through advertisements appearing in websites and social media channels; and (ii) custom content items, such as a research or news article, informational material or videos. Marketers typically purchase influencer marketing services for the purpose of providing public awareness or advertising buzz regarding the marketer’s brand and they purchase custom content for internal and external use. The Company may provide one type or a combination of all types of these performance obligations on a statement of work for a lump sum fee. The Company allocates revenue to each performance obligation in the contract at inception based on its relative standalone selling price. These performance obligations are to be
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
provided over a stated period that generally ranges from one day to one year. Revenue is accounted for when the performance obligation has been satisfied depending on the type of service provided. The Company views its obligation to deliver influencer marketing services, including management services, as a single performance obligation that is satisfied over time as the customer receives the benefits from the services. Revenue is recognized using an input method of costs incurred compared to total expected costs to measure the progress towards satisfying the overall performance obligation of the marketing campaign. The delivery of custom content represents a distinct performance obligation that is satisfied over time as the Company has no alternative for the custom content, and the Company has an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date under the contracts. The Company considers custom content to be a series of distinct services that are substantially the same and that have the same pattern of transfer to the customer, and revenue is recognized over time using an output method based on when each individual piece of content is delivered to the customer. Based on the Company’s evaluations, revenue from Managed Services is reported on a gross basis because the Company has the primary obligation to fulfill the performance obligations and it creates, reviews, and controls the services. The Company takes on the risk of payment to any third-party creators, and it establishes the contract price directly with its customers based on the services requested in the statement of work.
Marketplace Spend Fees and Legacy Workflow Fees Revenue
For Marketplace Spend Fees and Legacy Workflow Fees Revenue, the self-service customer instructs creators found through the Company’s platforms to provide and/or distribute custom content for an agreed upon transaction price. The Company’s platforms control the contracting, description of services, acceptance of and payment for the requested content. This service is used primarily by news agencies or marketers to control the outsourcing of their content and advertising needs. The Company charges the self-service customer the transaction price plus a fee based on the contract. Revenue is recognized when the transaction is completed by the creator and accepted by the marketer or verified as posted by the system. Based on the Company’s evaluations, this revenue is reported on a net basis since the Company is acting as an agent solely arranging for the third-party creator or influencer to provide the services directly to the self-service customer through the platform or by posting the requested content.
License Fees Revenue
License Fees Revenue is generated through the granting of limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licenses to customers for the use of the IZEAx, BrandGraph, and until February 2020, the TapInfluence technology platforms for an agreed-upon subscription period. Customers license the platforms to manage their own influencer marketing campaigns. Fees for subscription or licensing services are recognized straight-line over the term of the service.
Other Fees Revenue
Other Fees Revenue is generated when fees are charged to the Company’s platform users primarily related to monthly plan fees, inactivity fees, and early cash-out fees. Plan fees are recognized within the month they relate to, inactivity fees are recognized at a point in time when the account is deemed inactive, and early cash-out fees are recognized when a cash-out is either below certain minimum thresholds or when accelerated payout timing is requested.
The Company does not typically engage in contracts that are longer than one year. Therefore, the Company does not capitalize costs to obtain its customer contracts as these amounts generally would be recognized over a period of less than one year and are not material.
Advertising Costs
Advertising costs are charged to expense as they are incurred, including payments to content creators to promote the Company. Advertising costs charged to operations for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were approximately $749,000 in each year. Advertising costs are included in sales and marketing expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.
Income Taxes
The Company has not recorded federal income tax expense due to its history of net operating losses. Deferred income taxes are accounted for using the balance sheet approach, which requires recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future consequences of temporary differences between the financial reporting basis and the tax basis of assets and liabilities. A valuation allowance is provided when it is more likely than not that a deferred tax asset will not be realized. The Company incurs minimal state franchise tax in four states, which is included in general and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of operations.
The Company identifies and evaluates uncertain tax positions, if any, and recognizes the impact of uncertain tax positions for which there is a less than more-likely-than-not probability of the position being upheld when reviewed by the
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
relevant taxing authority. Such positions are deemed to be unrecognized tax benefits and a corresponding liability is established on the balance sheet. The Company has not recognized a liability for uncertain tax positions. If there were an unrecognized tax benefit, the Company would recognize interest accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits in interest expense and penalties in operating expenses. The Company’s tax years subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service are 2016 through 2019.
In March 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law. The CARES Act, among other things, includes provisions relating to refundable payroll tax credits, deferment of employer side social security payments, net operating loss carryback periods, alternative minimum tax credit refunds, modifications to the net interest deduction limitations, increased limitations on qualified charitable contributions, and technical corrections to tax depreciation methods for qualified improvement property. It also appropriated funds for the PPP loans that are forgivable in certain situations to promote continued employment, as well as Economic Injury Disaster Loans to provide liquidity to small businesses harmed by COVID-19. The Company is currently seeking forgiveness of its PPP loan which, if approved, would result in non-taxable income on the forgiveness of debt.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The Company’s financial instruments are recorded at fair value. Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The valuation techniques are based on observable and unobservable inputs. Observable inputs reflect readily obtainable data from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect certain market assumptions. There are three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:
•Level 1 - Valuation based on quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities.
•Level 2 - Valuation based on quoted market prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets.
•Level 3 - Valuation based on unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity, therefore requiring management’s best estimate of what market participants would use as fair value.
Fair value estimates discussed herein are based upon certain market assumptions and pertinent information available to management. The Company does not have any Level 1, 2 or 3 financial assets or liabilities. The respective carrying values of certain on-balance-sheet financial instruments approximated their fair values due to the short-term nature of these instruments. These financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, contract liabilities, and accrued expenses. Unless otherwise disclosed, the fair values of the Company’s long-term debt obligations approximate their carrying value based upon current rates available to the Company.
Stock-Based Compensation
Stock-based compensation cost related to stock options granted under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, and the 2011 B Equity Incentive Plan (together, the “2011 Equity Incentive Plans”) (see Note 8) is measured at the grant date, based on the fair value of the award, and is recognized as expense over the employee’s requisite service period on a straight-line basis. The Company estimates the fair value of each option award on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model that uses the assumptions noted in the table below. The Company uses the simplified method to estimate the expected term of employee stock options, because it does not believe historical exercise data will provide a reasonable basis for estimating the expected term for the current share options granted. The simplified method assumes that employees will exercise share options evenly between the period when the share options are vested and ending on the date when the options would expire. The Company uses the closing stock price of its common stock on the date of the grant as the associated fair value of its common stock. For issuances after June 30, 2019, the Company estimates the volatility of its common stock at the date of grant based on the volatility of its stock during the period. For issuances on or prior to June 30, 2019, the Company estimated the volatility of its common stock at the date of grant based on the volatility of comparable peer companies that were publicly traded and had a longer trading history than the Company. The Company determines the expected life based on historical experience with similar awards, giving consideration to the contractual terms, vesting schedules and post-vesting forfeitures. The Company uses the risk-free interest rate on the implied yield currently available on U.S. Treasury issues with an equivalent remaining term approximately equal to the expected life of the award. The Company has never paid any cash dividends on its common stock and does not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.
The Company used the following assumptions for stock options granted under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plans during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Twelve Months Ended
2011 Equity Incentive Plans Assumptions December 31,
2020 December 31,
Expected term 6 years 6 years
Weighted average volatility 108.58% 64.38%
Weighted average risk-free interest rate 0.46% 1.92%
Expected dividends - -
Weighted average expected forfeiture rate 7.72% 9.26%
The Company estimates forfeitures when recognizing compensation expense and this estimate of forfeitures is adjusted over the requisite service period based on the extent to which actual forfeitures differ, or are expected to differ, from such estimates. Changes in estimated forfeitures are recognized through a cumulative catch-up adjustment, which is recognized in the period of change, and a revised amount of unamortized compensation expense to be recognized in future periods.
The Company may issue shares of restricted stock or restricted stock units which vest over future periods. The value of shares is recorded as the fair value of the stock or units upon the issuance date and is expensed on a straight-line basis over the vesting period. See Note 8 for additional information related to these shares.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
Fair Value Measurements: In August 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework-Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement (“ASU 2018-13”). The new guidance amends the disclosure requirements for recurring and nonrecurring fair value measurements by removing, modifying, and adding certain disclosures on fair value measurements in ASC 820. The amendments on changes to the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 fair value measurements and the narrative description of measurement uncertainty should be applied prospectively for only the most recent interim or annual period presented in the initial fiscal year of adoption. All other amendments should be applied retrospectively to all periods presented upon their effective date. The adoption of ASU 2018-13 on January 1, 2020 was not material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Collaborative Arrangements: In November 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-18, Collaborative Arrangements (Topic 808): Clarifying the interaction between Topic 808 and Topic 606 (“ASU 2018-18”). The guidance makes targeted improvements to GAAP for collaborative arrangements including: (i) clarifying that certain transactions between collaborative arrangement participants should be accounted for as revenue under ASC 606 when the collaborative arrangement participant is a customer in the context of a unit of account, (ii) adding unit-of-account guidance in ASC 808 to align with the guidance in ASC 606 (that is, a distinct good or service) when an entity is assessing whether the collaborative arrangement or a part of the arrangement is within the scope of ASC 606, and (iii) requiring that in a transaction with a collaborative arrangement participant that is not directly related to sales to third parties, presenting the transaction together with revenue recognized under ASC 606 is precluded if the collaborative arrangement participant is not a customer. The amendments in this update are effective for public entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The amendments should be applied retrospectively to the date of initial application of ASC 606. An entity may elect to apply the practical expedient for contract modifications that is permitted for entities using the modified retrospective transition method in ASC 606. The Company adopted ASU 2018-18 on January 1, 2020 and applied the amendments only to contracts that were not completed as of such date. The adoption of ASU 2018-18 was not material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement: On January 1, 2020, we adopted ASU No. 2018-15 ("ASU 2018-15"), Customer's Accounting Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That is a Service Contract, which requires a customer in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract to follow the internal-use software guidance in Accounting Standards Codification 350-40 to determine which implementation costs to defer and recognize as an asset. ASU 2018-15 generally aligns the guidance on recognizing implementation costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract with that for implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software, including hosting arrangements that include an internal-use software license. This ASU was adopted using the retrospective approach. The adoption of ASU 2018-15 was not material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted
Credit Losses: In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU 2016-13”). ASU 2016-13 replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology under current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires a consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. ASU 2016-13 requires use of a forward-looking expected credit loss model for accounts receivables, loans, and other financial instruments. In May 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-05, which provides transition relief for entities adopting ASU 2016-13. For entities that have adopted ASU 2016-13, the amendments in ASU 2019-05 are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods therein. An entity may early adopt the ASU in any interim period after its issuance if the entity has adopted ASU 2016-13. For all other entities, the effective date will be the same as the effective date of ASU 2016-13. ASU 2016-13 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating the expected impact of adopting ASU 2016-13 on its consolidated financial statements and disclosures.
Income Taxes: In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (“ASU 2019-12”), which is intended to simplify various aspects related to accounting for income taxes. ASU 2019-12 removes certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740 and also clarifies and amends existing guidance to improve consistent application. This guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. The Company believes this guidance will not have a material impact on its financial statements.
Investments - Equity Securities: In January 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-01, Investments - Equity Securities (Topic 321), Investments - Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323), and Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Clarifying the Interactions between Topic 321, 323 and Topic 815 (“ASU 2020-01”) to clarify the scope and interaction between these standards for equity securities, equity method and certain derivatives. ASU 2020-01 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. The Company believes this guidance will not have a material impact on its financial statements.
Reference Rate Reform: In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting (“ASU 2020-04”). ASU 2020-04 provides optional guidance for a limited time to ease the potential burden in accounting for reference rate reform. It also provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying U.S. GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions affected by reference rate reform if certain criteria are met. ASU 2020-04 applies only to contracts and hedging relationships that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued due to reference rate reform. ASU 2020-04 is effective immediately and may be applied prospectively to contract modifications made and hedging relationships entered into or evaluated on or before December 31, 2022. The Company believes this guidance will not have a material impact on its financial statements.
Convertible Instruments: In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”). ASU 2020-06 simplifies the guidance on the issuer’s accounting for convertible debt instruments by removing the separation models for (1) convertible debt with a cash conversion feature and (2) convertible instruments with a beneficial conversion feature. As a result, entities will not separately present in equity an embedded conversion feature in such debt. Instead, they will account for a convertible debt instrument wholly as debt, unless certain other conditions are met. The elimination of these models will reduce reported interest expense and increase reported net income for entities that have issued a convertible instrument that was within the scope of those models before the adoption of ASU 2020-06. Also, ASU 2020-06 requires the application of the if-converted method for calculating diluted earnings per share and the treasury stock method will be no longer available. The provisions of ASU 2020-06 are applicable for the Company as a smaller reporting company for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, with early adoption permitted no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2020-06 on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
Codification Improvements: In October 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-08, Codification Improvements to Subtopic 310-20, Receivables - Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs ("ASU 2020-08"), and ASU No. 2020-10, Codification Improvements ("ASU 2020-10"). ASU 2020-08 and ASU 2020-10 provide changes to clarify or improve existing guidance. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is not permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that ASU 2020-08 and ASU 2020-10 will have on its consolidated financial statements and disclosures.
