Banzai International (BNZI) S-1IPO registration

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 16, 2024

Registration No. 333-[   ]

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

Banzai International, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

435 Ericksen Ave, Suite 250

Bainbridge Island, Washington 98110

Tel: (206) 414-1777

(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)

Joseph Davy

Banzai International, Inc.

435 Ericksen Ave, Suite 250

Bainbridge Island, Washington 98110

Tel: (206) 414-1777

(Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

Copies to:

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, please check the following box. ☒

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934:

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission acting pursuant to said section 8(a), may determine.

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. Neither we nor the selling securityholder named herein may sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Up to 877,372 Shares of Class A Common Stock

Banzai International, Inc. filing this prospectus for the offer and sale from time to time by the selling securityholder named in this prospectus (the “Selling Securityholders”) of up to 877,372 shares of Class A Common Stock issued or issuable pursuant to the Debt Equitization Plan described elsewhere in this Registration Statement.

We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of Class A Common Stock by the Selling Securityholders pursuant to this prospectus.

We are registering the securities for resale pursuant to the Selling Securityholders’ registration rights under certain agreements between us and the Selling Securityholders. Our registration of the securities covered by this prospectus does not mean that the Selling Securityholder will offer or sell any of the shares of Class A Common Stock. The Selling Securityholder may offer, sell or distribute all or a portion of their shares of Class A Common Stock publicly or through private transactions at prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of Class A Common Stock by the Selling Securityholder pursuant to this prospectus. We provide more information about how the Selling Securityholder may sell the shares in the section entitled “Plan of Distribution.”

Sales of a substantial number of shares of Class A Common Stock in the public market, including the resale of the shares of Class A Common Stock held by our stockholders pursuant to this prospectus or pursuant to Rule 144, could occur at any time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares of Class A Common Stock intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of the Class A Common Stock and make it more difficult for you to sell your holdings at times and prices that you determine are appropriate. We expect that, because there is a large number of shares being registered pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, the Selling Securityholder will continue to offer the securities covered thereby pursuant to this prospectus or pursuant to Rule 144 for a significant period of time, the precise duration of which cannot be predicted. Accordingly, the adverse market and price pressures resulting from an offering pursuant to the registration statement may continue for an extended period of time.

Our Class A Common Stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Market, under the symbol “BNZI.” On October 14, 2024, the last reported sale price of our Class A Common Stock was $3.70 per share.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, and, as such, have elected to comply with certain reduced public disclosure requirements for this prospectus and future filings. This prospectus complies with the requirements that apply to an issuer that is an emerging growth company.

See the section entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 18 of this prospectus to read about factors you should consider before buying our securities.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is October 16, 2024.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus that we may provide to you in connection with this offering. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from, or in addition to, that contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any such free writing prospectus. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We can provide no assurance as to the reliability of any other information that others may give you. We are not making an offer to sell or seeking offers to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where or to any person to whom the offer or sale is not permitted. The information in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus, and the information in any free writing prospectus that we may provide you in connection with this offering is accurate only as of the date of such free writing prospectus. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

We have not authorized anyone to provide you with any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement or any free writing prospectuses prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. We do not take responsibility for, or provide any assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We will not will make an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

We may also provide a prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment to the registration statement to add information to, or update or change information contained in, this prospectus. You should read both this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment to the registration statement together with the additional information to which we refer you in the sections of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find More Information.”

On December 14, 2023 (the “Closing Date”), 7GC, our predecessor company, consummated the previously announced business combination pursuant to that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization, dated as of December 8, 2022 (the “Original Merger Agreement”), by and among 7GC, Banzai International, Inc. (“Legacy Banzai”), 7GC Merger Sub I, Inc., a Delaware corporation and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of 7GC (“First Merger Sub”), and 7GC Merger Sub II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of 7GC (“Second Merger Sub”), as amended by the Amendment to Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of August 4, 2023 (the “Merger Agreement Amendment” and, together with the Original Merger Agreement, the “Merger Agreement”), by and between 7GC and Legacy Banzai. Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, a business combination between 7GC and Legacy Banzai was effected through (a) the merger of First Merger Sub with and into Legacy Banzai, with Legacy Banzai surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of 7GC (Legacy Banzai, in its capacity as the surviving corporation of the merger, the “Surviving Corporation”) (the “First Merger”) and (b) the subsequent merger of the Surviving Corporation with and into Second Merger Sub, with Second Merger Sub being the surviving entity of the Second Merger, which ultimately resulted in Legacy Banzai becoming a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of 7GC (the “Second Merger” and, together with the First Merger, the “Mergers” and, collectively with the other transactions described in the Merger Agreement, the “Business Combination”). On the Closing Date, and in connection with the closing of the Business Combination (the “Closing”), 7GC changed its name to Banzai International, Inc.

Unless the context indicates otherwise, references in this prospectus to the “Company,” “Banzai,” “we,” “us,” “our” and similar terms refer to Banzai International, Inc. (f/k/a 7GC & Co. Holdings Inc.) and its consolidated subsidiaries (including Legacy Banzai). References to “7GC” refer to our predecessor company prior to the consummation of the Business Combination.

As disclosed in more detail in this prospectus, effective September 19, 2024, we completed a one-for-fifty (1-for-50) reverse stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock without a corresponding reduction in the total number of authorized shares of our Class A Common Stock (the “Reverse Stock Split”). All references to shares of our Class A Common Stock in this prospectus refer to the number of shares of Class A Common Stock after giving effect to the Reverse Stock Split and are presented as if the Reverse Stock Split had occurred at the beginning of the earliest period presented.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and in documents incorporated herein by reference contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements often use words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “target,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “propose,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “predict,” “potential,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar variations and expressions. Forward-looking statements are those that do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Examples of forward-looking statements may include, among others, statements regarding the Company’s:

Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity and development of the industry in which the Company operates may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Therefore, investors should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially include changes in the markets in which the Company operates, customer demand, the financial markets, economic, business and regulatory and other factors, such as the Company’s ability to execute on its strategy. More detailed information about risk factors can be found in this prospectus, the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q under the heading “Risk Factors,” and in other reports filed by the Company, including reports on Form 8-K. The Company does not undertake any duty to update forward-looking statements after the date they are made, except as required by law.

RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves risks. Before you make a decision to buy our securities, in addition to the risks and uncertainties discussed above under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” you should carefully consider the specific risks set forth herein. If any of these risks actually occur, it may materially harm our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. As a result, the market price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Additionally, the risks and uncertainties described in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement are not the only risks and uncertainties that we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may become material and adversely affect our business.

Risks Related to our Business and Industry

We have incurred significant operating losses in the past and may never achieve or maintain profitability.

We have incurred significant operating losses since our inception, including operating losses of $9.8 million, $6.2 million, $8.7 million and $7.3 million in the years ended December 31, 2023, and 2022 and the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We expect our costs will increase substantially in the foreseeable future and our losses will continue as we expect to invest significant additional funds towards growing our business and operating as a public company and as we continue to invest in increasing our customer base, expanding our operations, hiring additional sales and other personnel, developing future products, and potentially acquiring complementary technology and businesses. These efforts may prove more expensive than we currently anticipate, and we may not succeed in increasing our revenue sufficiently to offset these higher expenses. We are unable to accurately predict when, or if, we will be able to achieve profitability. Even if we achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods. To date, we have financed our operations principally from the sale of our equity, revenue from sales, and the incurrence of indebtedness. Our cash flow from operations was negative for the year ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 and the six months ended June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023, respectively, and we may not generate positive cash flow from operations in any given period. If we are not able to achieve or maintain positive cash flow in the long term, we may require additional financing, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all and/or which would be dilutive to our stockholders. If we are unable to successfully address these risks and challenges as we encounter them, our business may be harmed. Our failure to achieve or maintain profitability or positive cash flow could negatively impact the value of our Class A Common Stock.

There is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, and holders of our securities could suffer a total loss of their investment. We may need to raise additional capital to continue our operations. Such capital may not be available to us or may not be available at terms we deem acceptable, either of which could reduce our ability to compete and could negatively affect our business.

Management has concluded, and the report of our auditors included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 (the “2023 Form 10-K”) reflect, that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern within 12 months after the date of the filing of the 2023 Form 10-K. The reaction of investors to the inclusion of a going concern statement by management and our auditors and our potential inability to continue as a going concern may materially adversely affect the price of our publicly traded securities and our ability to raise new capital or enter into partnerships. If we are unable to continue as a going concern, we may have to liquidate our assets and may receive less than the value at which those assets are carried on our financial statements, and it is likely that investors will lose all or part of their investment. Further, the perception that we may be unable to continue as a going concern may impede our ability to pursue strategic opportunities or operate our business due to concerns regarding our ability to fulfill our contractual obligations. In addition, if there remains substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, investors or other financing sources may be unwilling to provide additional funding to us on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.

There can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve our forecast or to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on favorable terms, or at all. If we are unable to meet or exceed our forecast or raise adequate additional capital when required or in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may have to significantly reduce expenses, sell assets (potentially at a loss), cease operations altogether, pursue an acquisition of our company at a price that may result in up to a total loss on investment for our securityholders, file for bankruptcy or seek other protection from creditors, or liquidate all of our assets.

We have a limited operating history with our current offerings, which makes it difficult to evaluate our current and future business prospects and increases the risk of your investment.

While we served our first customer in 2017 (operating as Legacy Banzai), we have significantly altered our product offerings over the past few years. Our limited operating history with respect to our current product offerings makes it difficult to effectively assess or forecast our future prospects. For example, in 2021, we acquired Demio, a webinar platform startup, and integrated Demio’s platform into our service offerings, and in 2023, we launched Boost, a tool used by Demio customers to enhance participation in their Demio webinars. You should consider our business and prospects in light of the risks and difficulties we encounter or may encounter. These risks and difficulties include our ability to cost-effectively acquire new customers, retain existing customers, and expand the scope of the platform we sell to new and existing customers. Furthermore, in pursuit of our growth strategy, we may enter into new partnerships to further penetrate our targeted markets and adoption of our solutions, but it is uncertain whether these efforts will be successful. If we fail to address the risks and difficulties that we may face, including those associated with the challenges listed above, our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results may be materially and adversely harmed.

It is difficult to predict our future revenues and appropriately budget for our expenses, and we have limited insight into trends that may emerge and affect our business. In the event that actual results differ from our estimates or we adjust our estimates in future periods, our operating results and financial position could be materially affected.

Our revenue growth rate depends on existing customers renewing and maintaining or expanding their subscriptions, and if we fail to retain our customers at current or expanded subscriptions, our business will be harmed.

Our customers have no obligation to renew their subscriptions for our product offerings after the expiration of their subscription periods. Our customers may not renew. Our renewal and reactivation rates may decline because of a number of factors, including, among other things, customer dissatisfaction, customers’ spending levels, decreased return on investment, increased competition, or pricing changes. If our customers do not renew their subscriptions or downgrade the products purchased under their subscriptions, our revenue may decline and our business may be harmed. Our future success also depends in part on existing customers expanding their subscriptions. If our efforts to sell upgrades to our customers are not successful, it may decrease our revenue growth rate.

If we are unable to attract new customers on a cost-effective basis, our business will be harmed.

To grow our business, we must continue to grow our customer base in a cost-effective manner. Increasing our customer base and achieving broader market acceptance of our product offerings will depend, to a significant extent, on our ability to effectively expand our sales and marketing activities. We may not be able to recruit qualified personnel, train them to perform, and achieve an acceptable level of sales production from them on a timely basis or at all. In addition, the cost to attract new customers may increase as we market our existing and new products to different market segments. If we are unable to maintain effective sales and marketing activities, our ability to attract new customers could be harmed, our sales and marketing expenses could increase substantially, and our business may be harmed. Further, to the extent there is a sustained general economic downturn and our customers and potential customers experience delays or reductions in general customer engagement technology spending, potential customers may be unwilling to take on the additional cost associated with adopting our product offerings as an alternative to their existing products or service providers, and if they choose to adopt our products, they may not purchase additional products and services in the future due to budget limitations.

If we fail to effectively manage our growth, our business, results of operations, and financial condition would likely be harmed.

We expect to continue to experience growth in our headcount and operations, which will continue to place significant demands on our management and our administrative, operational, and financial reporting resources. Our growth will require hiring additional employees and making significant expenditures, particularly in sales and marketing but also in our technology, professional services, finance, and administration teams. Our ability to effectively manage our growth will require the allocation of management and employee resources along with improvements to operational and financial controls and reporting procedures and systems. Our expenses may increase more than we plan, and we may fail to hire qualified personnel, expand our customer base, enhance our existing products, develop new products, integrate any acquisitions, satisfy the requirements of our existing customers, respond to competitive challenges, or otherwise execute our strategies. If we are unable to effectively manage our growth, our business, results of operations, and financial condition would likely be harmed.

