Q1 2021 IZEA Worldwide Inc Earnings Call
Good day and welcome to the EIS and worldwide incorporated first quarter 2021 earnings Conference call.
All participants will be in a listen only mode.
Should you need assistance. Please signal a conference specialist by pressing Star then zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions to ask a question. You May Press Star then one on your Touchtone phone to withdraw your question. Please press Star then two please note. This event is being recorded.
Now I'd like to turn the conference over to Ryan Schram. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, everyone and welcome to ideas and Q1 2021 earnings call I'm, Ryan Schram, President and Chief operating Officer, and Ics and joining me today is IZEA, Chief Financial Officer, Peter Barry and IZEA, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ted Murphy and we're glad.
You're here with us.
Earlier today, the company issued a press release with details pertaining to our first quarter performance for 2021.
And to review those details all of our Investor information can be found on our Investor Relations website at IZEA dotcom forward slash investors.
Before we begin please take note of the Safe Harbor paragraph included in today's press release, covering the company's financial results and be advised that during today's earnings call. Our management team will discuss izea's business outlook and make forward looking statements. These statements are predictions based on our team's expertise.
<unk> as of today that are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties and should not be unduly relied upon.
Sure events results or trends could differ materially from our forecast due to a number of factors, including those mentioned are and most recently filed periodic reports with the SEC The company and our management team assume no obligations to update any forward looking statements made in today's call.
In addition, our update today and will also refer to a non-GAAP financial measure adjusted EBITDA and key metrics gross billings and bookings a detailed explanation of these measures as disclosed in our earnings release and in our most recent form 10-K.
With the appropriate disclosures out of the way I'm now pleased to introduce my colleague and Izea's Chief Financial Officer, Peter Barry Peter.
Thank you Ryan and good afternoon, everyone let.
Let me begin by saying that I'm excited to have joined the IZEA team and look forward to working for you our investors to build enterprise value.
With that I'd like to highlight our results for the quarter ended March 31 2021.
For the first quarter of 2021 IC as total revenue was $5 4 million, a 13% increase compared to Q1 of 2020.
With $4 9 million coming from our managed service business and 504000 coming from our SaaS offerings.
Managed services revenue increased by 747000 or 18%, while SaaS revenue declined by 135000, or 21% and Q1 and 2021.
As compared to the prior year quarter.
We began to feel the impact of the COVID-19, pandemic and mid March of 'twenty, and 'twenty, resulting in lower bookings for managed services during the first quarter.
And we continued to see lower demand for managed services through late may but have experienced strong growth both on order volume and average order size through the end of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.
As previously announced managed services bookings during the first quarter of 2020, one increased approximately 130% compared to the prior year quarter.
We continue to see larger customers, increasing their marketing spend with us and believed that more brands are shifting a larger percentage of their marketing dollars to influencer marketing campaigns. These.
These factors taken together with the efforts put forth by our team to fulfill campaigns resulted in an increased managed services revenue during the current quarter.
SAS revenues, which are comprised of license fees and self service marketplace spend fees and other fees were comparatively 135000 lower for the first quarter of 2021.
And due partially to lower license fees and.
And lower fees from self service marketplace spending.
Licensee counts are growing on all platforms. However, average license fees are lower primarily due to competitive changes we implemented during the summer of 2020 and response to COVID-19 related churn.
We also lowered our pricing on selected self service offerings, which impacted our current quarter margins on marketplace spending.
Gross billings for marketplace spending for the first quarter of 2021 were 10% lower than the prior year quarter, leading to lower fee revenue.
Our cost of revenue exclusive of amortization was $2 4 million and Q1 of 2021 as compared to $2 1 million and Q1 and 2020 essentially flat as a percentage of revenue.
Cost of sales increased proportionately with the higher levels of managed services revenue.
Gross margin averaged 55 per cent for both comparative periods.
Our cost and expenses, which include the cost of revenue totaled $7 4 million for the first quarter of 2021, compared with 10.9 billion and Q1 of 2020.
Recall that in the first quarter of last year, we recorded a $4 3 million goodwill impairment charge. So excluding the charge total costs and expenses were $6 6 million for Q1, 2020.
Or $800000 lower than the first quarter of this year.