NOTE 2. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
Property and equipment consist of the following:
December 31, 2020 December 31, 2019
Furniture and fixtures $ 221,733 $ 298,205
Office equipment 67,833 86,884
Computer equipment 513,344 455,008
Leasehold improvements - 338,018
Total 802,910 1,178,115
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization (571,992) (868,335)
Property and equipment, net $ 230,918 $ 309,780
Depreciation and amortization expense on property and equipment recorded in depreciation and amortization expense in the consolidated statements of operations was $135,077 and $131,121 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
NOTE 3. INTANGIBLE ASSETS
The identifiable intangible assets, other than Goodwill, consists of the following assets:
December 31, 2020 December 31, 2019
Balance Accumulated Amortization Balance Accumulated Amortization Useful Life (in years)
Content provider networks $ 160,000 $ 160,000 $ 160,000 $ 160,000 2
Trade names 87,000 87,000 87,000 87,000 1
Developed technology 820,000 820,000 820,000 622,167 5
Self-service content customers 2,810,000 2,304,444 2,810,000 1,437,778 3
Managed content customers 2,140,000 2,140,000 2,140,000 2,140,000 3
Domains 166,469 166,469 166,469 133,175 5
Embedded non-compete provision 28,000 28,000 28,000 19,833 2
Total $ 6,211,469 $ 5,705,913 $ 6,211,469 $ 4,599,953
Total identifiable intangible assets from the Company’s acquisitions and other acquired assets net of accumulated amortization thereon consists of the following:
December 31, 2020 December 31, 2019
Ebyline Intangible Assets $ 2,370,000 $ 2,370,000
ZenContent Intangible Assets 722,000 722,000
Domains 166,469 166,469
TapInfluence Intangible Assets 2,953,000 2,953,000
Total $ 6,211,469 $ 6,211,469
Less accumulated amortization (5,705,913) (4,599,953)
Intangible assets, net $ 505,556 $ 1,611,516
The Company is amortizing the identifiable intangible assets over a remaining weighted-average period of 7 months. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $310,000 reflected as an expense under impairment of goodwill and intangible assets in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company recorded the impairment on the TapInfluence developed technology to the extent that future cash flows after the Company's migration of TapInfluence customers and creators into the IZEAx platform were not expected to exceed the carrying value of the asset. There were no impairment charges associated with the Company’s identifiable intangible assets in the twelve months ended December 31, 2020.
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Amortization expense recorded in depreciation and amortization in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations was $1,105,960 and $1,228,433 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
The portion of this amortization expense specifically related to the costs of acquired technology that is excluded from cost of revenue and recorded in depreciation and amortization was $197,833 and $226,000 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
As of December 31, 2020, future estimated amortization expense related to identifiable intangible assets is set forth in the following schedule:
Intangible Asset
Amortization Expense
2021 $ 505,556
Total $ 505,556
The Company’s goodwill balance changed as follows:
Amount
Balance on December 31, 2018 $ 8,316,722
Acquisitions, impairments or other changes during 2019 -
Balance on December 31, 2019 8,316,722
Acquisitions, impairments or other changes during 2020 (4,300,000)
Balance on December 31, 2020 $ 4,016,722
In March 2020, the Company identified triggering events due to the reduction in its projected revenue due to adverse economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the continuation of a market capitalization below the Company’s carrying value, and uncertainty for recovery given the volatility of the capital markets surrounding COVID-19. The Company performed an interim assessment of goodwill, using the discounted cash flow method under the income approach and the guideline transaction method under the market approach, and determined that the carrying value of our Company’s reporting unit as of March 31, 2020 exceeded the fair value. As a result of the valuation, the Company recorded a $4.3 million impairment of goodwill, which is reflected as an expense under impairment of goodwill and intangible assets in the consolidated statements of operations for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020.
NOTE 4. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT COSTS
Software development costs consists of the following:
December 31, 2020 December 31, 2019
Software development costs $ 3,036,810 $ 2,673,017
Less accumulated amortization (1,564,126) (1,153,037)
Software development costs, net $ 1,472,684 $ 1,519,980
The Company developed its web-based influencer marketing platform, IZEAx, to enable influencer marketing and content creation campaigns on a greater scale. The Company continues to add new features and additional functionality to IZEAx and developed additional platforms in 2020, BrandGraph and Shake, to facilitate the contracting, workflow, and delivery or posting of content as well as provide for invoicing, collaborating, and direct payments for the Company’s customers and creators. The Company capitalized software development costs of $363,793 and $590,549 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As a result, the Company has capitalized a total of $3,036,810 in direct materials, consulting, payroll and benefit costs to its internal use software development costs in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2020.
The Company amortizes its software development costs, commencing upon initial release of the software or additional features, on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of five years, which is consistent with the amount of time its legacy platforms were in service. Amortization expense on software development costs that is excluded from cost of revenue and recorded in depreciation and amortization expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations was
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
$411,089 and $391,075 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. After the transfer of customers to the new workflow features implemented in the IZEAx 3.0 release, the Company discontinued use of previously developed technology totaling $234,047 and recorded an impairment charge of $108,099 under impairment of goodwill and intangible assets in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations during the twelve months ended December 31, 2019.
As of December 31, 2020, future estimated amortization expense related to software development costs is set forth in the following schedule:
Software Development Amortization Expense
2021 $ 455,841
2022 400,474
2023 359,685
2024 177,764
2025 78,920
Total $ 1,472,684
NOTE 5. ACCRUED EXPENSES
Accrued expenses consist of the following:
December 31, 2020 December 31, 2019
Accrued payroll liabilities $ 1,504,113 $ 1,202,765
Accrued taxes 286,455 117,698
Current portion of finance obligation 30,487 26,837
Accrued other 103,918 30,256
Total accrued expenses $ 1,924,973 $ 1,377,556
NOTE 6. NOTES PAYABLE
Canada Emergency Business Account (“CEBA”) Loan
On April 22, 2020, the Company received a Canadian dollar loan in the principal amount of 40,000 CAD ($31,422 USD as of December 31, 2020), from TD Canada Trust Bank pursuant to a CEBA term loan agreement (the “CEBA Loan”). The CEBA Loan has an initial term from inception through December 31, 2022 (the “Initial Term”) and an extended term from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2025 (the “Extended Term”). No interest is accrued and no payments are due on the loan during the Initial Term. If the Company repays 75% of the CEBA Loan (30,000 CAD) on or prior to December 31, 2022, the remaining 10,000 CAD balance will be forgiven. Otherwise, interest will begin to accrue on the unpaid balance on January 1, 2023 with monthly interest payments commencing on January 31, 2023 until the CEBA Loan is paid in full on or before the end of the Extended Term.
Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) Loan
On April 23, 2020, the Company received a loan from Western Alliance Bank (the “Lender”) in the principal amount of $1,905,100, under the PPP evidenced by a promissory note issued by the Company (the “Note”) to the Lender.
The term of the Note is two years, though it may be payable sooner in connection with an event of default under the Note. The PPP Loan carries a fixed interest rate of one percent per year. Certain amounts received under the PPP Loan may be forgiven if the loan proceeds are used for eligible purposes, including payroll costs and certain rent or utility costs, and the Company meets other requirements regarding, among other things, the maintenance of employment and compensation levels.
Loan payments on the PPP Loan may be deferred to either (1) the date that the SBA remits the Company’s loan forgiveness amount to the Lender or (2) ten months after the end of the Company’s loan forgiveness covered period, if the Company does not apply for loan forgiveness. The Company submitted its forgiveness application for the entire amount of the loan in December 2020 and is awaiting approval from the SBA. The forgiveness of the PPP Loan is dependent on the Company
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Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
qualifying for the forgiveness of the PPP Loan based on its adherence to the forgiveness criteria under the CARES Act, and no assurance is provided that the Company will obtain forgiveness of the PPP Loan in whole or in part.
Finance Obligation
The Company has two long term payment plans with a vendor to pay for its computer equipment in four annual payments between October 2019 and February 2023. The Company used an imputed interest rate of 9.5%, based on its incremental borrowing rate, to determine the present value of its finance obligation. The total balance owed was $74,295 and $72,510 as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, with the short-term portion of $30,487 and $26,837 recorded under accrued expenses in the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Secured Credit Facility
The Company has a secured credit facility agreement (also referred to herein as “line of credit”) with Western Alliance Bank, the parent company of Bridge Bank, N.A. of San Jose, California, which it obtained on March 1, 2013 and expanded on April 13, 2015. Pursuant to the secured credit facility agreement, as amended, the Company may submit requests for funding up to 80% of its eligible accounts receivable up to a maximum credit limit of $5 million. This agreement is secured by the Company’s accounts receivable and substantially all of the Company’s other assets. The agreement automatically renews in April of each year and requires the Company to pay an annual facility fee of $20,000 (0.4% of the credit limit) and an annual due diligence fee of $1,000. Interest accrues on the advances at the rate of prime plus 1.5% per annum and the default rate of interest is prime plus 7%.
The Company had no amounts outstanding under this secured credit facility as of December 31, 2020 and 2019. Assuming that all of the Company’s trade accounts receivables were eligible for funding, the Company would have approximately $4.1 million in available credit under the agreement as of December 31, 2020.
The annual fees are capitalized in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet within other current assets and are amortized to interest expense over one year. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company amortized $21,000 and $25,215, respectively, of the secured credit facility costs through interest expense. The remaining value of the capitalized loan costs related to the secured credit facility as of December 31, 2020 is $7,000; this amount will be amortized to interest expense over the next four months.
Interest expense on financing arrangements recorded in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations was $36,125 and $60,155 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, the future contractual maturities of our debt obligations by year is set forth in the following schedule:
2021 $ 1,507,626
2022 492,771
2023 10,420
Total $ 2,010,817
NOTE 7. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Lease Commitments
The Company’s corporate headquarters were located at 480 N. Orlando Avenue, Suite 200 in Winter Park, Florida until its lease expired on April 30, 2020. Due to its current work from home policy enacted on March 16, 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has not yet entered into any new lease agreement for its headquarters and does not intend to do so until advisable. The Company also occupied flexible office space under monthly, quarterly or semi-annual membership contracts in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, and Toronto during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020. These contracts were not renewed upon expiration of their terms during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020.
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Upon the January 1, 2019 adoption of ASU No. 2016-02, Leases, the Company elected the short-term lease exemption policy, applying the requirements of ASU No. 2016-02 to only long-term (greater than 1 year) leases. Upon adoption, the Company had one material lease greater than 12 months in duration. This was the lease associated with its corporate headquarters in Winter Park, Florida. The adoption of this standard resulted in the Company recording an operating right-of-use asset of $410,852 and an associated lease liability of $399,892. The operating lease liability was determined based on the present value of the remaining minimum rental payments using the Company’s incremental borrowing rate of 9.5% and the operating lease right-of-use asset was determined based on the value of the lease liabilities, adjusted for a deferred rent balance, which was previously included in current liabilities.
The Company had an operating right-of-use asset of $107,831 under other current assets and a lease liability of $83,807 in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2019. These were fully recognized upon expiration of the lease in April 2020. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company recorded $1,330 and $24,462, respectively, of accretion on its lease liability through rent expense in general and administrative expenses.
The Company has no obligations under finance leases as of December 31, 2020. Total operating lease expense and other short-term lease expense recorded in general and administrative expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations was $264,048 and $627,101 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Cash paid for the one operating lease was $113,516 and $340,548 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Retirement Plans
The Company offers a 401(k) plan to all of its eligible employees. The Company matches participant contributions in an amount equal to 50% of each participant’s contribution up to 8% of the participant’s salary. The participants become vested in 20% annual increments after two years of service. Total expense for employer matching contributions during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was recorded in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations as follows:
Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
2020 December 31,
Cost of revenue $ 27,990 $ 45,778
Sales and marketing 57,389 60,457
General and administrative 65,752 53,346
Total contribution expense $ 151,131 $ 159,581
Litigation
A securities class action lawsuit, Julian Perez, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. IZEA, Inc., et al., case number 2:18-cv-02784-SVW-GJS was instituted April 4, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against the Company and certain of its executive officers on behalf of certain purchasers of its common stock. The plaintiffs sought to recover damages for investors under federal securities laws. The Company estimated and accrued a potential loss of $500,000 relating to its potential liability arising from the Perez lawsuit and accrued for such amount in its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018.
On April 15, 2019, a stipulation of settlement was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California that contained settlement terms as agreed upon by the parties to the Perez class action lawsuit described above. The motion for preliminary approval of the settlement was granted on May 7, 2019. According to the terms of the settlement, as agreed upon by the parties, the Company’s insurer deposited $800,000 into the settlement fund and the Company paid the remainder of the Company’s previously accrued insurance deductible of $400,000 into escrow to be used as settlement funds, inclusive of lead plaintiff awards and lead counsel fees. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued an order approving the settlement of the Perez class action lawsuit on September 26, 2019, which required that the lawsuit be dismissed with prejudice.