We may be unable to successfully execute on our growth initiatives, business strategies, or operating plans.

We are continually executing on growth initiatives, strategies, and operating plans designed to enhance our business and extend our existing and future offerings to address evolving needs. The anticipated benefits from these efforts are based on several assumptions that may prove to be inaccurate. Moreover, we may not be able to successfully complete these growth initiatives, strategies, and operating plans and realize all of the benefits, including growth targets and cost savings, that we expect to achieve, or it may be more costly to do so than we anticipate. A variety of risks could cause us not to realize some or all of the expected benefits. These risks include, among others, delays in the anticipated timing of activities related to such growth initiatives, strategies, and operating plans, increased difficulty and cost in implementing these efforts, including difficulties in complying with new regulatory requirements, the incurrence of other unexpected costs associated with operating our business, and lack of acceptance by our customers. Moreover, our continued implementation of these programs may disrupt our operations and performance. As a result, we cannot assure you that we will realize these benefits. If, for any reason, the benefits we realize are less than our estimates or the implementation of these growth initiatives, strategies, and operating plans adversely affect our operations or cost more or take longer to effectuate than we expect, or if our assumptions prove inaccurate, our business may be harmed.

Any forecasts, projections or outlook we may provide are based upon certain assumptions, analyses, and estimates. If these assumptions, analyses, or estimates prove to be incorrect or inaccurate, our actual results may differ materially from those forecasted or projected.

Any forecasts, projections or outlook, including projected annual recurring revenue, revenue growth, cost of goods sold, operating expense, gross margin, and anticipated organic and inorganic growth, are subject to significant uncertainty and are based on certain assumptions, analyses, and estimates, including with reference to third-party forecasts, any or all of which may prove to be incorrect or inaccurate. These may include assumptions, analyses, and estimates about future pricing, and future costs, all of which are subject to a wide variety of business, regulatory, and competitive risks and uncertainties. If these assumptions, analyses, or estimates prove to be incorrect or inaccurate, our actual results may differ materially from those forecasted or projected, and may adversely affect the value of our Class A Common Stock.

If we fail to attract and retain qualified personnel, our business could be harmed.

Our success depends in large part on our ability to attract, integrate, motivate, and retain highly qualified personnel at a reasonable cost on the terms we desire, particularly sales and marketing personnel, software developers, and technical and customer support. Competition for skilled personnel, particularly in the technology industry, is intense and we may not be successful in attracting, motivating, and retaining needed personnel. We also may be unable to attract or integrate into our operations qualified personnel on the schedule we desire. We have from time to time experienced, and we expect to continue to experience, difficulty in attracting, integrating, motivating, and retaining highly qualified personnel, which could harm our business. In addition, dealing with the loss of the services of our executive officers or other key personnel and the process to replace any of our executive officers or other key personnel may involve significant time and expense, take longer than anticipated, and significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives, which may harm our business.

Our management team has a limited history working together operating the Company and, as a result, our past results may not be indicative of future operating performance.

We have a limited history working together operating the Company, which makes it difficult to forecast our future results. You should not rely on our past quarterly operating results as indicators of future performance. In addition, you should consider and evaluate our prospects in light of the risks and uncertainties frequently encountered by companies in rapidly evolving markets like ours, as well as the information included in this prospectus.

We may not successfully develop or introduce new and enhanced products that achieve market acceptance, or successfully integrate acquired products or services with our existing products, and our business could be harmed and our revenue could suffer as a result.

Our ability to attract new customers and increase revenue from existing customers will likely depend upon the successful development, introduction, and customer acceptance of new and enhanced versions of our product offerings and on our ability to integrate any products and services that we may acquire, as well as our ability to add new functionality and respond to technological advancements. Moreover, if we are unable to expand our product offerings, our customers could migrate to competitors. Our business could be harmed if we fail to deliver new versions, upgrades, or other enhancements to our existing products to meet customer needs on a timely and cost-effective basis. Unexpected delays in releasing new or enhanced versions of our product offerings, or errors following their release, could result in loss of sales, delay in market acceptance, or customer claims against us, any of which could harm our business. The success of any new product depends on several factors, including timely completion, adequate quality testing, and market acceptance. We may not be able to develop new products successfully or to introduce and gain market acceptance of new solutions in a timely manner, or at all. If we are unable to develop new applications or products that address our customers’ needs, or to enhance and improve our product offerings in a timely manner, we may not be able to maintain or increase customer use of our products.

Our ability to introduce new products and features is dependent on adequate development resources. If we do not adequately fund our development efforts, we may not be able to compete effectively and our business and operating results may be harmed.

To remain competitive, we must continue to develop new product offerings, applications, features, and enhancements to our existing product offerings. Maintaining adequate development personnel and resources to meet the demands of the market is essential. If we are unable to develop our product offerings internally due to certain constraints, such as high employee turnover, lack of management ability, or a lack of other research and development resources, we may miss market opportunities. Further, many of our competitors expend a considerably greater amount of funds on their development programs, and those that do not may be acquired by larger companies that would allocate greater resources to our competitors’ development programs. Our failure to maintain adequate development resources or to compete effectively with the development programs of our competitors could materially adversely affect our business.

Our acquisitions of, and investments in, other businesses, products, or technologies may not yield expected benefits and our inability to successfully integrate acquisitions may negatively impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

In the past, we have pursued acquisitions of technology and expertise to enhance the products and services we offer. For example, in 2021, we acquired webinar platform startup Demio and integrated Demio’s platform into our service offerings. We anticipate that we will continue to make acquisitions of or investments in businesses, products, and technologies in the future. We may not realize the anticipated benefits, or any benefits, from our past or future acquisitions. In addition, if we finance acquisitions by incurring debt or by issuing equity or convertible or other debt securities, our then-existing stockholders may be diluted or we could face constraints related to the repayment of indebtedness. To the extent that the acquisition consideration is paid in the form of an earnout on future financial results, the success of such an acquisition will not be fully realized by us for a period of time as it is shared with the sellers. Further, if we fail to properly evaluate and execute acquisitions or investments, our business and prospects may be harmed and the value of your investment may decline. For us to realize the benefits of past and future acquisitions, we must successfully integrate the acquired businesses, products, or technologies with ours. Some of the challenges to successful integration of our acquisitions include:

Our failure to address these risks or other problems encountered in connection with our past or future acquisitions and investments could cause us to fail to realize the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions or investments and negatively impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We face significant competition from both established and new companies offering marketing, sales, and engagement software and other related applications, as well as internally developed software, which may harm our ability to add new customers, retain existing customers, and grow our business.

The marketing, sales, customer service, operations, and engagement software market is evolving, highly competitive, and significantly fragmented. With the introduction of new technologies and the potential entry of new competitors into the market, we expect competition to persist and intensify in the future, which could harm our ability to increase sales, maintain or increase renewals, and maintain our prices.

We face intense competition from other software companies that develop marketing, sales, customer service, operations, and engagement management software and from marketing services companies that provide interactive marketing services. Competition could significantly impede our ability to sell subscriptions to our products on terms favorable to us. Our current and potential competitors may develop and market new technologies that render our existing or future products less competitive or obsolete. In addition, if these competitors develop products with similar or superior functionality to our platform, we may need to decrease the prices or accept less favorable terms for our platform subscriptions in order to remain competitive. If we are unable to maintain our pricing due to competitive pressures, our margins will be reduced and our operating results will be negatively affected.

Our competitors include:

We compete across five distinct categories within the B2B (as defined below) MarTech landscape: digital events and webinars, demand generation, creative development, engagement platforms and marketing automation, and measurement and attribution. Our current and potential competitors within any or all of such categories may have significantly more financial, technical, marketing, and other resources than we have, be able to devote greater resources to the development, promotion, sale, and support of their products and services, may have more extensive customer bases and broader customer relationships than we have, and may have longer operating histories and greater name recognition than we have. As a result, these competitors may respond faster to new technologies and undertake more extensive marketing campaigns for their products. In a few cases, these vendors may also be able to offer additional software at little or no additional cost by bundling it with their existing suite of applications. To the extent any of our competitors has existing relationships with potential customers for either marketing software or other applications, those customers may be unwilling to purchase our products because of their existing relationships with our competitor. If we are unable to compete with such companies, the demand for our product offerings could substantially decline.

In addition, if one or more of our competitors were to merge or partner with another of our competitors, our ability to compete effectively could be adversely affected. Our competitors may also establish or strengthen cooperative relationships with our current or future strategic distribution and technology partners or other parties with whom we have relationships, thereby limiting our ability to promote and implement our product offerings. We may not be able to compete successfully against current or future competitors, and competitive pressures may harm our business.

Our business, results of operations, and financial condition may fluctuate on a quarterly and annual basis, which may result in a decline in our stock price if such fluctuations result in a failure to meet any projections that we may provide or the expectations of securities analysts or investors.

Our operating results have in the past and could in the future vary significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year and may fail to match our past performance, our projections, or the expectations of securities analysts because of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control and, as a result, should not be relied upon as an indicator of future performance. As a result, we may not be able to accurately forecast our operating results and growth rate. Any of these events could cause the market price of Class A Common Stock to fluctuate. Factors that may contribute to the variability of our operating results include:

The impact of one or more of the foregoing and other factors may cause our operating results to vary significantly. As such, we believe that quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful and should not be relied upon as an indication of future performance.

Because we recognize revenue from subscriptions for our product offerings over the terms of the subscriptions, our financial results in any period may not be indicative of our financial health and future performance.

We generally recognize revenue from subscription fees paid by customers ratably over the terms of their subscription agreements. As a result, most of the subscription revenue we report in each quarter is the result of agreements entered into during previous quarters. Consequently, a decline in new or renewed subscriptions in any one quarter will not be fully reflected in our revenue results for that quarter. Any such decline, however, will negatively affect our revenue in future quarters. Our subscription model also makes it difficult for us to rapidly increase our revenue through additional sales in any period, as subscription revenue from new customers must be recognized over the applicable subscription terms.

Our sales cycle can be lengthy and unpredictable, which may cause our operating results to vary significantly.

Our sales cycle, which is the time between initial contact with a potential new customer and the ultimate sale to that customer, is often lengthy and unpredictable. Potential new customers typically spend significant time and resources evaluating product offering solutions, which requires us to expend substantial time, effort, and money educating them about the value of our platform. Accordingly, it is difficult for us to forecast when or if a sale will close or the size of any specific sales to new customers. In addition, customers may delay their purchases from one quarter to another as they wait for us to develop new features, assess their budget constraints, or forecast future business activity. Any delay in closing, or failure to close, sales in a particular quarter or year could significantly harm our projected growth rates and could cause our operating results to vary significantly.

Covenant restrictions in our existing or future debt instruments may limit our flexibility to operate and grow our business, and if we are not able to comply with such covenants or pay amounts when due, our lenders could accelerate our indebtedness, proceed against certain collateral or exercise other remedies, which could have a material adverse effect on us.

On February 19, 2021, we entered into the Loan Agreement with CP BF. The Loan Agreement contains a number of provisions that impose operating and financial restrictions which, subject to certain exceptions, limit our ability to, among other things: incur additional indebtedness, pay dividends or make distributions or redeem or repurchase our securities, make certain investments, grant liens on assets, sell or dispose of any material assets; and acquire the assets of, or merge or consolidate with, other companies. Additionally, the Loan Agreement contains affirmative covenants that require to us take, and have taken by certain dates, specific actions, some of which have not been satisfied. As a result, on August 24, 2023, we entered into the Original Forbearance Agreement, as amended by the Forbearance Amendment dated as of December 14, 2023, under which we acknowledged that we were in default of several obligations and such holder acknowledged such defaults and agreed, subject to certain conditions, not to exercise any right or remedy under the Loan Agreement, including its right to accelerate the aggregate amount outstanding under the Loan Agreement, until June 14, 2024.

