• The private, plant-based extraction company boasts roster of leaders worth noting
• CEO served decade-plus in corporate leadership roles across the natural products, agriculture, cannabis sectors
• Team of qualified experts plus cutting-edge extraction technology means Pure Extracts is set for long-term strategic distribution, product innovation

If leaders are, as a Forbes article notes, “the power and intellect behind their organizations,” Pure Extract Technologies (“Pure Extracts”) is clearly a presence to be reckoned with. Led by an impressive team of individuals with decades of experience in their areas of expertise, the private, plant-based extraction company has a roster of leaders worth noting.

“Successful leaders,” the “Forbes” article states, “are the visionaries charged with steering their brand around pitfalls. They must know when to seize opportunities and how to rally employees to work hard toward their company’s goals” (http://ibn.fm/esk0O). The executive team at Pure Extract Technologies appears to do that — and much more.

At the helm of the Pure Extracts organization is CEO Ben Nikolaevsky. Nikolaevsky has garnered more than a decade of experience in corporate leadership roles across the natural products, agriculture and cannabis sectors. Under his leadership as president and CEO, Natura Naturals Inc., a private Canadian cannabis-licensed producer, was acquired by Tilray Inc. Before his stint at Natura, Nikolaevsky served as president and CEO of Blue Goose Capital Corp. In addition, Nikolaevsky has shouldered responsibilities as market vice president of national accounts at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (“CIBC”) and as chief credit officer and capital markets manager at IBM Global Financing Canada.

As Pure Extracts founder and COO, Doug Benville has more than a decade of experience in the cannabis space, including as founder of Pure Pulls, one of the most-recognized extract brands in Canada. Highly proficient in cannabis cultivation, system operations and oil extraction, Benville has been with Pure Extracts since the company’s beginning.

Pure Extract’s vice president of business development Alexander Logie is a serial entrepreneur with 30-plus years of experience in the financial services sector. He co-founded Crane Capital and Mercury Capital, both of which were successfully acquired by asset-management firms. Most recently, Logie served as interim CFO, acting COO and senior vice president of business development at Natura Naturals Inc., a privately held licensed producer of cannabis, which was acquired by Tilray Inc. in 2019.

Andy Gauvin, vice president of sales for Pure Extracts, is an accomplished, bilingual, senior sales leader who has worked for more than three decades in the cannabis and beverage alcohol space. Most recently, Gauvin was vice president of sales at Natura Naturals, a start-up licensed cannabis producer. In that position, he built invaluable relationships with key provincial cannabis customers, created sales strategies and played an important role in product development. Previously, Gauvin served as vice president of sales, Canada, for Moosehead Breweries, where he developed a national sales strategy that leveraged unique aspects from each province and built a highly successful sales culture focused on results.

Shivani Bhatia heads up quality assurance for Pure Extracts. Prior to joining Pure Extracts, Bhatia served as a senior official at Whistler Medical Marijuana Corp., overseeing quality assurance work for two facilities. A Health Canada Security Cleared QA professional, Shivani established and enforced GPP, GMP and Quality Assurance standards. Shivani holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biotechnology and a post-graduate diploma in pharmaceutical research.

Pure Extracts, on the other hand, is ideally positioned to enter the space as an experienced producer. With a team of qualified experts and cutting-edge extraction technology, the company is set up for long-term strategic distribution and product innovation. Located near Whistler, British Columbia, the Company’s facility is built for EU-GMP certification, which allows for international sales and ensures the production of high-quality, high-purity formulations on a commercial scale.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.PureExtractsCorp.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Pure Extracts are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/Pure

• DarioHealth Corp. is a digital therapeutics innovator that supplies remote monitoring technology to caregivers and their patients
• The company’s Remote Patient Monitoring (“RPM”) technology reports patient data to care providers in the clinical setting and if necessary provides occasional “nudges” to patients to maintain their level of care
• DarioHealth began working in North America with two agreements announced in June, and in July began offering its solutions to the United Kingdom and Ireland thanks to a third agreement
• Such remote services have been increasingly in demand amid the ongoing global pandemic, regarded as a solution for minimizing the risk of exposure to viral infections and improving hospitals’ capacity to accept the most critical care needs

