Note 1 - Organization and Business Operation

ShoulderUp Technology Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company formed as a Delaware corporation on May 20, 2021 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company has not selected any specific Business Combination target and the Company has not, nor has anyone on its behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any Business Combination target with respect to an initial Business Combination with the Company.

As of September 30, 2023, the Company has neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues. All activity for the period from May 20, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2023 relates to the Company’s formation and its initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering” or “IPO”) described below, and, subsequent to the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income on the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering.

The Company’s Sponsor is ShoulderUp Technology Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”).

The registration statements for the Company’s IPO were declared effective on November 17, 2021. On November 19, 2021, the Company consummated the IPO of 30,000,000 units, including 3,500,000 units pursuant to the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option in full, at $10.00 per unit (the “Units”), which is discussed in Note 3, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $300,000,000. Each Unit consists of one share (the “Public Shares”) of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class A common stock”), and one-half of one warrant (the “Public Warrants”). Each whole Public Warrant is exercisable to purchase one whole share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share.

Simultaneously with the consummation of the IPO, the Company consummated the private placement of 1,350,000 private units (the “Private Units”) at a price of $10.00 per Private Unit in a private placement, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $13,500,000, of which $600,000 has not been funded and was recorded as subscription receivable, which is described in Note 4. Each Private Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock (the “Private Placement Shares”) and one-half of one warrant (the “Private Placement Warrants”). Each whole Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one whole share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share.

Transaction costs amounted to $17,820,368 consisting of $5,300,000 of underwriting commissions, $11,200,000 of deferred underwriting commissions, and $1,320,368 of other offering costs (including $795,000 of offering costs reimbursed by the underwriters) and was allocated between Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, Public Warrants, Private Placement Shares, and Private Placement Warrants.

The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the Trust Account (as defined below) (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the signing a definitive agreement in connection with the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete such Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully.

Following the closing of the IPO on November 19, 2021, $306,000,000 ($10.20 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the IPO and the sale of the Private Units was deposited into a trust account (the “Trust Account”), located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, which may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay its taxes, the proceeds from the IPO and the sale of the Private Units will not be released from the Trust Account until the earliest of (i) the completion of the initial Business Combination, (ii) the redemption of the Public Shares if the Company is unable to complete the initial Business Combination within 18 months from the closing of the IPO or during any Extension Period (as defined below), subject to applicable law, or (iii) the redemption of the Public Shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company has not consummated an initial Business Combination within 18 months from the closing of the IPO or during any Extension Period (as defined below) or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights (including redemption rights) or pre-initial Business Combination activity. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could become subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of its public stockholders.

The Company will provide its public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of the initial Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) without a stockholder vote by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a proposed Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The public stockholders are entitled to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of the initial Business Combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. The amount in the Trust Account initially deposited into the Trust following the closing of the IPO was $10.20 per Public Share.

All of the Public Shares contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such Public Shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the initial Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation.

In accordance with SEC and its guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of a company require common stock subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Given that the Public Shares were issued with Public Warrants, the initial carrying value of common stock classified as temporary equity was then allocated proceeds determined in accordance with FASB ASC 470-20. The Public Shares are subject to FASB ASC 480-10-S99. If it is probable that the equity instrument will become redeemable, the Company has the option to either (i) accrete changes in the redemption value over the period from the date of issuance (or from the date that it becomes probable that the instrument will become redeemable, if later) to the earliest redemption date of the instrument or (ii) recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying amount of the instrument to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. The Company has elected to recognize the changes immediately as they occur, measured at the end of each reporting period.

The initial stockholders, sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with the Company, pursuant to which they have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to any shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 (the “Founder Shares”), Private Placement Shares and Public Shares they hold in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares and Public Shares they hold in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, and (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Founder Shares they hold if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period or during any Extension Period (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares they hold if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame).

The Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or Business Combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.20 per Public Share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, the Company has not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor has the Company independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations, and the Company believes that the Sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company. Therefore, the Company cannot assure that the Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations.