Complying with these covenants, as well as those that may be contained in any future debt agreements, may limit our ability to finance our future operations or working capital needs or to take advantage of future business opportunities. Our ability to comply with these covenants will depend on our future performance, which may be affected by events beyond our control. If we do not maintain and regain compliance with our continuing obligations or any covenants, terms and conditions of the Loan Agreement, after the expiration of the Forbearance Agreement, we could be in default and required to repay outstanding borrowings on an accelerated basis, which could subject us to decreased liquidity and other negative impacts on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In the case of an event of default, we may not have sufficient funds available to make the required payments under the Loan Agreement and may not be able to borrow sufficient funds to refinance the Loan Agreement. Even if new financing is available, it may not be on terms that are acceptable to us. If we are unable to repay amounts owed under the terms of the Loan Agreement, our Lender may choose to exercise its remedies in respect to the collateral, including a foreclosure of their lien (which may result in a sale of certain of our assets to satisfy our obligations under the Loan Agreement or ultimately in a bankruptcy or liquidation). The foregoing would materially and adversely affect the ongoing viability of our business.

The impacts of geopolitical, macroeconomic, and market conditions, including pandemics, epidemics and other public health crises, have had, and may continue to have, a significant effect on our industry, which in turn affects how we and our customers are operating our respective businesses. Our business is susceptible to declines or disruptions in the demand for meetings and events, including those due to economic downturns, natural disasters, geopolitical upheaval, and global pandemics.

The macroeconomic impacts of geopolitical events, such as pandemics, inflation, labor shortages, lack of access to capital, lack of consumer confidence, supply chain disruptions, and market volatility can pose risks to our and our customers’ business. Uncertainty about the duration of these negative macroeconomic conditions have impacted fiscal and monetary policy, including increases in interest rates, increased labor costs, and decreased corporate and consumer spending. The effects from a broadening or protracted extension of these conditions could result in a decrease in overall economic activity, hinder economic growth, or cause a recession in the United States or in the global economy. We sell our products throughout the United States, as well as in several international countries, commercial and non-profit customers. As a result, our business may be harmed by factors in the United States and other countries such as disruptions in financial markets; reductions in spending, or downturns in economic activity in specific countries or regions, or in the various industries in which we operate; social, political, or labor conditions in specific countries or regions; or adverse changes in the availability and cost of capital, interest rates, tax rates, or regulations. Further economic weakness and uncertainty may result in significantly decreased spending on our event marketing and management solutions, which may adversely affect harm our business.

Our business depends on discretionary corporate spending. Negative macroeconomic conditions may adversely affect our customers’ businesses and reduce our customers’ operating expense budgets, which could result in reduced demand for our product offerings or cancellations, increased demands for pricing accommodations or higher rates of delays in collection of, or losses on, our accounts receivable, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial position. During periods of economic slowdown and recession, consumers have historically reduced their discretionary spending, and our ability to sign new customers, and to upsell to and renew contracts with our existing customers may be significantly impacted. Additionally, challenging economic conditions also may impair the ability of our customers to pay for products and services they have purchased. As a result, our cash flow may be negatively impacted and our allowance for credit losses and write-offs of accounts receivable may increase. If we are unable to offset any decrease in revenue by increasing sales to new or existing customers, or otherwise offset higher costs through price increases, our revenue may decline. The extent to which the ongoing impacts of these negative macroeconomic conditions will impact our business, results of operations, and financial position is uncertain and will depend on political, social, economic, and regulatory factors that are outside of our control, including actions that may be taken by regulators and businesses (including our customers) in response to the macroeconomic uncertainty. Our business and financial performance may be unfavorably impacted in future periods if a significant number of our customers are unable to continue as viable businesses or they significantly reduce their operating budgets, or if there is a reduction in business confidence and activity, a decrease in government, corporate and consumer spending, or a decrease in growth in the overall market, among other factors.

Our business and financial performance are affected by the health of the worldwide meetings and events industry. Meetings and events are sensitive to business-related discretionary spending levels and tend to grow more slowly or even decline during economic downturns. Decreased expenditures by marketers and participants could also result in decreased demand for our product offerings, thereby causing a reduction in our sales. The impact of economic slowdowns on our business is difficult to predict, but has and may continue to result in reductions in events and our ability to generate revenue.

Cybersecurity and data security breaches and ransomware attacks may create financial liabilities for us, damage our reputation, and harm our business.

Our customers provide us with information that our solutions store, some of which is confidential information. In addition, we store personal information about our employees. We have security systems and information technology infrastructure designed to protect against unauthorized access to such information and money, but we may not be successful in protecting against all security breaches and cyber-attacks. Threats to and breaches of our information technology security can take various forms, including viruses, worms, ransomware, and other malicious software programs, or actions or omissions by an employee. Significant cybersecurity or data security breaches could result in the loss of business, litigation, regulatory investigations, loss of customers, and penalties that could damage our reputation and adversely affect the growth of our business.

In some cases, we must rely on the safeguards put in place by third parties to protect against security threats. These third parties, including vendors that provide products and services for our operations and our network of business application providers, could also be a source of security risk to us in the event of a failure of their own security systems and infrastructure, whether unintentionally or through a malicious backdoor. We do not review the software code included in third-party integrations in all instances.

Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, sabotage systems, or otherwise access data and/or data backups change frequently and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, we or these third parties have been and, in the future, may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. With the increasing frequency of cyber-related frauds to obtain inappropriate payments, we need to ensure our internal controls related to authorizing the transfer of funds are adequate. We may also be required to expend resources to remediate cyber-related incidents or to enhance and strengthen our cyber security. Any of these occurrences could create liability for us, put our reputation in jeopardy, and harm our business.

Privacy and data security laws and regulations could impose additional costs and reduce demand for our solutions.

We store and transmit personal information relating to our employees, customers, prospective customers, and other individuals, and our customers use our technology platform to store and transmit a significant amount of personal information relating to their customers, vendors, employees, and other industry participants. Federal, state, and foreign government bodies and agencies have adopted, and are increasingly adopting, laws and regulations regarding the collection, use, processing, storage, and disclosure of personal or identifying information obtained from customers and other individuals. These obligations have and will likely continue to increase the cost and complexity of delivering our services.

In addition to government regulation, privacy advocates and industry groups may propose various self-regulatory standards that may legally or contractually apply to our business. As new laws, regulations, and industry standards take effect, and as we offer new services in new markets, market segments and, potentially, new industries, we will need to understand and comply with various new requirements, which may impede our plans for growth or result in significant additional costs. These laws, regulations, and industry standards have had, and will likely continue to have, negative effects on our business, including by increasing our costs and operating expenses, and/or delaying or impeding our deployment of new or existing core functionality. Failure to comply with these laws, regulations, and industry standards could result in negative publicity, subject us to fines or penalties, expose us to litigation, or result in demands that we modify or cease existing business practices. Furthermore, privacy and data security concerns may cause our customers’ customers, vendors, employees, and other industry participants to resist providing the personal information necessary to allow our customers to use our applications effectively, which could reduce overall demand for our product offerings. Any of these outcomes could harm our business.

Our product offerings, solutions, and internal systems, as well as external internet infrastructure, may be subject to disruption that could harm our reputation and future sales or result in claims against us.

Because our operations involve delivering engagement solutions to our customers through a cloud-based software platform, our continued growth depends in part on the ability of our platform and related computer equipment, third-party data centers, infrastructure, and systems to continue to support our product offerings. In addition, in delivering our products to customers, we are reliant on internet infrastructure limitations. In the past, we have experienced temporary and limited platform disruptions, outages in our product functionality, and degraded levels of performance due to human and software errors, file corruption, and first and third-party capacity constraints associated with the number of customers accessing our products simultaneously. While our past experiences have not materially impacted us, in the future we may face more extensive disruptions, outages, or performance problems. In addition, malicious third parties may also conduct attacks designed to sabotage, impede the performance, or temporarily deny customers access to, our product offerings. If an actual or perceived disruption, outage, performance problem, or attack occurs, it could harm our reputation and the market perception of our product offerings; divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel; impair our ability to operate our business; cause us to lose customer information; or harm our customers’ businesses. Any of these events may increase non-renewals, limit our ability to acquire new customers, result in delayed or withheld payments from customers, or result in claims against us.

Undetected defects in our product offerings could harm our reputation or decrease market acceptance of our product offerings, which would harm our business and results of operations.

Our product offerings may contain undetected defects, such as errors or bugs. We have experienced such defects in the past in connection with new solutions and solution upgrades, and we expect that such defects may be found from time to time in the future. Despite testing by us, defects may not be found in our product offerings until they are deployed to or used by our customers. In the past, we have discovered software defects in our product offerings after they have been deployed to customers.

Defects, disruptions in service, or other performance problems may damage our customers’ business and could hurt our reputation. We may be required, or may choose, for customer relations or other reasons, to expend additional resources to correct actual or perceived defects in our product offerings. If defects are detected or perceived to exist in our product offerings, we may experience negative publicity, loss of competitive position, or diversion of the attention of our key personnel; our customers may delay or withhold payment to us or elect not to renew their subscriptions; other significant customer relations problems may arise; or we may be subject to liability claims for damages. A material liability claim or other occurrence that harms our reputation or decreases market acceptance of our product offerings may harm our business and results of operations.

We rely on internet infrastructure, bandwidth providers, data center providers, other third parties, and our own systems for providing solutions to our customers, and any failure or interruption in the services provided by these third parties or our own systems could expose us to litigation and negatively impact our relationships with customers, adversely affecting our brand and our business.

Our ability to deliver our solutions is dependent on the development and maintenance of the infrastructure of the Internet and other telecommunications services by third parties. We currently host our technology platform, serve our customers and members, and support our operations primarily using third-party data centers and telecommunications solutions, including cloud infrastructure services such as Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) and Google Cloud. We do not have control over the operations of the facilities of our data center providers, AWS, or Google Cloud. These facilities are vulnerable to damage or interruption from earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, cyber security attacks, terrorist attacks, power losses, telecommunications failures, and other events. The occurrence of a natural disaster or an act of terrorism, a decision to close the facilities without adequate notice, or other unanticipated problems could result in lengthy interruptions in our product offerings. The facilities also could be subject to break-ins, computer viruses, sabotage, intentional acts of vandalism, and other misconduct. Any errors, failures, interruptions, or delays experienced in connection with these third-party technologies and information services or our own systems could negatively impact our relationships with customers and harm our business and could expose us to third-party liabilities.

For some of these services, we may not maintain redundant systems or facilities. Our technology platform’s continuing and uninterrupted performance is critical to our success. Members may become dissatisfied by any system failure that interrupts our ability to provide our solutions to them. We may not be able to easily switch our AWS and Google Cloud operations to another cloud service provider if there are disruptions or interference with our use of AWS or Google Cloud. Sustained or repeated system failures would reduce the attractiveness of our technology platform to customers and members and result in contract terminations, thereby reducing revenue. Moreover, negative publicity arising from these types of disruptions could damage our reputation and may adversely impact use of our existing and future offerings. We may not carry sufficient business interruption insurance to compensate us for losses that may occur as a result of any events that cause interruptions in our service. Neither our third-party data and call center providers nor AWS or Google Cloud have an obligation to renew their agreements with us on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. If we are unable to renew our agreements with these providers on commercially reasonable terms, if our agreements with our providers are prematurely terminated, or if in the future we add additional data or call center providers or cloud service providers, we may experience costs or downtime in connection with the transfer to, or the addition of, new providers. If these providers were to increase the cost of their services, we may have to increase the price of our existing and future offerings. Any such increased costs or pricing may have a negative effect on our customer relationships and may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

If we fail to effectively maintain and enhance our brands, our business may suffer.

We believe that continuing to strengthen our brands will be critical to achieving widespread acceptance of our product offerings and will require continued focus on active marketing efforts. Our brand awareness efforts will require continued investment across our business, particularly as we introduce new solutions that we develop or acquire and as we continue to expand in new markets. Brand promotion activities may not yield increased revenue, and even if they do, any increased revenue may not offset the expenses incurred in building our brand. If we fail to promote and maintain our brands, or if we incur substantial expense in an unsuccessful attempt to promote and maintain our brand, our business could be harmed.

Any failure to offer high-quality customer support services could adversely affect our relationships with our customers and our operating results.

Our customers depend on our support to assist with their needs. We may be unable to accurately predict our customers’ demand for services or respond quickly enough to accommodate short-term increases in customer or member demand for services. Increased customer demand for our product offerings, without a corresponding increase in productivity or revenue, could increase costs and adversely affect our operating results. Any failure to maintain high-quality customer support, or a market perception that we do not maintain high-quality customer support, could adversely affect our reputation, our ability to sell our product offerings to existing and prospective customers, our relationships with third parties and our ability to form new partnerships, and our business and operating results.

Our ability to use our net operating loss to offset future taxable income may be subject to certain limitations.