On July 3, 2018, a shareholder derivative lawsuit, Korene Stuart v. Edward H. Murphy et al., case number A-18-777135-C was instituted in the Eighth Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada, Clark County against certain executive officers and members of the Board of Directors for IZEA. IZEA was named as a nominal defendant. The plaintiff sought to recover damages on behalf of the Company for purported breaches of the individual defendants’ fiduciary duties as
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
directors and/or officers of IZEA, unjust enrichment, abuse of control, gross mismanagement, and waste of corporate assets in violation of state common law.
Additionally, on October 19, 2018, a shareholder derivative lawsuit, Dennis E. Emond v. Edward H. Murphy et al., case number 2:18-cv-9040, was instituted in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against certain executive officers and members of the Board of Directors for IZEA. IZEA was named as a nominal defendant. An amended complaint was filed on October 31, 2018. The plaintiff sought to recover damages on behalf of the Company for purported breaches of the individual defendants’ fiduciary duties as directors and/or officers of IZEA, and gross mismanagement, and under federal securities laws.
On March 6, 2019, a stipulation of settlement was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California that contained settlement terms as agreed upon by the parties to the Stuart and Emond shareholder derivative lawsuits described above (the “Settlement”). The Settlement terms agreed upon by the parties included that IZEA would direct its insurers to make a payment of $300,000 as a fee and service award to the plaintiffs and their counsel in the Stuart and Emond lawsuits and further that IZEA would enact certain corporate governance reforms. The motion for preliminary approval of the Settlement was granted on August 28, 2019 by the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued an order on January 13, 2020, which required that the Emond lawsuit be dismissed with prejudice. According to the terms of the Settlement, as agreed upon by the parties, following the approval of the Settlement by the U. S. District Court for the Central District of California and on or before February 26, 2020, the parties were required to seek an order from the Eighth Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada dismissing the Stuart lawsuit with prejudice. On or about March 6, 2020, the Eighth Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada issued an order dismissing the Stuart lawsuit with prejudice.
From time to time, the Company may become involved in various other lawsuits and legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of its business. Litigation is, however, subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may harm the Company’s business. The Company is currently not aware of any legal proceedings or claims that it believes would or could have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the Company. Regardless of final outcomes, however, any such proceedings or claims may nonetheless impose a significant burden on management and employees and may come with costly defense costs or unfavorable preliminary interim rulings.
NOTE 8. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Authorized Shares
The Company has 200,000,000 authorized shares of common stock and 10,000,000 authorized shares of preferred stock, each with a par value of $0.0001 per share.
Sale of Securities
May 10, 2019 Public Offering
On May 10, 2019, the Company closed on its underwritten registered public offering of 14,285,714 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $0.70 per share, for total gross proceeds of approximately $10 million. The net proceeds to the Company were approximately $9.2 million. Mr. Edward Murphy, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and a Company director, and Mr. Troy J. Vanke, the Company’s former Chief Financial Officer, participated in the public offering and purchased 21,428 and 42,857 shares of stock, respectively.
This offering was made pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-230688) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 2, 2019, which became effective on May 8, 2019.
At the Market (ATM) Offering
On June 4, 2020, the Company entered into an ATM Sales Agreement (the “2020 Sales Agreement”) with National Securities Corporation, as sales agent (“National Securities”), pursuant to which the Company may offer and sell, from time to time, through National Securities, shares of the Company's common stock, by any method deemed to be an “at the market offering” (the “ATM Offering”).
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Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
On June 12, 2020, the Company entered into an amendment to the 2020 Sales Agreement to increase the amount of common stock that may be offered and sold in the ATM Offering to $40,000,000 in the aggregate. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had sold 14,819,740 shares at an average price of $1.92 per share for total gross proceeds of $28,455,096.
Stock Issued for Acquisitions
TapInfluence
On July 26, 2018, the Company completed its merger with TapInfluence, Inc., pursuant to the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of July 11, 2018, by and among the Company, IZEA Merger Sub, Inc., TapInfluence, certain stockholders of TapInfluence and the stockholders’ representative, as amended by Amendment No. 1 thereto, dated as of July 20, 2018 (the “Merger Agreement”). The merger was consummated, in part, to further consolidate the influencer marketing industry for the Company, and for the Company to obtain benefits from the acquisition of the TapInfluence technology platform and existing customer base, particularly from TapInfluence’s self-service customers. The aggregate consideration paid at closing for the acquisition of TapInfluence consisted of a cash payment of $1,500,000 and the issuance of 1,150,000 shares of the Company’s common stock valued at $1,759,500, or $1.53 per share. Aggregate post-acquisition date consideration consisted of additional payments totaling $4,500,000, less $115,417 related to the final working capital adjustment calculation.
On January 26, 2019, pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the Company issued 660,136 shares of its common stock valued at $884,583, or $1.34 per share, using the 30-day Volume Weighted Average Price (“VWAP”) as reported by the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) prior to the issuance date, to settle amounts due under its acquisition cost payable. The Company recorded a $191,439 loss on the settlement of this acquisition cost payable as a result of the difference between the actual closing market price of the common stock of $1.63 on the settlement date and the 30-day VWAP of $1.34 required by the Merger Agreement.
On July 26, 2019, pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement with TapInfluence, the Company issued 6,908,251 shares of its common stock valued at $3,500,000, or $0.50664 per share, using the 30-day VWAP as reported by Nasdaq prior to the issuance date, to settle amounts due under its acquisition cost payable. The Company recognized a gain of $752,591 on the settlement of this acquisition cost payable as a result of the difference between the actual closing market price of the common stock of $0.3977 on the settlement date and the 30-day VWAP of $0.50664 required by the Merger Agreement.
ZenContent
On July 31, 2016, the Company purchased all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of ZenContent pursuant to the terms of a Stock Purchase Agreement, by and among IZEA, ZenContent and the stockholders of ZenContent (the “ZenContent Stock Purchase Agreement”) for a maximum purchase price to be paid over three years of $4,500,000. Upon closing, the Company paid a cash payment of $400,000 and issued 86,207 shares of the Company’s common stock valued at $600,000. The ZenContent Stock Purchase Agreement also required (i) three equal annual installment payments totaling $1,000,000, subject to a working capital adjustment, commencing 12 months following the closing and (ii) contingent performance payments of up to an aggregate of $2,500,000 over the three consecutive 12-month periods following the closing, based upon ZenContent achieving certain minimum revenue thresholds. Of these payments, 33% of each such annual installment or contingent performance payment were to be in the form of cash and the remainder of such payment was to be in the form of either cash or additional shares of the Company’s common stock (determined at the Company’s option).
On July 31, 2019, the Company made the third and final annual installment payment under the ZenContent Stock Purchase Agreement, comprised of $111,111 in cash and 447,489 shares of its common stock valued at $222,223 or $0.4966 per share, using the 30-day VWAP as reported by Nasdaq prior to the issuance date. The Company recognized a gain of $41,258 on the settlement of this acquisition cost payable as a result of the difference between the actual closing market price of the common stock of $0.4044 on the settlement date and the 30-day VWAP of $0.4966 required by the ZenContent Stock Purchase Agreement.
Equity Incentive Plans
In May 2011, the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) adopted the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan of IZEA Worldwide, Inc. (as amended, the “May 2011 Plan”). The stockholders approved an amendment and restatement of the Company’s May 2011 Plan at its 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on December 18, 2020, to allow the Company to award restricted stock, restricted stock units and stock options covering up to 7,500,000 shares of common stock as incentive
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
compensation for its employees and consultants. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had 3,812,928 remaining shares of common stock available for issuance pursuant to future grants under the May 2011 Plan.
In August 2011, the Company adopted the 2011 B Equity Incentive Plan (the “August 2011 Plan”) reserving 4,375 shares of common stock for issuance under the August 2011 Plan. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had 4,375 remaining shares of common stock available for future grants under the August 2011 Plan.
Restricted Stock
Under both the May 2011 Plan and the August 2011 Plan (together, the “2011 Equity Incentive Plans”), the Board determines the terms and conditions of each restricted stock issuance, including any future vesting restrictions.
The Company issued 27,184 shares of restricted stock on March 28, 2019 to Mr. Edward Murphy, its Chief Executive Officer, for amounts owed on his fourth quarter 2018 performance bonus. The stock was initially valued at $36,427 and vests in equal monthly installments over 12 months from issuance. The Company issued 4,570 shares of restricted stock on March 28, 2019 to Mr. Ryan Schram, its Chief Operating Officer, for amounts owed on his fourth quarter 2018 performance bonus. The stock was initially valued at $6,124 and vests in equal monthly installments over 48 months from issuance.
On January 31, 2019, the Company issued its six independent directors a total of 88,758 shares of restricted common stock initially valued at $150,000 for their annual service as directors of the Company. The stock vested in equal monthly installments from January through December 2019. One director forfeited 4,932 of these shares valued at $8,335 upon their resignation from the board of directors in September 2019.
On January 31, 2020, the Company issued its five independent directors a total of 390,625 shares of restricted common stock initially valued at $125,000 for their annual service as directors of the Company. The stock vests in equal monthly installments from January through December 2020.
The following table contains summarized information about restricted stock issued during the years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020:
Restricted Stock Common Shares Weighted Average
Grant Date
Fair Value Weighted Average
Remaining Years
to Vest
Nonvested at December 31, 2018 57,984 $ 3.70 1.4
Granted 120,512 1.60
Vested (139,157) 2.24
Forfeited (8,057) 3.18
Nonvested at December 31, 2019 31,282 $ 2.15 1.9
Granted 390,625 0.32
Vested (408,241) 0.39
Forfeited -
Nonvested at December 31, 2020 13,666 $ 2.28 1.4
Although restricted stock is issued upon the grant of an award, the Company excludes restricted stock from the computations within the financial statements of total shares outstanding and basic earnings per share until such time as the restricted stock vests.
Expense recognized on restricted stock issued to non-employees for services was $125,000 and $141,665 during twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Expense recognized on restricted stock issued to employees was $33,677 and $169,534 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
On December 31, 2020, the fair value of the Company’s common stock was approximately $1.82 per share and the intrinsic value on the non-vested restricted stock was $24,872. Future compensation expense related to issued, but non-vested, restricted stock awards as of December 31, 2020 is $31,202. This value is estimated to be recognized over the weighted-average vesting period of approximately five months.
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Restricted Stock Units
The Board determines the terms and conditions of each restricted stock unit award issued under the May 2011 Plan.
The Company issued 131,235 restricted stock units on May 17, 2019 to Mr. Murphy under the terms of his amended employment agreement. The restricted stock units were initially valued at $76,510 and vest in equal monthly installments over 36 months from issuance. The Company issued 258,312 restricted stock units on August 29, 2019 to Mr. Murphy under the terms of his amended employment agreement. The restricted stock units were initially valued at $82,660 and vest in equal monthly installments over 48 months from issuance.
The Company issued 890 restricted stock units on May 14, 2019 to Mr. Troy Vanke, the Company’s then Chief Financial Officer, under the terms of his employment agreement. The restricted stock units were initially valued at $578 and vest in equal monthly installments over 12 months from issuance. Upon his departure in August 2019, 667 of these shares were forfeited.
The Company issued 84,994 restricted stock units on January 3, 2020 to Mr. Schram under the terms of his employment agreement. The restricted stock units were initially valued at $23,739 and vest in equal monthly installments over 48 months from issuance. The Company also issued 100,000 restricted stock units on January 3, 2020 to Mr. Schram as additional incentive compensation. The restricted stock units were initially valued at $27,930 and vest in a lump sum 12 months from issuance.
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, the Company issued a total of 583,322 restricted stock units initially valued at $215,936 to non-executive employees as additional incentive compensation. The restricted stock units vest 12 months from issuance.
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, the Company issued Mr. Murphy 123,228 restricted stock units valued at $61,790 for bonuses owed under the terms of his amended employment agreement. The restricted stock units vest in equal monthly installments over 36 months from issuance.
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, the Company issued Mr. Schram 41,824 restricted stock units initially valued at $14,052 for bonuses owed under the terms of his employment agreement. The restricted stock units vest in equal monthly installments over 48 months from issuance.
The following table contains summarized information about restricted stock units during the years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020:
Restricted Stock Units Common Shares Weighted Average
Grant Date
Fair Value Weighted Average
Remaining Years
to Vest
Nonvested at December 31, 2018 160,000 $ 1.04 1.0
Granted 410,437 0.40
Vested (149,290) 0.79
Forfeited (54,335) 1.04
Nonvested at December 31, 2019 366,812 $ 0.42 3.2
Granted 930,145 0.37
Vested (172,441) 0.41
Forfeited (154,167) 0.30
Nonvested at December 31, 2020 970,349 $ 0.39 1.2
Expense recognized on restricted stock units issued to employees was $214,528 and $117,794 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. On December 31, 2020, the fair value of the Company’s common stock was approximately $1.82 per share and the intrinsic value on the non-vested restricted units was $1,766,035. Future compensation related to the non-vested restricted stock units as of December 31, 2020 is $235,016 and it is estimated to be recognized over the weighted-average vesting period of approximately 1.2 years.