The higher cost of revenue and increased levels of sales and marketing expenditures to drive growth explained the increase.
Our net loss for the first quarter of 2021 totaled approximately $2 million or negative four cents per share compared to a net loss of $6 $2 million and the prior year quarter or negative <unk> 18 per share.
Before the goodwill impairment charge, our net loss for the prior year quarter was approximately 1.9 million or negative five per share.
Adjusted EBITDA total of approximately negative 1.4 million for the first quarter of 2021 compared to negative 1.1 million for the prior year quarter, a difference of approximately 194000.
Yeah.
Bookings as a measure of all sales orders less any known cancellation or refund within a period.
While bookings can be a strong revenue indicator revenue recognition occurs over time and is subject to future adjustments.
Our bookings cancelation rate, which is normally and the low single digits jumped in the second quarter last year as customers pulled back at the beginning of the pandemic.
But since that time has restart returned to historic levels.
Managed services bookings are typically recognized over a six month period.
And we're beginning to see larger customers committed to longer term contracts for instance, the seven figure contract book and we recently announced is delivered unevenly over a 12 month period. So we expect the average revenue recognition period for managed services bookings will increase over time with larger engagements.
Even with recent strength and demand there is still a level of uncertainty around the duration and total economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our industry and the future.
Based on strong bookings during the start of 2021, and and increasing revenue backlog, which was $11 8 million at the end of the first quarter.
Up 11% from the beginning of the year.
We anticipate revenues will grow in 2020 one.
We plan to increase the level of product investment by expanding our engineering team and continuing to increase our marketing spend to drive new customer acquisition.
As of March 31, 2021, we had cash on hand of $65 $5 million as we raised gross proceeds of about $34 4 million from our at the market offering and the first quarter of 2021 and.
As announced the offering was recently completed in April.
So from June of 'twenty, and 'twenty to day, we've raised $75 million and gross proceeds through the ATM offering, leaving us and a very strong position to invest and growth.
With that I'll turn the call back over to Ryan.
Thanks, Peter and I'll behalf for everyone here at <unk> Z a welcome to the company. We're delighted to have you and are excited to benefit from your valuable business experience.
As we reflect in the first quarter of this year the team and I are pleased with the continued progress idea is making financially client wise and product wise, yet as we look for the future, we recognize now and more than ever the day inches or all round us to take the company and the industry, we help to <unk>.
Eight to its next level of success by harnessing every bit of the opportunity laid out in front of us.
So much of 2021 plays into our team's obsession with finding a better way improving upon every process every product and every client that and trusts us with their business.
I Love hearing team members and our internal meetings sees this one with the spirit of if it's good let's make it great and if it is great let's put it into an even higher gear.
It's never been clearer to me that this organization won't settle for less and in fact, we won't settle at all.
I'd like to begin by sharing a few ways IZEA is actively growing forward from the things we've done so far this year and Q1 to the things we look to do and the quarters ahead.
First let's talk about our key decision made on the future of work at ICF, what we're calling the plan for the company's elastic workplace.
High unemployment rates and the COVID-19 pandemic have not created the talent surplus some predicted and the knowledge economy and.
Instead, the market efficiency of work from anywhere has driven up Taylor expenses domestically by creating shortages and critical functions.
As a result competition for personnel has become even more he did in conjunction with changing expectations on workplace locale.
And when vying for top talent and to post pandemic landscape.
It's clear divide Zia management that flexibility will become the primary currency for attracting and retaining the best people.
By 2025, Gen Y and Gen Z employees, now and they're late thirties, and late twenties, respectively will grow to represent 75 per cent of the overall workforce.
For these emerging generations work life fit is valued at or more important than compensation growth or skill development <unk>.
Combining these macroeconomic trends with quantitative and qualitative feedback gathered from our valued team members regarding their personal preferences IZEA has elected to lean into a virtual only elastic model in perpetuity and embraced the spectrum of business benefits that come.
On from a modern remote workforce.
The last 14 months have provided us with a real life learning laboratory to prove out this strategy can be both feasible and productive for the company by separating the wear of work from the how IZEA is deliberately choosing to empower our team members to decide.
And where they will do their best work. It started to point out that a remote workplace is also a more economical workplace with less reliance on large deal offices IZEA can save hundreds of thousands of dollars and real estate office maintenance costs not to mention access a perspective larger talent pool to work with.