When the novel coronavirus began to create a surge of infections during the spring in the Northeastern states, some hospitals such as Mount Sinai in New York and Atrius Health in Boston turned to their “hospital at home” (“HaH”) programs to limit the risk of patient exposure to the virus and to keep hospital beds available for the most critically ill amid the growing health crisis (http://ibn.fm/aPjBk). “We began thinking about how we could use hospital-at-home to meet the needs of our hospital system in our community. … Rather than focusing on specific diagnoses, our focus has been on specific services that we’re able to render at home — and whether those are the services that are keeping the patient in the hospital,” Mount Sinai’s HaH Director Al Siu stated in a Home Health Care News report (http://ibn.fm/aaO6O). DarioHealth (NASDAQ: DRIO) is an innovator in the digital therapeutics field that supplies hospitals with the technology they need to ensure that their patients are receiving the necessary level of care even if they are being “roomed” at home under a remote monitoring regimen. Healthcare providers have become familiar with an ever-evolving array of computerized equipment necessary to capture data from patients in a clinical or hospital setting, but HaH technology-based services are still developing as a field of care. Personal health digital therapeutics solutions that generate data remotely and make it available to care providers in the clinical setting offer the potential of providing early warnings of a medical concern that may arise between doctor visits, as well as potentially eliminating the need for costly hospital readmissions by allowing a condition to be dealt with before it reaches a critical phase. DarioHealth’s Remote Patient Monitoring (“RPM”) digital therapeutics platform provides physicians with essential information and also delivers occasional “nudges” to patients when its automated programming recognizes a need (http://ibn.fm/tC5si). Devices that monitor chronic health conditions such as diabetes can function over multiple years, potentially reducing the frequency of medical visits and the demands on care providers’ time. Since such devices generally function automatically without requiring the patient to press any buttons or mess with device-pairing and data entry needs, the patient can generally function normally with a minimum of cumbersome behavior. DarioHealth’s RPM platform combines the functions of the company’s existing resource with app technology for the service’s users and with the DarioEngage coaching platform that helps physicians and large provider groups ensure they are billing according to approved remote patient monitoring codes. In June, the company announced it had signed its first two remote patient monitoring agreements in North America (http://ibn.fm/WoWBN), and on July 20 DarioHealth announced it is adding international service thanks to a strategic partnership with Williams Medical that makes the RPM platform available to healthcare professionals across the United Kingdom and Ireland (http://ibn.fm/ZeDHN). For more information, visit the company’s website at www.DarioHealth.com. NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to DRIO are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/DRIO

• The Alkaline Water Company Inc. is a leading producer of premium bottled alkaline and flavored water sold under the brand names Alkaline88(R) and A88 Infused(TM), respectively.
• The company has become known for its innovative, state-of-the-art proprietary electrolysis beverage process that enhances its products with trace Himalayan minerals and electrolytes and delivers perfect 8.8 pH balanced alkaline drinking water.
• The company’s two leading products – Alkaline88 and A88 Infused – are available at more than 70,000 major retail locations across the United States.
• The Alkaline Water Company reported record sales in March and April 2020, surpassing March and April 2019 numbers by 114% and 171% respectively.
• The company recently launched a new product line: A88CBD. This line of CBD-infused products includes tinctures, capsules, gummies, salves, balms, hand and foot lotions, essential oils, bath bombs and bath salts, as well as CBD-infused drinks, water and beverage shots.
• The Alkaline Water Company has implemented an aggressive growth strategy with numerous organic initiatives focused on national, multichannel mass-market expansion.
• Annual bottled water sales have now surpassed soda consumption. Some research indicates that the global bottled water market will reach an estimated $280 billion this year, while the CBD market is forecast to top $20 billion by 2024.

Founded in 2012, The Alkaline Water Company Inc. (NASDAQ: WTER) (CSE: WTER) is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Its flagship product, Alkaline88(R), is a leading premier alkaline water brand available in bulk and single-serve sizes, along with eco-friendly aluminum packaging options. With its innovative, state-of-the-art proprietary electrolysis process, Alkaline88(R) delivers perfect 8.8 pH balanced alkaline drinking water with trace minerals and electrolytes and boasts the company’s trademarked label ‘Clean Beverage’. Quickly being recognized as a growing lifestyle brand, Alkaline88(R) launched A88 Infused(TM) in 2019 to meet consumer demand for flavor-infused products. A88 Infused(TM) flavored water is available in six unique all-natural flavors, with new flavors coming soon. Additionally, in 2020, the company launched the A88CBD(TM) brand, featuring a broad line of topical and ingestible products. These products are made with lab-tested full and broad-spectrum hemp and include salves, balms, lotions, essential oils, bath-salts, CBD infused drinks, tinctures, capsules, gummies and powder packs.