We have incurred substantial losses during our history and do not expect to become profitable in the near future and may never achieve profitability. Under current U.S. federal income tax law, unused losses for the tax year ended December 31, 2017 and prior tax years will carry forward to offset future taxable income, if any, until such unused losses expire, and unused federal losses generated after December 31, 2017 will not expire and may be carried forward indefinitely, but will be only deductible to the extent of 80% of current year taxable income in any given year. Many states have similar laws.

In addition, both current and future unused net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards and other tax attributes may be subject to limitation under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” generally defined as a greater than 50 percentage point change (by value) in equity ownership by certain stockholders over a rolling three-year period. Additional ownership changes in the future could result in additional limitations on our NOL carryforwards. Consequently, even if we achieve profitability, we may not be able to utilize a material portion of our NOL carryforwards and other tax attributes, which could have a material adverse effect on cash flow and results of operations.

We may need to make significant investments in software development and equipment to improve our business.

To improve the scalability, security, performance, efficiency, availability, and failover aspects of our product offerings, and to support the expansion of our product offerings and stay competitive, we may need to make significant capital equipment expenditures and also invest in additional software and infrastructure development. If we experience increasing demand in subscriptions, we may not be able to augment our infrastructure quickly enough to accommodate such increasing demand. To reach the goal of supporting the increasing demand, we will need additional capital to make the investments in software development and equipment either through operations or through financing. Additionally, we are continually updating our software, creating expenses for us. We may also need to review or revise our software architecture and user experience as we grow, which may require significant resources and investments. Any of these factors could negatively impact our business and results of operations.

Adverse litigation results could have a material adverse impact on our business.

We are, have been, and may be involved in regulatory and government investigations and other proceedings, involving competition, intellectual property, data security and privacy, bankruptcy, tax and related compliance, labor and employment, commercial disputes, and other matters. Such claims, suits, actions, regulatory and government investigations, and other proceedings can impose a significant burden on management and employees, could prevent us from offering one or more of our products, services, or features to customers, could require us to change our technology or business practices, or could result in monetary damages, fines, civil or criminal penalties, reputational harm, or other adverse consequences. Adverse outcomes in some or all of these claims may result in significant monetary damages or injunctive relief that could adversely affect our ability to conduct our business. Litigation and other claims are subject to inherent uncertainties and management’s view of the materiality or likely outcome of any such matters may change in the future. A material adverse impact in our consolidated financial statements could occur for the period in which the effect of an unfavorable outcome becomes probable and reasonably estimable.

Failure to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights could harm our business and results of operations.

To establish and protect our proprietary rights, we rely on a combination of trademarks and trade secrets, including know-how, license agreements, confidentiality procedures, non-disclosure agreements with third parties, employee disclosure and invention assignment agreements, and other contractual rights. As of December 31, 2023, we held two registered trademarks in the United States: Banzai and Demio. We believe that our intellectual property is an essential asset of our business. If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property, our brand and reputation could be harmed and competitors may be able to use our technologies and erode or negate any competitive advantage we may have, which could harm our business, negatively affect our position in the marketplace, limit our ability to commercialize our technology, and delay or render impossible our achievement of profitability. A failure to protect our intellectual property in a cost-effective and meaningful manner could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete. We regard the protection of our intellectual property as critical to our success.

We strive to protect our intellectual property rights by relying on federal, state, and common law rights and other rights provided under foreign laws. These laws are subject to change at any time and could further restrict our ability to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights. In addition, the existing laws of certain foreign countries in which we operate may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States.

We generally enter into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and contractors, and confidentiality agreements with other parties, with whom we conduct business in order to limit access to, and disclosure and use of, our proprietary information. However, we may not be successful in executing these agreements with every party who has access to our confidential information or contributes to the development of our intellectual property.

The agreements that we execute may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach. These contractual arrangements and the other steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property may not prevent the misappropriation of our intellectual property or deter independent development of similar intellectual property by others.

Obtaining and maintaining effective intellectual property rights is expensive, including the costs of monitoring unauthorized use of our intellectual property and defending our rights. We make business decisions about when to seek patent protection for a particular technology and when to rely upon trade secret protection, and the approach we select may ultimately prove to be inadequate. We strive to protect certain of our intellectual property rights through filing applications for trademarks, patents, and domain names in a number of jurisdictions, a process that is expensive and may not be successful in all jurisdictions. However, there is no assurance that any resulting patents or other intellectual property rights will adequately protect our intellectual property, or provide us with any competitive advantages. Moreover, we cannot guarantee that any of our pending patent or trademark applications will issue or be approved. Even where we have intellectual property rights, they may later be found to be unenforceable or have a limited scope of enforceability. In addition, we may not seek to pursue such protection in every jurisdiction. The United States Patent and Trademark Office also requires compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment, and other similar provisions during the patent application process and after a patent has issued. Noncompliance with such requirements and processes may result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. In such an event, our competitors might be able to develop and commercialize substantially similar and competing applications, which would harm our business.

We believe it is important to maintain, protect, and enhance our brands. Accordingly, we pursue the registration of domain names and our trademarks and service marks in the United States. Third parties may challenge our use of our trademarks, oppose our trademark applications, or otherwise impede our efforts to protect our intellectual property in certain jurisdictions. In the event that we are unable to register our trademarks in certain jurisdictions, we could be forced to rebrand our solutions, which would result in loss of brand recognition and could require us to devote resources to advertising and marketing new brands. Our competitors and others could also attempt to capitalize on our brand recognition by using domain names or business names similar to ours. Domain names similar to ours have been registered in the United States and elsewhere. We may be unable to prevent third parties from acquiring or using domain names and other trademarks that infringe on, are similar to, or otherwise decrease the value of, our brands, trademarks, or service marks. We also may incur significant costs in enforcing our trademarks against those who attempt to imitate our brand and other valuable trademarks and service marks.

In order to protect our intellectual property rights, we may be required to spend significant resources to monitor and protect these rights. We may not be able to detect infringement or unauthorized use of our intellectual property rights, and defending or enforcing our intellectual property rights, even if successfully detected, prosecuted, enjoined, or remedied, could result in the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources. Litigation has in the past and may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights, protect our proprietary rights, or determine the validity and scope of proprietary rights claimed by others. Any litigation of this nature, regardless of outcome or merit, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management and technical resources, any of which could harm our business. Furthermore, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights may be met with defenses, counterclaims, countersuits, and adversarial proceedings such as oppositions, inter partes review, post-grant review, re-examination, or other post-issuance proceedings, that attack the validity and enforceability of our intellectual property rights. An adverse determination of any litigation proceeding could adversely affect our ability to protect the intellectual property associated with our product offerings. Further, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential or sensitive information could be compromised by disclosure in the event of litigation. In addition, during the course of litigation there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions, or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of Class A Common Stock. If we fail to maintain, protect, and enhance our intellectual property rights, our business may be harmed and the market price of Class A Common Stock could decline.

Our competitors also may independently develop similar technology that does not infringe on or misappropriate our intellectual property rights. The laws of some foreign countries may not be as protective of intellectual property rights as those in the United States, and mechanisms for enforcement of intellectual property rights may be inadequate. Effective patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret protection may not be available to us in every country in which our solutions or technology are developed. Further, legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability, and scope of protection of intellectual property rights are uncertain. The laws in the United States and elsewhere change rapidly, and any future changes could adversely affect us and our intellectual property. Our failure to meaningfully protect our intellectual property could result in competitors offering solutions that incorporate our most technologically advanced features, which could seriously reduce demand for existing and future offerings.

Third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing or otherwise violating their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could harm our business.

Our success depends in part on our ability to develop and commercialize our offerings and use our proprietary technology without infringing the intellectual property or proprietary rights of third parties. Intellectual property disputes can be costly to defend and may cause our business, operating results, and financial condition to suffer. As the MarTech industry in the United States expands and more patents are issued, the risk increases that there may be patents issued to third parties that relate to our offerings and technology of which we are not aware or that we must challenge to continue our operations as currently contemplated. Whether merited or not, we may face allegations that we, our partners, our licensees, or parties indemnified by us have infringed or otherwise violated the patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights of third parties. Such claims may be made by competitors seeking to obtain a competitive advantage or by other parties.

Additionally, in recent years, individuals and groups have begun purchasing intellectual property assets for the purpose of making claims of infringement and attempting to extract settlements from companies like ours. We may also face allegations that our employees have misappropriated the intellectual property or proprietary rights of their former employers or other third parties. It may in the future be necessary for us to initiate litigation to defend ourselves in order to determine the scope, enforceability, and validity of third-party intellectual property or proprietary rights, or to establish our respective rights. Regardless of whether claims that we are infringing patents or other intellectual property rights have merit, such claims can be time-consuming, divert management’s attention and financial resources, and can be costly to evaluate and defend. Results of any such litigation are difficult to predict and may require us to stop commercializing or using our solutions or technology, obtain licenses, modify our solutions and technology while we develop non-infringing substitutes, or incur substantial damages, settlement costs, or face a temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting us from marketing or providing the affected solutions. If we require a third-party license, it may not be available on reasonable terms or at all, and we may have to pay substantial royalties, upfront fees, or grant cross-licenses to intellectual property rights for our solutions. We may also have to redesign our solutions so that they do not infringe third-party intellectual property rights, which may not be possible or may require substantial monetary expenditures and time, during which our technology and solutions may not be available for commercialization or use. Even if we have an agreement to indemnify us against such costs, the indemnifying party may be unable to uphold its contractual obligations. If we cannot or do not obtain a third-party license to the infringed technology, license the technology on reasonable terms, or obtain similar technology from another source, our revenue and earnings could be adversely impacted.

From time to time, we have been and may be subject to legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of business with respect to intellectual property. Some third parties may be able to sustain the costs of complex litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses and could distract our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions, or other interim proceedings or developments, and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the price of Class A Common Stock. Moreover, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any legal proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations. Assertions by third parties that we violate their intellectual property rights could therefore harm our business.

Our use of open source software could adversely affect our ability to offer our solutions and subject us to possible litigation.

We use open source software in connection with our existing offerings and may continue to use open source software in connection with our future offerings. Some of these licenses contain requirements that we make available source code for modifications or derivative works we create based upon the open source software, and that we license such modifications or derivative works under the terms of a particular open source license or other license granting third-parties certain rights of further use. By the terms of certain open source licenses, we could be required to release the source code of our proprietary software and to make our proprietary software available under open source licenses, if we combine and/or distribute our proprietary software with open source software in certain manners. Although we monitor our use of open source software, we cannot be sure that all open source software is reviewed prior to use in our proprietary software, that our programmers have not incorporated open source software into our proprietary software, or that they will not do so in the future. Additionally, the terms of many open source licenses to which we are subject have not been interpreted by U.S. or foreign courts.

There is a risk that open source software licenses could be construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to provide our existing and future offerings to our customers and members. In addition, the terms of open source software licenses may require us to provide software that we develop using such open source software, to others, including our competitors, on unfavorable license terms. As a result of our current or future use of open source software, we may face claims or litigation, be required to release our proprietary source code, pay damages for breach of contract, re-engineer our technology, discontinue sales in the event re-engineering cannot be accomplished on a timely basis, or take other remedial action that may divert resources away from our development efforts, any of which could harm our business.

Risks Related to the Ownership of Our Securities

In order to support the growth of our business and repay our indebtedness, we will need to seek capital through new equity or debt financings or incur additional indebtedness under our credit facilities, which sources of additional capital may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.

Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception, and we intend to continue to make significant investments to support our business growth, respond to business challenges or opportunities, develop new applications and solutions, enhance our existing product offerings, enhance our operating infrastructure, and acquire complementary businesses and technologies. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, Legacy Banzai’s net cash used in operating activities was $1.6 million and $5.2 million, respectively. As of June 30, 2024, December 31, 2023 and 2022, Banzai and Legacy Banzai, respectively, had $0.5 million, $2.1 million and $1.0 million of cash, respectively, which was held for working capital purposes. As of June 30, 2024, December 31, 2023 and 2022, Banzai and Legacy Banzai, respectively, had borrowings of $16.1 million, $16.2 million and $13.7 million, respectively, outstanding under its term loans and promissory notes.

Our future capital requirements may be significantly different from previous estimates and will depend on many factors, including the need to:

Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financing to secure additional funds. We entered into the SEPA with an entity managed by Yorkville to provide liquidity to us after the Business Combination, but there can be no guarantee that we will be able to affect any advances under the SEPA or to secure additional financing on favorable terms, or at all. To the extent that cash on hand and cash generated from operations are not sufficient to fund capital requirements, or if we do not meet the conditions to sell shares to Yorkville under the SEPA, we may require proceeds from asset sales, additional debt, equity financing, or alternative financing structures. In addition, if we do not identify additional financing to refinance our existing Loan Agreement prior to the expiration of the forbearance granted by our Lender through June 14, 2024, we will be in default of our obligations under the Loan Agreement. Additional financing may not be available on favorable terms, or at all.