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
Stock Options
Under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plans, the Board determines the exercise price to be paid for the stock option shares, the period within which each stock option may be exercised, and the terms and conditions of each stock option. The exercise price of incentive and non-qualified stock options may not be less than 100% of the fair market value per share of the Company’s common stock on the grant date. If an individual owns stock representing more than 10% of the outstanding shares, the exercise price of each share of an incentive stock option must be equal to or exceed 110% of fair market value. Unless otherwise determined by the Board at the time of grant, the exercise price is set at the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the grant date (or the last trading day prior to the grant date, if it is awarded on a non-trading day). Additionally, the term is set at ten years and the option typically vests on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period as follows: 25% one year from the date of grant with the remaining vesting monthly in equal increments over the following three years. The Company issues new shares for any stock awards or options exercised under its 2011 Equity Incentive Plans.
A summary of option activity under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plans during the years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020, is presented below:
Options Outstanding Common Shares Weighted Average
Exercise Price Weighted Average
Remaining Life
(Years)
Outstanding at December 31, 2018 1,040,477 $ 5.23 6.5
Granted 586,552 0.67
Expired (147,313) 7.59
Forfeited (121,879) 2.70
Outstanding at December 31, 2019 1,357,837 $ 3.24 7.2
Granted 411,350 0.69
Exercised (369) 1.00
Expired - -
Forfeited (56,012) 5.08
Outstanding at December 31, 2020 1,712,806 $ 2.56 6.9
Exercisable at December 31, 2020 997,320 $ 3.84 5.7
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, 369 options were exercised for gross proceeds of $369. The intrinsic value on exercised options was $265. There were no options exercised during the twelve months ended December 31, 2019. The fair value of the Company's common stock on December 31, 2020 was approximately $1.82 per share and the intrinsic value on outstanding options as of December 31, 2020 was $1,127,194. The intrinsic value on exercisable options as of December 31, 2020 was $364,866.
A summary of the nonvested stock option activity under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plans during the years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020, is presented below:
Nonvested Options Common Shares Weighted Average
Grant Date
Fair Value Weighted Average
Remaining Years
to Vest
Nonvested at December 31, 2018 300,510 $ 0.80 2.4
Granted 586,552 0.40
Vested (197,202) 1.44
Forfeited (89,081) 0.80
Nonvested at December 31, 2019 600,779 $ 0.64 3.0
Granted 411,350 0.56
Vested (283,766) 0.72
Forfeited (12,877) 0.88
Nonvested at December 31, 2020 715,486 $ 0.56 2.5
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
There were outstanding options to purchase 1,712,806 shares with a weighted average exercise price of $2.56 per share, of which options to purchase 997,320 shares were exercisable with a weighted average exercise price of $3.84 per share as of December 31, 2020.
Expense recognized on stock options issued to employees during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $225,083 and $339,942, respectively. Future compensation related to non-vested awards as of December 31, 2020 is $361,498, and it is estimated to be recognized over the weighted-average vesting period of approximately 2.5 years.
The following table shows the number of stock options granted under the Company’s 2011 Equity Incentive Plans and the assumptions used to determine the fair value of those options using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:
Period Ended Total Stock
Options
Granted Weighted-Average Exercise Price Weighted-Average Expected Term Weighted-Average Volatility Weighted-Average Risk-Free Interest Rate Expected Dividends Weighted-Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
December 31, 2019 586,552 $0.67 6 years 64.38% 1.92% - $0.40
December 31, 2020 411,350 $0.69 6 years 108.58% 0.46% - $0.56
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
The amended and restated IZEA Worldwide, Inc. 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”), provides for the issuance of up to 500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to employees regularly employed by the Company for 90 days or more on a full-time or part-time basis (20 hours or more per week on a regular schedule). The ESPP operates in successive six months offering periods commencing at the beginning of each fiscal year half. Each eligible employee who elects to participate may purchase up to 10% of their annual compensation in common stock not to exceed $21,250 annually or 2,000 shares per offering period. The purchase price will be the lower of (i) 85% of the fair market value of a share of common stock on the first day of the offering period or (ii) 85% of the fair market value of a share of common stock on the last day of the offering period. The ESPP will continue until January 1, 2024, unless otherwise terminated by the Board.
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, employees paid $5,320 to purchase 5,539 shares of common stock and $6,979 to purchase 26,411 shares of common stock, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had 395,613 remaining shares of common stock available for future issuances under the ESPP.
Summary Stock-Based Compensation
Stock-based compensation cost related to all awards granted to employees is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the award, and is recognized as an expense over the employee’s requisite service period utilizing the weighted-average forfeiture rates disclosed in Note 1. Total stock-based compensation expense recognized on restricted stock, restricted stock units, stock options, and employee stock purchase plan issuances during the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was recorded in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations as follows:
Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
2020 December 31,
Cost of revenue $ 10,152 $ 42,467
Sales and marketing 55,458 82,627
General and administrative 412,383 509,557
Total stock-based compensation $ 477,993 $ 634,651
Share Repurchase Program
On July 1, 2019, the Board authorized and approved a share repurchase program under which the Company could repurchase up to $3,500,000 of its common stock from time to time through December 31, 2020, subject to market conditions. The Company did not repurchase any shares of common stock under the share repurchase program prior to its expiration on December 31, 2020.
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Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
NOTE 9. LOSS PER COMMON SHARE
Basic earnings (loss) per common share is computed by dividing the net income or loss by the basic weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each period presented. Although restricted stock is issued upon the grant of an award, the Company excludes restricted stock from the computations of weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding until such time as the stock vests. Diluted loss per share is computed by dividing the net income or loss by the sum of the total of the basic weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding plus the additional dilutive securities that could be exercised or converted into common shares during each period presented less the amount of shares that could be repurchased using the proceeds from the exercises.
Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
2020 December 31,
Net loss $ (10,250,007) $ (7,290,120)
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic and diluted 41,289,705 25,516,573
Basic and diluted loss per common share $ (0.25) $ (0.29)
The Company excluded the following weighted average items from the above computation of diluted loss per common share, as their effect would be anti-dilutive:
Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
2020 December 31,
Stock options 1,560,828 1,222,305
Restricted stock units 980,785 281,365
Restricted stock 232,600 96,747
Warrants 6,517 73,996
Total excluded shares 2,780,730 1,674,413
NOTE 10. REVENUE
The Company has consistently applied its accounting policies with respect to revenue to all periods presented in the consolidated financial statements contained herein. The following table illustrates the Company’s revenue by product service type:
Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
2020 December 31,
Managed Services Revenue $ 15,987,226 $ 15,432,868
Legacy Workflow Fees - 156,119
Marketplace Spend Fees 621,931 1,270,560
License Fees 1,507,336 1,986,285
Other Fees 213,062 109,840
SaaS Services Revenue 2,342,329 3,522,804
Total Revenue $ 18,329,555 $ 18,955,672
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
The following table provides the Company’s revenues as determined by the country of domicile:
Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
2020 December 31,
United States $ 17,231,712 $ 17,358,167
Canada 1,097,843 1,597,505
Total $ 18,329,555 $ 18,955,672
Contract Balances
The following table provides information about receivables, contract assets and contract liabilities from contracts with customers reported in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet:
December 31,
2020 December 31, 2019
Accounts receivable, net $ 5,207,205 $ 5,596,719
Contract liabilities (unearned revenue) $ 7,180,264 $ 6,466,766
The increase in contract liabilities is primarily the result of the increase in fourth quarter contracts where the customers have paid in advance for services in future periods. The Company does not typically engage in contracts that are longer than one year. Therefore, the Company recognized substantially of the contract liabilities recorded at the end of the year in the following year and it did not recognize any contract assets as of December 31, 2020 or December 31, 2019. The Company does not capitalize costs to obtain its customer contracts given their general duration of less than one year, and the amounts are not material.
Contract receivables are recognized when the receipt of consideration is unconditional. Contract liabilities relate to consideration received from customers in advance of the Company satisfying performance obligations under the terms of the contracts, which will be earned in future periods. Contract liabilities increase as a result of receiving new advance payments from customers and decrease as revenue is recognized upon the Company meeting the performance obligations. As a practical expedient, the Company expenses the costs of sales commissions that are paid to its sales force associated with obtaining contracts less than one year in length in the period incurred.
Remaining Performance Obligations
The Company typically enters into contracts that are one year or less in length. As such, the remaining performance obligations at December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 are equal to the contract liabilities disclosed above. The Company expects to recognize the full balance of the unearned revenue at December 31, 2020 within the next year.
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
NOTE 11. INCOME TAXES
The components of the Company’s net deferred income taxes are as follows (rounded):
December 31,
2020 December 31,
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating loss carry forwards $ 22,376,000 $ 21,425,000
Accrued expenses 281,000 177,000
Stock option and warrant expenses 474,000 462,000
Accounts receivable 38,000 28,000
Deferred rent - (6,000)
Other 3,000 11,000
Total deferred tax assets 23,172,000 22,097,000
Valuation allowance (22,950,000) (21,661,000)
Net deferred tax assets 222,000 436,000
Deferred tax liabilities:
Fixed and tangible assets (222,000) (436,000)
Total deferred tax liabilities (222,000) (436,000)
Total deferred tax assets (liabilities) $ - $ -
The following summary reconciles differences from taxes at the federal statutory rate with the effective rate:
Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
2020 December 31,
Federal income tax at statutory rates (21.0) % (21) %
Change in deferred tax asset valuation allowance 13.8 % 21.5 %
Deferred state taxes (2.1) % (4.9) %
Non-deductible expenses:
Change in value of acquisition liability - % 0.4 %
Goodwill impairment 9.0 % - %
ISO & Restricted stock compensation (0.1) % 1.3 %
Change in state & federal deferred rate 0.2 % 2.4 %
Other 0.2 % 0.3 %
Income taxes (benefit) at effective rates - % - %
The Company has incurred net losses for tax purposes every year since inception. At December 31, 2020, the Company had approximately $86,103,878 in net operating loss carryforwards for U.S. federal income tax purposes and $88,222,647 in net operating loss carryforwards for state income tax purposes, which in the aggregate expire in various amounts between the years of 2026 and 2040. The Company's ability to deduct its historical net operating losses may be limited in the future due to IRC Section 382 as a result of the substantial issuances of common stock in 2012 through 2020. Certain of the Company's net operating losses acquired in connection with the Ebyline, ZenContent, and TapInfluence acquisitions also may be limited by IRC Section 382. The change in valuation allowance for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 was an increase of $1,289,000, resulting primarily from net operating losses generated during the period. The change in valuation allowance for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019 was an increase of $1,912,000, resulting primarily from net operating losses generated during the period.
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
NOTE 12. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
On January 25, 2021, the Company entered into a new ATM Sales Agreement (the “2021 Sales Agreement”) with National Securities, pursuant to which the Company may offer and sell, from time to time, through National Securities, up to $35,000,000 shares of its common stock, by any method deemed to be an at-the-market offering.
From January 1, 2021 to March 26, 2021, the Company sold 8,691,391 shares at an average price of $3.95 per share for gross proceeds of $34,311,634 under the 2020 Sales Agreement and the 2021 Sales Agreement with National Securities. As of March 26, 2021, the Company has raised total gross proceeds of $62,766,730 pursuant to the 2020 Sales Agreement and 2021 Sales Agreement.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
ITEM 9 - CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
ITEM 9A - CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.
In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, our management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and our management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Furthermore, controls and procedures could be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion or two or more people or by management override of the control. Misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected on a timely basis.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
In connection with the preparation of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2020, an evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of our management including our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer to determine the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of December 31, 2020. Based on this evaluation, our management concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.
Management's Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act). Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer and effected by our Board of Directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Internal control over financial reporting includes policies and procedures that:
(i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the Company’s transactions;
(ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary for the preparation of our financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that receipts and expenditures are made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and
(iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of any unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect financial statement misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of internal control effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Our management has assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013). Based on this assessment, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2020.
Pursuant to the rules of the SEC, management's annual report on internal control over financial reporting is not subject to attestation by our independent registered public accounting firm and we are not required to provide an attestation report. Accordingly, BDO USA, LLP, has not issued an attestation report on our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) during the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2020 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 9B - OTHER INFORMATION
None.
PART III

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
ITEM 10 - DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Executive Officers and Directors
The names and ages of our executive officers and directors, and their positions with us, are as follows:
Name Age Position
Edward H. (Ted) Murphy 44 Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Ryan S. Schram 40 President, Chief Operating Officer and Director
LeAnn C. Hitchcock 51 Interim Chief Financial Officer
Brian W. Brady 62 Director, Nominating Committee Chair
John H. Caron 63 Director
Lindsay A. Gardner 60 Director
Jill M. Golder 59 Director
Daniel R. Rua 52 Director, Compensation Committee Chair
Patrick J. Venetucci 52 Director, Audit Committee Chair
Executive Officers
Edward H. (Ted) Murphy, Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, founded IZEA in February 2006 as part of MindComet Corp., an interactive advertising agency that he started in 1999 and served as Chief Executive Officer. IZEA was later spun out of MindComet in September 2006 and Mr. Murphy has served as Chief Executive Officer and a director of IZEA since such time. Mr. Murphy is a serial entrepreneur who is recognized as a pioneer in paid blogging and a catalyst behind the social sponsorship industry. As the Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Murphy leads IZEA, both with his day-to-day operational leadership and with his strategic vision for IZEA and its products. Mr. Murphy attended Florida State University before starting MindComet and several other earlier Internet-related businesses. Mr. Murphy brings to the Board extensive knowledge of the social sponsorship industry and a deep background in social media, mobile technology and e-commerce, as well as significant experience in financing technology growth companies.