Innovation and Expansion

Founded in 2012, The Alkaline Water Company began with a mission to create the best-tasting water in the world. At the time, there were two emerging trends in health-conscious consumers: a growing interest in the alkaline diet and perceived health benefits of pink Himalayan rock salt. By combining these two concepts in an alkaline water and trademarking the name Alkaline88, The Alkaline Water Company began offering what it calls the smoothest tasting Clean Beverage(TM) in the U.S. enhanced-water category.

Now a top bulk alkaline-water brand (the company reported record sales in March and April 2020, surpassing March and April 2019 numbers by 114% and 171%, respectively), The Alkaline Water Company is committed to growing its national footprint through innovation and expansion. That mindset was evident as the company introduced eco-friendly aluminum bottles and branched out into flavor-infused waters; the company currently offers six different flavors: peach/mango, lemon/lime, raspberry, watermelon, blood orange and lemon.

The company’s commitment to innovation may be most evident in its newest product line: A88CBD. This line of CBD-infused products includes tinctures, capsules, gummies, salves, balms, hand and foot lotions, essential oils, bath bombs and bath salts, as well as CBD-infused drinks, water and beverage shots. These quality, CBD-infused offerings are all made with lab-tested, full-spectrum hemp and are conveniently packaged and perfect for on-the-go or at home use.

In addition, The Alkaline Water Company has implemented an aggressive growth strategy, with numerous organic initiatives focused on national multichannel, mass-market expansion through a direct-to-warehouse model and co-packing facilities that are strategically located within 600 miles of 95% of the U.S. population. In addition to this strong brick-and-mortar approach, the company recently launched a B2C e-commerce platform (www.A88CBD.com) and aggressive digital-marketing campaigns.

Clear Advantages in a Growing Market

With consistent growth year over year, the company reported $32.2 million in revenue in fiscal 2019 and has emerged as a growth leader in the functional (value-added) waters space, which is the fastest-growing segment of the bottled water industry.

The Alkaline Water Company’s efforts are focused on its clear competitive advantages, including its strong marketing (the inclusion of alkaline in product names); existing grocery channels, which feature excellent relationships and a nationwide broker network; distinctive branding; proprietary technology, which produces great-tasting, high-quality water, infused drinks and other products; and price, with a broad range of products in all formats, from bulk bottles to single serve.

As the company focuses on strategic growth, it is eyeing the impressive potential of a market that is on a strong upswing. Annual bottled water sales have now surpassed soda consumption, with soda sales in the United States having declined by $1.2 billion over the past five years. Some research indicates that the global bottled water market will reach an estimated $280 billion this year, while the CBD market is forecast to top $20 billion by 2024.

With its products available in all major trade channels, including grocery stores, drug stores, c-stores and big-box retailers, The Alkaline Water Company is also looking to expand into new spaces, such as health and beauty, hospitality and specialty retailer locations.

Seasoned Management Team

The Alkaline Water Company is led by an experienced team focused on the company’s core strategy of building a national retail footprint and extending its lifestyle brands into other consumer packaged goods categories.

Richard A. Wright, President, CEO and Co-Founder of The Alkaline Water Company Inc., oversees all aspects of the business, successfully guiding the company through strategic opportunities and delivering greater than 50% growth since the company’s inception. A passionate and versatile leader with a strong track record of innovation, collaboration and achieving goal-driven results, Wright is a serial entrepreneur with more than 41 years of experience. Early in his career, he spent years at one of the ‘Big Four’ accounting firms, working his way up to Regional Director of Tax and Financial Planning. As a CPA, entrepreneur and former CFO, Wright brings extensive knowledge of finance, operations, sales and marketing to the team, and he has participated in hundreds of M&A transactions throughout his career.

David Guarino, CFO, Secretary, Treasurer and Director, earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting and a Master of Accountancy from the University of Denver. From 2008 to 2013, Guarino was President and a Director of Kahala Corp., a worldwide franchisor of multiple quick-service restaurant brands with locations in 49 states and more than 25 countries. From 2014 to 2015, Guarino was President of HTI International Holdings Inc., a technology company focused on forward osmosis water filtration technology.

Frank Chessman, National Sales Manager, is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. He spent 25 years with Ralph’s Grocery, Kroger’s largest division, working at many levels before ultimately becoming Vice President of Advertising & Marketing. He then served 14 years as Executive Vice President at Simon Marketing. Chessman has more than a decade of experience in the beverage manufacturing industry.

