GHST GHST World Inc (PK)

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risk factors before deciding whether to invest in the common stock. If any of the events discussed in the risk factors below occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In such case, the value and marketability of the common stock could decline, and you might lose all or part of your investment.

Summary of Risk Factors

Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that you should consider before investing in our common stock. Some of the principal risk factors that make an investment in the Company speculative or risky are summarized as follows:

Risks Relating to the Company

Our ability to continue as a going concern is in doubt absent obtaining adequate new debt or equity financing.

We have limited capital and have accumulated losses of over $9.2 million since inception. Because we do not have sufficient working capital and cash flows for continued operations for at least the next 12 months, our auditors have issued a qualified opinion. Our continued existence is dependent upon us or obtaining the necessary capital to meet our expenditures. We cannot assure you that we will be able to raise adequate capital to meet our future working capital needs.

Because we expect to need additional capital to fund our growing operations, we may not be able to obtain sufficient capital and may be forced to limit the scope of our operations.

We currently need substantial working capital. The slowdown in the global economy or any subsequent or further financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may adversely affect our ability to raise capital. If adequate additional debt and/or equity financing is not available on reasonable terms or at all, we may not be able to remain in business, and we will have to cease operations.

Even if we secure the necessary working capital, we may not be able to negotiate terms and conditions for receiving the additional capital that are acceptable to us. Any future equity capital investments will dilute existing shareholders. In addition, new equity or convertible debt securities issued by us to obtain financing could have rights, preferences and privileges senior to our common stock. We cannot give you any assurance that any additional financing will be available to us, or if available, will be on terms favorable to us.

If we are not successful, you may lose your entire investment.

Prospective investors should be aware that if we are not successful in our new business, their entire investment in the Company could become worthless. Even if the Company is successful, we can provide no assurances that investors will derive a profit from their investment. Even if we can raise sufficient capital or generate revenue, we cannot guarantee any resulting proceeds to us will be sufficient for us to grow our operations and become profitable. If we are not successful, you may lose your entire investment.

Because we have a limited operating history to evaluate our company, the likelihood of our success must be considered in light of the problems, expenses, difficulties, complications and delay frequently encountered by a new company.

Since we have a limited operating history under our current business model, it is difficult for investors to evaluate our business and prospects. You must consider our prospects in light of the risks, expenses and difficulties we face as an early stage company with a limited operating history. Investors should evaluate an investment in our company in light of the uncertainties encountered by start-up companies in a highly competitive industry such as ours, which contains significant barriers to market entry. There can be no assurance that our efforts will be successful or that we will be able to attain profitability.

Because Ghost’s business plan is unproven it may not result in the generation of any revenue, material revenue or profitability.

Ghost is relying upon its U.S. patented sports equipment technology which we intend to market and sell in the U.S. and foreign athletic markets to individual players, teams and organizations interested in the Smart Shin Guard’s data collecting capabilities. We have not sold our products, and do not presently have inventory available for sale. We cannot assure you that assuming we obtain sufficient financing, we will be able to successfully market our product in any of the target countries, derive any material revenue or attain profitability. If we are not successful in marketing the Smart Shin Guard, it is likely that you will lose your entire investment.

Because our business model is new, our growth strategy may not be achievable and may not result in profitability.

We may not be able to implement our growth strategy reflected in our business plan rapidly enough as to achieve profitability. Our growth strategy is dependent on a number of factors, including market acceptance of the Smart Shin Guard. We cannot assure you that consumers and others will purchase the Smart Shin Guard or that a sufficient market demand for our product will develop for us to generate revenue or become profitable.

Among other things, implementation of our growth strategy would be adversely affected by the following:

Our business will depend, to a large extent, upon our intellectual property.

We rely on our U.S. patent and have applied for patents in other jurisdictions to protect our Smart Shin Guard technology. This patent and any future patents we can obtain will be critical to our ability to market our product in applicable jurisdictions without the risk of reverse engineering of our technology. In the event that we are unable to secure such patents, the marketability and viability of our product could be adversely affected, including by being vulnerable to reverse engineering in any jurisdiction where the patent did not issue. While we received the U.S. patent, there can be no assurance that the other patents will be secured. In the event these patents do not issue, the value of our intellectual property and our ability to generate revenue therefrom could be materially adversely affected.