As we'll know laundry, we can find a hiring employees and specific geographical regions, but rather can choose acceptable states and provinces, where IZEA makes the business decision to operate being that all of our existing facility leases concluded by mid year last year, we were in the ideal situation to evaluate.
All of our options in concert with our teams desires without having the bias of existing long term office commitments Swain our judgment.
The leadership and I are excited to continue to receive the productivity morale and economic benefits that come from a full scale commitment to remote work and how that aligns with IZEA company culture and belief system.
What are the key lessons, we learned over the last year is it sitting on the same building does not make a culture. It's the people who have and always will drive it forward.
With that imperative top of mind, we've used the last several quarters to shape. The next chapter of internal collaboration and advancement at ICR.
From creating ways to keep the team conducted in person and via signature events and AD hoc work group gatherings to new platforms to actively manage performance and provide ongoing education to identify and novel approaches to foster continuous improvement, we've been relentless and <unk>.
A levering means to further cultivate the ideal way.
To that and I'm proud to announce we've created and successfully hired for a completely new position at ICF are head of workplace culture, and internal communications, who begins with US next week.
This role will direct a slew of critical initiatives from human capital expansion and team member recognition to inclusion and diversity celebration to talent focused content and marketing oversight, we realize that core components of the IC away, we're not just quote and quote HR duties or talent.
Acquisition Niceties, rather they were a matrix list of priorities that are core to driving already unusually high team member attention to new Heights, and therefore justify a new way of looking at committee and resources to nurture the growth of these foundational aspects of the company's culture.
For not only for our current employee base, but for those to come.
Speaking of those to come never and the history of <unk> Zia, we sought to hire so many positions across virtually every department and the company.
Given our emphasis on enterprise software platforms like <unk> Unity suite and self service solutions, such as shape, our product and engineering organization is on pace to more than double in size by this time next year, all with all sorts of other new additions across the company, including groups I'd brand Mark.
Getting demand generation and client service finance and accounting legal and business operations.
If you have career experience and any of those categories are our friends or family that do please send them our way, we're always looking for top talent and a Z a dotcom forward slash careers and a shameless plug and we've been named the top place to work for four years running.
And team member growth is fantastic, but to be clear throwing people at a problem often doesn't solve it nor does it build towards the operative goals, we have in place for ideas future.
And that's what we've been laser focused on developing proprietary technologies that increase team member efficiency internally, while also having a positive effect for our clients and customers seeking to do the same.
For example through continuous feature and functionality improvements to IZEA <unk> Unity suite, which is utilized by our managed service team and licensed by our enterprise SaaS customers alike. We were able to drive a 25 per cent increase in revenue per campaign manager year over year and the first quarter that.
Increase in productivity as the result of the perfect marriage between enhanced technologies and human process improvements.
Further investments and new product features often result, and noted efficiency echo, meaning the things, we build positively impacting multiple constituencies who utilize them for.
For example, when we upgrade brand Ras benchmarking capabilities and now and we made our client facing team members proposals more insightful and compelling but it also meets our enterprise SaaS licensees lives more productive while at the same time meeting IZEA ex discoveries self service search.
Cities smarter and smarter.
Innovation as an annuity is something that we believe has prolific and positive consequence across all lines of our business for managed services to enterprise SaaS to self service solutions, and ultimately drives more revenue per employee and higher customer satisfaction.
Before I turn the call over to Ted I, Lastly, touch on and important but often overlooked topic related to the expansion of our go to market strategy over the last year and the massive opportunity and unlocks for idea long term.
[noise] roughly two years ago, we had a problem on our hands every day idea would receive client leads requesting solutions. We simply didn't have available to offer because back then it wasn't a managed services opportunity or a brand looking to sign up for an annual license for unity suite that lead and all the potential revenue associated with it.
It was thrown away as waste as those are the only two offerings IZEA had available at the time.
Often these prospective customers were looking for portions of our larger solutions like the discovery module of unity suite or the ability to buy individual posts or asset for them and from Influencers as a one off without having to be burdened with the cost of a license at all.
As a result, we realized quickly that the demand for our products and services were even larger than the universe of Fortune 500 clients, we had secured up to that point.
