Nerdy (NRDY) Risk Factors

We may be exposed to claims and losses, including class action lawsuits, brought by or on behalf of our Learners or Experts, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. We have written contracts with Learners and Experts (either directly or through related and affiliated entities) that establish the terms and conditions of the relationships memorialized therein. Learners and Experts could seek to challenge those terms and conditions, including but not limited to: network access, usage by minors, recorded sessions, taxes, integration with other policies, confidentiality, content, restrictions, arbitration, disclaimer of warranties, limitation of liability, indemnification, third-party beneficiaries, non-solicitation provisions, non-disclosure provisions, non-exclusivity, non-disparagement, governing law/choice of law, jurisdiction, venue, notice requirements, affiliate marketing, other platform activities, contract termination (including early contract termination), authority, installment payments, subscriptions, refunds, minimum billing, redemptions, guarantees, compensation (and adjustments/additions thereto), independent contractor status, insurance, intellectual property rights, and economics of the relationships (noting that some of these items apply solely to Learners, some apply solely to Experts, and some apply to both). We may incur fines and other losses or negative publicity with respect to these problems. Additionally, these claims may give rise to litigation, which could be time-consuming and expensive. New employment and labor laws and regulations may be proposed or adopted that may increase the potential exposure of employers to employment-related claims and litigation by the Experts on our platform. There can be no assurance that the corporate policies we have in place to help reduce our exposure to these risks will be effective or that we will not experience losses as a result of these risks. There can also be no assurance that the insurance policies we have purchased to insure against certain risks will be adequate or that insurance coverage will remain available on reasonable terms or be sufficient in amount or scope of coverage.

We receive, collect, store, process, transfer, and use personal data and other user data. The effectiveness of our ability to offer our platform to Learners and Experts relies on the collection, storage, and use of this data concerning other Learners and Experts, including personally identifying or other sensitive data. Our collection and use of this data might raise privacy and data protection concerns, which could negatively impact the demand for our services. Privacy and data protection laws could restrict or add regulatory and compliance processes to our ability to effectively use and profit from those services. There are numerous federal, state, and foreign laws and regulations regarding privacy, data protection, information security, and the collection, storing, sharing, use, processing, transfer, disclosure, and protection of personal data and other content (such as the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, the TCPA, the FCRA, FTC guidelines related to communications with consumers, COPPA, CCPA, CPRA, CPPA, CTDPA, VCDPA, CPA, UCPA, the UK Data Protection Act, the General Data Protection Regulation, among others), the scope of which are changing, subject to differing interpretations, and may be inconsistent among countries or conflict with other laws and regulations. We are also subject to the terms of our privacy policies, and obligations to third parties related to privacy, data protection, and information security. We strive to comply with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and other legal obligations relating to privacy, data protection and information security to the extent possible. The costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, such laws and regulations that are applicable to our business operations may limit the use and adoption of our services and reduce overall demand for them. However, the regulatory framework for privacy and data protection worldwide is, and is likely to remain for the foreseeable future, uncertain and complex, and it is possible that these or other actual or alleged obligations may be interpreted and applied in a manner that we do not anticipate or that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices. Further, any significant change to applicable laws, regulations, or industry practices regarding the collection, use, retention, security, or disclosure of personal data, or their interpretation, or any changes regarding the manner in which the consent of users or other data subjects for the collection, use, retention, or disclosure of such data must be obtained, could increase our costs and require us to modify our services and features, possibly in a material manner, which we may be unable to complete, and may limit our ability to store and process user data or develop new services and features. If we were found in violation of any applicable privacy or data protection laws or regulations, our business may be materially and adversely affected, and we would likely have to change our business practices and potentially the services and features available through our platform. Additionally, these laws and regulations could impose significant costs on us and could make it more difficult for us to use our current technology to promote certain offerings through the platform. Additionally, if a breach of data security were to occur, or other violation of privacy or data protection laws and regulations were to be alleged, solutions may be perceived as less desirable and our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. We also expect that there will continue to be new laws, regulations, and industry standards concerning privacy, data protection, and information security proposed and enacted in various jurisdictions, such as those passed in Nevada, California, Colorado, Virginia, Connecticut, Utah and other states, which are continuing to emerge and evolve. These laws may lead other states to pass comparable legislation, with potentially greater penalties and more rigorous compliance requirements relevant to our business. The effects of state regulations and other similar state or federal laws, are significant and may require us to modify our data processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and potential liability in an effort to comply with such legislation. Additionally, the CCPA and other legal and regulatory changes are making it easier for certain individuals to opt-out of having their personal data processed and disclosed to third parties through various opt-out mechanisms, which could result in an increase to our operational costs to ensure compliance with such legal and regulatory changes. In recent years, there has also been an increase in attention to and regulation of data protection and data privacy across the globe, including in the U.S. with the increasingly active approach of the FTC to enforcing data privacy under the FTC Act Section 5 of the Unfair and Deceptive Acts framework. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with our posted privacy policies, our privacy-related obligations to users or other third parties, or any other legal obligations or regulatory requirements relating to privacy, data protection, or information security may result in governmental investigations or enforcement actions, litigation, claims, or public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others, and could result in significant liability, cause our users to lose trust in us, and otherwise materially and adversely affect our reputation and business. Furthermore, the costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, the laws, regulations, and policies that are applicable to the Experts on our platform may limit the adoption and use of, and reduce the overall demand for, our platform. Additionally, if third parties we work with violate applicable laws, regulations, or agreements, such violations may put our users' data at risk, could result in governmental investigations or enforcement actions, fines, litigation, claims, or public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others, and could result in significant liability, cause our users to lose trust in us and otherwise materially and adversely affect our reputation and business. Further, public scrutiny of, or complaints about, technology companies or their data handling or data protection practices, even if unrelated to our business, industry, or operations, may lead to increased scrutiny of technology companies, including us, and may cause government agencies to enact additional regulatory requirements, or to modify their enforcement or investigation activities, which may increase our costs and risks. Additionally, certain actions of our users that are deemed to be a misuse of or unauthorized disclosure of another user's personal data could negatively affect our reputation and brand and impose liability on us. While we have adopted policies regarding the misuse or unauthorized disclosure of personal data obtained through our services by our users and retain authority to put a hold on or permanently disable user accounts, users could nonetheless misuse or disclose another user's personal data. The safeguards we have in place may not be sufficient to avoid liability on our part or avoid harm to our reputation and brand, especially if such misuse or unauthorized disclosure of personal data was high profile, which could adversely affect our ability to expand our user base, and our business and financial results.