If we cannot obtain or protect intellectual property rights related to our current or future products, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.

We rely upon a combination of patents, trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect the intellectual property related to our current or future products. The strength of our patent in the sports logistics and technology field involves complex legal questions and can be uncertain. Our international patent applications may fail to result in patents with claims that cover the products in the countries in which we desire to market and sell our products. There is no assurance that all of the potentially relevant prior art relating to our patent and patent applications has been found; such prior art can invalidate a patent or prevent a patent from issuing based on a pending patent application. Even if patents do successfully issue, third parties may challenge their validity, enforceability or scope, which may cause such patents to be narrowed or invalidated. Even if unchallenged, our patents and patent applications may not adequately protect our intellectual property or prevent others from designing around our claims.

If the patent applications we hold fail to issue or if their breadth or strength of protection is threatened, it could threaten our ability to commercialize our products. Patents may not issue and issued patents may be found invalid and unenforceable or challenged by third parties. Since patent applications in the United States and most other countries are confidential for a period after filing, and some remain so until issued, we cannot be certain that we were the first to invent a patent application related to a product. Patents have a limited lifespan. In the United States, the natural expiration of a patent is 20 years after it is filed, although various extensions may be available. The life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. When the patent life has expired for a product, we will become vulnerable to competition from similar products or generic versions attempting to replicate our Smart Shin Guard or other products we may develop or acquire in the future. Further, if we encounter delays in regulatory or league approvals, the time during which we will be able to market and commercialize a product candidate under patent protection could be reduced.

In addition to patent protection, we rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect proprietary know-how that is not patentable, processes for which patents are difficult to enforce and any other elements of our product development processes that involve proprietary know-how, information or technology not covered by patents. As a general practice, our employees, consultants, advisors and any third parties who have access to our proprietary know-how, information or technology enter into confidentiality agreements. Nonetheless, our trade secrets and other confidential proprietary information may be disclosed and competitors may otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques.

The laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the laws of the United States. We may encounter significant problems in protecting and defending our intellectual property both in the United States and abroad, particularly given our present business plan to primarily focus our marketing and sales efforts on countries located outside of the United States. If we are unable to prevent material disclosure of the non-patented intellectual property related to our technologies to third parties, and there is no guarantee we will have any such enforceable trade secret protection, we may not be able to establish or maintain a competitive advantage in our market, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Third-party intellectual property infringement claims may prevent or delay our development and commercialization efforts.

Our commercial success depends in part on our avoiding infringement on the patents and proprietary rights of third parties. There is substantial technology litigation, both within and outside the United States, involving patent and other intellectual property rights, including patent infringement lawsuits, interferences, oppositions, and reexaminations and other post-grant proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and corresponding foreign patent offices. U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by third parties, may exist in the fields in which we are pursuing patents for our product. As the sports logistics and technology industries expand and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our products may be subject to claims of infringement of the patent rights of third parties.

Third parties may assert that we are employing their proprietary technology without authorization. There may be third-party patents or patent applications with claims to materials, concepts, or methods of manufacture related to the use or manufacture of our products. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be patent applications currently pending that may later result in patents that our products may infringe. Third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies infringes on these patents. If any third-party patents were to be held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover the manufacturing process of our products, the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize such products unless we obtained a license under the applicable patents, or until such patents expire. Similarly, if any third-party patents were to be held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover aspects of our concepts, processes for manufacture or methods of use, the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to develop and commercialize the applicable product unless we obtained a license or until such patent expires. In either case, such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

Parties making intellectual property claims against us may obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could block our ability to further develop and commercialize our products. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, involves substantial litigation expense and would involve a substantial diversion of our management’s attention from our business. Because of the costs involved in defending patent litigation, we currently lack and may in the future lack the capital to defend our intellectual property rights. If a claim of infringement against us succeeds, we may have to pay substantial damages, possibly including treble damages and attorneys’ fees for willful infringement, pay royalties, redesign our infringing products or obtain one or more licenses from third parties, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure.

Because, we may need to obtain licenses to intellectual property rights from third parties, we may be unable to obtain licenses on reasonable terms or at all.

We may need to obtain licenses from third parties to allow commercialization of our products. We may fail to obtain these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all. In that event, we would be unable to further develop and commercialize those products, which could harm our business significantly. We cannot provide any assurances that third-party patents do not exist that might be enforced against our products, resulting in either an injunction prohibiting our sales, or, with respect to our sales and other activities, an obligation on our part to pay royalties and/or other forms of compensation to third parties.