Brian Sudano, Director, is managing partner of Beverage Marketing Corporation and BMC Strategic Associates. Sudano’s experience covers nearly the entire beverage industry, from energy drinks to wine, with special expertise in beverage alcohol by virtue of varied industry experience across a broad range of projects. Sudano manages several major clients, providing ongoing strategic and market advice and leading projects in strategic planning, market entry analysis and planning, sales/distribution, business modeling, brand repositioning and international opportunity assessment. He has spoken at many beverage industry events and is a contributing editor at Beverage World magazine.

Aaron Keay, Chairman, has been a successful investor, entrepreneur and financier to multiple small cap and startup companies over the last decade. During his time with these companies, he served in advisor, board-member and senior-management roles. His experience ranges across multiple sectors in mining, biotech, health and wellness, tech and cannabis, where he has invested and raised more than $500 million.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.TheAlkalineWaterCo.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to WTER are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/WTER

• POAI’s TumorGenesis inks deal with top-rated medical university in New England
• Predictive’s proprietary media allows researchers around the world to isolate, culture ovarian cancer cell types, leading to new targets for treatment
• The TumorGenesis media retain more than 95% of the DNA and RNA as well as crucial proteomic signatures

Predictive Oncology (NASDAQ: POAI) has sold its first-ever commercial order of its novel ovarian cancer cell culture media for cancer cells collected from patient-derived samples (“PDx”) (http://ibn.fm/2xwl6). The sale, made through POAI’s subsidiary TumorGenesis working with distributor US Biological Corporation, marks a milestone for the knowledge-driven company, which is focused on applying artificial intelligence to personalized medicine and drug discovery.

“Capturing and culturing and then being able to study ovarian cancer cell types has always been limited by the ability to grow reproducible cultures that reflect what is in the patient,” said Richard Gabriel of TumorGenesis. “We now have isolated and grown 25 ovarian cancer cell types, 11 of that library, represents nearly 95% of all ovarian cancers, many of which have never been cultured prior to this time. This new media will allow researchers around the world to isolate and then culture ovarian cancer cell types and culture them reproducibly to find new targets for treatment, diagnostics or other studies on the close interrelationship of ovarian cancer tumor populations and how they are able to fool a patient’s immune system.”

The sale was made to a top-rated medical university based in New England. The institution will use the media for research in isolating and growing ovarian cancer cells from ascites fluid, which is typically found in the abdomen of women with advanced ovarian cancer. One of the challenges of this type of research is the difficulty of growing these unique cell types and retaining the signatures of the patient-derived samples.

The media made available by TumorGenesis and its partner, GLG Pharma, retain more than 95% of the DNA and RNA as well as crucial proteomic signatures, thus solving the challenge of using standard media mixes, which are often prone to failure, and cell lines that are not representative of the patient’s ovarian cancer. The announcement of the sale noted that “a recent publication highlighted the waste in research using unvalidated media and reagents that showed an increase to $28 billion in 2020* (http://ibn.fm/NBnKK). Experiments are the foundation of preclinical research and development; however, irreproducibility rates in preclinical experiments exceed 50%, costing the industry nearly $48 billion annually.”

POAI is bringing precision medicine, or tailored medical treatment using the individual characteristics of each patient, to the treatment of cancer. Through the company’s Helomics division, the company leverages its unique, clinically validated patient derived (“PDx”) smart tumor profiling platform to provide oncologists with a road map to help individualize therapy.

In addition, the company is utilizing artificial intelligence and its proprietary database of over 150,000 cancer cases tumors to build AI-driven models of tumor drug response to improve outcomes for the patients of today and tomorrow.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Predictive-Oncology.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to POAI are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/POAI

* 2015-Freedman et al-The Economics of Reproducibility in Preclinical Research; PLOS Biology DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002165 June 9, 2015

• Electric vehicles expected to account for over half of global passenger car sales by 2040
• Growth in electric vehicles expected to drive oil demand down by 13.7 million barrels per day
• Proposed manufacturing facility comprises 1.3 million square feet, creation of 55 jobs at startup with up to 863 jobs created by 2026

Net Element (NASDAQ: NETE), a global technology group that operates electronic payment services, is currently in the planning stages to open a new electric vehicle (“EV”) manufacturing facility in conjunction with privately-owned Mullen Technologies (“Mullen”) via a proposed merger. With demand for electric vehicles growing globally, oil demand is expected to plummet by 13.7 million barrels a day, according to recent research by Bloomberg (http://ibn.fm/LBVZx), positioning the new company favorably as a leader in the electric vehicle industry both in the U.S. and abroad.