If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, including shares of Class A Common Stock issued in connection with advances under the SEPA or upon exercise of the GEM Warrant, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences, and privileges superior to those of holders of shares of our Class A Common Stock. Any debt financing secured by us in the future could involve additional restrictive covenants relating to our capital-raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. In addition, during times of economic instability, it has been difficult for many companies to obtain financing in the public markets or to obtain debt financing, and we may not be able to obtain additional financing on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we need or want it, it could harm our business.

Future sales of shares of Class A Common Stock may depress their stock price.

Future sales of shares of Class A Common Stock in the public market, including the resale of shares pursuant to our effective registration statements or pursuant to Rule 144, could depress the stock price. See “Sales of a substantial number of shares of Class A Common Stock in the public market pursuant to our registration statements could reduce the market price of Class A Common Stock.” Subject to certain exceptions, the Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement executed at the time of the Closing provides for certain restrictions on transfer with respect to our securities. Such restrictions began upon the Closing and end the earliest of (A) 180 days after the Closing and (B) the first date on which (x) the closing price of our Class A Common Stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the Closing or (y) we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of our Class A Common Stock for cash, securities, or other property.

In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, we and certain stockholders of Legacy Banzai, including Legacy Banzai’s officers, directors, and certain holders of 10% or more of the outstanding shares of Legacy Banzai Common Stock as of the date of the Merger Agreement, entered into the lock-up agreements effective as of the Closing Date (the “Lock-Up Agreements”). Pursuant to the Lock-Up Agreements, such stockholders agree not to, without our prior written consent (subject to certain exceptions): (i) sell, offer to sell, contract or agree to sell, hypothecate, pledge, grant any option to purchase or otherwise dispose of or agree to dispose of, directly or indirectly, or establish or increase a put equivalent position or liquidate or decrease a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder, any shares of Common Stock held by him, her, or it immediately after the Closing, any shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of options to purchase shares, or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock held by him, her, or it immediately after such closing, (ii) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of any of such shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of such securities, in cash or otherwise, or (iii) publicly announce any intention to effect any transaction specified in clause (i) or (ii) until 180 days after the Closing.

Additionally, Cantor is subject to a 12-month lock-up period with respect to Class A Common Stock issued pursuant to the Fee Reduction Agreement, subject to customary exceptions.

However, equity holders not subject to a lock-up and, following the expiration of the applicable lock-up periods, such equity holders referred to above will not be restricted from selling shares of our Common Stock held by them, other than by applicable securities laws, and sales could occur at any time and such sales could depress the stock price.

Issuances of shares of our Class A Common Stock pursuant to any Advances under the SEPA and conversion of any amounts under the Yorkville Promissory Notes, exercise of the GEM Warrant and conversion of any amounts under the GEM Promissory Note, and conversion of any amounts under the Senior Convertible Notes would result in substantial dilution of our stockholders and may have a negative impact on the market price of our Class A Common Stock.

At Closing, the Senior Convertible Notes and the obligation to issue the GEM Warrant automatically became our obligation. On December 15, 2023, we issued the GEM Warrant in the amount of 16,571 shares of Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $324.50 per share, which will be adjusted to 105% of the then-current exercise price if, on the one-year anniversary date of the date of issuance, the GEM Warrant has not been exercised in full and the average closing price per share of shares of Class A Common Stock for the 10 days preceding the anniversary date is less than 90% of the initial exercise price. Additionally, the GEM Warrant contains weighted average anti-dilution provisions that provide that if the Company issues shares of Class A Common Stock, or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, shares of Class A Common Stock at a price per share that is less than 90% of the exercise price then in effect or without consideration, then the exercise price of the GEM Warrant upon each such issuance will be adjusted to the price equal to 105% of the consideration per share paid for such Class A Common Stock or other securities. The issuance of shares of Class A Common Stock in this offering may cause such an adjustment in the exercise price of the GEM Warrant. GEM may exercise the GEM Warrant at any time and from time to time until December 14, 2026.

On February 5, 2024, we issued the GEM Promissory Note, which is convertible upon nonpayment of and in lieu of a monthly payment in the amount of $100,000, payable for ten months on the first of the month starting on March 1, 2024. The GEM Promissory Note provides for the issuance of shares of Class A Common Stock at a conversion price equal to the VWAP of the trading day immediately preceding the applicable payment due date. As of the date of this prospectus, we have issued an aggregate of 40,000 shares of Class A Common Stock to GEM in lieu of monthly payment obligations.

The shares of Class A Common Stock issuable pursuant to the GEM Warrant and the GEM Promissory Note, to the extent exercised, converted and issued, would impose significant dilution on our stockholders. Under the terms of the GEM Warrant and the GEM Promissory Note, as of October 14, 2024, 16,571 and 121,661 additional shares of Class A Common Stock may be issued assuming full exercise and conversion (and no adjustments to the exercise or conversion price thereof) of each of the GEM Warrant and the GEM Promissory Note, respectively, which would reflect approximately 0.81% or 5.63% respectively, of the outstanding shares of our Class A Common Stock as of October 14, 2024 after giving effect to such issuances.

Further, the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable pursuant to the Senior Convertible Notes, to the extent exercised, converted and issued, would impose significant dilution on our stockholders. As of October 14, 2024, up to 2,698,696 additional shares of Class A Common Stock may be issued assuming full conversion (and no adjustments to the conversion price thereof) of the Senior Convertible Notes, which would reflect approximately 56.96% of the outstanding shares of our Class A Common Stock as of October 14, 2024 after giving effect to such issuance.

Pursuant to the SEPA, subject to certain conditions and Yorkville’s right to require issuances while its promissory notes are outstanding, we have the option, but not the obligation, to sell to Yorkville, and Yorkville will subscribe for, an aggregate amount of up to $100,000,000 of shares of Class A Common Stock, at our request any time during the commitment period terminating on the 36-month anniversary of the Original SEPA; provided that any Advance Notice may only be made if (x) no amount remains outstanding on the Yorkville Promissory Notes, (y) there is an effective Resale Registration Statement filed with the SEC for the resale under the Securities Act, of the shares of Class A Common Stock to be issued pursuant to such Advance Notice, and (z) other customary conditions precedent are satisfied. The price at which we may issue and sell shares pursuant to an Advance under the SEPA may be at either (a) Pricing Option 1 or (b) Pricing Option 2, provided that we are subject to certain caps on the amount of shares of Class A Common Stock that we may sell pursuant to any advance under the SEPA.

Additionally, at any time during the commitment period, provided there is a balance remaining outstanding under a Yorkville Promissory Note, Yorkville may deliver an Investor Notice, causing an Advance Notice to be deemed delivered to Yorkville, subject to certain conditions. As of October 14, 2024, 111,024 shares of Class A Common Stock had been issued upon conversion of the Yorkville Promissory Notes and the Company made a $750,000.00 cash payment in May 2024. The aggregate principal amount was fully satisfied with no remaining outstanding balance under the Yorkville Promissory Notes. In addition, 14,201 shares of Class A Common Stock had been issued in satisfaction of a deferred fee payment in the amount of $500,000. Assuming that (a) we issue and sell the full $100 million of shares of Class A Common Stock under the SEPA to Yorkville, (b) there are no beneficial ownership limitations, and (c) the issue price for such sales is $1.00 or $3.00 per share, such additional issuances would represent in the aggregate approximately 2,000,000 or 6,000,000 additional shares of Class A Common Stock, respectively, or approximately 50% or 75% of the total number of shares of Class A Common Stock outstanding as of October 14, 2024, after giving effect to such issuance.

Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

On February 5, 2024, we received a letter from the staff at Nasdaq notifying us that, for 30 consecutive business days prior to the date of the letter, our Market Value of Listed Securities was below the minimum of $50 million required for continued listing on The Nasdaq Global Market pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(b)(2)(A) (the “MVLS Requirement”). The staff at Nasdaq also noted that we were not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(b)(3)(A), which requires listed companies to have total assets and total revenue of at least $50,000,000 each for the most recently completed fiscal year or for two of the three most recently completed fiscal years. We had 180 calendar days, or until August 5, 2024, to regain compliance. On August 6, 2024, we received a written notice (the “Notice”) from the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq indicating that we failed to comply with the MVLS requirement. Pursuant to the Notice, unless we timely request a hearing before The Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”), our securities will be subject to suspension and delisting from The Nasdaq Global Market. Accordingly, we intend to timely request a hearing before the Panel. A hearing request will automatically stay the suspension of trading on our securities, and our securities will continue to trade on The Nasdaq Global Market until the hearing process concludes and the Panel issues a written decision. There can be no assurance that the Panel will grant us an additional extension period or that we will ultimately regain compliance with all applicable requirements for continued listing on The Nasdaq Global Market.

On April 3, 2024, we received a second letter from the staff at Nasdaq notifying us that, for the 30 consecutive business days prior to the date of the letter, Class A Common Stock did not meet the minimum bid price of $1.00 per share required for continued listing on The Nasdaq Global Market pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1). Also on April 3, 2024, we received a third letter from the staff at Nasdaq notifying us that, for the 30 consecutive business days prior to the date of the third letter, our Market Value of Publicly Held Shares was below the minimum of $15 million required for continued listing on The Nasdaq Global Market pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(b)(2)(C). We have 180 calendar days, or until September 30, 2024, to regain compliance with these listing rules.

On August 6, 2024, we received a written notice (the “Notice”) from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) indicating that the Company has failed to comply with Nasdaq’s $50 million minimum “Market Value of Listed Securities” requirement set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(b)(2)(A). Pursuant to the Notice, the Company requested a hearing before The Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”), which automatically stayed the suspension of trading on the Company’s securities, and the Company’s securities will continue to trade on The Nasdaq Global Market until the hearing process concludes and the Panel issues a written decision. The hearing was held on September 19, 2024. On September 26, 2024, Nasdaq provided the Company with its determination. The Panel determined to phase the Company down from The Nasdaq Global Market to The Nasdaq Capital Market and grant the Company an extension until January 31, 2025 to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s listing rules, so long as the Company applies to list on The Nasdaq Capital Market on or before October 7, 2024 and demonstrates compliance with Listing Rules 5550(a)(2), 5550(a)(5) and 5550(b)(1) on or before January 31, 2024. The Panel reserved the right to reconsider the terms of the extension based on any event, condition or circumstance that exists or develops that would, in the opinion of the Panel, make continued listing of the Company’s securities on the Nasdaq Capital Market inadvisable or unwarranted.

If, for any reason, Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

If our Class A Common Stock ceases to be listed on a national securities exchange it will become subject to the so-called “penny stock” rules that impose restrictive sales practice requirements.

If we are unable to maintain the listing of our Class A Common Stock on The Nasdaq Global Market or another national securities exchange, our Class A Common Stock could become subject to the so-called “penny stock” rules if the shares have a market value of less than $5.00 per share. The SEC has adopted regulations that define a penny stock to include any stock that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions, including an exception for stock traded on a national securities exchange. The SEC regulations impose restrictive sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell penny stocks to persons other than established customers and accredited investors. For transactions covered by this rule, the broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and must have received the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale. This means that if we are unable maintain the listing of our Class A Common Stock on a national securities exchange, the ability of stockholders to sell their common stock in the secondary market could be adversely affected. If a transaction involving a penny stock is not exempt from the SEC’s rule, a broker-dealer must deliver a disclosure schedule relating to the penny stock market to each investor prior to a transaction. The broker-dealer also must disclose the commissions payable to both the broker-dealer and its registered representative, current quotations for the penny stock, and, if the broker-dealer is the sole market-maker, the broker-dealer must disclose this fact and the broker-dealer’s presumed control over the market. Finally, monthly statements must be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in the customer’s account and information on the limited market in penny stocks.

Our dual class common stock structure has the effect of concentrating voting power with our Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Joseph Davy, which limits an investor’s ability to influence the outcome of important transactions, including a change in control.

Shares of our Class B Common Stock have 10 votes per share, while shares of our Class A Common Stock have one vote per share. Mr. Davy, who is our Chief Executive Officer and is Legacy Banzai’s Co-Founder, including his affiliates and permitted transferees, holds all of the issued and outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock. Accordingly, Mr. Davy held, directly or indirectly, approximately 91.89% of our outstanding voting power as of October 14, 2024 and is able to control matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors, amendments of our organizational documents and any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets or other major corporate transactions. Mr. Davy may have interests that differ from yours and may vote in a way with which you disagree and which may be adverse to your interests. This concentrated control may have the effect of delaying, preventing, or deterring a change in control, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their capital stock as part of a sale, and might ultimately affect the market price of Class A Common Stock.