Ryan S. Schram, President, Chief Operating Officer and Director, joined us in September 2011 as a senior executive leading the company’s operations, client development, corporate strategy, customer success, marketing communications, and talent acquisition/retention efforts and was named President in January 2021. Prior to joining us, from 2005 to 2011, Mr. Schram served in various leadership roles, most recently as Group Vice President, at the leading engagement marketing company, Hello World (previously ePrize). Earlier in his career, Mr. Schram held roles of increasing responsibility at CBS/Westwood One and Clear Channel Interactive (now iHeartMedia). Mr. Schram holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management from the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. Mr. Schram joined our Board in October 2012 and brings substantial knowledge and working experience in marketing services and client development within rapidly evolving industries.
LeAnn C. Hitchcock, Interim Chief Financial Officer, joined us in September 2011 as a financial consultant and was appointed as our Chief Financial Officer in August 2014 until she resigned on August 15, 2018. After the departure of our former chief financial officer on December 4, 2019, Ms. Hitchcock stepped back in as a consultant serving as our Interim Chief Financial Officer until we find a permanent replacement for the position. Prior to working with IZEA, Ms. Hitchcock worked as the Chief Financial Officer of NBI Juiceworks in 2010 and as the SEC Compliance Officer of Workstream Inc. in 2009. From 2002 to 2009, Ms. Hitchcock worked at Galaxy Nutritional Foods as its Chief Financial Officer and later as its SEC Compliance Officer until the company was sold and privatized through a tender offer in 2009. Ms. Hitchcock started her career as an auditor with Arthur Andersen and PricewaterhouseCoopers with a strong emphasis on public companies. Ms. Hitchcock holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in Accounting and Business Administration from Palm Beach Atlantic University and a Masters degree in Accounting from Florida State University.
Directors
Brian W. Brady, Director, Nominating Committee Chairman, joined our Board in August 2012. From 1995 to December 2019, Mr. Brady was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Northwest Broadcasting, Inc., and Chairman of Bryson Holdings LLC. Collectively, these companies own and operate 15 television stations in nine markets. Mr. Brady currently serves on the board of Syncbak, a privately held technology company, Terrier Media, SumTV, iPowow International, Layer3TV and TV4 Entertainment. Mr. Brady is also one of three senior advisors for Manhattan West Asset Management, an independent wealth management and high net worth financial advisory firm. Mr. Brady previously served on the FOX Affiliate Board for nine years, serving as Chairman for four of those years. He also previously served on the board of the National Association of Broadcasting (8 years), Saga Communication (9 years) and the Ferris State College Foundation Board (7 years). Mr. Brady holds a Bachelor of Science degree in advertising from Ferris State University. Mr. Brady brings to our Board more than 25 years of experience in the multi-media industry, making his input invaluable to us as we expand our portfolio of customers and platform offerings.
John H. Caron, Director, joined our Board in April 2015. Mr. Caron has 30+ years of marketing experience in the consumer packaged goods and restaurant industries. Since May 2017, Mr. Caron has served as Vice President and a director of Entrepreneurs in Action, Inc., a Florida benefit corporation, which, among other things, will be the Manager of one or more funds to invest in early-stage and start-up social enterprises. Mr. Caron has also served as an independent director on the board of Tijuana Flats since November 2015 and currently serves as its Chairman, sits on the board of Thrive Frozen Nutrition, Inc. since April 2014, and on the board of venVelo, a Central Florida early-stage venture fund, since May 2013. Prior to joining our Board, Mr. Caron was a member of our Strategic Advisory Board since June 2013. Mr. Caron served as the President of Olive Garden at Darden Restaurants Inc. from May 2011 to January 2013, Darden’s Chief Marketing Officer from March 2010 to May 2011 and Darden’s Executive Vice President of Marketing for Olive Garden from 2003 to 2010. Before joining Darden Restaurants, Mr. Caron served as Vice President and General Manager of Lipton Beverages for Unilever Bestfoods North America from 2000 to 2002. Mr. Caron received a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from The Colorado College and a Masters degree in American Politics from New York University Department of Politics. Mr. Caron also earned a Masters in Business Administration in Marketing from New York University Stern School of Business. Mr. Caron’s decades of experience in leading and managing marketing and branding operations in highly competitive industries position him well to serve on our Board.
Lindsay A. Gardner, Director, joined our Board in December 2013. Mr. Gardner has 30 years of executive management and leadership experience at companies ranging from technology startups to the world’s largest media and entertainment companies. Until August 2020, Mr. Gardner served as Senior Vice President and Chief Content Officer of T-Mobile, the nation’s third-largest wireless company, where he spearheaded the company’s entry into video. Previously, he was the Chief Content Officer of Layer3TV, the first new cable operator to launch in the U.S. in a decade. Mr. Gardner joined Layer3TV in January 2015 and led its commercial launch and subsequent sale to T-Mobile. Prior to that, Mr. Gardener was a Senior Advisor to Oaktree Capital Management, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm with $100 billion under management where, beginning in May 2010, he focused on global buyout opportunities in the media sector. From 2007 to 2010, Mr. Gardner was a partner of New York-based MediaTech Capital Partners. From 1999 until mid-2007, Mr. Gardner led distribution, sales and marketing for Fox Networks as President, Distribution. Mr. Gardner received an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Brandeis University. Mr. Gardner was elected to serve as a member of the Board due to his significant experience in the media, technology and entertainment industries, as both an executive and a private equity investor.
Jill M. Golder, Director, rejoined our Board in February 2021 and was previously a member of IZEA’s Board of Directors from May 2015 to September 2019. Ms. Golder was most recently the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., from April 2016 to December 2020. She was previously employed at Ruby Tuesday, Inc. from April 2013 to April 2016 where she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Ruby Tuesday, Ms. Golder served as Chief Financial Officer for Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurants. Prior to her tenure at Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants, Ms. Golder spent 23 years at Darden Restaurants, holding progressively more responsible positions in finance including Senior Vice President of Finance for Olive Garden, Smokey Bones, Specialty Restaurant Group and Red Lobster. She serves on the Board of Directors and Audit Committee member of ABM Industries, Inc. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Economics at Kalamazoo College and a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Ms. Golder brings to our Board extensive knowledge of complex financial, accounting and operational issues highly relevant to our business.
Daniel R. Rua, Director, Compensation Committee Chairman, rejoined our Board in July 2012. Since November 2015, Mr. Rua has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Admiral, a private SaaS company that provides visitor relationship management and marketing automation for digital publishers. From September 2006 to May 2011, Mr. Rua served as the
Executive Chairman and an early investor in our predecessor entity IZEA Innovations, Inc. Mr. Rua has been a Managing Partner of Inflexion Partners, an early-stage venture capital fund, since January 2002. Prior to Inflexion, Mr. Rua was a Partner with Draper Atlantic, the east coast fund of Silicon Valley’s early-stage venture firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, from 1999 to 2002. Prior to Draper Atlantic, Mr. Rua led Internet protocol development at IBM’s Networking Labs in the Research Triangle, from 1991 to 1999. Mr. Rua is a former director of InphoMatch (acquired by Sybase) and AuctionRover (acquired by Overture/Yahoo). Mr. Rua holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering from the University of Florida. He also earned a Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law and a Masters in Business Administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina. Mr. Rua’s extensive knowledge of our products and services as a director and early investor in our predecessor, as well as his many years of experience in venture capital investing and operational leadership of other technology growth companies, position him well to serve on our Board.
Patrick J. Venetucci, Director, Audit Committee Chairman, joined our Board in December 2018. Since 2018, Mr. Venetucci has served as Chief Executive Officer of MERGE, a private equity-backed company that merges creative, technology and media solutions for clients in the health, financial services and consumer industries. From 2016 to 2018, Mr. Venetucci was the President of USA Operations and Integration for Dentsu Aegis Network, one of the largest holding companies in the advertising industry. In 2013, Mr. Venetucci founded the MobileAngelo Group, a technology investment and consulting firm where he initiated a global mobile roll-up capitalized by private equity and other ventures in technology that enable digital transformation, and served as its Chief Executive Officer until 2016. From 1990 to 2013, Mr. Venetucci worked for Leo Burnett Worldwide, a global advertising network, serving as its President of Global Operations from 2009 to 2013. In this capacity, he was responsible for growing large global accounts and leading global corporate functions such as corporate strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, enterprise technology, internal audit, procurement, and production. Before this, Mr. Venetucci was Leo Burnett’s Global Head of Human Resources where he chaired the executive compensation committee. Earlier in his career at Leo Burnett, he spent over a decade developing fully-integrated marketing campaigns for several Fortune 500 clients, and worked at Leo Burnett Tokyo for three years, where he started the company’s first digital marketing service. Mr. Venetucci has served as an advisor to several innovative public and private technology companies, including Solstice Mobile, Signal, ParqEx, and Quiver, as well as to private equity firms. Mr. Venetucci has a Masters in Business Administration in Finance and in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies from the University of Iowa. Mr. Venetucci’s extensive knowledge of the advertising industry as well as knowledge of financial and operational issues positions him well to serve on our Board.
Family Relationships
There are no family relationships among our executive officers and directors.
Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings
To our knowledge, during the past ten years, none of our directors, executive officers, promoters, control persons or nominees has been:
•the subject of any bankruptcy petition filed by or against any business of which such person was a general partner or executive officer either at the time of the bankruptcy or within two years prior to that time;
•convicted in a criminal proceeding or is subject to a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offenses);
•subject to any order, judgment, or decree, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any court of competent jurisdiction, permanently or temporarily enjoining, barring, suspending or otherwise limiting his involvement in any type of business, securities or banking activities; or
•found by a court of competent jurisdiction (in a civil action), the SEC or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have violated a federal or state securities or commodities law.
Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our directors, executive officers and persons who beneficially own more than 10% of our outstanding common stock to file initial reports of ownership with respect to our equity securities and reports of changes in such ownership with the SEC. Such persons are required by SEC regulations to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file. Based solely upon our review of the copies of the reports that we received and written representations that no other reports were required, we believe that during the year ended December 31, 2020, all Section16(a) filings were made in a timely manner.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
During the year ended December 31, 2020, the members of our Compensation Committee were Lindsay A. Gardner, Daniel R. Rua and Patrick J. Venetucci with Mr. Rua serving as the Chairman of the Compensation Committee. None of the directors who served on our Compensation Committee in 2020 served as one of our employees in 2020 or has ever served as one of our officers. During 2020, none of our executive officers served as a director or member of a compensation committee (or other committee performing similar functions) of any other entity of which an executive officer served on our Board of Directors or Compensation Committee.
Board Committees
Our Board has three active standing committees to assist it with its responsibilities. Below, we describe the three committees, the charters of which are available on our website at https://izea.com. Neither our website nor its contents are incorporated into this Annual Report.
Audit Committee. The Audit Committee’s duties are to recommend to the Board the engagement of independent auditors to audit our financial statements and to review our accounting policies and financial statements. The Audit Committee is responsible for reviewing the scope and fees for the annual audit and the results of audit examinations performed by our independent public accountants, including their recommendations to improve the system of accounting and internal controls. The Audit Committee will at all times be composed exclusively of directors who are, in the opinion of the Board, free from any relationship which would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment as a committee member and who possess an understanding of financial statements and generally accepted accounting principles.
The Audit Committee is comprised of three non-employee directors: John H. Caron, Daniel R. Rua, and Patrick J. Venetucci. Mr. Venetucci serves as the audit committee chairperson and is designated as the “audit committee financial expert” based on his experience as an executive officer of multiple international companies, service on a compensation committee and graduate degree in finance. The Board has determined that all members of the Audit Committee are “independent” as that term is currently defined in the Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 4200(a)(15) and Rule 10A-3(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Audit Committee met telephonically six times during the year ended December 31, 2020.
Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee is tasked with reviewing and approving our compensation policies, including compensation of executive officers. The Compensation Committee is also charged with reviewing and administering our equity incentive compensation plans, and recommending and approving grants of stock options or other awards under that plan.
The Compensation Committee is comprised of three non-employee directors, Lindsay A. Gardner, Daniel R. Rua, and Patrick J. Venetucci. The Board has determined that all members of the Compensation Committee are “independent” as that term is currently defined in the Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 4200(a)(15) and Rule 10A-3(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Mr. Rua serves as the chairman of the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee met five times telephonically during the year ended December 31, 2020, in addition to performing multiple actions through written consents.