According to the report, electric vehicles are expected to account for over half of global passenger car sales by 2040, in addition to completely dominating the bus market. Besides the growing passenger market, electric vehicles are also projected to make headway into other areas, comprising over half of light commercial vehicle sales, 31% of the medium commercial market, and almost a fifth of the heavy truck market.

The electric vehicle industry has made substantial headway in recent years, catalyzed by the falling prices of EV batteries in addition to policy support through fuel economy regulations and China’s new energy vehicle mandate. Showcasing its market dominance, China is expected to account for almost half (48%) of all passenger car sales in 2025.

Pending definitive agreement, fairness valuation, and stockholder and board approval, the reverse merger between NETE and Mullen will allow Mullen to take control of NETE and bypass the lengthy process of going public. Anticipated to occur in the third quarter, the merger is expected to give Mullen stakeholders a majority of the stock in the newly formed public company.

“We believe the timing of this merger is ideal for Mullen Technologies,” said Mullen CEO David Michery (http://ibn.fm/eMbwh). “It comes on the preparation of our launch of the Dragonfly K50, which will be available in (the second quarter) of 2021 and through our retail network in California and Arizona.”

Pending requisite approvals, the new company has plans to open an electric sports car manufacturing facility in West Plains, Missouri. The proposed 1.3 million square feet of assembly and manufacturing space is expected to create 55 jobs at startup with up to 863 jobs created by 2026. An additional 3,000 jobs are projected to be created for the research and development of lithium-ion batteries through Mullen’s subsidiary company, Mullen Energy.

Besides Mullen Energy, the company has several other subsidiaries that include a series of pre-owned auto dealerships in California and Arizona that operate under the Mullen Auto Sales banner, a digital auto marketplace called CarHub, and a financing company called Mullen Finance Corp. that offers vehicle leases and loans. Unrelated to the automotive business is another Mullen subsidiary called Smart 8 Energy that sources ventilators, COVID-19 antibody test kits, virus test kits and personal protective equipment.

Ranked on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500(TM) list of North America’s 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies in both 2017 and 2018, NETE credits its progression to organic growth in its North America Transactions Segment. Crediting most of its success to its Unified Payments brand, NETE focuses on value-added payment acceptance solutions for small to medium enterprises in the United States.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.NetElement.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to NETE are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/NETE

• As the spread of the novel coronavirus unexpectedly reached pandemic proportions, Trxade Group stepped in to help patients and providers continue to access resources and PPE products through a virtual environment that is safe from contagion
• If telemedicine services maintain popularity with patients and insurance providers continue to be responsive to reimbursing telehealth claims, market analysts project a seven-fold increase for the industry by 2025

Trxade Group (NASDAQ: MEDS), an integrated drug procurement, delivery and healthcare platform, reported its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020. According to the report, revenues for the second quarter of 2020 increased 244% to a record $6.6 million, compared to revenue of $1.9 million in the same quarter last year. Second quarter revenue was up 199% when compared to revenues of $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2020.

The pharmaceutical services provider has garnered much attention in the first half of 2020. The company has been working to raise awareness of its supply chain trading platform that includes medical consultation and prescription drug solutions.

As the spread of the novel coronavirus unexpectedly reached pandemic proportions and triggered the need for infection-fighting policies, Trxade Group has developed measures to help patients and providers continue to access resources through a virtual environment that is safe from contagion. In addition, the company supplied multiple organizations with COVID-19 rapid test kits for employees and families, providing a diagnosis within 15 minutes at the point of care. Trxade Group experienced significant revenue increase in personal protective equipment (“PPE”) sales by the Company’s Integra Pharma segment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the COVID-19 crisis, telehealth services have rapidly expanded. Telehealth claims to private insurers have grown 4,347% year-over-year (http://ibn.fm/GDMZC). CVS Health saw 600% growth in telehealth and virtual visits through its MinuteClinics in the first quarter of 2020 (http://ibn.fm/rt1d5), Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Tennessee saw 50 times more telehealth visits in May (http://ibn.fm/vVtuf), and Blue Cross of Idaho processed more than 90,500 telehealth claims between March and June, with telehealth now representing more than one-quarter of all claims (http://ibn.fm/LtN4c).

If telemedicine services maintain popularity with patients and insurance providers continue to be responsive to reimbursing telehealth claims, market analysts at McKinsey & Company forecast a $250 billion market (http://ibn.fm/AgG4S) while Frost & Sullivan projects a seven-fold increase by 2025 (http://ibn.fm/Qn8go).

Other operational highlights of Trxade Group’s Q2 results included the company’s sustained efforts to expand its platform nationwide. Trxade recently added 325 new independent pharmacies to its platform, bringing the total registered pharmacy members to over 11,725.