We may be involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or other intellectual property rights, which could be expensive, time-consuming and unsuccessful.

We rely on a patent on the Smart Shin Guard to protect our intellectual property rights. In the United States, we have a patent and also have patent applications pending in international jurisdictions. If an international patent does not issue, we may be subject to significant competition. Competitors may infringe our patents or interfere with our patent applications or otherwise take action against our intellectual property rights. To counter such infringement, interference or similar adverse occurrence, we may be required to file infringement or similar claims, or we may be required to defend the validity or enforceability of our intellectual property rights, including our patents or patent applications, which can be expensive and time-consuming and may force us to divert our limited resources. In an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that either one or more of our patents is not valid or is unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue because our patents do not cover that technology. An adverse result in any litigation or defense proceedings could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and could put our patent applications at risk of not issuing. Additionally, we may face challenges, including from competitors’ technologies, in our ability to obtain a patent in jurisdictions in which we have patent applications pending. Any difficulties or inability to obtain a patent in a jurisdiction in which we have applied or may apply for patent protection would materially adversely harm our business.

Interference proceedings provoked by third parties or brought by us may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions regarding our patents or patent applications. An unfavorable outcome could require us to cease using the related technology or to license rights to it from the prevailing party. Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us a license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Our defense of litigation or interference proceedings may fail and, even if successful, may cause us to incur substantial costs and distract the attention of our management and other employees. We may not be able to prevent misappropriation of our intellectual property rights, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect those rights as fully as in the United States.

Because of the substantial amount of discovery required in intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the price of our securities.

We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties.

We may be subject to claims asserting that we or our employees, consultants or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed confidential information of our employees’ former employers or other third parties. We may also be subject to claims that former employers or other third parties have an ownership interest in our patents. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. There is no guarantee of success in defending these claims, and if we succeed, litigation could cause substantial cost and be a distraction to our management and other employees.

If we cannot manage our growth effectively, we may not become profitable.

Businesses, including development stage companies such as ours which often grow rapidly, tend to have difficulty managing their growth. If we are able to successfully market our product(s), we will likely need to expand our management team and other key personnel by recruiting and employing experienced executives and key employees and/or consultants capable of providing the necessary support.

We cannot assure you that our management will be able to manage our growth effectively or successfully. Our failure to meet these challenges could cause us to lose money, and your investment could be lost. 

It may be difficult to predict our financial performance because our quarterly operating results may fluctuate.

Our revenue and operating results may vary significantly from quarter-to-quarter due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. You should not rely on period-to-period comparisons of our results of operations as an indication of our future performance. Our results of operations may fall below the expectations of market analysts and our own forecasts. If this happens, the market price of our common stock may fall significantly. The factors that may affect our quarterly operating results include the following:

Expenditures by customers also tend to be cyclical, reflecting overall economic conditions as well as budgeting and buying patterns of athletes, teams, leagues and the general public. Any decline in the economy may alter teams’ and players’ current or prospective spending abilities or priorities and limit our sales, or may delay sales with such prospective customers, and could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. For example, leagues operate on a seasonal basis, and may reduce or suspend their periods of activity due to factors beyond our control, as has taken place during calendar years 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19.

If we fail to retain our key personnel, we may not be able to achieve our anticipated level of growth and our business could suffer.

Our future depends, in part, on our ability to attract and retain key personnel and the continued contributions of our executive officers, each of whom may be difficult to replace. In particular, Mr. Esterino Castellazzi, our President and Chairman of our Board of Directors, plays an important role in moving our business ahead and obtaining financing. None of our key personnel have any agreements to continue serving us. The loss of the services of Mr. Castellazzi or other key personnel and the process to replace any key personnel would involve significant time and expense and may significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives.

We expect to rely on outside consultants and employees who may be difficult to control and may expose to liability and/or limit our ability to grow our operations as desired or at all.

Due to our limited capital, we will rely on the outside consultants and employees to develop and market our product. In the event that one or more of these consultants or employees terminates their services to with the Company, fails to follow management’s instructions or becomes unavailable, we may see adverse effects to our business and face difficulty locating and retaining suitable replacements. Further, because we will operate in multiple countries, language barriers and complications with respect to monitoring our personnel is more likely than a more localized approach. There can no assurance that our employees or consultants will stay with us or can be adequately controlled, or that we will be able to retain replacements on favorable terms or at all, in which case our business could be harmed.