On April 20, 2023, the Company held a special meeting of its stockholders (the “Special Meeting”). At the Special Meeting, the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation that extends the date by which the Company must consummate a business combination transaction from May 19, 2023 to November 19, 2023 (the date which is 24 months from the closing date of the Company’s initial public offering of units). The certificate of amendment was filed with the Delaware Secretary of State and has an effective date of April 21, 2023. In connection with Special Meeting, holders of 25,845,428 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock exercised their right to redeem their shares for a cash redemption price of approximately $10.43 per share, or an aggregate redemption amount of $269,597,445. Following such redemptions, approximately 4,154,572 shares of Class A common stock remain issued and outstanding.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of September 30, 2023, the Company had approximately $130,303 in its operating bank account and working capital deficit of approximately $2.8 million.

In addition, the Company has $600,000 in a subscription receivable, which will be used to satisfy the Company’s liquidity needs. The Company’s liquidity needs prior to the consummation of the Initial Public Offering were satisfied through the cash contribution of $25,000 from the Sponsor to purchase Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5), and an advance from the Sponsor of approximately $29,000 (see Note 5). The Company repaid $24,000 on November 19, 2021 and the remaining $5,000 remains outstanding and is due on demand. Subsequent to the consummation of the Initial Public Offering, the Company’s liquidity has been satisfied through the net proceeds from the consummation of the Initial Public Offering, over-allotment and the Private Placement held outside of the Trust Account. Over this time period, the Company will be using the funds outside of the Trust Account for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective initial Business Combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to merge with or acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination.

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide the Company Working Capital Loans, as defined below (see Note 5). As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loans.

In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with FASB Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that the liquidity condition and the mandatory liquidation date raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after November 19, 2023. Management plans to extend the date for mandatory liquidation to May 19, 2024. The unaudited condensed financial statements do not include any adjustment that might be necessary if the Company is unable to continue as a going concern. The Company intends to complete a Business Combination before the mandatory liquidation date.

Risks and Uncertainties

On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IR Act”) was signed into federal law. The IR Act provides for, among other things, a new U.S. federal 1% excise tax on certain repurchases of stock by publicly traded U.S. domestic corporations and certain U.S. domestic subsidiaries of publicly traded foreign corporations occurring on or after January 1, 2023. The excise tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its stockholders from which shares are repurchased. The amount of the excise tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. However, for purposes of calculating the excise tax, repurchasing corporations are permitted to net the fair market value of certain new stock issuances against the fair market value of stock repurchases during the same taxable year. In addition, certain exceptions apply to the excise tax. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) has been given authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out and prevent the abuse or avoidance of the excise tax. Any share redemption or other share repurchase that occurs after December 31, 2022, in connection with a Business Combination, extension vote or otherwise, may be subject to the excise tax. Whether and to what extent the Company would be subject to the excise tax in connection with a Business Combination, extension vote or otherwise will depend on a number of factors, including (i) the fair market value of the redemptions and repurchases in connection with the Business Combination, extension or otherwise, (ii) the structure of a Business Combination, (iii) the nature and amount of any “PIPE” or other equity issuances in connection with a Business Combination (or otherwise issued not in connection with a Business Combination but issued within the same taxable year of a Business Combination) and (iv) the content of regulations and other guidance from the Treasury. In addition, because the excise tax would be payable by the Company and not by the redeeming holder, the mechanics of any required payment of the excise tax have not been determined. The foregoing could cause a reduction in the cash available on hand to complete a Business Combination and in the Company’s ability to complete a Business Combination.

On April 20, 2023, the Company’s stockholders redeemed 25,845,428 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock for a total of $269,597,445. The Company evaluated the classification and accounting of the share/ stock redemption under ASC 450, “Contingencies”. ASC 450 states that when a loss contingency exists the likelihood that the future event(s) will confirm the loss or impairment of an asset or the incurrence of a liability can range from probable to remote. A contingent liability must be reviewed at each reporting period to determine appropriate treatment. The Company evaluated the current status and probability of completing a Business Combination as of September 30, 2023 and determined no excise tax liability should be recorded at this time.