Flash forward to today, we're now meeting clients and customers, where they are and actively capturing more and more opportunity and doing so.
For modern brands and agencies, the flexibility of ideas and solutions and technologies and.
<unk> incredible value for their organizations, while on Earth and newfound lines of revenue potential that are highly scalable I'd go forward basis for the company.
Whether it's a world class Consultative services powered by Z or platforms or.
Award, winning enterprise SaaS solutions leveraged by influential corporations or a small business owner with him for a boost to their bottom line from and AD hoc to talk post via shake.
Never before and ideas history have we had such a complete set of offerings to take advantage of the tidal wave of money pouring into the broader creator economy.
The universe of current and prospective customers is large and it continues to expand and nearly every measure.
The best part.
Why is he is well positioned as the market leader and take full advantage of these trends. We are just getting started on articulating the entirety of our strategy to capitalize on this tectonic shift and the broader advertising and marketing ecosystems to.
To share more about that vision and the way points to achieve it I'd now like to introduce my colleague and ideas founder Chairman and CEO Ted Murphy Ted.
Thank you Ryan before I begin I would like to welcome Peter to the team. We are very excited to have him on board and I look forward to taking idea to the next level together.
When I first plant and the initial seeds for our company one of the platforms. We focused on was my space the hottest social network at the time.
Back in 2006 people were also buzzing about live journal and blogger fast growing startups, which we also supported.
In fact, there was a time when we supported buying for square, Google plus and flicker all platforms that no longer exist or are no longer relevant and our space.
During my time and idea I've seen Yak Yak Friendster mirror Cat, Google wave, Google Buzz Dodge ball by Google or cut by Google itunes pin friend feed daily booths, and most recently mixer by Microsoft.
All of these have come and gone, leaving behind them a trail of both creators and brands that have invested countless hours building their audience on these platforms.
The decision to be platform agnostic was one of the most important and fundamental strategies, we adopted when we started this company.
It was underpinned by the development of IZEA ex as we sought to serve as a bridge between multiple platforms simultaneously.
We didn't want to place favorites or tire fate any one partner, rather we wanted idea to be and independent facilitator connecting brands and creators.
Since the day, we started there has always been a question of what happens if the social networks themselves enter into the end points are marketing space.
What you realize is that it has already happened multiple times and the impact thus far has been negligible at best.
We saw Twitter entered the Influencer space with niche and Youtube entered the Influencer space with same day.
Since then and it has been completely shuttered and attempting to log into niche result, and a 500 air.
The influencer platforms that Youtube and Twitter operated are no longer options for brands and creators, but IZEA continues to execute influencer marketing on Twitter and Youtube just as we did when these platforms were operational.
We love Youtube and Twitter and we welcome to creators who make their home, they're both big and small.
Recently, Facebook announced that they will offer new influencer marketing tools and take talk Rd does and.
We will continue to support both of these platforms just as we did on Twitter and Youtube entered our space.
And our core we believe that the best Influencer marketing campaigns are multi platform as are the software solutions and marketplaces that make them possible.
Not all social networks drive the same type of outcomes. We're are right for all types of businesses.
That does not mean net these platforms aren't great and their own right, but and Influencer strategy to promote a movie is different than and influencer strategy to sell pasta as they should be.
Most IZEA campaigns touch more than one social network by design.
Our platform independence allows us to guide our customers towards the right Activations and based on their objectives.
Sometimes that means more Youtube, sometimes that means more blogs and sometimes that means more tictoc on Instagram and sometimes there is no social channel involved at all.
Brands are using influencer content to distribute on their owned and operated sites.
We are even seeing influencer content being used and retail in store TV networks.
No matter the platform creator distribution or objectives, we intend to continue to be agnostic and support the activations that are most relevant to our buyers and sellers at the time.
And what the entry of social networks, like Youtube and Twitter into Influencer marketing does tell you is that even if their influencer marketing platform support ultimately unsuccessful. The influencer marketing space is large and real.
There is plenty of demand it.
It is a multibillion dollar industry that is ripe for consolidation and market share expansion.
That is our focus.
Growth.
Not just in the short term, but a multiyear strategy to deliver consistent meaningful growth, while keeping operational efficiency and mind.