The company also engaged international investor relations specialists MZ Group to expand its comprehensive strategic investor relations program across all key markets. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Suren Ajjarapu stated: “As we move through the second half of 2020, we are better positioned than ever to execute upon our vision of continued growth of the platform, driven by new independent pharmacies, new suppliers and distributors.”

Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, Trxade Group, Inc. is an integrated drug procurement, delivery and healthcare platform that fosters price transparency, thereby improving profit margins for both buyers and sellers of pharmaceuticals. Trxade Group operates across all 50 states with the central mission of making healthcare services affordable and accessible.

Founded in 2010, Trxade Group operates via four synergistic platforms: (1) B2B trading platform with 11,725 registered pharmacies; (2) Integra Pharma Solutions, the company’s virtual wholesale division; (3) Bonum Health which offers affordable telehealth services; and (4) the DelivMeds app, a nationwide mail order delivery distribution network for independent pharmacies.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.TrxadeGroup.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to MEDS are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/MEDS

• SGTM has decreased its authorized shares by more than 3 billion
• New name, symbol “best suited for the company’s future direction,” says CEO
• SGTM, formerly known as National Storm Recovery Inc., continues with rebranding, expansion plans

Sustainable Green Team (OTC: SGTM), a leading provider of environmentally beneficial solutions to tree and storm waste disposal, recently announced that it has decreased its authorized shares by 3,249,000,000 (http://ibn.fm/n73QT). The announcement comes as SGTM, formerly known as National Storm Recovery Inc. (NSRI), continues with rebranding and expansion plans that included transitioning to a new name and trading symbol (http://ibn.fm/gj5oY).

“I am proud of my team and all that we have achieved thus far,” said SGMT CEO and director Tony Raynor. “We have achieved ‘current information’ status with OTC Markets Group, and having acquired Mulch Manufacturing (in the two months of our first quarter), we exceeded expectations and vastly increased our assets and revenue, and our audit mentioned in May is still in progress — all requirements for our expansion plan including achieving fully reporting status and uplisting to a higher exchange, overall increasing transparency and trust to our loyal shareholders.”

Following the decrease in authorized shares, SGTM now has 250,000,000 authorized shares, representing 2.9 billion fewer shares.

Earlier this year, the company successfully acquired Mulch Manufacturing Inc. in 1Q 2020 — and utilizing approximately only two months of post-acquisition revenue of Mulch Manufacturing — SGTM reported revenues of more than $6 million, including $1,728,506 gross profit, and $34.7 million in total assets, including $4,303,668 in cash (http://ibn.fm/3PZCT).

“Due to the opportunities we now have with the Mulch acquisition, the company’s management team is rebranding itself and transitioning from the name National Storm Recovery Inc. to Sustainable Green Team Ltd,” a SGTM press release stated. “The Sustainable Green Team name is best suited for the company’s future direction. Along with the company’s name change, NSRI will be trading under the new symbol SGTM.

“The company name and ticker change are pivotal for the direction we’re heading,” Raynor added. “The name suits us best in view of our rebranding and planned expansion.” In addition, Raynor noted that the ticker symbol change doesn’t do anything to markets or to the way investors execute trades. “Since everything is electronic, trading platforms or brokers will already update their portfolio to include the new ticker symbol,” the press release stated.

SGTM and the solutions provided by its Sustainable Green Team are founded in sustainability. The company’s vertically integrated operations begin with the collection of tree debris through its tree services division and collection sites. Tree biomass is then moved through the processing division for recycling and manufacturing into a variety of organic, attractive, next-generation mulch products to be packaged and sold to retailers, landscapers, installers and garden centers. The company plans to expand its operations through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions that are both accretive to earnings and are positioned for rapid growth from the resulting synergistic opportunities identified. The company’s customers include governmental, residential, and commercial customers.

To learn more about this company, view the investor presentation at http://ibn.fm/93wHq

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to SGTM are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/SGTM

• “Harvard Business Review” article notes independent workers are looking for place, routines, purpose, people
• As gig economy grows worldwide, these strategies are increasingly relevant
• SHRG opportunity “about what you do, who you do it with, and how it aligns with your purpose”

In an economy becoming more and more reliant on gig workers, or independent contractors, Sharing Services Global Corporation (OTCQB: SHRG) has designed an opportunity that offers what a “Harvard Business Review” study notes are the four top connections these independent workers are looking for (http://ibn.fm/NJUli).