We will rely on third parties to sell our products, and if any of these third parties alter, restrict access to or discontinue their relationships with us, or experience technical difficulties, our ability to market our product(s) would be diminished and our business, revenue and financial results could be harmed.

We will rely on a combination of direct sales, licensing agreements, and the use of our website to sell our Smart Shin Guard and any other products we have or may develop or acquire. If our website or one or more of these third parties experiences a security breach or outage, or any third party through which we sell or to whom we license our product terminates or adversely modifies the terms of their engagement with us, our ability to develop and grow a customer base decline and our ability to reach potential customers would be negatively affected, causing our revenues and financial results to be harmed.

Because of the current uncertainties, the COVID-19 pandemic could materially adversely affect our financial condition, future plans and results of operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has and is continuing to spread throughout the world, including the United States and Western Europe. This pandemic has had a significant adverse effect on the economy throughout the world, including the live sports industry on which are business plan partially depends. The COVID-19 pandemic, including the recent resurgence in the summer of 2021, has delayed our business plan, particularly by causing disruptions in league play throughout Europe. The Company is not able to predict the ultimate impact that COVID -19 will have on its business; however, if the pandemic and government action in response thereto result in a prolonged economic recession or depression, or otherwise hinders our operations or those of the teams and leagues we intend to target a consumers of our product, the Company’s development and implementation of its business plan and our ability to commence and grow our operations, as well as our ability to generate material revenue therefrom, will continue to be hindered, which would have a material negative impact on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.

Because of COVID-19, we may encounter delays or difficulties in obtaining inventory which may have a material adverse effect our future results of operations.

We will be required to obtain our inventory from third parties for our Smart Shin Guards. As a result of COVID-19 as well as due to our small size, we may be delayed in acquiring inventory. COVID-19 has had an impact on the supply chain with many products as some companies have had to either suspend or limit operations. If we experience any such delays, it may have a material adverse effect on our future results of operations.

If we are unable to meet competitive challenges, we may not successfully market our patented product.

There are several companies that have developed products and technology that collect, analyze and transmit physical and performance-based information about players and teams. While we believe our product is unique in that it is both wearable while playing and collects and quickly transmits a greater depth of information and analysis than most comparable devices currently in the market, there can be no assurance that this feature will be adequate to attract new customers or convince players and teams using similar or related technology from switching to the Smart Shin Guard. Further, we will be competing for a limited number of prospective customers in the area of professional and amateur soccer, many of whom may not be willing or able to purchase our products at the prices we desire or at all. Our competitors will include major sports apparel firms with greater name recognition and/or existing relationships with prospective customers, such as Nike, Adidas and Puma. We will also compete with lesser known brands who have had a significant head start offering data collection devices, technology or services to customers, including Soccerment, TibTop and Catapult Sport, each of which offer wearable devices that are similar to ours. While we believe the Smart Shin Guard to have unique attributes that will render it attractive to customers, we cannot guarantee this alone will enable us to effectively compete for the limited number of consumers in the soccer world.

Specifically, most of our competitors have longer operating histories and greater resources than us, and could focus their substantial financial resources to develop or sustain a competing business model and develop products or services that are more attractive to potential customers than what we offer. Our competitors may also offer similar products and services at prices below cost and/or devote significant sales forces to competing with us for customers, endorsements, or key personnel, any of which could improve their competitive positions. Any of these competitive factors could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain customers or personnel or force us to lower our prices in order to compete, which would in turn reduce our market share and revenue. We can provide no assurance our management will be successful in navigating this complex competitive landscape, in which case our financial condition would be adversely affected.

Because we will be reliant primarily on a single product to be sold to a limited number of prospective customers, we will face significant risks associated with a lack of diversification.