Our input costs, including costs for Experts, could increase due to factors such as labor shortages, increased compliance costs associated with new or changing government regulations, pandemics, and general inflationary conditions. Accordingly, changes in input costs may limit our ability to maintain existing margins. While we try to manage the impact of increases of certain input costs by increasing the prices of our products and services, we may fail in attempting to effectively execute these price increases. Therefore, the prices charged for our products and services may not reflect changes in our input costs at the time they occur or at all. The negative impacts related to input cost inflation, as well as a potential shortage of Experts, could have a material adverse effect on our businesses, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

We expect existing competitors and new entrants to the online learning market to constantly revise and improve their business models in response to challenges from competing businesses, including ours. If these or other market participants introduce new or improved delivery of direct-to-consumer and Institutional online learning and technology-enabled services that we cannot match or exceed in a timely or cost-effective manner, our ability to grow our revenue and achieve profitability could be compromised. We compete against thousands of companies and hundreds of thousands of independent professionals. Some of our current, tangential, and potential competitors have significantly greater financial resources than we do. Increased competition may result in competitive pressure for us or a decrease in our market share, which could negatively affect our revenue and future operating results and our ability to grow our business. A number of competitive factors could cause us to lose potential opportunities or force us to offer our solutions on less favorable economic terms, including: - competitors may develop service offerings that Learners find to be more compelling than ours;- competitors may adopt more aggressive pricing policies and offer more attractive sales terms and adapt more quickly to new technologies and changes in student requirements;- competitors may offer better compensation to Experts or divert qualified Experts from our platform; and - current and potential competitors may establish relationships among themselves or with third parties to enhance their products and expand their markets, and our industry is likely to see an increasing number of new entrants and increased consolidation. Accordingly, new competitors may emerge and rapidly acquire significant market share. We may not be able to compete successfully against current and future competitors. Additionally, competition may intensify as our competitors raise additional capital and as established companies in other market segments or geographic markets expand into our market segments or geographic markets. If we cannot compete successfully against our competitors, our ability to grow our business and achieve profitability could be impaired.

We believe that building a strong reputation and brand as a safe, reliable, and effective platform and continuing to increase the strength of the network effects among Experts and Learners on our platform are critical to our ability to attract and retain qualified Experts and Learners and to market our offerings to Institutions. The successful development of our reputation, brand, and network effects will depend on a number of factors, many of which are outside our control. Negative perception of our platform or Company may harm our reputation, brand, and networks effects, including as a result of: - complaints or negative publicity about us, Experts on our platform, our product offerings, or our policies and guidelines, including our practices and policies, even if factually incorrect or based on isolated incidents;- illegal, negligent, reckless, or otherwise inappropriate behavior by Experts, Learners, or third parties;- a failure to provide Experts with competitive compensation and opportunities to work with Learners;- actual or perceived disruptions or defects in our platform, such as privacy or data security breaches, site outages, payment disruptions, or other incidents that impact the reliability of our offerings;- litigation regarding or investigations by regulators into our platform or our business;- Learners' lack of awareness of, or compliance with, our policies and terms and conditions;- Experts' lack of awareness of, or compliance with, our terms and conditions;- changes to our policies that Learners or others perceive as overly restrictive, unclear, or inconsistent with our values or mission, or that are not clearly articulated;- changes to our terms and conditions that Experts perceive as overly restrictive, unclear, or inconsistent with our values, or mission, or that are not clearly articulated;- a failure to enforce our policies or terms and conditions in a manner that Learners, Experts, and other users perceive as effective, fair, and transparent;- inadequate or unsatisfactory Learner support service experiences;- illegal or otherwise inappropriate behavior by Experts, management team members, or other employees or contractors;- negative responses by Experts or Learners or other users to new offerings on our platform;- political or social policies or activities; or - any of the foregoing with respect to our competitors, to the extent such resulting negative perception affects the public's perception of us or our industry as a whole. Additionally, because we are a founder-led company, actions by or unfavorable publicity about Charles Cohn, our Founder, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, may adversely impact our brand and reputation. If we do not successfully maintain and develop our brand, reputation, and network effects and successfully differentiate our offerings from competitive offerings, our business may not grow, we may not be able to compete effectively, and we could lose existing qualified Experts or existing Learners or fail to attract new qualified Experts, new Learners, or other new users, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Adverse macroeconomic conditions, including inflation, slower growth or a recession, tighter credit, higher interest rates, and higher unemployment rates, can adversely impact consumer confidence and spending and may affect institutional funding and spending, and these conditions may adversely affect demand for the services provided on our platform.

A health pandemic, depending upon its duration and severity, could have a material adverse effect on our business. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has had numerous effects on the global economy. Governmental authorities around the world implemented measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and these measures adversely affected workforces, customers, consumer sentiment, economies, and financial markets, and, along with decreased consumer spending, led to an economic downturn in many of our markets. To the extent a health pandemic adversely affects our business and financial results, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this section.