To learn what it takes to be successful in independent work, the magazine conducted an in-depth study of gig workers. “We found remarkably similar sentiments across generations and occupations,” the article reported. “All those we studied acknowledged that they felt a host of personal, social, and economic anxieties without the cover and support of a traditional employer — but they also claimed that their independence was a choice and that they would not give up the benefits that came with it. Although they worried about unpredictable schedules and finances, they also felt they had mustered more courage and were leading richer lives than their corporate counterparts.

“We discovered that the most effective independent workers navigate this tension with common strategies,” the article continued. “They cultivate four types of connections — to place, routines, purpose, and people — that help them endure the emotional ups and downs of their work and gain energy and inspiration from their freedom. As the gig economy grows worldwide, these strategies are increasingly relevant.”

Not coincidentally, these connections lie at the heart of what Sharing Services offers its global workforce of independent contractors, which it calls Elepreneurs, or elevated entrepreneurs. “People often think about money as ‘stuff,’” SHRG notes. “And there’s nothing wrong with a nice house and a nice car. But financial happiness is about so much more than what you have. It’s about what you do, who you do it with, and how it aligns with your purpose” (http://ibn.fm/Okble).

The growing company — SHRG recently released is FY 2020 financial report, which noted a 53% increase in revenues (http://ibn.fm/ctcOb) — provides each Elepreneur with easy set-up options, step-by-step training, and a complete virtual system that includes a phone app, web system, and automated free-sampling program, all designed to succeed in today’s world of social media and online interaction.

“Our conclusion is that people in the gig economy must pursue a different kind of success,” the Harvard Business Review article said, “one that comes from finding a balance between predictability and possibility, between viability (the promise of continued work) and vitality (feeling present, authentic, and alive in one’s work). Those we interviewed do so by building holding environments around place, routines, purpose, and people, which help them sustain productivity, endure their anxieties, and even turn those feelings into sources of creativity and growth.”

Sharing Services appears to be perfectly positioned to offer the ideal opportunity to independent workers looking for place, routine, purpose and people. Publicly held, the company is dedicated to maximizing shareholder value through the acquisition and development of innovative companies, products and technologies in the direct-selling sector and other industries. The Sharing Services combined platform currently leverages the capabilities and expertise of various companies that market and sell products direct to the consumer through independent contractors. Two of its primary divisions include Elevacity Holdings LLC., the parent of its wholly owned subsidiary Elevacity U.S. LLC, a health and wellness products company, and Elepreneurs Holdings LLC., the parent of its wholly owned subsidiary Elepreneurs U.S. LLC, a sales and marketing company based on utilization of independent contractor distributors who sell the Elevacity product line.

For more information, visit the company’s websites at www.SHRGInc.com, www.Elevacity.com and www.Elepreneur.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to SHRG are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/SHRG

• The Movie Studio’s MovieSodes feature allows the company’s film watchers to submit virtual auditions which are then taken into consideration by the company’s internal casting agents
• With 2020’s global film box office revenues expected to fall by over 50%, movie studios have been trying to devise strategies by which to attract new viewers
• The growth in demand for interactive media & entertainment is best illustrated through the video games industry, with gaming revenues set to outpace film revenues by over 300% in 2020
• The Movie Studio’s innovative features will bring interactive media to the film industry, enabling their app subscribers to become the stars of their own show

Though fads come and go, society’s obsession with film celebrity has never waned. Many a film fanatic admits to harboring fantasies of starring in movies, and one company is making that dream a reality as a component of its unique growth strategy. The Movie Studio (OTC: MVES) has devised a method by which to provide budding film stars and actors the unique opportunity to participate in the shooting of a movie through the submission of a virtual ‘audition’. Movie studios have historically sought to differentiate themselves through the cultivation of unique selling points – however, until recently, none have succeeded in making films a truly interactive experience for their viewers.

With the traditional film industry being actively disrupted through the emergence of video-on-demand (“VOD”) platforms, legacy movie studios have been hard-pressed to attract new viewers on a consistent basis. Rather, they have tended to depend on re-enticing past viewers through the creation of sequels and franchise films (e.g. Marvel’s Avengers series); in fact, 5 of the top 10 domestic box office hits in the United States in 2019 belonged to one of these two categories (http://ibn.fm/sZ0HZ). The fate of the global box office in 2020 has failed to present a rosier picture – financial analysts have recently slashed their 2020 box office revenue forecasts for AMC Theatres, the world’s largest movie theater chain, by 55% to 60% relative to 2019 (http://ibn.fm/ZB1qw) due to wide-scale cinema closures on the heels of the COVID-19 outbreak.

