Our lack of operating history makes it difficult for us to evaluate our future business prospects and make decisions based on those estimates of our future performance. An investor could lose his entire investment.
We have a limited operating history. An investor has no frame of reference to evaluate our future business prospects. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to evaluate us as an investment. An investor could lose his entire investment if our future business prospects do not result in profitability.
If we do not generate adequate revenues to finance our operations, our business may fail.
We began generating revenues in 2008. As of September 30, 2017, we had a cash position of $93,525 and an additional $155,959 in Certificates of Deposit. We anticipate that operating costs will range between $50,000 and $60,000, for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017. These operating costs include insurance, taxes, utilities, maintenance, contract services and all other costs of operations. We will use contract employees who will be paid on an hourly basis as each investment transaction is evaluated. However, the operating costs and expected revenue generation are difficult to predict.
However, the operating costs and expected revenue generation are difficult to predict. Since there can be no assurances that revenues will be sufficient to cover operating costs for the foreseeable future, it may be necessary to raise additional funds. Due to our lack of operating history, raising additional funds may be difficult.
Competition in the alternative energy industry is intense.
Our business plan involves making investments in alternative energy projects. This business is highly competitive. There are numerous similar companies seeking such investments in the United States of America. Our competitors will have greater financial resources and more expertise in this business. Our ability to develop our business will depend on our ability to successfully develop investments in this highly competitive environment. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so successfully.
The share control position of WestMountain Green, LLC will limit the ability of other shareholders to influence corporate actions.
Our largest shareholder, WestMountain Green, LLC, of which Mr. Klemsz is a 16.8% member, owns 8,050,000 shares and thereby controls approximately 90% of our outstanding shares. Because WestMountain Green, LLC individually beneficially controls more than a majority of the outstanding shares, other shareholders, individually or as a group, will be limited in their ability to effectively influence the election or removal of our directors, the supervision and management of our business or a change in control of or sale of our company, even if they believed such changes were in the best interest of our shareholders generally.
Our future success depends, in large part, on the continued service of our President and Treasurer and the continued financing of WestMountain Green, LLC.
We depend almost entirely on the efforts and continued employment of Mr. Klemsz, our President and Treasurer. Mr. Klemsz is our primary executive officer, and we will depend on him for nearly all aspects of our operations. In addition, WestMountain Green, LLC, is our only source of external financing. We do not have an employment contract with Mr. Klemsz, and we do not carry key person insurance on his life. The loss of the services of Mr. Klemsz through incapacity or otherwise, would have a material adverse effect on our business. It would be very difficult to find and retain qualified personnel such as Mr. Klemsz and a financing source to replace WestMountain Green, LLC. At the present time, there is no contractual commitment for WestMountain Green, LLC to fund us.
Our revenue and profitability fluctuate, particularly inasmuch as we cannot predict the timing of realization events in developing future investments, which may make it difficult for us to achieve steady earnings growth on a quarterly basis and may cause volatility in the price of our shares.
We may experience significant variations in revenues and profitability during the year. The timing and receipt of income generated by bringing new alternative energy projects to market is event driven and thus highly variable, which contributes to the volatility of our revenue, and our ability to realize incentive income from our funds may be limited. We cannot predict when, or if, any realization of investments will occur. If we were to have a realization event in a particular quarter, it may have a significant impact on our revenues and profits for that particular quarter which may not be replicated in subsequent quarters. In addition, our equity investments are adjusted for accounting purposes to fair value at the end of each quarter, resulting in revenue attributable to our principal investments, even though we receive no cash distributions from our equity funds, which could increase the volatility of our quarterly earnings.
Difficult market conditions can adversely affect our funds in many ways, including reducing the value or performance of the investments we make in our investments and reducing the ability of our company to raise or deploy capital, which could materially reduce our revenue and results of operations.
If economic conditions are unfavorable, our projects may not perform well and we may not be able to raise money in existing or new projects. Our investments will be materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions throughout the world. The global market and economic climate may deteriorate because of many factors beyond our control, including rising interest rates or inflation, terrorism or political uncertainty. In the event of a market downturn, our businesses could be affected in different ways.
A general market downturn, or a specific market dislocation, may cause our revenue and results of operations to decline by causing:
| |
●
|
The value of our investments to decrease;
|
| |
●
|
lower investment returns, reducing incentive income; and
|
| |
●
|
material reductions in the value of our ownership in investments.
|
Furthermore, while difficult market conditions may increase opportunities to make certain alternative energy investments, such conditions also increase the risk of default with respect to investments held by us with debt investments.