We anticipate that the majority of our operations will be focused on the marketing and sale of our Smart Shin Guard, a product with relatively limited application and a narrow group of potential customers, namely soccer teams and players. Any unexpected developments with respect to these prospective customers or the leagues in which they play would therefore materially harm our ability to establish, maintain or grow a significant market position. Demand for our product may fluctuate in response to new products that emerge or changes to the way the game is played, officiated or regulated, or due to unexpected natural or uncontrollable events. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced worldwide shutdowns of sports leagues, and some leagues have delayed or suspended play for indeterminate periods of time. Similarly, those leagues that have resumed play in the wake of the pandemic have seen drastic declines in fan attendance, due to government shutdowns, safety protocols and general public concern. Any of these or related events could result in a decline in the demand for our product or the price point at which prospective customers will be willing to purchase it, and in such event we will not have material alternative products or services to offset such negative effects to our business. If we fail to generate material sales of our Smart Shin Guard for any of the foregoing reasons, your investment in us would be materially harmed.

Because our success will depend to a large extent on our ability to develop and grow a market for our Smart Shin Guard, you may lose your investment.

In order to be successful, we will need to establish a market for our product. There can be no assurance that anyone will purchase our product at the prices we need to generate material revenue or at all. Further, even if we do attract some customers, there can be no assurance that enough customers will purchase our products or that they will continue to purchase our products in sufficient volumes to produce the cash flow needed to sustain our operations, in which case your entire investment could be lost.

We may encounter difficulty obtaining approval for our product for in-game use by soccer leagues, which could hinder or eliminate any competitive advantage with respect to our Smart Shin Guard.

A material aspect of the Smart Shin Guard’s potential attractive features for consumers, particularly professional and amateur soccer players and teams, is its relatively small size and integration into a shin guard, which is already used in games and therefore does not add additional bulk or weight to a player’s normal in-game apparel. However, many soccer leagues impose restrictions and policies on the apparel and equipment that players may wear during games. As such, we will likely need to obtain approval for the Smart Shin Guard’s use by the soccer leagues of teams we market the product to in order for those teams to use the product in-game. There can be no assurance we will obtain such approval in any or a sufficient number of leagues. Leagues may be hesitant to allow our product to be used in games for a variety of reasons, including potential safety concerns, concerns that such use would confer on certain teams an unfair advantage at the expense of others, or simply reluctance to change. If we are unable to obtain approval for in-game use in leagues, soccer teams and players in those leagues may be unable to use our product in-game or in real-time, which would reduce the usefulness of our product to them and limit our ability to sell our product or generate material revenue therefrom. If we are unable to convince soccer leagues to allow players’ and teams’ in-game use of our product, it could materially harm our business and results of operations.

The failure to obtain endorsements from athletes or teams could significantly impair our ability to market our products.

A key component of our business plan and marketing strategy currently contemplates obtaining endorsements from prominent athletes or teams to market our products. As of the date of this filing, we have not obtained any such endorsements. Our ability to obtain any such endorsements will likely be dependent on future funding. Because of our limited capital, there can be no assurance that we can procure any endorsements, in which case our business could be adversely affected.

We may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and any determination that we violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Because we intend to operate in foreign markets, we will be subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (the “FCPA”), and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments (as well as similar laws in the United States). We expect to have operations and distribution channels in jurisdictions creating the potential for corrupt practices by our employees, consultants or agents. We may employ sales personnel or independent contractors who may be viewed as our agents or otherwise expose us to liability under the FCPA. While we intend to comply fully with the FCPA and similar anti-bribery laws in conducting our business abroad, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to control the conduct of our employees and contractors to prevent corrupt practices. The potential penalties for violating the FCPA include anti-bribery laws and criminal or civil sanctions, including a fine of up to $2 million per violation. If we were to be found in violation of the FCPA or local anti-bribery laws, the resultant penalties and collateral consequences could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

We plan to conduct a substantial portion of our business in foreign markets, which will expose us to the risks of trade or foreign exchange restrictions, increased tariffs, foreign currency fluctuations, disruptions or conflicts with our third-party importers and similar risks associated with foreign operations.

Our current business plan includes expansion into multiple foreign markets exposing our Company to risks associated with foreign operations. For example, a foreign government may impose trade or foreign exchange restrictions or increased tariffs, or otherwise limit or restrict our ability to import products into a country, any of which could negatively impact our operations. We are also exposed to risks associated with foreign currency fluctuations by selling our products to consumers in foreign markets. Accordingly, strengthening of the Euro which is our primary currency versus a foreign currency could have a negative impact on us. Additionally, we may be negatively impacted by conflicts with or disruptions caused or faced by third-party importers, as well as conflicts between such importers and local governments or regulating agencies. Our operations in some markets also may be adversely affected by political, economic and social instability in foreign countries, as well as economic tensions between governments, the implementation of new or increased tariffs and other changes in international trade policies. Finally, since we plan to operate in the European Union, the impact of the United Kingdom exiting the European Union, commonly referred to as “Brexit,” may adversely affect our operations in the European Union.