With revenues derived from movie theaters and box office launches comprising only 42% of the average consumer’s annual film-related expenditure in the United States (http://ibn.fm/mkwV7), traditional filmmakers have found themselves hard-pressed to innovate and create new business models to attract new viewers – an area in which The Movie Studio’s new interactive features have distinguished themselves.

The rise of interactive experiences can perhaps best be encapsulated by the global video games market, which has risen to become a $155 billion industry in 2020 and is expected to grow to between $300 billion and $450 billion over the next five years (http://ibn.fm/MzfmV). Putting those figures into perspective, total box office revenues for Hollywood totaled only $53.6 billion in 2019—a fraction of the video game industry’s total (http://ibn.fm/eZTiD).

The Movie Studio has sought to capitalize on the growth in demand for interactive entertainment through the introduction of an innovative concept called the ‘MovieSodes’ to its proprietary video-on-demand platform (http://ibn.fm/aLGJk). As explained by MVES president and CEO Gordon Scott Venters, the MovieSodes feature allows the company’s app-users to “upload a video clip… and send it to our producers for consideration for our upcoming feature films. We’re going to fracture motion picture manufacturing into shooting on the weekends… Over 10 weeks, we smash that content together and end up with a feature film for global distribution” (http://ibn.fm/SNxEN). According to Venters, this innovative ‘virtual audition’ approach allows individuals to “get involved with a feature film while it’s being manufactured” rather than being cast ahead of time.

With film studios around the world struggling to cope with the fallout from the pandemic and insulate themselves from the rise in prominence of VOD platforms, The Movie Studio Inc. has taken a crucial step in attracting viewers to its movies – by giving the average film watcher the unique opportunity to be a star in their own production.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.TheMovieStudio.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to MVES are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/MVES

• Fintech innovator PowerBand Solutions is helping to maintain the vitality of the automotive market amid a pandemic-propelled recession by promoting smart tech-facilitated sales transactions
• PowerBand Solutions’ new cloud-based platform simplifies the process of non-face-to-face sales transactions while fulfilling the requirements of financing and inventory paperwork, vehicle inspections and auction negotiations
• The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has left nearly all industries reeling on a global scale, and analysts predict the automotive industry will end the year with reduced sales at levels nonetheless higher than 2009’s recessionary figures
• American auto markets were sent reeling this spring when the COVID-19 pandemic swept ashore and began claiming large numbers of victims in-country, in tandem with nearly all other industries that suffered the economic fallout of business shutdowns, public event cancellations, stay-at-home orders and consumer fears of the unknown

At the same time, PowerBand Solutions (TSX.V: PBX) (OTCQB: PWWBF) (FRA: 1ZVA) began emerging as a innovative new alternative to the legacy model for car and truck sales, establishing a consumer-driven online platform that emphasizes a simplicity, speed and cost-efficiency never before available through a virtual auto sales network.

PowerBand Solutions is improving the sales experience and the necessary elements of the transaction for sellers and buyers, facilitating the transfer of money, financing and inventory paperwork, vehicle inspections and auction negotiations through a new platform that is based in the cloud.

The company began offering the loan origination piece of the platform’s bigger transaction picture this month in Texas and Florida, announcing that the company will soon expand its lease programs to California and other markets across the United States (http://ibn.fm/xDtoK).

The virtual platform is particularly timely as the pandemic’s transmission rate has driven health policy makers to urge “social distancing” as part of the measures to minimize the spread of the novel coronavirus. Social distancing helps protect people by keeping from getting too close to anyone who may be infected, but also complicates in-person economic transactions.

Analysts at market intelligence firm IHS Markit report that they expect car sales volume to slump to 13.2 million by year end from prior predictions of 16.8 million, which is significantly off the 17 million-dollar levels that have become routine in recent years but still much stronger than the 10.3 million sales reported during the 2009 recession even though April’s sales volume came in at a 30-year low for the month (http://ibn.fm/0iY8K).

The guarded optimism can be attributed in large part to the solutions virtual transactions such as those offered by PowerBand make available to businesses and consumers, as well as a continuing priority on more environmentally friendly automobiles such as electric vehicles by a certain segment of car buyers, according to the analysts.

“We have a more optimistic outlook than we did three months ago, but the reality is a down market and a recession,” IHS Markit’s principal auto analyst Stephanie Brinley stated. “We’re not going back to 17 million units for a long, long time. … As long as we’re having continued concerns about (virus infection) cases spiking, it contributes to lengthening uncertainty.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.PowerBandSolutions.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to PWWBF are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/PWWBF