The market price of our Class A Common Stock has been, and is likely to continue to be, highly volatile, and you may lose some or all of your investment.

The market price of our Class A Common Stock has fluctuated, and may continue to fluctuate, significantly due to a number of factors, some of which may be beyond our control, including those factors discussed in this “Risk Factors” section and many others, such as:

Volatility in the price of our Class A Common Stock could subject us to securities class action litigation.

In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. If we face such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about us, or publish negative reports, then our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our Class A Common Stock will depend, in part, on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us. We do not have any control over these analysts. If our financial performance fails to meet analyst estimates or one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our Class A Common Stock or change their opinion, then the market price of our Class A Common Stock would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause the market price of our Class A Common Stock or trading volume to decline.

We have incurred and will continue to incur increased costs and demands upon management as a result of complying with the laws and regulations affecting public companies, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the listing standards of Nasdaq, and other applicable securities rules and regulations. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal, accounting, and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly, and place significant strain on our personnel, systems and resources. For example, the Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly, and current reports with respect to our business and results of operations. As a result of the complexity involved in complying with the rules and regulations applicable to public companies, our management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Although we have already hired additional employees and engaged outside consultants to assist us in complying with these requirements, we will need to hire more employees in the future or may need to engage additional outside consultants, which will increase our operating expenses.

In addition, changing laws, regulations, and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs, and making some activities more time-consuming. These laws, regulations, and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. These factors could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest substantial resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations, and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from business operations to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations, and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be harmed. We also expect that being a public company and these new rules and regulations will make it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors (our “Board”), particularly to serve on our audit committee and compensation committee, and qualified executive officers. As a result of disclosure of information in this prospectus and in our other public filings, our business and financial condition will become more visible, which may result in pricing pressure from customers or an increased risk of threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and results of operations could be harmed, and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of its management and harm our business.

We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting in the past. If we are unable to remediate these material weaknesses, or if we identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately or timely report our financial condition or results of operations, which may adversely affect our business and stock price.

Prior to the Closing of the Business Combination, Legacy Banzai was a private company with limited accounting personnel to adequately execute its accounting processes and limited supervisory resources with which to address its internal control over financial reporting. In connection with the audit of Legacy Banzai’s financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022 and continuing through the year ended December 31, 2023, Legacy Banzai identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of Legacy Banzai’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

Legacy Banzai did not design or maintain an effective control environment under the rules and regulations of the SEC. Accordingly and specifically, (i) management does not have appropriate IT general controls in place over change management, user access, cybersecurity, and reviews of service organizations, (ii) management does not have suitable entity level controls in place in accordance with the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) (“COSO”), including reviews of the financial statements, and certain entity level controls were not performed by management, and (iii) pervasive transactional and account level reconciliations and analyses are not performed, or not performed with sufficient detail to prevent or detect a material weakness. These issues related to managements controls over the review of complex significant transactions, complex debt and equity, income and sales taxes, & revenue recognition.

We have taken certain steps, such as recruiting additional personnel, in addition to utilizing third-party consultants and specialists, to supplement our internal resources, to enhance our internal control environment and plans to take additional steps to remediate the material weaknesses. Although we plan to complete this remediation process as quickly as possible, we cannot at this time estimate how long it will take. We cannot assure you that the measures taken to date and to be taken in the future, will be sufficient to remediate the control deficiencies that led to Legacy Banzai’s material weakness in internal control over financial reporting or that it will prevent or avoid potential future material weaknesses. If the steps we take do not correct the material weakness in a timely manner, we will be unable to conclude that we maintain effective internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, there could continue to be a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our financial statements would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

Any failure to remediate existing material weaknesses, or to develop or maintain effective controls or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement could harm our results of operations or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting also could adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations and annual independent registered public accounting firm attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that we will eventually be required to include in our periodic reports that will be filed with the SEC. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our Class A Common Stock. In addition, if we are unable to continue to meet these requirements, we may not be able to remain listed on Nasdaq. We will not be required to comply with the SEC rules that implement Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) and will therefore not be required to make a formal assessment of the effectiveness of control over financial reporting for that purpose. As a public company, we will be required to provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting commencing with our second annual report on Form 10-K. Our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting until after we are no longer an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our internal control over financial reporting is documented, designed, or operating. Any failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations and could cause a decline in the price of our Class A Common Stock.

Our executive officers and directors collectively beneficially own approximately 93.47% of the voting power of our outstanding Common Stock and have substantial control over us, which will limit your ability to influence the outcome of important transactions, including a change in control.

Our executive officers and directors, in the aggregate, beneficially own approximately 93.47% of the voting power of our outstanding shares of Common Stock as of the date of this prospectus, based on the number of shares outstanding as of October 14, 2024. As a result, these stockholders, if acting together, will be able to influence or control matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors and the approval of mergers, acquisitions, or other extraordinary transactions. They may also have interests that differ from yours and may vote in a way with which you disagree, and which may be adverse to your interests. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying, preventing, or deterring a change in control of the Company, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their Class A Common Stock as part of a sale of the Company, and might ultimately affect the market price of our Class A Common Stock.

It is not currently anticipated that we will pay dividends on shares of our Class A Common Stock, and, consequently, your ability to achieve a return on your investment will depend on appreciation, if any, in the market price of Class A Common Stock.

It is currently anticipated that we will retain future earnings for the development, operation, and expansion of the business, and we do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any return to our stockholders will therefore be limited to the appreciation of their shares of Class A Common Stock. There is no guarantee that shares of Class A Common Stock will appreciate in value or even maintain the price at which stockholders have purchased their shares of Class A Common Stock.

The DGCL and our Charter and Bylaws contain certain provisions, including anti-takeover provisions, that limit the ability of stockholders to take certain actions and could delay or discourage takeover attempts that stockholders may consider favorable.

Our Charter, our Bylaws and the DGCL contain provisions that could have the effect of rendering more difficult, delaying, or preventing an acquisition deemed undesirable by the Board and therefore depress the trading price of our Class A Common Stock. These provisions could also make it difficult for stockholders to take certain actions, including electing directors who are not nominated by the current members of the Board or taking other corporate actions, including effecting changes in our management. Among other things, our Charter and/or Bylaws include provisions regarding:

Likewise, because our principal executive offices are located in Washington, the anti-takeover provisions of the Washington Business Corporation Act (the “WBCA”) may apply to us under certain circumstances now or in the future. These provisions prohibit a “target corporation” from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with any stockholder constituting an “acquiring person” for a period of five years following the date on which the stockholder became an “acquiring person.”

These provisions, alone or together, could delay or prevent hostile takeovers and changes in control or changes in the Board or our management.

In addition, our Charter includes a provision substantially similar to Section 203 of the DGCL, which may prohibit certain stockholders holding 15% or more of our outstanding capital stock from engaging in certain business combinations with us for a specified period of time.

Our Charter designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and, to the extent enforceable, the federal district courts of the United States of America as the exclusive forums for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which restricts our stockholders’ ability to choose the judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or employees.

Our Charter provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for the following types of claims or causes of action under Delaware statutory or common law: any derivative claims or causes of action brought on our behalf; any claims or causes of action asserting a breach of a fiduciary duty; any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the DGCL, our Charter, or our Bylaws; or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. In addition, our Charter provides that the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. These choice of forum provisions will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Such provisions are intended to benefit and may be enforced by us and our officers and directors, employees and agents.

These provisions may benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law and federal securities laws by chancellors and judges, as applicable, particularly experienced in resolving corporate disputes, efficient administration of cases on a more expedited schedule relative to other forums and protection against the burdens of multi-forum litigation. These choice of forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims or make such lawsuits more costly for stockholders, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. While the Delaware courts have determined that such choice of forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring a claim in a venue other than those designated in the exclusive forum provisions, and there can be no assurance that such provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions. If a court were to find either choice of forum provisions contained in our Charter to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions.

We are an emerging growth company and smaller reporting company, and the reduced reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies may make our shares of Class A Common Stock less attractive to investors.

We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act. For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies,” including exemption from compliance with the auditor attestation requirements under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of: (i) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the closing of 7GC’s initial public offering (December 22, 2025), (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common equity that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700.0 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter; and (ii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.

In addition, under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have elected to use this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, we will not be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.

We are also a smaller reporting company as defined in the Exchange Act. Even after we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, we may still qualify as a smaller reporting company, which would allow us to take advantage of many of the same exemptions from disclosure requirements, including exemption from compliance with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in this prospectus and our other periodic reports and proxy statements. We will be able to take advantage of these scaled disclosures for so long as our voting and non-voting Common Stock held by non-affiliates is less than $250.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter, or our annual revenue is less than $100.0 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and our voting and non-voting Common Stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter.

We cannot predict if investors will find our Class A Common Stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find Class A Common Stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for Class A Common Stock and its market price may be more volatile.

If our estimates or judgments relating to our critical accounting policies prove to be incorrect or financial reporting standards or interpretations change, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. We will base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events, and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, as provided in the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Critical Accounting Estimates.” The results of these estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Significant assumptions and estimates used in preparing our financial statements include, but are not limited to, estimates of impairment on goodwill, recognition and measurement of convertible, warrants and SAFEs, including the valuation of the bifurcated embedded derivatives liabilities, and measurement and recognition of stock-based compensation. Our results of operations may be adversely affected if our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our results of operations to fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in the trading price of our Class A Common Stock.

Additionally, we will regularly monitor our compliance with applicable financial reporting standards and review new pronouncements and drafts thereof that are relevant to us. As a result of new standards, changes to existing standards, and changes in their interpretation, we might be required to change our accounting policies, alter our operational policies, and implement new or enhance existing systems so that they reflect new or amended financial reporting standards, or we may be required to restate our published financial statements. Such changes to existing standards or changes in their interpretation may have an adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial position, and profit.

We may issue additional shares of Common Stock or Preferred Stock, including under our equity incentive plan. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.

We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of Common Stock or Preferred Stock, including under our 2023 equity incentive plan, which had 71,522 unissued shares authorized as of December 31, 2023. Any such issuances of additional shares of Common Stock or Preferred Stock:

Sales of a substantial number of shares of Class A Common Stock in the public market pursuant to our registration statements could reduce the market price of Class A Common Stock.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of Class A Common Stock in the public market pursuant to the Registration Statements on Form S-1 (File Nos. 333-276307 and 333-278871) (the “S-1 Registration Statements”) could occur at any time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares of Class A Common Stock intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of Class A Common Stock. In particular, until such time as it is no longer effective, the S-1 Registration Statements permit the resale of shares held by the Sponsor, who has beneficial ownership of approximately 2.98% of our outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock, and Mr. Joseph Davy, who holds approximately 53.13% of outstanding Common Stock of the Company, including shares of both Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock and approximately 91.89% of our outstanding voting power, subject, in each case, to the applicable lock-up periods. The resale, or expected or potential resale, of a substantial number of shares of our Class A Common Stock in the public market could adversely affect the market price for Class A Common Stock and make it more difficult for you to sell your holdings at times and prices that you determine are appropriate. Furthermore, we expect that, because there is a large number of shares registered pursuant to the S-1 Registration Statements, the selling securityholders will continue to offer the securities covered thereby pursuant to the S-1 Registration Statements or pursuant to Rule 144 for a significant period of time, the precise duration of which cannot be predicted. Accordingly, the adverse market and price pressures resulting from an offering pursuant to any of our registration statements may continue for an extended period of time. We may also file additional registration statements in connection with the possible sale of other securities.

If certain holders of Class A Common Stock sell a significant portion of their securities, it may negatively impact the market price of the shares of Class A Common Stock and such holders still may receive significant proceeds.

As of the date of this prospectus, the market price of our Class A Common Stock is below $10.00 per share, which was the price per unit sold in the IPO, the per-share value of the consideration issued to Legacy Banzai stockholders upon consummation of the Business Combination. However, certain of our stockholders hold shares of Class A Common Stock that were originally purchased by the Sponsor in a private placement prior to the IPO (“Founder Shares”) and may nonetheless be inclined to sell such Founder Shares, as they were originally purchased at an effective price significantly less than $10.00 per share. The currently outstanding 60,747 Founder Shares, representing 2.98% of our Class A Common Stock as of October 14, 2024, were purchased at an effective price of $0.0050 per share. Accordingly, holders of the Founder Shares could sell their securities at a per-share price that is less than $10.00 and still realize a significant profit from the sale of those securities that could not be realized by our other stockholders. On October 14, 2024, the closing price of our Class A Common Stock was $3.70 Based on this closing price, the aggregate sales price of the Founder Shares would be approximately $0.2 million.