Nominations and Corporate Governance Committee. The purpose of the Nominations and Corporate Governance Committee is to select, or recommend for our entire Board’s selection, the individuals to stand for election as directors at the annual meeting of stockholders and to oversee the selection and composition of committees of our Board. The Nominations and Corporate Governance Committee’s duties also include considering the adequacy of our corporate governance and overseeing and approving management continuity planning processes. The Nominations and Corporate Governance Committee is comprised of all of our non-employee directors: Brian W. Brady, John H. Caron, Lindsay A. Gardner, Jill M. Golder, Daniel R. Rua, and Patrick J. Venetucci. Mr. Brady serves as the chairman of the Nominations and Corporate Governance Committee. The Nominations and Corporate Governance Committee met one time during the year ended December 31, 2020 to amend its committee charter and took action by written consent on one occasion.
While we do not have a formal diversity policy for Board membership, the Board does seek to ensure that its membership consists of sufficiently diverse backgrounds, meaning a mix of backgrounds and experiences that will enhance the quality of the Board’s deliberations and decisions. In considering candidates for the Board, the independent directors consider, among other factors, diversity with respect to viewpoints, skills, experience and other demographics.
Board Leadership Structure
Mr. Murphy has been our Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer since 2006 when he founded IZEA. We believe that having one person, particularly Mr. Murphy with his deep industry and executive management experience, his extensive knowledge of the operations of IZEA and his own history of innovation and strategic thinking, serving as both Chairman and Chief Executive Officer is the best leadership structure for IZEA because it demonstrates to employees, customers and stockholders that we are under strong leadership. Mr. Schram has been our Chief Operating Officer since 2011 and was named President in January 2021. This continuity and small base of individuals setting the tone and having primary responsibility for managing our operations provides unity of leadership and promotes strategy development and execution, timely decision-making and effective management of company resources. We believe that we have been well-served by this structure.
Six of our eight directors are independent within the meaning of SEC and Nasdaq rules. In addition, all of the directors on each of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominations and Corporate Governance Committee are independent and each of these committees is led by an independent committee chair. The committee chairs set the agendas for their committees and report to the full Board on their work. Mr. Brady serves as the lead independent director of the board of directors and, as required by Nasdaq, our independent directors meet in executive session without management present as frequently as they deem appropriate, typically at the time of each regular in-person Board meeting. All of the independent directors are highly accomplished and experienced business people in their respective fields, who have demonstrated leadership in significant enterprises and are familiar with board processes. Our independent directors bring experience, oversight, and expertise from outside the company and industry, while Messrs. Murphy and Schram bring company-specific experience and expertise.
Board Role in Risk Oversight
While the Board is responsible for overseeing our risk management, the Board has delegated many of these functions to the Audit Committee. Under its charter, the Audit Committee is responsible for discussing with management and the independent auditors our major financial risk exposures, the guidelines and policies by which risk assessment and management is undertaken, and the steps management has taken to monitor and control risk exposure. In addition to the Audit Committee’s work in overseeing risk management, the full Board regularly engages in discussions of the most significant risks that we are facing and how those risks are being managed, and the Board receives reports on risk management from our senior officers and from the chair of the Audit Committee. In addition, Mr. Murphy’s extensive knowledge of IZEA uniquely qualifies him to lead the Board in assessing risks. The Board believes that the work undertaken by the Audit Committee, the full Board and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, enables the Board to effectively oversee our risk management function.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to all our directors, officers (including our chief executive officer, chief financial officer and any person performing similar functions) and employees. We have made our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics available on our website at https://izea.com. Amendments to the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics or any grant of a waiver from a provision of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics requiring disclosure under applicable SEC rules will also be disclosed on our website.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
ITEM 11 - EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Summary Compensation Table
The following table sets forth the cash compensation, as well as certain other compensation earned during the last two fiscal years, for (i) each person who served as our principal executive officer (“PEO”) during the year ended December 31, 2020; (ii) the two other most highly compensated executive officers other than the PEO who were serving as executive officers as of December 31, 2020; and (iii) up to two additional individuals for whom disclosure would have been provided pursuant to the foregoing clause (ii) but for the fact that such individuals were not serving as executive officers as of December 31, 2020 (collectively referred to as the “Named Executive Officers”):
Name and Principal Position Year Salary Bonus Stock Awards Option Awards (1)
Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation (2)
All Other Compen-sation (3)
Total
Edward H. (Ted) Murphy(4)
2020 $ 269,424 $ - $ 61,790 $ 227,010 $ 66,572 $ 814 $ 625,610
Chief Executive Officer 2019 $ 243,547 $ - $ 195,597 $ 183,299 $ 118,604 $ 814 $ 741,861
Ryan S. Schram (5)
2020 $ 259,075 $ - $ 65,721 $ 2,161 $ 170,392 $ 305 $ 497,654
Chief Operating Officer 2019 $ 259,784 $ - $ 6,124 $ 8,758 $ 128,415 $ 305 $ 403,386
LeAnn C. Hitchcock (6)
2020 $ 267,639 $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 267,639
Interim Chief Financial Officer 2019 $ 70,624 $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 70,624
_______________
(1) Represents the aggregate grant date fair value of stock options issued during the year as calculated in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. See “Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates” under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for additional information, including valuation assumptions used in calculating the fair value of the awards.
(2) Bonus amounts paid in 2020 and 2019 consisted of incentive compensation payable pursuant to each individual’s employment agreement are reported in the “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” column of the Summary Compensation Table.
(3) Represents insurance premiums paid by IZEA with respect to life insurance for the benefit of the Named Executive Officer.
(4) For the year ended December 31, 2019, Mr. Murphy was awarded cash bonuses totaling $118,604, restricted stock units valued at $159,170, restricted stock valued at $36,427, and stock options with a fair value of $183,299 pursuant to quarterly and annual performance bonus awards granted in his employment agreement. For the year ended December 31, 2020, Mr. Murphy was awarded cash bonuses totaling $66,572, restricted stock units valued at $61,790, and stock options with a fair value of $227,010 pursuant to quarterly and annual performance bonus awards granted in his employment agreement. See Employment Agreements below for details on Mr. Murphy's total compensation plan.
(5) For the year ended December 31, 2019, Mr. Schram was awarded cash bonuses totaling $128,415, restricted stock valued at $6,124, and stock options with a fair value of $8,758 pursuant to quarterly and annual performance bonus awards granted in his employment agreement. For the year ended December 31, 2020, Mr. Schram was awarded cash bonuses totaling $170,392, restricted stock units valued at $65,721, and stock options with a fair value of $2,161 pursuant to quarterly and annual performance bonus awards granted in his employment agreement. See Employment Agreements below for details on Mr. Schram's total compensation plan.
(6) Ms. Hitchcock was appointed as our Interim Chief Financial Officer effective December 9, 2019.
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End
Listed below is information with respect to unexercised options and equity incentive awards held by each Named Executive Officer as of December 31, 2020 pursuant to our equity incentive plans:
Option Awards
Name Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options:
Exercisable Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options:
Unexercisable Option Exercise Price (1)
Option Expiration Date
Edward H. (Ted) Murphy 25,000 - $ 5.00 3/1/2023
Chief Executive Officer 9,384 - $ 5.00 3/1/2023
219,949 - $ 5.00 8/15/2023
40,000 - $ 5.20 12/26/2024
7,300 - $ 7.80 4/1/2025
3,108 - $ 8.40 7/1/2025
3,307 - $ 8.00 10/1/2025
37,388 - $ 7.80 11/30/2025
8,297 - $ 6.91 3/30/2026
5,539 - $ 5.75 5/16/2026
8,058 - $ 7.22 8/16/2026
6,299 - $ 4.72 11/17/2026
40,000 - $ 4.75 11/30/2026
13,359 890 (4) $ 4.20 3/31/2027
10,649 1,238 (4) $ 2.75 5/12/2027
586 27,527 (2) $ 1.95 8/14/2027
30,833 9,167 (3) $ 4.65 11/30/2027
8,150 4,470 (2) $ 1.34 6/5/2028
10,954 7,825 (2) $ 1.10 8/16/2028
4,480 4,121 (2) $ 1.46 11/16/2028
20,833 19,167 (3) $ 1.33 11/30/2028
87,500 112,500 (3) $ 1.06 4/23/2029
16,225 14,518 (5) $ 0.65 5/14/2029
25,517 31,897 (5) $ 0.42 8/14/2029
70,834 129,166 (3) $ 0.31 8/27/2029
50,000 150,000 (5) $ 0.17 4/1/2030
19,479 167,521 (3) $ 1.26 8/27/2030
Ryan S. Schram 5,000 - $ 5.00 3/1/2023
Chief Operating Officer 3,750 - $ 5.00 3/1/2023
6,667 - $ 5.60 1/1/2025
1,217 - $ 7.80 4/1/2025
511 - $ 8.40 7/1/2025
560 - $ 8.00 10/1/2025
6,355 - $ 7.60 1/1/2026
1,383 - $ 6.91 3/30/2026
923 - $ 5.75 5/16/2026
1,343 - $ 7.22 8/16/2026
1,050 - $ 4.72 11/17/2026
6,667 - (3) $ 4.51 1/1/2027
2,227 148 (2) $ 4.20 3/31/2027
2,211 201 (2) $ 2.75 5/12/2027
89 4,166 (2) $ 1.95 8/14/2027
5,000 1,667 (3) $ 4.52 1/1/2028
1,810 992 (2) $ 1.34 6/5/2028
1,891 1,350 (2) $ 1.10 8/16/2028
325 299 (2) $ 1.46 11/16/2028
3,334 3,333 (3) $ 0.98 1/1/2029
2,576 3,933 (2) $ 0.65 5/14/2029
3,190 6,379 (2) $ 0.42 8/14/2029
1,667 5,000 (3) $ 0.24 1/1/2030
1,250 5,417 (2) $ 0.17 4/1/2030
LeAnn C. Hitchcock 125 - $ 5.00 3/1/2023
Interim Chief Financial Officer -
(1)Unless otherwise indicated, the option exercise price represents the closing price of our common stock on the date of grant or the closing price of our common stock on the last trading day prior to the grant date if the grant date falls on a non-trading day. Each of these grants has a ten-year term, indicating that the grant date was 10 years prior to the indicated Option Expiration Date.
(2)Represents the unvested portion of annual or quarterly bonus awards granted in accordance with the officer’s employment agreement based on achievement of certain key performance indicators set at the beginning of each year, vesting in equal monthly installments over four years subsequent to the grant date.
(3)Represents the unvested portion of annual stock options granted pursuant to an employment agreement and vesting in equal monthly installments over four years subsequent to the grant date.
(4)As a result of quarterly and annual bonus awards granted in accordance with the officer’s employment agreement based on achievement of certain key performance indicators set at the beginning of each year, Mr. Murphy received incentive stock options on March 31, 2017 and May 12, 2017, totaling 26,136 shares. These options were subject to the approval of an increase in shares in our Equity Incentive Plan, which was approved on June 21, 2017. These options vested as to 1,139 shares on June 30, 2017. The remainder of the incentive stock options granted on March 31, 2017 vest over 45 equal monthly installments of approximately 297 shares thereafter, and the remainder of the incentive stock options granted on May 12, 2017 vest over 27 equal monthly installments of approximately 248 shares thereafter.
(5)Represents the unvested portion of annual or quarterly bonus awards granted in accordance with the officer’s employment agreement based on achievement of certain key performance indicators set at the beginning of each year, vesting in equal monthly installments over three years subsequent to the grant date.
Listed below is information with respect to unvested shares of restricted stock or restricted stock units held by each Named Executive Officer as of December 31, 2020 pursuant to our equity incentive plans:
Stock Awards
Name Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Market Value or Payout Value of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested
Edward H. (Ted) Murphy (1) 469 $ 854
Chief Executive Officer (1) 1,729 $ 3,147
(1) 7,209 $ 13,120
(2) 58,327 $ 106,155
(2) 166,827 $ 303,625
(2) 49,140 $ 89,435
(2) 11,592 $ 21,097
(2) 13,826 $ 25,163
(2) 25,228 $ 45,915
Ryan S. Schram (3) 110 $ 200
Chief Operating Officer (3) 288 $ 524
(3) 1,290 $ 2,348
(3) 2,571 $ 4,679
(4) 63,756 $ 116,036
(4) 100,000 $ 182,000
(4) 25,389 $ 46,208
(4) 2,800 $ 5,096
(4) 2,451 $ 4,461
(4) 4,278 $ 7,786
LeAnn C. Hitchcock - $ -
Interim Chief Financial Officer
(1)We issued 2,812 shares and 7,543 shares of restricted stock to Mr. Murphy for his second and third quarter 2017 performance bonus on August 14, 2017 and November 9, 2017, respectively. The stock was initially valued at $36,411 and vests in equal monthly installments over 48 months after issuance. On May 3, 2018, we issued 21,628 shares of restricted stock for Mr. Murphy’s 2017 annual performance bonus. The stock was initially valued at $46,715 and vests in equal monthly installments over 48 months after issuance. As of December 31, 2020, 9,407 issued shares of restricted stock are unvested with a total market value of $17,121 based on the closing stock price of $1.82 on December 31, 2020.