The success of our business depends, in part, upon proprietary technologies and information which may be difficult to protect and may infringe on the intellectual property rights of third parties.
We believe that the identification, acquisition and development of proprietary technologies are key drivers of our business. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to obtain patents, license the patents of others, maintain the secrecy of our proprietary technology and information, and operate without infringing on the proprietary rights of third parties. We currently do not license any patents. We cannot assure you that the patents of others will not have an adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business, that the patents that we license will provide us with competitive advantages or will not be challenged by third parties, that we will acquire additional proprietary technology that is patentable or that any patents issued to us will provide us with competitive advantages or will not be challenged by third parties. Further, we cannot assure you that others will not independently develop similar or superior technologies, duplicate elements of any technology we may own or design around it.
In order to successfully commercialize any proprietary technologies, it is possible that we may need to acquire licenses to, or to contest the validity of, issued or pending patents or claims of third parties. We cannot assure you that any license acquired under such patents would be made available to us on acceptable terms, if at all, or that we would prevail in any such contest. In addition, we could incur substantial costs in defending ourselves in suits brought against us for alleged infringement of another party's patents or in defending the validity or enforceability of our patents, or in bringing patent infringement suits against other parties based on our patents.
In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we may also rely on trade secrets, proprietary know-how and technology that we seek to protect, in part, by confidentiality agreements with our prospective joint venture partners, employees and consultants. We cannot assure you that these agreements will not be breached, that we will have adequate remedies for any such breach, or that our trade secrets and proprietary know-how will not otherwise become known or be independently discovered by others.
Because we are smaller and have fewer financial and other resources than many alternative energy companies, we may not be able to successfully compete in the very competitive alternative energy industry.
Alternative energy functions as a commodity. There is significant competition among existing alternative energy producers. Our business could face competition from a number of producers that can produce significantly greater volumes of alternative energy than we can or expect to produce, producers that can produce a wider range of products than we can, and producers that have the financial and other resources that would enable them to expand their production rapidly if they chose to. These producers may be able to achieve substantial economies of scale and scope, thereby substantially reducing their fixed production costs and their marginal production costs. If these producers are able to substantially reduce their marginal production costs, the market price of alternative energy products may decline and we may not be able to produce alternative energy products at a cost that allows us to operate profitably. Even if we are able to operate profitably, these other producers may be substantially more profitable than us, which may make it more difficult for us to raise any financing necessary for us to achieve our business plan and may have a materially adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.
Increased alternative energy production in the United States could increase the demand for feedstocks and the resulting price of feedstocks, reducing our profitability.
New alternative energy projects are under construction throughout the United States. Increased production from alternative energy sources could increase feedstock demand and prices, resulting in higher production costs and lower profits.
Price increases or interruptions in needed energy supplies could cause loss of customers and impair our profitability.
Alternative energy production requires a constant and consistent supply of energy. If there is any interruption in a supply of energy for whatever reason, such as availability, delivery or mechanical problems, once we are in production, we may be required to modify our operations. If we were required to modify operations for any extended period of time, it would have a material, adverse effect on our business. Natural gas and electricity prices have historically fluctuated significantly. When we begin alternative energy production, we would expect to purchase significant amounts of these resources as part of our alternative energy production. Increases in the price of natural gas or electricity would harm our business and financial results by increasing our energy costs.
Risks Related to Government Regulation and Subsidization
The United States alternative energy industry is highly dependent upon federal and state legislation and regulation and any changes in that legislation or regulation could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. The elimination or significant reduction in the federal tax incentive could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
The production of alternative energy has historically been related to federal tax incentives. The elimination or significant reduction in the federal tax incentives on any or all alternative energy projects could negatively impact our proposed operations.
Lax enforcement of environmental and energy policy regulations may adversely affect the demand for alternative energy products.
Our success will depend, in part, on effective enforcement of existing environmental and energy policy regulations. Many of our potential customers are unlikely to switch from the use of conventional fuels unless compliance with applicable regulatory requirements leads, directly or indirectly, to the use of alternative energy. Both additional regulation and enforcement of such regulatory provisions are likely to be vigorously opposed by the entities affected by such requirements. If existing emissions-reducing standards are weakened, or if governments are not active and effective in enforcing such standards, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected. Even if the current trend toward more stringent emissions standards continues, our future prospects will depend on the ability of alternative energy to satisfy these emissions standards more efficiently than other existing technologies. Certain standards imposed by regulatory programs may limit or preclude the use of our products to comply with environmental or energy requirements. Any decrease in the emission standards or the failure to enforce existing emission standards and other regulations could result in a reduced demand for alternative energy products. A significant decrease in the demand for alternative energy products will reduce the price of such alternative energy products, which could adversely affect the ability to be profitable with any future operations and decrease the value of your stock.