It is not possible to predict the actual number of shares we will sell under the SEPA, or the actual gross proceeds resulting from those sales. Further, we may not have access to any or the full amount available under the SEPA.

On December 14, 2023, we entered into the SEPA with Yorkville, pursuant to which Yorkville has committed to purchase up to $100 million of Class A Common Stock, pursuant to Advance Notices delivered by the Company any time during the commitment period terminating on the 36-month anniversary of the SEPA; provided that any Advance Notice may only be made if (x) no amount remains outstanding on the Yorkville Promissory Notes, (y) there is an effective Resale Registration Statement filed with the SEC for the resale under the Securities Act of the shares of Class A Common Stock to be issued pursuant to such Advance Notice, and (z) other customary conditions precedent. Additionally, at any time during the commitment period, provided there is a balance remaining outstanding under a Yorkville Promissory Note, Yorkville may deliver an Investor Notice, causing an Advance Notice to be deemed delivered to Yorkville, subject to certain conditions.

Save for the issuance of shares of Class A Common Stock following receipt of an Investor Notice (as defined in the SEPA) or pursuant to conversion of a Yorkville Promissory Note, we generally have the right to control the timing and amount of any sales of shares of Class A Common Stock to Yorkville under the SEPA. Sales of Class A Common Stock, if any, to Yorkville under the SEPA will depend upon market conditions and other factors to be determined by us. We may ultimately decide to sell to Yorkville all, some or none of the shares of Class A Common Stock that may be available for us to sell to Yorkville pursuant to the SEPA.

Because the purchase price per share to be paid by Yorkville for the shares of Class A Common Stock that we may elect to sell to Yorkville under the SEPA, if any, will fluctuate based on the market prices of Class A Common Stock prior to each sale made pursuant to the SEPA, if any, it is not possible for us to predict, as of the date of this prospectus and prior to any such sales, the number of shares of Class A Common Stock that we will sell to Yorkville under the SEPA, the purchase price per share that Yorkville will pay for shares purchased from us under the SEPA, or the aggregate gross proceeds that we will receive from those purchases by Yorkville under the SEPA, if any.

Moreover, although the SEPA provides that we may issue up to an aggregate of $100 million of our Class A Common Stock to Yorkville, only 114,526 shares of Class A Common Stock (excluding 6,000 shares issued to Yorkville in lieu of a commitment fee at Closing) were previously registered for resale under the Prior SEPA Registration Statement. If we issue to Yorkville all of the 114,526 shares of Class A Common Stock registered for resale under the Prior SEPA Registration Statement, depending on the market price of our Class A Common Stock prior to each Advance made pursuant to the SEPA, the actual gross proceeds from the sale of all such shares may be substantially less than the $100 million available to us under the SEPA.

Since it has become necessary for us to issue to Yorkville under the SEPA more than the 114,526 shares of Class A Common Stock previously registered, to receive aggregate gross proceeds equal to $100 million under the SEPA, we filed another registration statement to register under the Securities Act the resale by Yorkville such additional shares of Class A Common Stock we now seek to issue from time to time under the SEPA, which the SEC must declare effective.

The SEPA does not obligate Yorkville to subscribe for or acquire any shares of Class A Common Stock under the SEPA if those shares of Class A Common Stock, when aggregated with all other shares of Class A Common Stock acquired by Yorkville under the SEPA, would result in Yorkville beneficially owning more than 9.99% of the then outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock.

Resales of our shares of Common Stock in the public market during this Offering by the Selling Securityholder may cause the market price of our Common Stock to decline.

Sales of Resale Shares could result in resales of our Common Stock by our current securityholders concerned about the potential dilution of their holdings. In turn, these resales could have the effect of depressing the market price for our Common Stock.

USE OF PROCEEDS

We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the shares of Common Stock being offered by the Selling Securityholder.

MARKET INFORMATION FOR CLASS A COMMON STOCK AND DIVIDEND POLICY

Market Information

As of October 14, 2024, our Class A Common Stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “BNZI”. Our Public Warrants are currently listed on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “BNZIW.” As of October 14, 2024, there were 64 holders of record of our Class A Common Stock and one holder of record of our Public Warrants. These numbers do not include beneficial owners whose securities were held in street name.

Following receipt of the necessary shareholder and Nasdaq approval, we have implemented a reverse stock split of our Class A Common Stock at a 1:50 ratio, to be effective on September 19, 2024. Following the split, we have a new cusip number 06682J308.

Dividend Policy

As of the date of this prospectus, we have not declared or paid any cash dividends on our Common Stock. We expect to retain future earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and debt repayment and have no plans to declare or pay cash dividends on our Common Stock for the foreseeable future. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of the Board and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors that the Board may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends may be limited by covenants of any existing and future outstanding indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur.

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table summarizes our equity securities authorized for issuance as of December 31, 2023.

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF

FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated audited financial statements and related notes, and our interim condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes, that appear elsewhere in this prospectus, as well as the section entitled “Business.” In addition to historical consolidated financial information, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and elsewhere particularly in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus.

Certain figures, such as interest rates and other percentages, included in this section have been rounded for ease of presentation. Percentage figures included in this section have not in all cases been calculated on the basis of such rounded figures but on the basis of such amounts prior to rounding. For this reason, percentage amounts in this section may vary slightly from those obtained by performing the same calculations using the figures in our consolidated financial statements or in the associated text. Certain other amounts that appear in this section may similarly not sum due to rounding.

Overview

Banzai is a MarTech company that produces data-driven marketing and sales solutions for businesses of all sizes. Our mission is to help our customers accomplish their mission-by enabling better marketing, sales, and customer engagement outcomes. Banzai endeavors to acquire companies strategically positioned to enhance our product and service offerings, increasing the value provided to current and prospective customers.

Banzai was founded in 2015. The first product Banzai launched was Reach, a SaaS and managed services offering designed to increase registration and attendance of marketing events, followed by the acquisition of Demio, a SaaS solution for webinars designed for marketing, sales, and customer success teams, in 2021 and the launch of Boost, a SaaS solution for social sharing designed to increase attendance for Demio-hosted events by enabling easy social sharing by event registrants, in 2023. Our customer base included over 2,700 customers as of December 31, 2023 and comes from a variety of industries, including (among others) healthcare, financial services, e-commerce, technology and media, operating in over 90 countries. Our customers range in size from solo entrepreneurs and small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. No single customer represents more than 10% of our revenue. Since 2021, we have focused on increasing mid-market and enterprise customers for Demio. Progress towards this is reflected in our increase in multi-host Demio customers from 14 on January 1, 2021 to 116 on December 31, 2023, an approximately 10-fold increase.

We sell our products using a recurring subscription license model typical in SaaS businesses. Pricing tiers for our main product, Demio, are based on the number of host-capable users, desired feature sets, and maximum audience size. Boost pricing tiers are based on the Demio plan to which the customer subscribes. Reach pricing is based on the number of event campaigns a customer has access to run simultaneously or the maximum number of registrations a customer is allowed to generate per subscription period. Banzai’s customer contracts vary in term length from single months to multiple years.

Banzai generated revenue of $4.6 million, $5.3 million, $2.1 million and $2.4 million in the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 and the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Banzai has incurred significant net losses since inception, including net losses of $14.4 million, $15.5 million, $8.7 million and $7.3 million in the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 and the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Banzai had an accumulated deficit of $46.8 million, $32.4 million and $55.4 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 and June 30, 2024, respectively.

Summary of our Merger

On December 14, 2023, we consummated the Business Combination with Legacy Banzai. Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, the Business Combination was effected through (a) the merger of First Merger Sub with and into Legacy Banzai, with Legacy Banzai surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of 7GC and (b) the subsequent merger of Legacy Banzai with and into Second Merger Sub, with the Second Merger Sub being the surviving entity of the Second Merger, which ultimately resulted in Legacy Banzai becoming a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of 7GC. Upon closing the Business Combination, we changed our name from 7GC & Co. Holdings Inc. to Banzai International, Inc.

Reverse Stock Split

On August 29, 2024, we held a special meeting of securityholders (the “Special Meeting”). At the Special Meeting, the Company’s securityholders approved the proposal to amend our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to effect a reverse stock split with respect to the Company’s issued and outstanding Class A Common Stock, at a ratio of up to 1-for-50, with the final ratio and exact timing to be determined at the discretion of the Board of Directors. On September 10, 2024, our Board determined to effect a reverse stock split at a ratio of 1-for-50, effective as of September 19, 2024 and filed an amendment with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. A copy of the amendment is filed as Exhibit 3.3 attached hereto.

Recent Financing

Currently, the company is seeking to raise additional capital through a private placement leveraging SEPA with the proceeds to support its operation and expansion through acquisition.

On May 22, 2024, we priced a “best efforts” public offering for the sale by the Company of an aggregate of 104,556 shares of our Class A common stock, 173,222 pre-funded warrants (the “Pre-Funded Warrants”), and 277,778 common warrants (the “Common Warrants”). The public offering price was $9.00 per share and accompanying Common Warrant, or $8.9950 per Pre-Funded Warrant and accompanying Common Warrant. The Pre-Funded Warrants are exercisable immediately, may be exercised at any time until all of the Pre-Funded Warrants are exercised in full, and have an exercise price of $0.0050. The Common Warrants are exercisable immediately for a term of five years and have an exercise price of $9.00.

A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners (“AGP”) acted as placement agent for the offering, pursuant to a placement agency agreement, dated May 22, 2024, between the Company and AGP (the “Placement Agency Agreement”). Under the Placement Agency Agreement, AGP received a cash fee of $174,939 and warrants (the “Placement Agent Warrants”) to purchase 16,667 shares of our Class A Common Stock at an exercise price per share equal to $10.00. The offering closed on May 28, 2024.

On September 24, 2024, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with an institutional investor for the issuance and sale in a private placement (the “Private Placement”) of (i) pre-funded warrants (“Pre-Funded Warrants”) to purchase up to 1,176,471 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), at an exercise price of $0.001 per share, (ii) Series A warrants (the “Series A Warrants”) to purchase up to 1,176,471 shares of Common Stock, at an exercise price of $4.00 per share, and (iii) Series B warrants (the “Series B Warrants” and together with the Series A Warrants and the Placement Agent Warrants (defined below), the “Warrants” ) to purchase up to 1,176,471 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $4.00 per share. The Series A Warrants are exercisable immediately upon issuance and have a term of exercise equal to five years from the date of issuance. The Series B Warrants are exercisable immediately upon issuance and have a term of exercise equal to eighteen (18) months from the date of issuance. The combined purchase price per Pre-Funded Warrant and accompanying Warrants was $4.249. The Private Placement closed on September 26, 2024.

A holder of the Pre-Funded Warrants and the Warrants may not exercise any portion of such holder’s Pre-Funded Warrants or Warrants to the extent that the holder, together with its affiliates, would beneficially own more than 4.99% (or, at the election of the holder, 9.99%) of the Company’s outstanding shares of Common Stock immediately after exercise, except that upon at least 61 days’ prior notice from the holder to the Company, the holder may increase the beneficial ownership limitation to up to 9.99% of the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the exercise. In the event of certain fundamental transactions, holders of the Warrants will have the right to receive the Black Scholes Value of their Warrants calculated pursuant to a formula set forth in the Warrants, payable either in cash or in the same type or form of consideration that is being offered and being paid to the holders of Common Stock.

In connection with the Private Placement, the Company entered into a registration rights agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”), dated as of September 24, 2024, with the investor, pursuant to which the Company agreed to prepare and file a registration statement on Form S-1 to register the resale of the shares of Common Stock underlying the Pre-Funded Warrants and the Warrants, and to use its best efforts to have the registration statement declared effective as promptly as practical thereafter, and in any event no later than forty-five (45) days following the date of the Registration Rights Agreement (or seventy-five (75) days following the date of the Registration Rights Agreement in the event of a “full review” by the SEC). The Company filed an initial registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-282506) with the SEC on October 4, 2024.

The net proceeds to the Company from the Private Placement were approximately $4.4 million, after deducting placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. The Company intends to use the net proceeds received from the Private Placement to pay off in full its outstanding credit facility with Yorkville Advisors and for general corporate purposes and working capital.