(2)All restricted stock units convert to an equal number common stock shares upon vesting. On May 17, 2019, we issued 131,235 restricted stock units for Mr. Murphy’s 2019 stock bonus award under his employment agreement. The stock was initially valued at $76,510 and vests in equal monthly installments over 36 months after issuance. On August 29, 2019, we issued 258,312 restricted stock units for Mr. Murphy’s annual stock bonus award under his employment agreement. The stock was initially valued at $82,660 and vests in equal monthly installments over 48 months after issuance. On April 3, 2020, May 31, 2020, August 31, 2020 and November 30, 2020, we issued 65,531, 14918, 16,072 and 26,707 restricted stock units, respectively, for Mr. Murphy’s 2019 annual stock bonus award and his 2020 quarterly stock bonus awards under his employment agreement. The stock was initially valued at $10,138, $9,097, $18,161 and $24,394 and vests in equal monthly installments over 36 months after issuance. As of December 31, 2020, 324,940 restricted stock units are unvested with a total market value of $591,391 based on the closing stock price of $1.82 on December 31, 2020.
(3)We issued 662 shares and 1,257 shares of restricted stock on August 14, 2017 and November 9, 2017, respectively, to Mr. Schram for his second and third quarter 2017 performance bonus. The stock was initially valued at $6,446 and vests in equal monthly installments over 48 months after issuance. On May 3, 2018, we issued 3,870 shares of restricted stock for Mr. Schram’s 2017 annual performance bonus. The stock was initially valued at $8,360 and vests in equal monthly installments over 48 months after issuance. On March 28, 2019, we issued 4,570 shares of restricted stock for Mr. Schram’s 2018 annual performance bonus. The stock was initially valued at $6,124 and vests in equal monthly installments over 48 months after issuance. As of December 31, 2020, 4,259 issued shares of restricted stock are unvested with a total market value of $7,751 based on the closing stock price of $1.82 on December 31, 2020.
(4)All restricted stock units convert to an equal number common stock shares upon vesting. On January 3, 2020, we issued 100,000 restricted stock units as a one-time bonus award to Mr. Schram. The stock was initially valued at $27,930 and has a cliff vesting one year from issuance. On January 3, 2020, we issued 84,994 restricted stock units for Mr. Schram’s annual stock bonus award under his employment agreement. The stock was initially valued at $23,739 and vests in equal monthly installments over 48 months after issuance. On April 3, 2020, May 31, 2020, August 31, 2020 and November 30, 2020, we issued 31,271, 3,347, 2,730 and 4,476 restricted stock units, respectively, for Mr. Schram’s 2019 annual stock bonus award and his 2020 quarterly stock bonus awards under his employment agreement. The stock was initially valued at $4,838, $2,041, $3,085 and $4,088 and vests in equal monthly installments over 48 months after issuance. As of December 31, 2020, 198,674 restricted stock units are unvested with a total market value of $361,587 based on the closing stock price of $1.82 on December 31, 2020.
Employment Agreements
The following is a summary of the employment arrangements with our Named Executive Officers.
Edward H. (Ted) Murphy. On December 26, 2014, the Board signed an employment agreement (the “Previous Employment Agreement”) with Edward H. (Ted) Murphy with an initial term commencing on December 1, 2014 and ending on November 30, 2017, auto-renewing for successive one-year periods if no termination notice is provided. Pursuant to the Previous Employment Agreement, Mr. Murphy received an annual base salary of $225,000 with a guaranteed base salary increase of no less than 2% in April of each year and annual stock options with a fair value of $150,000 vesting over four years in equal monthly installments, subject to a maximum of 40,000 underlying shares. In the event that the fair market value of the stock option grant was less than $150,000, as limited by the 40,000 share cap, Mr. Murphy was entitled to receive either 50% of the difference in fair market value in cash or 100% of the value in shares of restricted stock with the same vesting schedule as the stock options, at the sole discretion of the Board. Additionally, he was eligible for annual bonus distributions up to $85,000 in cash and $150,000 in stock options as determined by the Board, based on meeting and exceeding mutually agreed upon annual performance goals.
Effective April 21, 2019, we entered into a new employment agreement with Mr. Murphy (the “New Employment Agreement”), with an initial term commencing April 21, 2019 and ending on April 20, 2022, which superseded the Previous Employment Agreement. Following the initial term, the New Employment Agreement will automatically renew for successive
one-year terms unless the Company or Mr. Murphy provides written notice of non-renewal at least 60 days prior to the end of the current term or the New Employment Agreement is otherwise terminated pursuant to its terms. Pursuant to the New Employment Agreement, Mr. Murphy receives an annual base salary of $249,900 with a guaranteed base salary increase of no less than 2% in April of each year and an automatic increase of 20% in the event that the Company reaches a market cap of $50 million for a specified amount of time. The New Employment Agreement provides for annual stock options with a fair value of $200,000 vesting over four years in equal monthly installments, subject to a maximum of 200,000 underlying shares. In the event the fair market value of the stock option grant is less than $200,000 as limited by the 200,000 share maximum, Mr. Murphy is entitled to receive the difference in fair market value through a combination of cash and restricted stock units with the same vesting schedule as the stock options, at the sole discretion of the Board. Additionally, he is eligible for an annual bonus of no less than $85,000 in cash and up to $150,000 in stock options (subject to a 200,000-share maximum, with any resulting difference in value to be paid in a combination of cash and restricted stock units, at the sole discretion of the Board), in each case paid quarterly pursuant to the terms of the New Employment Agreement. Such annual bonus will be based on the achievement of specified annual performance goals. Each such grant of stock options shall vest over three years in equal monthly installments.
Mr. Murphy's New Employment Agreement is subject to early termination (i) by the Company or Mr. Murphy for any reason upon written notice, (ii) by the Company for cause (as such term is defined in the New Employment Agreement), (iii) by Mr. Murphy for good reason (as such term is defined in the New Employment Agreement), and (iv) in the case of death or disability. If terminated, for any reason other than death, disability or cause, Mr. Murphy will be entitled to a severance of six months of his current salary and twelve months of COBRA payments. In the case of termination due to disability, Mr. Murphy will be entitled to a severance of his current salary until such time (but no more than 120 days after such disability) that disability insurance plan payments commence. If there is a change of control (as defined in the New Employment Agreement) and Mr. Murphy's employment terminates within six months following the change of control for reasons other than for cause, then Mr. Murphy will be entitled to such amount equal to twelve months of his then current base salary and twelve months of COBRA payments. The New Employment Agreement also provides for Mr. Murphy’s eligibility to receive benefits substantially similar to those of the Company’s other executives.
In connection with the New Employment Agreement, Mr. Murphy received an option to purchase up to 200,000 shares at an exercise price of $1.06 per share with an initial fair value of $123,490 vesting in equal monthly installments over 48 months from issuance.
LeAnn C. Hitchcock. Ms. Hitchcock joined us in September 2011 as a financial consultant and was appointed as our Chief Financial Officer in August 2014 until she resigned on August 15, 2018. Ms. Hitchcock was re-appointed as our Interim Chief Financial Officer effective December 9, 2019. We paid Ms. Hitchcock an aggregate of $267,639 and $70,624 for her consulting services for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Ryan S. Schram. On January 25, 2015, we entered into an amended and restated executive employment agreement, effective January 1, 2015, with Ryan S. Schram to serve as our Chief Operating Officer through December 31, 2017. The agreement auto-renewed for successive one-year periods if no termination notice is provided. Per the agreement, Mr. Schram received an annual base salary of $240,000 with an annual increase of no less than 2% on April 1st of each year beginning on April 1, 2015. Additionally, on January 1st each year, Mr. Schram received annual stock options with a fair value of $25,000 vesting over four years in equal monthly installments. However, the number of underlying shares of common stock could not exceed 6,667 shares. In the event the fair market value of the stock option grant was less than $25,000 as limited by the 6,667 share cap, Mr. Schram would be entitled to receive either 50% of the difference in fair market value in cash or 100% of the difference in fair market value in restricted stock with the same vesting schedule as the stock options, at the sole discretion of the Board. Mr. Schram was also be eligible for annual bonus distributions up to $100,000 in cash and $25,000 in stock options based on meeting certain key performance indicators set forth in his employment agreement, as well as an annual override cash bonus of 0.4% or 0.65% based on our gross revenue. If Mr. Schram was terminated for any reason other than death, disability or cause, or if he resigned for good reason (as those terms are defined in his employment agreement), Mr. Schram would be entitled to severance of six months’ current salary and bonus and override bonus as in effect on the date of termination. A change of control, under which Mr. Schram failed to retain his responsibilities, would be deemed to constitute good reason under his employment agreement. Effective January 1, 2021, the Company entered into a new employment agreement with Mr. Schram.
Equity Incentive Plans
In May 2011, the Board adopted the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan of IZEA, Inc., which was amended and restated in 2020 (the “May 2011 Plan”). The May 2011 Plan allows us to award restricted stock, restricted stock units and stock options, covering up to 7,500,000 shares of common stock as incentive compensation for our employees and consultants. On August 22, 2011, the Board adopted the 2011 B Equity Incentive Plan (the “August 2011 Plan”) reserving 4,375 shares of common stock for issuance under the August 2011 Plan. As of December 31, 2020, an aggregate of 1,003,917 shares of common stock have been issued in respect of exercised and vested awards under the May 2011 Plan and the August 2011 Plan.
Under both the May 2011 Plan and the August 2011 Plan, the Board determines the exercise price to be paid for the option shares, the period within which each award may be exercised, and the terms and conditions of each award, including any future vesting restrictions. The exercise price of incentive and non-qualified stock options may not be less than 100% of the fair market value per share of our common stock on the grant date. If an individual owns stock representing more than 10% of the outstanding shares, the price of each share of an incentive stock option must be equal to or exceed 110% of fair market value. Unless otherwise determined by the Board at the time of grant, the purchase price is set at the fair market value of our common stock on the grant date (or the last trading day prior to the grant date, if it is awarded on a non-trading day). Additionally, the term is set at ten years and the option typically vests on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period as follows: 25% one year from the date of grant with the remaining vesting monthly, in equal increments over the following three years. We issue new shares for any stock awards or options exercised under our 2011 Equity Incentive Plans.
Our 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”) provides for the issuance of up to 500,000 shares of our common stock. Any employee regularly employed by us for 90 days or more on a full-time or part-time basis (20 hours or more per week on a regular schedule) is eligible to participate in the ESPP. The ESPP operates in successive six-month offering periods commencing at the beginning of each fiscal year half. Each eligible employee who has elected to participate may purchase up to 10% of their annual compensation in common stock not to exceed $21,250 annually or 2,000 shares per offering period. The purchase price will be the lower of (i) 85% of the fair market value of a share of common stock on the first day of the offering period or (ii) 85% of the fair market value of a share of common stock on the last day of the offering period. The ESPP will continue until January 1, 2024, unless otherwise terminated by our Board. As of December 31, 2020, 104,387 shares have been issued under the ESPP.
The following table sets forth information regarding the securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2020:
Plan Category Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a))
(a) (b) (c) (1)
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders 2,683,155 $ 2.56 4,212,916
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders - - -
Total 2,683,155 $ 2.56 4,212,916
_______________
(1) As of December 31, 2020, we had 3,812,928 shares of common stock available for future issuance under our May 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, 4,375 shares of common stock available for future issuance under our August 2011 Equity Incentive Plan and 395,613 shares of common stock available for future issuance under our 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
As of March 26, 2021, we had 59,129,390 shares of common stock issued, which includes 37,620 shares of unvested restricted stock, outstanding stock options to purchase 1,742,303 shares of our common stock at an average exercise price of $2.55 per share and unvested restricted stock units of 569,934 shares with an intrinsic value of $2,308,233.
Director Compensation
The following table sets forth the cash compensation, as well as certain other compensation earned by each person who served as a non-employee director of IZEA during the year ended December 31, 2020:
Name Fees Earned or Paid in Cash Stock Awards Option Awards Total
Brian W. Brady (1)
$ 24,950 $ 25,000 $ - $ 49,950
John H. Caron (2)
$ 28,950 $ 25,000 $ - $ 53,950
Lindsay A. Gardner (3)
$ 24,950 $ 25,000 $ - $ 49,950
Daniel R. Rua (5)
$ 28,950 $ 25,000 $ - $ 53,950
Patrick J. Venetucci (6)
$ 28,950 $ 25,000 $ - $ 53,950
_______________
(1)In 2020, Mr. Brady received 78,125 shares of restricted stock originally valued at $25,000 upon issuance. The value of these shares was expensed as the shares vested in equal monthly installments from January through December 2020. Mr. Brady also received cash compensation of $24,950 in accordance with the non-employee director compensation program effected in March 2013.
(2)In 2020, Mr. Caron received 78,125 shares of restricted stock originally valued at $25,000 upon issuance. The value of these shares was expensed as the shares vested in equal monthly installments from January through December 2020. Mr. Caron also received cash compensation of $28,950 in accordance with the non-employee director compensation program effected in March 2013.
(3)In 2020, Mr. Gardner received 78,125 shares of restricted stock originally valued at $25,000 upon issuance. The value of these shares was expensed as the shares vested in equal monthly installments from January through December 2020. Mr. Gardner also received cash compensation of $24,950 in accordance with the non-employee director compensation program effected in March 2013.