Costs of compliance with burdensome or changing environmental and operational safety regulations could cause our focus to be diverted away from our business and our results of operations to suffer.
We expect to be subject to complicated environmental regulations of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and regulations and permitting requirements of the various states with respect to our alternative energy projects. These regulations are subject to change and such changes may require additional capital expenditures or increased operating costs. Consequently, considerable resources may be required to comply with future environmental regulations. We do not currently expect to incur material capital expenditures for environmental controls in this or the succeeding fiscal year. In addition, our proposed projects could be subject to environmental nuisance or related claims by employees, property owners or residents near our projects arising from air or water discharges. Environmental and public nuisance claims, or tort claims based on emissions, or increased environmental compliance costs could significantly increase our operating costs.
Any new alternative energy plants will be subject to federal and state laws regarding occupational safety. Risks of substantial compliance costs and liabilities are inherent in alternative energy production. Possible future developments, including stricter safety laws for workers and other individuals, regulations and enforcement policies and claims for personal or property damages resulting from operation of our projects could reduce the amount of cash that would otherwise be available to further enhance our business.
Risks Related to an Investment in Our Common Stock
The lack of a broker or dealer to create or maintain a market in our stock could adversely impact the price and liquidity of our securities.
We have no agreement with any broker or dealer to act as a market maker for our securities and there is no assurance that we will be successful in obtaining any market makers. Thus, no broker or dealer will have an incentive to make a market for our stock. The lack of a market maker for our securities could adversely influence the market for and price of our securities, as well as your ability to dispose of, or to obtain accurate information about, and/or quotations as to the price of, our securities.
We have limited experience as a public company.
We have only operated as a public company since January, 2009. We trade on the OTC Bulletin Board under the trading symbol WETM. Thus, we have limited experience in complying with the various rules and regulations which are required of a public company. As a result, we may not be able to operate successfully as a public company, even if our operations are successful. We plan to comply with all of the various rules and regulations which are required of a public company. However, if we cannot operate successfully as a public company, your investment may be materially adversely affected. Our inability to operate as a public company could be the basis of you losing your entire investment in us.
We may be required to register under the Investment Company Act of 1940, or the Investment Advisors Act, which could increase the regulatory burden on us and could negatively affect the price and trading of our securities.
Because our proposed business involves the identification, acquisition and development of alternative energy investments, we may be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 or the Investment Advisors Act and analogous state law. While we believe that we are currently either not an investment company or an investment advisor or are exempt from registration as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 or the Investment Advisors Act and analogous state law, either the SEC or state regulators, or both, may disagree and could require registration either immediately or at some point in the future. As a result, there could be an increased regulatory burden on us which could negatively affect the price and trading of our securities.
We may be impacted by new regulatory requirements as a result of the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act.
In July, 2010, Congress enacted the Dodd-Frank Act, which instituted major changes in the regulatory regime for public companies, particularly those in the financial sector. At the present time, we do not believe that we will be impacted in a material way by this legislation. However, the implementation of the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act are subject to regulations which have not yet been written and its statutory provisions have not been the subject of extensive judicial review, so we cannot guarantee that we may not come under its purview at some point in the future and be affected negatively by it.
Our stock has a limited public trading market and there is no guarantee a trading market will ever develop for our securities.
There has been, and continues to be, a limited public market for our common stock. An active trading market for our shares has not, and may never develop or be sustained. If you purchase shares of common stock, you may not be able to resell those shares at or above the initial price you paid. The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to numerous factors, some of which are beyond our control, including the following:
|
*
|
actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results;
|
| |
|
|
*
|
changes in financial estimates by securities analysts or our failure to perform in line with such estimates;
|
| |
|
|
*
|
changes in market valuations of other companies, particularly those that market services such as ours;
|
| |
|
|
*
|
announcements by us or our competitors of significant innovations, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments;
|
| |
|
|
*
|
introduction of product enhancements that reduce the need for the products our projects may develop;
|
| |
|
|
*
|
departures of key personnel.
|
Of our total outstanding shares as of September 30, 2017, a total of 8,325,000, or approximately 91.4%, will be restricted from immediate resale but may be sold into the market in the near future. This could cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.
As restrictions on resale end, the market price of our stock could drop significantly if the holders of restricted shares sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them.
Applicable SEC rules governing the trading of "Penny Stocks" limit the liquidity of our common stock, which may affect the trading price of our common stock.