H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC (“Wainwright”) acted as the Company’s exclusive placement agent in connection with the Private Placement, pursuant to that certain engagement letter, dated as of September 12, 2024, as amended, between the Company and Wainwright (the “Engagement Letter”). Pursuant to the Engagement Letter, the Company paid Wainwright (i) a total cash fee equal to 7.5% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Private Placement (inclusive of the gross proceeds to be received from the exercise of any Warrants), (ii) a management fee of 1.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Private Placement (inclusive of the gross proceeds to be received from the exercise of any Warrants), and (iii) a non-accountable expense allowance of $50,000. In addition, the Company issued to Wainwright or its designees warrants (the “Placement Agent Warrants”) to purchase up to an aggregate of 88,235 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price equal to $5.3125 per share and, if any Warrants are exercised for cash will be obligated to issue to Wainwright additional Placement Agent Warrants equal to 7.5% of the total Warrants exercised, if any. The Placement Agent Warrants have substantially the same terms as the Warrants, are exercisable immediately upon issuance and have a term of exercise equal to five (5) years from the date of issuance.

Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the Company agreed not to issue any shares of Common Stock or Common Stock equivalents or to file any other registration statement with the SEC (in each case, subject to certain exceptions) until sixty (60) days after the effective date of the Registration Statement. The Company has also agreed not to effect any Variable Rate Transaction (as defined in the Purchase Agreement) until one (1) year after the effective date of the Registration Statement (subject to certain exceptions).

The Engagement Letter and the Purchase Agreement contain customary representations and warranties and agreements and obligations, conditions to closing and termination provisions. The foregoing descriptions of terms and conditions of the Purchase Agreement, the Pre-Funded Warrants, the Series A Warrants, the Series B Warrants, the Placement Agent Warrants, and the Registration Rights Agreement do not purport to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by the full text of the form of the Purchase Agreement, the form of the Pre-Funded Warrant, the form of the Series A Warrant, the form of the Series B Warrant, the form of the Placement Agent Warrant, and the form of the Registration Rights Agreement, which are attached hereto as Exhibits.

Debt Equitization Plan

From August 23, 2024 to October 14, 2024 the Company entered into various agreements to reorganize outstanding debt from certain creditors (collectively, the “Creditors”) into shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock (the “Shares”) (collectively, the “Debt Reorganization”). The Shares issued as part of the Debt Reorganization are a mix of Shares that we agreed to register in this registration statement on Form S-1 and Shares that are exempt from registration. As of October 14, the Company has issued an aggregate of 614,973 Shares to the Creditors in exchange for the cancellation of an aggregate of $2,580,541.17 of debt.

Operating Metrics

In the management of our businesses, we identify, measure, and evaluate a variety of operating metrics, as described below. These key performance measures and operating metrics are not prepared in accordance with GAAP and may not be comparable to or calculated in the same way as other similarly titled measures and metrics used by other companies. Measurements are specific to the group being measured, i.e. total customers, new customers, or other cohorts. We currently use these operating metrics with our Demio product. We do not track and use these operating metrics with prior products.

The following table presents the percentage of Banzai’s revenue generated from Demio for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 and the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 as compared to their other SaaS products.

Net Revenue Retention (“NRR”)

NRR is a metric Banzai uses to measure the revenue retention of its existing customer base. NRR calculates the change in revenue from existing customers by cohort over a period of time, after taking into account revenue lost due to customer churn and downgrades, and revenue gained due to upgrades and reactivations.

The formula for calculating NRR is: NRR = (Revenue at the beginning of a period-Revenue lost from churn, and downgrades + Revenue gained from expansion and reactivation) / Revenue at the beginning of the period.

The following table presents average monthly NRR for Demio for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Average Customer Value (“ACV”)

ACV is a metric Banzai uses to calculate the total revenue that it can expect to generate from a customer in a year. ACV is commonly used in the SaaS industry to measure the value of a customer to a subscription-based company over a 12-month period. Banzai uses ACV to segment its customers and to determine whether the value of new customers is growing or shrinking relative to the existing customer base. Banzai uses this information to make strategic decisions about pricing, marketing, and customer retention.

The formula for calculating ACV is: ACV = Total Annual Recurring Revenue (“ARR”) / Total Number Customers, where ARR is defined as annual run-rate revenue of subscription agreements from all customers measured at a point in time.

The following table presents new customer ACV and total average ACV for Demio for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Customer Acquisition Cost (“CAC”)

CAC is a financial metric Banzai uses to evaluate the average cost of acquiring a new customer. It includes marketing, sales, and other related expenses incurred while attracting and converting prospects into paying customers. CAC is a critical metric for Banzai to understand the efficiency and effectiveness of its marketing and sales efforts, as well as to ensure sustainable growth.

The formula for calculating CAC is: CAC = Total Sales & Marketing Cost / Number of Customers Acquired.

The following table presents CAC for Demio for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Customer Churn %

Customer Churn % is the rate of customers who deactivate in a given period relative to the number of active customers at the beginning of such period or end of the prior period. Understanding drivers of churn allows Banzai to take measures to reduce the number of customers who deactivate and increase the overall rate of customer retention. There are two types of Churn % measured: Revenue churn and Customer (or logo) churn.

The formula for calculating Churn % is: Churn % = [# or $ value of] Deactivations / [# or $ value of] Active Customers (Beginning of period).

The following table presents revenue Churn and new customer (or logo) Churn for Demio for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Customer Lifetime Value (“LTV”)

LTV is a financial metric Banzai uses to estimate the total revenue it can expect to generate from a customer throughout their entire relationship. LTV helps Banzai understand the long-term value of each customer, enabling it to make informed decisions about marketing, sales, customer support, and product development strategies. It also helps Banzai allocate resources more efficiently by identifying high-value customer segments to focus on growth and retention.

The formula for calculating LTV is comprised of two metrics: Monthly Recurring Revenue (“MRR”) and Customer Life represented in # of months. Calculations for these metrics on a per-customer basis, as follows:

MRR = ACV / 12

Customer Life (# of months) = 1 / Churn %

LTV = MRR * Customer Life (# of months)

MRR is calculated by aggregating, for all customers from customer base or the group being measured during that month, monthly revenue from committed contractual amounts. For customers on annual contracts, this represents their ACV divided by 12.

The following table presents MRR, Customer Life, and LTV for Demio for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

LTV / CAC Ratio

LTV / CAC ratio is a culminating metric measuring the efficiency of Sales and Marketing activities in terms of the dollar value of new business generated versus the amount invested in order to generate that new business. This provides a measurement of ROI for Sales and Marketing activities. A segmented view of LTV / CAC ratio gives additional insight into the profitability of various business development activities.

The formula for calculating LTV / CAC ratio is: LTV / CAC for the segment or activity being measured.

The following table presents the LTV / CAC ratio for Demio for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Analysis of the Impact of Key Business Drivers on Financial Performance

Banzai strives to maximize revenue growth within a reasonable cost structure through optimizing and continuous monitoring of the key business metrics described above relative to SaaS industry benchmarks, Banzai’s direct competition, and historical company performance. This is accomplished through a combination of increased revenue per customer (higher ACVs and NRR) on an increasing customer base, generated through efficient customer acquisition (LTV / CAC ratio) and improved customer retention (lower churn, higher customer life). Other business activities contribute to improved performance and metrics, including but not limited to the following:

Identification of Operational Risk Factors

There are a number of key internal and external operational risks to the successful execution of Banzai’s strategy.

Internal risks include, among others:

External risks include, among others:

Analysis of the Impact of Operational Risks on Financial Performance

The risk factors described above could have significant impacts on Banzai’s financial performance. These or other factors, including those risk factors summarized in the section titled “Risk Factors” could impact Banzai’s ability to generate and grow revenue, contain costs, or inhibit profitability, cash flow, and overall financial performance:

By continuing to conduct comprehensive risk monitoring and analysis on financial performance, Banzai can optimize its ability to make informed decisions and improve its ability to navigate internal and external challenges. Such activities include: identification and categorization of risks, quantification and analysis of potential severity, and development of risk mitigation strategies. It is also important for Banzai to ensure financial reports and disclosures accurately reflect the potential impact of risks on financial performance, essential for transparent communication with investors and stakeholders.

The Business Combination and Public Company Costs

The Business Combination was accounted for as a reverse recapitalization. Under this method of accounting, 7GC was treated as the acquired company for financial statement reporting purposes. Accordingly, for accounting purposes, the financial statements of Banzai represent a continuation of the financial statements of Legacy Banzai with the Business Combination treated as the equivalent of Legacy Banzai issuing stock for the net assets of 7GC, accompanied by a recapitalization. The net assets of 7GC were stated at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded. Operations prior to the Business Combination are those of Legacy Banzai in this and future reports of Banzai.

As a consequence of the Business Combination, we became the successor to an SEC-registered and Nasdaq-listed company, which required Banzai to hire additional personnel and implement procedures and processes to address public company regulatory requirements and customary practices. We incurred and expect to incur additional annual expenses as a public company for, among other things, directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, director fees and additional internal and external accounting, legal and administrative resources, including increased audit and legal fees. We are qualified as an “emerging growth company.” As a result, we have been provided certain disclosure and regulatory relief. Our future results of operations and financial position may not be comparable to Legacy Banzai’s historical results of operations and financial position as a result of the Business Combination.

Results of Operations

The percentage changes included in the tables herein that are not considered meaningful are presented as “nm”.

Components of Results of Operations

Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 Compared to Six Months Ended June 30, 2023

Revenue Analysis

For the six months ended June 30, 2024, Banzai reported total revenue of approximately $2,148 thousand, representing a decrease of approximately $222 thousand, or approximately 9.4%, compared to the three months for the same period ended June 30, 2023. This decrease is primarily attributable to lower Reach revenue which declined by approximately $84 thousand due to a shift in Banzai’s focus to its Demio product and decision, which decision was reversed in the later part of Q1 2024, to begin phasing out the Reach product. In 2024 Banzai is revitalizing its focus on the Reach product through re-engineering and expanded sales efforts. Demio revenue was lower by approximately $133 thousand for the six months ended June 30, 2024 as compared to the six months ended June 30, 2023 due to churn and lower new sales period-over-period.

Cost of Revenue Analysis

For the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, Banzai’s cost of revenue totaled approximately $711 thousand and approximately $792 thousand, respectively. This represents a decrease of approximately $81 thousand, or approximately 10.2%, for the six months ended June 30, 2024 as compared to the six months ended June 30, 2023, is due primarily to lower customer base and an approximately 13% lower average cost per customer, driven by lower infrastructure costs / data licenses of approximately $113 thousand, contracted services of approximately $46 thousand, subscription payroll of approximately $28 thousand, and merchant fee costs of approximately $7 thousand. The lower contracted services and data licenses cost described above were offset by the increase of the streaming services costs of approximately $113 thousand.

Gross Profit Analysis

For the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, Banzai’s gross profit was approximately $1,437 thousand and approximately $1,578 thousand, respectively. This represents a decrease of approximately $141 thousand, or approximately 8.9% due to the decreases in revenue of approximately $222 thousand and decreases in cost of revenue of approximately $81 thousand described above.

Operating Expense Analysis

Total operating expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, were approximately $8.6 million and approximately $6.1 million, respectively, an increase of approximately $2.5 million, or 41.4%. This increase was due primarily to an overall increase in salaries and related expenses by approximately $0.5 million, marketing expenses by approximately $0.5 million, costs associated with audit, technical accounting, and legal and other professional services of approximately $1.5 million.

Other Expense Analysis

For the six months ended June 30, 2024, Banzai reported total other expenses of approximately $1.5 million. This represents a decrease of approximately $1.2 million from the six months ended June 30, 2023, when the Company reported total other expenses of approximately $2.7 million. The change in other expenses, net was primarily driven by the following:

Provision for Income Taxes

For the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, Banzai’s reported provision for income tax expense was $6 thousand and $16 thousand, respectively.

Due to Banzai’s history of losses since inception, there is not enough evidence at this time to support that Banzai will generate future income of a sufficient amount and nature to utilize the benefits of its net deferred tax assets. Accordingly, the deferred tax assets have been reduced by a full valuation allowance, since Banzai cannot currently support that realization of its deferred tax assets is more likely than not.

At June 30, 2024, Banzai had no unrecognized tax benefits that would reduce Banzai’s effective tax rate if recognized.

Net Loss Analysis

For the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, Banzai reported net losses of approximately $8.7 million and approximately $7.3 million, respectively. The greater net loss is primarily due to a reduction in total other expenses of approximately $1.2 million during the six months ended June 30, 2024 compared to the six months ended June 30, 2023, offset by an increase in operating expenses of approximately $2.5 million and a decrease in gross profit of approximately $0.1 million.