Late last year, our leadership team set forth a series of companywide objectives that I would like to share outwardly with our investors for the first time.
These objectives will serve as our guide posts over the next three years.
They are as follows one.
High growth rate.
We aim to drive average revenue growth of no less and 30% per year for the next three years.
And is 30% growth rate, our company would double revenue size and about three years.
To diversify our customer base.
We want to grow active monthly customer counts by eight acts between now and December 2020 three.
Three increase efficiency, we want to grow our annual revenue per employee by 45% from 2020 to 2020 three.
These are the baseline objectives.
Of course, our team will do our best to eclipse them, but these are the building blocks, we are constructing our internal models from.
So far we are pacing well ahead of plan to exceed our objectives for this fiscal year.
While Q1 revenues were only up 13% from the prior year quarter.
Q1 managed services bookings, which serve as a leading indicator for our future revenues were up 130% and Q1.
We expect that the lion's share of these bookings will be recognized this year and the revenue impact will be more pronounced in the second half of this year.
Q1 was fantastic and.
And Q2 sales are off to a stellar start.
We previously announced that April was our best month ever for total bookings inclusive of managed services and SaaS.
This was a meaningful milestone for us, but we have now set a different record.
We are only halfway through Q2 and it is already the best quarter, we have ever had for managed services bookings at more than $7 million through today.
Managed services bookings for the quarter are already up 75% year over year with half the quarter remaining and a strong pipeline for future sales.
This is a multibillion dollar market we.
We don't intend to be a 20 or $30 million revenue company for long the opportunity is simply too big to set our sights that low.
We have our eyes gazing towards the sky and a focus on much more ambitious goals.
But we don't expect to get there overnight.
We are putting the underlying pieces in place to enable rapid expansion, which we believe can accelerate as our infrastructure strengthens and investments are made.
Today, we filed for a 100 million dollar shelf registration.
Once effective it can be used over the next three years to fuel the next stage and expansion.
While we are currently focused on strong organic growth and have not identified any targets. At this time, there may also be opportunities for acquisitions and the future.
There continues to be a compelling arguments for consolidation within the cleaner economy and there are a variety of software services that complement our offerings.
We believe that with consistent execution, we can build our organization and technology to become the tightening of the Influencer marketing industry.
The next leap forward for US happen later this quarter during our disco streaming event look for enough official announcement next week.
Thank you all for your support I would now like to open up the call for Q&A.
Thank you we will now begin the question and answer session.
I ask a question you May press Star then one on your Touchtone phone.
People are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing and Keith.
If at anytime and your question has been addressed and you would like to withdraw your question. Please press Star then two.
The first question will come from Jon Hickman with Ladenburg. Please go ahead.
And.
Okay.
Hey, John.
Hello.
A couple of questions for you can you hear me okay.
Sure Ken.
Okay. So can you elaborate a little bit more on this discrepancy between.
For 100, and some odd percent growth and bookings and 18% growth and revenues.
Yeah, so and.
And with her.
Plus AD and the bookings for really good for Q4 two.
Yes, so we had.
And we had a number of campaigns and in Q4 that were actually recognized relatively quickly. They were they were Christmas campaigns.
And our holiday campaign.
We.
Are seeing that now where we're getting a lot of larger.
Commitments from customers that are expanding.
Longer than our average commitments than we've historically seen so.
Historically, we've looked at about a six month.
Average period from bookings to revenue recognition, it's looking a little bit more like eight to nine months and at this point, because we're seeing customers come in with larger campaigns.
And that are that are annual campaigns.
Okay. So.
So going for it and you didn't you say something about the back half for the year having these.
Campaigns show up then that yes.
And then you give you give you some context.
Only 5% of the Q1 bookings actually converted into Q1 revenue.
So on and isn't that.
So Eric Lee is and there had been about 30%.
Yeah, it's been historically much higher.
So we're just we're seeing these larger campaigns that are spread over longer periods of time.
And.
And frankly longer lead times on.
Starting the campaigns themselves so five per se.
On the 5% of first quarter bookings translating into first quarter revenue.
Yes.
So how's the Guy like me for some model that huh.
On the idea.
It's really interesting because what we're seeing is a pretty big shift from what we saw at the height of COVID-19 a lot other things that we were seeing during COVID-19 were actually pretty fast turns.