Our common stock currently trades from time to time and is always below $5.00 per share. As a result, our common stock is considered a "penny stock" and is subject to SEC rules and regulations that impose limitations upon the manner in which our shares can be publicly traded. These regulations require the delivery, prior to any transaction involving a penny stock, of a disclosure schedule explaining the penny stock and the associated risks. Under these regulations, certain brokers who recommend such securities to persons other than established customers or certain accredited investors must make a special written suitability determination for the purchaser and receive the written purchaser's agreement to a transaction prior to purchase. These regulations have the effect of limiting the trading activity of our common stock and reducing the liquidity of an investment in our common stock.
The over-the-counter market for stock such as ours is subject to extreme price and volume fluctuations.
The securities of companies such as ours have historically experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations during certain periods. These broad market fluctuations and other factors, such as new product developments and trends in the our industry and in the investment markets generally, as well as economic conditions and quarterly variations in our operational results, may have a negative effect on the market price of our common stock.
Buying low-priced penny stocks is very risky and speculative.
Our common shares are defined as a penny stock under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, and rules of the Commission. The Exchange Act and such penny stock rules generally impose additional sales practice and disclosure requirements on broker-dealers who sell our securities to persons other than certain accredited investors who are, generally, institutions with assets in excess of $5,000,000 or individuals with net worth in excess of $1,000,000, exclusive of the value of principal residence, or annual income exceeding $200,000, or $300,000 jointly with spouse, or in transactions not recommended by the broker-dealer. For transactions covered by the penny stock rules, a broker-dealer must make a suitability determination for each purchaser and receive the purchaser's written agreement prior to the sale. In addition, the broker-dealer must make certain mandated disclosures in penny stock transactions, including the actual sale or purchase price and actual bid and offer quotations, the compensation to be received by the broker-dealer and certain associated persons, and deliver certain disclosures required by the Commission. Consequently, the penny stock rules may affect the ability of broker-dealers to make a market in or trade our common stock and may also affect your ability to resell any shares you may purchase in the public markets.
Issuances of our stock could dilute current shareholders and adversely affect the market price of our common stock, if an active public trading market develops.
We have the authority to issue up to 100,000,000 shares of common stock, 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, and to issue options and warrants to purchase shares of our common stock without stockholder approval. Although no financing is planned currently, we may need to raise additional capital to fund operating losses. If we raise funds by issuing equity securities, our existing stockholders may experience substantial dilution. In addition, we could issue large blocks of our common stock to fend off unwanted tender offers or hostile takeovers without further stockholder approval.
The issuance of preferred stock by our board of directors could adversely affect the rights of the holders of our common stock. An issuance of preferred stock could result in a class of outstanding securities that would have preferences with respect to voting rights and dividends and in liquidation over the common stock and could, upon conversion or otherwise, have all of the rights of our common stock. Our board of directors' authority to issue preferred stock could discourage potential takeover attempts or could delay or prevent a change in control through merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise by making these attempts more difficult or costly to achieve.
Colorado law and our Articles of Incorporation protect our directors from certain types of lawsuits, which could make it difficult for us to recover damages from them in the event of a lawsuit.
Colorado law provides that our directors will not be liable to our company or to our stockholders for monetary damages for all but certain types of conduct as directors. Our Articles of Incorporation require us to indemnify our directors and officers against all damages incurred in connection with our business to the fullest extent provided or allowed by law. The exculpation provisions may have the effect of preventing stockholders from recovering damages against our directors caused by their negligence, poor judgment or other circumstances. The indemnification provisions may require our company to use our assets to defend our directors and officers against claims, including claims arising out of their negligence, poor judgment, or other circumstances.
We do not expect to pay dividends on common stock.
We have not paid any cash dividends with respect to our common stock, and it is unlikely that we will pay any dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Earnings, if any, that we may realize will be retained in the business for further development and expansion.
ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
None.
ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES
None.
ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS
None.
ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION
None.
ITEM 6. EXHIBITS
|
Exhibit
Number
|
|
Description
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
101.DEF
|
|
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document*
|
|
101.INS
|
|
XBRL Instance Document
|
|
101SCH
|
|
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
|
|
101.CAL
|
|
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
|
|
101.LAB
|
|
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
|
|
101.PRE
|
|
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
|
|
101.DEF
|
|
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
|
* Previously filed with Form SB-2 Registration Statement, January 2, 2008.
** Previously filed with Form 10-KSB Registration Statement, February 29, 2008
*** Previously filed with Form 10-Q, August 11, 2014
Reports on Form 8-K
No report was filed under cover of Form 8-K for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2017.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized November 14, 2017.