Another risk associated with our international operations is the possibility that a foreign government may impose foreign currency remittance restrictions. Due to the possibility of government restrictions on transfers of cash out of the country and control of exchange rates, we may not be able to immediately repatriate cash at the official exchange rate. If this should occur, or if the official exchange rate devalues, it may have a material adverse effect on our business, assets, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations or cash flows.

If we do not comply with transfer pricing, customs duties, value added taxes, and similar regulations, then we may be subjected to additional taxes, duties, interest and penalties in material amounts, which could harm our operating results and financial condition.

By operating in many countries outside of the United States, we will be subject to transfer pricing and other tax regulations designed to ensure that our intercompany transactions are consummated at prices that have not been manipulated to produce a desired tax result, that appropriate levels of income are reported as earned by our United States or local entities, and that we are taxed appropriately on such transactions. In addition, our operations will be subject to regulations designed to ensure that appropriate levels of customs duties are assessed on the importation of our products.

The imposition of new taxes, even pass-through taxes such as value added taxes, could have an impact on our perceived product pricing and will likely require that we increase prices in certain jurisdictions, and therefore could have a potential negative impact on our business and results of operations. If they arise, the ultimate resolution of these matters may take several years, and the outcome is uncertain. If the Internal Revenue Service or any foreign taxing authorities were to successfully challenge our transfer pricing practices or our positions regarding the payment of income taxes, customs duties, value added taxes, withholding taxes, sales and use taxes, and other taxes, we could become subject to higher taxes, we may determine it is necessary to raise prices in certain jurisdictions accordingly, and our revenue and earnings and our results of operations could be adversely affected.

If we fail to comply with U.S. and foreign laws related to privacy, data security, and data protection, it could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

We are or may become subject to a variety of laws and regulations including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”) regarding privacy, data protection, and data security. These laws and regulations are continuously evolving and developing. The scope and interpretation of the laws that are or may be applicable to us are often uncertain and may be conflicting, particularly with respect to foreign laws.

In particular, there are numerous U.S. federal, state, and local laws and regulations and foreign laws and regulations regarding privacy and the collection, sharing, use, processing, disclosure, and protection of personal data. Such laws and regulations often vary in scope, may be subject to differing interpretations, and may be inconsistent among different jurisdictions. For example, the GDPR includes operational requirements for companies that receive or process personal data of residents of the European Union that are broader and more stringent than those previously in place in the European Union and in most other jurisdictions around the world. The GDPR includes significant penalties for non-compliance, including fines of up to €20 million or 4% of total worldwide revenue. Additionally, in June 2018, California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”). The CCPA requires covered companies to provide California consumers with new disclosures and will expand the rights afforded consumers regarding their data. Fines for noncompliance may be up to $7,500 per violation. Since the CCPA was enacted, Nevada, Maine, Colorado and Virginia have enacted similar legislation designed to protect the personal information of consumers and penalize companies that fail to comply, and other states have proposed similar legislation. The costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, the GDPR, CCPA, and similar laws may limit the use and adoption of our products and services and/or require us to incur substantial compliance costs, which could have an adverse impact on our business.

We intend to strive to comply with all applicable laws, policies, legal obligations, and industry codes of conduct relating to privacy, data security, and data protection. Our limited resources may adversely affect our compliance effort. Given that the scope, interpretation, and application of these laws and regulations are often uncertain and may be in conflict across jurisdictions, it is possible that these obligations may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices. Any failure or perceived failure by us or third party service providers to comply with our privacy or security policies or privacy-related legal obligations, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of personal data, may result in governmental enforcement actions, litigation, or negative publicity, and could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.

Governments are continuing to focus on privacy and data security, and it is possible that new privacy or data security laws will be passed or existing laws will be amended in a way that is material to our business. Any significant change to applicable laws, regulations, or industry practices regarding the personal data of our employees, agents or customers could require us to modify our practices and may limit our ability to expand or sustain our salesforce or bring our products to market. Changes to applicable laws and regulations in this area could subject us to additional regulation and oversight, any of which could significantly increase our operating costs and materially affect our operating results and financial condition.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

Our registration under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 could be revoked by the Securities and Exchange Commission if we fail to file required reports.