Where a customer would come in and it was kind of late last minute and they needed to to go immediately and execute and we're seeing.
Almost the exact opposite now where the deal sizes are increasing customers are looking for longer term commitments.
And.
Ultimately that's a that's a very positive thing, but it does impact.
The near term bookings to revenue conversion.
I mean, one and think that's super exciting right now.
And you look at.
Q1 bookings at $6 4 million for the entire quarter for managed services, we're already sitting at greater than 7 million here.
Halfway through Q2.
But again a lot of those are large commitments.
And that will.
And will ultimately stretch into the.
The first quarter of potentially than the second quarter of next year.
Okay, two more questions real quick.
And any of the other revenues shake revenues.
Yes, some of the revenues for shake revenues those revenues are still small.
But.
They did grow from from Q4 for Q1.
We're still working on building out the inventory there.
And create having more shakes available for for advertisers, but it'd take growth from.
And one.
Okay and then so.
And I'm going to ask you to pontificate, a little bit. So this influencer marketing has been a big market for.
Many years now according to the studies and stuff.
But it seems like you're getting a new level of interest at <unk> here.
For growth.
Advertisers.
So is this a general pick up and the whole marketplace.
Or was and the market as big as people and before or are you just doing something different to get more of.
You know more and more share.
Hi.
Well I think we're definitely getting more and more share I don't think the entire space is growing at.
Triple digits.
And we also know that there's a number of competitors that are frankly struggling and seeing the exact opposite of what.
What we've seen on.
And on our side.
I think part of that has to do with our investment and.
Marketing and continuing to build out the sales team.
Are you still doing here.
Build build it yourself sales team and stuff.
And you're talking about the PSP program professionals, which program. Yes, we are still doing that we're continuing to graduate classes and and build out.
The next generation of Ics sellers, we've we've also added.
A handful of sellers from competitors.
And we're going to continue to do that as well.
So how many sales guys do you have now.
People sales people.
Believe that we are in the mid <unk>.
And how many do you would you Wanna.
By the year end and how many do you want to have.
I don't have that number and try and meet.
And we're always hiring sales people.
And so.
Those jobs are are.
We're always looking to add qualified people.
Okay. Thanks.
Thank you.
And the next question will come from Kevin Kelly with Jr. Please go ahead.
Yeah.
Hi, gentlemen, and I just point for I would agree brings and the full share was delivered here and why I really really appreciate everything that side and as a young.
Young professional.
Like myself, who loves IZEA.
And flowers Influencer culture.
I was very excited about the possibility or here and it.
Looking for more incorporate more remote work and.
I would too.
Hire somebody as well to deal with.
With.
Excuse me I'm, losing my words here.
What day.
The culture of new office setting with wonderful on.
My question more so it has to do with.
And as you Influencers and sells were working.
And with Influencers, what exact rule, how exactly does idea for example.
<unk> who is.
Oh Influencer.
And as incredible and Influencers to work with and in terms of their social media just out of curiosity.
Yes, a lot of that is going to be based on the data that we're able to gather through our platform.
We are ingesting the influencer content, we are scoring the influencer content, we're benchmarking the content against the.
And the entire network.
Both the opt in at work and as well as our discovered networks. So we're able to look at it.
Influencer both for their content.
As well as.
The data that we get in terms of and engagement.
Authenticity.
And how.
How how influential they are not just based on their followers, but how often theyre being mentioned by other people for example.
Okay.
That sounds it sounds wonderful and I I'm not just the final question I would have here too and Si.
Why.
When exactly.
And I are his idea for them to do the next round, thereby firing for for young professionals millennials Gen Years' wise like myself.
For marketing for sales.
And how what timeline would you put on that.
There are a number of jobs that are already posted on <unk> website.
Specifically for for sales.
I believe that our next professional sellers program starts and about three months so that is for.
Younger people that may not have as much.
Job experience, but that are excited about for.
And so on marketing space and it and our sales career.
And we're going to be hiring pretty heavily and marketing in particular, we're looking to add five people on the marketing department.
Got one of those jobs already.
<unk> already posted for and affiliate marketing manager and we're gonna be really spending.
A fair amount of effort and.