(4)In 2020, Mr. Rua received 78,125 shares of restricted stock originally valued at $25,000 upon issuance. The value of these shares was expensed as the shares vested in equal monthly installments from January through December 2020. Mr. Rua also received cash compensation of $28,950 in accordance with the non-employee director compensation program effected in March 2013.
(5)In 2020, Mr. Venetucci received 78,125 shares of restricted stock originally valued at $25,000 upon issuance. The value of these shares was expensed as the shares vested in equal monthly installments from January through December 2020. Mr. Rua also received cash compensation of $28,950 in accordance with the non-employee director compensation program effected in March 2013.
_________________
Effective March 1, 2013, the Board implemented a compensation program that entitles each serving non-employee director to receive the following compensation:
•An annual board retainer fee of $25,000 to be paid in restricted stock each calendar year earned equally over the year of service.
•A cash retainer fee of $20,000 per year, payable in cash or restricted stock.
•Reimbursement of actual and necessary travel and related expenses in connection with attending in-person Board meetings.
•A $1,000 per meeting fee for all meetings of the Board, subject to a $6,000 annual cap.
•A $1,000 per Audit Committee meeting fee, subject to a $4,000 annual cap.
Directors who are also employees of the Company are not paid for their service as directors.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
ITEM 12 - SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners
The following table presents information with respect to the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 26, 2021 by:
•each person or group of affiliated persons, known to us to beneficially own more than 5% of our outstanding common stock (“5% holders”);
•each of our directors and named executive officers; and,
•all of our directors and executive officers as a group.
The number of shares of our common stock owned by each person is determined under the rules of the SEC. Under these rules, beneficial ownership includes any shares as to which the individual has sole or shared voting power or investment power and also any shares that the individual has the right to acquire within 60 days after March 26, 2021, or by May 25, 2021, through the conversion of a security or other right. Shares not outstanding but deemed beneficially owned by virtue of the right of a person to acquire those shares are treated as outstanding only for purposes of determining the number and percent of shares of common stock owned by such person or group. We are not aware of any 5% holders of our common stock as of March 26, 2021.
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the following table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by them and the address of each person named in the following table is c/o IZEA Worldwide, Inc., 501 N. Orlando Avenue, Suite 313, PMB 247 Winter Park, Florida 32789.
Name of Beneficial Owner Shares Beneficially Owned Percentage of Common Stock Beneficially Owned (1)
Executive Officers and Directors:
Edward H. (Ted) Murphy (2)
1,457,809 2.4 %
Ryan S. Schram (3)
200,063 *
LeAnn C. Hitchcock (4)
12,557 *
Brian W. Brady (5)
1,532,807 2.6 %
John H. Caron (6)
141,286 *
Lindsay A. Gardner (7)
201,877 *
Jill M. Golder (8)
20,143 *
Daniel R. Rua (9)
136,953 *
Patrick J. Venetucci (10)
103,137 *
All executive officers and directors as a group (9 persons) (11)
3,806,632 6.3 %
_______________
* Less than 1 percent.
(1)Applicable percentage of ownership for each holder is based on 59,129,390 shares outstanding as of March 26, 2021.
(2)Includes 526,868 outstanding shares of common stock, exercisable stock options to purchase 889,376 shares of common stock, and 41,565 restricted stock units expected to vest within the 60 days under the 2011 Plan.
(3)Includes 127,079 outstanding shares of common stock, exercisable stock options to purchase 67,700 shares of common stock, and 5,284 restricted stock units expected to vest within the 60 days under the 2011 Plan.
(4)Includes 12,432 outstanding shares of common stock and exercisable stock options to purchase 125 shares of common stock under the 2011 Plan.
(5)Includes 1,522,300 outstanding shares of common stock and stock options exercisable for 10,507 shares of common stock under the 2011 Plan.
(6)Includes 138,786 outstanding shares of common stock and stock options exercisable for 2,500 shares of common stock under the 2011 Plan.
(7)Includes 200,723 outstanding shares of common stock, stock options exercisable for 1,154 shares of common stock under the 2011 Plan.
(8)Includes 20,143 outstanding shares of common stock.
(9)Includes 127,363 outstanding shares of common stock and stock options exercisable for 9,590 shares of common stock under the 2011 Plan.
(10)Includes 98,137 outstanding shares of common stock and stock options exercisable for 5,000 shares of common stock under the 2011 Plan.
(11)For all executive officers and directors as a group, this amount includes 2,773,831 outstanding shares of common stock, exercisable stock options to purchase 985,952 shares of common stock and 46,849 restricted stock units expected to vest within 60 days of March 26, 2021 under the 2011 Plan as further detailed in footnotes (2) through (10) above.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
ITEM 13 - CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
We review all transactions involving us in which any of our directors, director nominees, significant shareholders and executive officers and their immediate family members are participants to determine whether such person has a direct or indirect material interest in the transaction. All directors, director nominees and executive officers must notify us of any proposed transaction involving us in which such person has a direct or indirect material interest. Such proposed transaction is then reviewed by either the Board as a whole or the Audit Committee, which determines whether or not to approve the transaction. After such review, the reviewing body approves the transaction only if it determines that the transaction is in, or not inconsistent with, the best interests of our Company and our shareholders.
Certain Transactions
On May 10, 2019, the Company completed an underwritten registered public offering of 14,285,714 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $0.70 per share, for total gross proceeds of approximately $10 million. The net proceeds to the Company were approximately $9.2 million. Mr. Edward Murphy, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and a Company director, and Mr. Troy J. Vanke, the Company’s former Chief Financial Officer, participated in the public offering and purchased 21,428 and 42,857 shares of common stock, respectively.
Other than as described above, there have been no transactions since January 1, 2019 or any currently proposed transaction, in which the Company was or is to be a participant and the amount involved exceeded the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of our total assets at year end for the last two completed fiscal years, and in which any of our respective officers, directors, beneficial owners of more than 5% of our outstanding common stock or their family members had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.
Director Independence
The Board has determined that Brian W. Brady, John H. Caron, Lindsay A. Gardner, Jill M. Golder, Daniel R. Rua and Patrick J. Venetucci are “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(a)(2). As provided by the Nasdaq rules, the Board has made a subjective determination as to each independent director that no relationships exists which, in the opinion of the Board, would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. In making these determinations, the Board reviewed and discussed information provided by the directors with regard to each director’s business and personal activities as they may relate to us and our management.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
ITEM 14 - PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
Audit Committee Policies and Procedures
The Audit Committee must pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services (including the fees and terms thereof) to be performed for us by our independent auditors, subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in Section 10A(i)(1)(B) of the Exchange Act, which should nonetheless be approved by the Board prior to the completion of the audit. Each year, the Audit Committee approves the independent auditor’s retention to audit our financial statements, including the associated fee, before the filing of the previous year’s Annual Report. At the beginning of the fiscal year, the Audit Committee will evaluate other known potential engagements of the independent auditor, including the scope of work proposed to be performed and the proposed fees, and approve or reject each service, taking into account whether the services are permissible under applicable law and the possible impact of each non-audit service on the independent auditor’s independence from management. At each such subsequent meeting, the auditor and management may present subsequent services for approval. Typically, these would be services, such as due diligence for an acquisition, that would not have been known at the beginning of the year.
Each new engagement of BDO USA, LLP (“BDO”), an independent registered public accounting firm, has been approved in advance by the Board, and none of those engagements made use of the de minimis exception to the pre-approval contained in Section 10A(i)(1)(B) of the Exchange Act.
The following table presents the aggregate fees billed, by type of fee, in relation to services provided to us by BDO:
Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
2020 2019
Audit Fees (1)
$ 294,803 $ 255,589
Audit-Related Fees (2)
- -
Tax Fees (3)
- 28,534
All Other Fees (4)
- -
Total $ 294,803 $ 284,123
(1)“Audit Fees” means the aggregate fees billed by the principal accountant for each of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered for the audit and review of financial statements.
(2)“Audit-Related Fees” means the aggregate fees billed by the principal accountant in each of the last two fiscal years for assurance and related services reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of financial statements.
(3)“Tax Fees” means the aggregate fees billed by the principal accountant in each of the last two fiscal years for professional services for tax compliance. No tax advice or tax planning services were rendered by the principal accountant.
(4)“All Other Fees” means the aggregate fees billed by the principal accountant in each of the last two fiscal years for products and services other than those reported above.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
ITEM 15 - EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
(a)The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report:
(1)Financial Statements (see “Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” at Item 8 and incorporated herein by reference).
(2)Financial Statement Schedules (Schedules to the Financial Statements have been omitted because the information required to be set forth therein is not applicable or is shown in the accompanying Financial Statements or notes thereto).
(3)Exhibits
Exhibit No. Description
2.1 Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of January 27, 2015, by and among IZEA, Inc., Ebyline, Inc. and the Stockholders of Ebyline, Inc. listed on the signature pages thereto (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 29, 2015).
2.2 Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of July 31, 2016, by and among IZEA, Inc., ZenContent, Inc. and the Stockholders of ZenContent, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 2, 2016).
2.3 Amendment No. 1 to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of October 21, 2016, by and among IZEA, Inc., ZenContent, Inc. and the Stockholders of ZenContent, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 14, 2018).
2.4 Amendment No. 2 to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of July 17, 2018, by and among IZEA, Inc., ZenContent, Inc. and the Stockholders of ZenContent, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 14, 2018).
2.5 Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of July 11, 2018, by and among IZEA, Inc., IZEA Merger Sub, Inc., TapInfluence, Inc., certain stockholders of TapInfluence, Inc. and the stockholders' representative (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 12, 2018).
2.6 Amendment No. 1 to Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of July 20, 2018, by and among IZEA, Inc., IZEA Merger Sub, Inc., TapInfluence, Inc., certain stockholders of TapInfluence, Inc. and the stockholders’ representative (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 30, 2018).
3.1 Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation of IZEA, Inc., filed with the Nevada Secretary of State on November 28, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on November 23, 2011).
3.2 Certificate of Change of IZEA, Inc., filed with the Nevada Secretary of State on July 30, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 1, 2012).
3.3 Certificate of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada on April 17, 2014 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 18, 2014).
3.4 Certificate of Withdrawal of Certificate of Designation filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada effective January 23, 2015 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 29, 2015).
3.5 Certificate of Amendment filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada effective January 11, 2016 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 12, 2016).
3.6 Amended and Restated Bylaws of IZEA, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on November 23, 2011).
3.7 Certificate of Designation (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 27, 2011).
3.8 Articles of Merger of IZEA Innovations, Inc. filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada effective April 5, 2016 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.11 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 11, 2016).
3.9 Articles of Merger of IZEA Worldwide, Inc. filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada effective August 20, 2018 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 23, 2018).
3.10 Articles of Merger of IZEA Worldwide, Inc. filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada effective December 17, 2019 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.10 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 30, 2020).
3.11 * Articles of Merger of IZEA Worldwide, Inc. filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada effective December 14, 2020.
4.1 Description of Common Stock of the Company registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 30, 2020).
10.1 (a) 2011 B Equity Incentive Plan as of August 22, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 8, 2011).
10.2 Business Financing Agreement, dated as of March 1, 2013, between the Company and Bridge Bank, National Association (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 29, 2013).
10.3 (a) 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, As Amended and Restated December 18, 2020 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 21, 2020).
10.4 (a) 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, As Amended and Restated December 18, 2018 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 20, 2018).
10.5 (a) Director compensation plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 12, 2020).
10.6 (a) Amended and Restated Employment Agreement between IZEA, Inc. and Edward Murphy dated April 21, 2019 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 24, 2019).
10.7 (a) Amended and Restated Executive Employment Agreement between IZEA, Inc. and Ryan Schram dated January 25, 2015 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 29, 2015).
10.8 (a) Amended and Restated Executive Employment Agreement between IZEA, Inc. and Ryan Schram dated January 1, 2021 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 6, 2021).
10.9 Business Financing Modification Agreement and Consent, dated as of August 30, 2018, by and among IZEA Worldwide, Inc., Ebyline, Inc., TapInfluence, Inc. and Western Alliance Bank (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 14, 2018).
10.10 Note, dated as of April 23, 2020, issued by IZEA Worldwide, Inc. to Western Alliance Bank (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 24, 2020).
10.11 (a) Employment Agreement between IZEA, Inc. and Peter Biere effective April 1, 2021 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 18, 2021).
21.1 * List of Subsidiaries of IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
23.1 * Consent of BDO USA, LLP, independent registered public accounting firm.
31.1 * Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
31.2 * Certification of Principal Financial and Accounting Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.1 * (a) Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.2 * (a) Certification of Principal Financial and Accounting Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
101 * (b) The following materials from IZEA Worldwide, Inc.'s Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2020 are formatted in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language): (i) the Consolidated Balance Sheets, (ii) the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss, (iii) the Consolidated Statement of Stockholders' Equity, (iv) the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow, and (iv) the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
* Filed or furnished herewith.
(a) Denotes management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
(b) In accordance with Item 601of Regulation S-K, this Exhibit is hereby furnished to the SEC as an accompanying document and is not deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933.
(c) In accordance with Rule 406T of Regulation S-T, the XBRL related information in Exhibit 101 to this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section, and shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.