Following the registration of our common stock with the SEC on May 8, 2021 pursuant to the registration statement on Form 10, if we fail to file reports as required under the Exchange Act, we may lose our registration. While we intend to comply with the Exchange Act’s reporting requirements moving forward, and we may be unable to comply in the future as we did in the past. For example, in June 2009, the SEC revoked our registration under the Act for failure to file required reports.

Following that action, the Company expended resources to again become a reporting company with the SEC in 2010; however, it was never able to file an annual report on Form 10-K and ultimately withdrew its registration in 2013.

If we are unable to comply with the SEC reporting provisions in the future, such failure will affect the liquidity of our common stock and act as a depressant to the price. We cannot assure you we will not become delinquent again.

Because of our limited working capital, we lack required internal controls and unless we remediate them, we may be hampered in a number of ways, which could materially and adversely affect us.

Our management and directors are based in Italy and other European countries. Although our accounting and legal professionals, as well as our auditors, are based in the United States, our lack of familiarity with United States federal and Delaware law has adversely affected us and may continue to adversely affect us as follows:

As a public company in the United States, we are required to maintain internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. These controls and other procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file with the SEC is disclosed accurately and is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules.

Ensuring that we have adequate controls and procedures in place to help produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis is a costly and time-consuming effort that needs to be evaluated frequently. We will incur increased costs and demands upon management as a result of complying with the laws and regulations affecting public companies relating to internal controls, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations.

Once we raise sufficient capital, we plan to take steps to remediate our material weaknesses, including hiring a principal financial officer with knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles as well as reporting and disclosure obligations. As our business expands we intend to retain additional consultants as required. If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls in future periods, we could become subject to potential review by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources, could compromise our ability to run our business effectively and could cause investors to lose confidence in our financial reporting.

Recently the SEC sued four public companies alleging in part that they had violated Section 13(b) of the Exchange Act resulting from their failure to remediate material weaknesses in their internal control over financial reporting over an extensive period of time. Three of these companies had remediated their material weaknesses at the time the lawsuits were filed. If the SEC Staff investigates us and following that investigation a lawsuit is filed alleging that we have and/or have not remediated our material weaknesses, we will face the following risks:

Because all of our officers and directors reside outside of the United States, it will be difficult for investors to sue them personally in the United States and may be difficult to enforce any judgment against their assets, which are located outside of the United States.

Our officers and directors reside in and are based in Italy and other European countries. In the event that investors sue them in the United States alleging that any registration statement, report or proxy filed with the SEC or other disclosure in connection with the purchase or sale of our common stock violates the United States federal and/or state securities laws, they may claim that they are not subject to suit individually in the United States. If a Court later determines that these individuals may be sued in the United States and there is an adverse judgment against all or some of these directors, it may be difficult to enforce a United States judgment in the home countries of the defendants.

Currently there is no active public market for our common stock, and we cannot predict the future prices or the amount of liquidity.

Currently, there is no active public market for our common stock and one may never develop. Our common stock trades sporadically on the Pink Open Market under the symbol GHST. We do not know if an active market will develop even if we begin filing required reports with the SEC.

The OTC Pink Open Market generally is not an active market. Further, our common stock has only traded sporadically. In order to move to a higher market, such as the OTCQB, we are required to pay $10,000 per year. Even if our common stock begins trading on the OTCQB, investors should be aware that the OTCQB is not as liquid as major national securities exchanges.

These stock market and industry factors may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Due to recent changes to Rule 15c2-11 under the Exchange Act, our common stock may become subject to limitations or reductions on stock price, liquidity or volume.

On September 16, 2020, the SEC adopted amendments to Rule 15c2-11 under the Exchange Act. This Rule applies to broker-dealers who quote securities listed on over-the-counter markets such as our common stock. The Rule as amended prohibits broker-dealers from publishing quotations on OTC markets for an issuer’s securities unless they are based on current publicly available information about the issuer. The amended Rule became effective on September 28, 2021; the amended Rule will also limit the Rule’s “piggyback” exception, which allows broker-dealers to publish quotations for a security in reliance on the quotations of a broker-dealer that initially performed the information review required by the Rule, to issuers with current publicly available information or issuers that are up-to-date in their Exchange Act reports. As of this date, we are uncertain as what actual effect the Rule may have on us.