And building out that affiliate program, both for shake as well as for ICF next discovery and so we see that as a key hire.
But we're also going to be hiring additional.
Designers people on SCO.
Additional people to help with our social presence.
And we think that there is a great opportunity to generate more revenue through our marketing efforts and.
That is a team that has historically been pretty small here and something that we're looking to expand.
And it sounds great Yeah, I was excited for.
For the call and just looking at the coffee I'm more excited about what you guys are doing now, but thank you for taking my questions.
Thank you.
As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question. Please press Star then one for <unk>.
Next question will come from Ed and Tannic Investor. Please go ahead.
Yes. Thank you.
Do you have any visibility as to when the EBITA will be positive and then you actually showed a decrease in EBITDA. Despite the.
Huge increase in bookings in Q4 and Q1.
Yeah right right now the focus is really more on on.
On growth and.
And then EBITDA.
R R.
And our guide posts are to get that 30% revenue growth and at the same time.
And being very aware of what our our revenue contribution per employee is.
And so we're kind of using that those two things to guide us moving forward, but.
The money that we raised through the $75 million ATM was.
And really designed to invest and this next stage of growth not.
To rush to profitability here at <unk>.
A company that did less than $20 million and revenue last year.
Okay Fair enough fair enough, let's let's talk growth. So you've had some press releases about three figure increases and bookings.
And yet you're only projecting 30% increases and revenues over the next three years, how do you reconcile the two.
Yeah, and so what I said was that that 30% revenue increase was what we had set out as a goal and that was the goal that we had set out at the end of last year.
I had commented that where we're looking to.
And to exceed those and in any way that we can and we're certainly and on their trajectory right now too.
Far surpassed those.
But those those bookings do take some time to be recognized as revenue and.
It won't likely be towards the back half of this year that you start to see the types of increases.
And revenue that correspond to the bookings increases.
So you're going to be so youre, saying right now you expect to be well over 30% of share.
Because your bookings are up triple digits.
Bookings you triple digits.
<unk> set out those goals at the at the at the end of last year and that kind of that still remains our guideposts.
But.
What we're trying to grow as fast as we possibly can so.
Okay.
That 30% is kind of our baseline and we're going to push that.
And as much as our sales team Ken.
Why wouldn't you revise that upward I mean, it seems like a three foot high jump and you know I mean anybody can do it and nobody wants.
And then come on.
So we're in May we're in May were pushed to Jude you can laugh, where and May we're pushing June you've got these triple digit bookings youre, saying most of them are going to be realized between now and the end of the year and youre still saying with a 30%.
30% increase this year that seems rather low to me and I would respectfully suggest you revise them upward.
If you think every other.
Realize the book.
But we're going to we're going to focus on on exceeding those numbers the best we can but.
We're not putting out any sort of additional guidance on top of that right now.
And what scenario would cause so you've got all these big bookings what scenario would cause you to only come in at 30% would that have to be.
And would have to be a large amount of canceling sir.
Yeah, they would have to be I think.
And so there has to be a significant amount of cancellations I think that you would okay.
You'd have to see some some sort of world event.
That would drive that would be my guess, but we also have to recognize we are still very much so on a pandemic and.
And the World is a crazy quite straight now.
So we're focusing on controlling what we can control and.
To the extent that we can continue this pace.
We are absolutely focused on doing that.
Okay. So are you, saying now you're not confident that these bookings will result, and the recognition of revenue.
No I didn't say that but look there is a clarifier as always.
There is always the chance that.
The world can change between us booking something and.
And the revenue being recognized and the campaign being run and where we're not able to recognize the revenue until the campaign runs.
Okay. So show your projections are based upon some sort of worldwide catastrophic event is that fair.
[laughter].
We've laid out kind of what what that three year vision is I can't really.
And I can't really expand expand upon that and he further but.
We know we know where we are for Q1 with our bookings we've had strong bookings here in Q2.
And.
The expectation as of right now is that those would be recognized and the back half of this year.
Okay.
You.
This will conclude today's question and answer session I would now like to turn the conference back over to Ted Murphy for any closing remarks.
Thank you all for joining us today.
This conference call will ultimately be posted on IZEA dot com and.
And we appreciate you all being investors.
The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation and you may now disconnect.