The Rule changes could harm the liquidity and/or market price of our common stock by either preventing our shares from being quoted or driving up our costs of compliance. We became subject to filing reports under the Exchange Act following the effectiveness of our Form 10 in May 2021. If we cannot or do not provide or maintain current public information about our Company our stockholders may face difficulties in selling their shares of our common stock at desired prices, quantities or times, or at all, as a result of the amendments to the Rule.

We are subject to the “penny stock” rules which will adversely affect the liquidity of our common stock.

The SEC has adopted regulations which generally define “penny stock” to be an equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to specific exemptions. The market price of our common stock on the OTC Pink Open Market is presently less than $5.00 per share and therefore we are considered a “penny stock” company according to SEC rules. Further, we do not expect our stock price to rise above $5.00 in the foreseeable future. The “penny stock” designation requires any broker-dealer selling our securities to disclose certain information concerning the transaction, obtain a written agreement from the purchaser and determine that the purchaser is reasonably suitable to purchase the securities. These rules limit the ability of broker-dealers to solicit purchases of our common stock and therefore reduce the liquidity of the public market for our shares.

Broker-dealers are increasingly reluctant to permit investors to buy or sell speculative unlisted stock and often impose costs which make it uneconomical for small shareholders to do so. Moreover, as a result of apparent regulatory pressure from the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), a growing number of broker-dealers decline to permit investors to purchase and sell or otherwise make it difficult to sell shares of penny stocks. The “penny stock” designation may have a depressive effect upon our common stock price. 

Our stock price may be volatile because of factors beyond our control.

Any of the following factors could affect the market price of our common stock:

In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted. A securities class action suit against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s time and attention, which would otherwise be used to benefit our business.

Because of FINRA sales practice requirements which affect broker-dealers, the market price for our common stock will be adversely affected.

FINRA has adopted rules that require that in recommending an investment to a customer, a broker-dealer must have reasonable grounds for believing that the investment is suitable for that customer. Prior to recommending speculative low-priced securities to their non-institutional customers, broker-dealers must make reasonable efforts to obtain information about the customer’s financial status, tax status, investment objectives and other information. Under interpretations of these rules, FINRA believes that there is a high probability that speculative low-priced securities will not be suitable for at least some customers. FINRA requirements make it more difficult for broker-dealers to recommend that their customers buy shares of our common stock, which may limit your ability to buy and sell our common stock and have an adverse effect on the market for our shares.

We have in the past and may in the future face difficulty in effecting certain corporate actions we deem necessary or appropriate to raise capital due to FINRA or SEC rules and processes.

In 2019, FINRA declined to process a 1-for-100 reverse stock split of our outstanding common stock because we did not maintain current public information. This action was taken by FINRA based on perceived deficiencies under FINRA Rule 6490, which is based on SEC Rule 10b-17 and is designed to prevent fraudulent and deceptive practices in connection with certain corporate actions including a reverse stock split. A primary reason for our filing the Form 10 is to comply with these rules and effect the reverse stock split, as well as having the ability to take such other action in the future as may be needed and to have access to the U.S. capital markets. There can be no assurance that the Form 10 will be sufficient for FINRA to process a reverse stock split or allow us to take other action in the future, including such actions as may be necessary to conduct a financing on favorable terms or at all. If this were to occur with respect to actions currently contemplated or that we may in the future determine to undertake, it could have a material adverse effect on our Company.

In the future, we may issue preferred stock which could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us and could depress our stock price.

Our board of directors may issue one or more series of preferred stock that have more than one vote per share. This could permit our board of directors to issue preferred stock to investors who support our management and us and permit our management to retain control of our business. Additionally, issuance of preferred stock could block an acquisition resulting in both a drop in our stock price and a decline in interest of our common stock.

Since we intend to retain any earnings for development of our business for the foreseeable future, you will likely not receive any dividends for the foreseeable future.

We have not and do not intend to pay any dividends in the foreseeable future, as we intend to retain any earnings for development and expansion of our business operations. As a result, you will not receive any dividends on your investment for an indefinite period of time.