• Direct selling worldwide led to $189.6 billion in estimated retail sales last year
• Sharing Services saw revenue growth of $8.3 million during five-month period following launch of health and wellness product line this year
• Company recently announced joint venture to expand into Asian markets
• Sharing Services aims to create its own opportunities through “Blue Ocean Strategy” aimed at developing diverse array of subsidiaries

Utah’s state tourism office has gained international attention through its Life Elevated brand, and that identifying slogan could easily apply to the rising star of Sharing Services, Inc. (OTC: SHRV), as well. The Texas-based holdings company aims to help people find improved quality of life through the variety of products and services that its direct selling representatives offer.

Sharing Services’ subsidiaries specialize in a wide range of markets, including health and wellness, travel, auto and home insurance, life and health insurance, energy brokerage and training, offerings which help to ‘elevate entrepreneurship’ by supporting the company’s home-based ‘Elepreneurs’ in preaching the message of happiness through positive psychology.

“We have reached our first milestone by closing out the fiscal year with record-breaking revenues and rapid expansion of our operational capability,” the company’s board chairman, Robert Oblon, stated in a news release announcing SHRV’s first 10K filing (http://ibn.fm/W0nqQ). “We have exceeded our goals as we continue our record-breaking pace to change the direct-selling industry with best-in-class products and services, and we continue proving the efficacy of our very unique ‘blue ocean’ strategy.”

Blue Ocean Strategy is a term coined by marketing theory authors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne to address the potential of companies to create their own market spaces that they can capture and control free of competition, as opposed to defined industry “red ocean” parameters, in which companies bloody each other as they compete for available market share (http://ibn.fm/QeT21). Sharing Services’ strategy involves melding key components of its subsidiary holdings to implement the company’s direct selling mission.

The 10K filing shows the success of the company’s approach. After beginning as a travel media entity specializing in ride sharing, mobile applications, relationship marketing, group travel programs, brick-and-mortar travel agencies and vacation funding (http://ibn.fm/IopAL), SHRV expanded its potential with the introduction of its larger range of opportunities for independent representatives — particularly as it began building its health and wellness market for Elepreneurs, enhanced by a recent joint venture agreement with Health Wealth & Happiness Limited (“HWH”) that anticipates market openings throughout Asia.

The newly formed “Elepreneurs Asia Limited” is set for a soft launch later in 2018, and, in June, Sharing Services announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Elevacity Global, LLC, will launch its product line in Australia and New Zealand this year.

SHRV’s gross sales doubled their year-over-year volume in February, rising to $2.4 million. In April, the company reported a record $3.5 million in monthly revenue and closed out that quarter reporting that the company brought in $8.3 million dollars over the first five months since launching its health and wellness products on December 13, 2017.

In 2017, worldwide direct selling brought in $189.6 billion in estimated retail sales, which was a 1.6 percent increase over 2016 and marked a CAGR of 3.7 percent during the three preceding years, according to Direct Selling News (http://ibn.fm/TUR6i).

According to the report, markets in 24 country reached sales of more than $1 billion in 2017, with Ecuador becoming the newest addition. Similar emerging markets are capturing an increasing share of total world sales from more technologically advanced markets, but the United States and China remain the top two countries ranked for market size. China’s three-year CAGR is seven percent, continually outpacing growth in the United States and giving it the potential to become the largest direct selling market in the world in the near future, justifying Sharing Services’ reach into the Asian region.

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

• Reports significant year-over-year improvements for the second quarter
• Up-listed to a fully reporting company, creating additional opportunities for growth
• Provides investors with opportunity to make investments across a wide range of assets, including mobile payments, cannabis and blockchain

SinglePoint, Inc. (OTCQB: SING), a technology and investment company specializing in the acquisition of small to mid-sized companies, announced in a press release (http://ibn.fm/GRCPi) its status as a fully reporting company by way of filing Form 10-12G. At the same time, the company reported a significant increase of nearly 100 percent in second quarter revenues, as compared to the same quarter of 2017.

SING began its efforts to up-list from the OTC Pink Open Marketplace to the OTCQB Venture Marketplace by way of a corporate financial statement audit. In February 2018, the company commenced trading on the OTCQB Venture Market, and it announced the finalization and successful completion of a PCAOB corporate audit in April 2018, paving the way to become a fully reporting company.

During the first six months of 2018, SING recorded over $500,000 in revenue. The company attributes the successful integration of acquisitions throughout the past year as a key factor in this significant increase. In a news release (http://ibn.fm/hURTW), SING CEO Greg Lambrecht stated, “We built a solid base throughout 2017 and have been building upon that in 2018 which has led to SinglePoint starting to generate a major increase in revenue compared to previous years. We are looking to acquire companies that are cash flow positive. This will give SinglePoint the ability to operate and continue taking risks in hyper growth opportunities.” The company expects to continue to grow organically and through larger investments and/or acquisitions.

“As a fully reporting company, I believe we will have additional opportunities to grow our existing businesses and potentially entertain larger acquisitions,” continued Lambrecht. “We are excited to continue business with increased transparency and credibility. It took all of our effort and attention to file the Form 10-12G, and we are now ready and able to fully focus on the deals in front of us.”

As a technology and investment company focused on the acquisition of undervalued companies that will benefit from an injection of growth capital and technology, SING provides investors with an opportunity to make investments across a wide range of assets. The company’s portfolio includes mobile payments, ancillary cannabis services and blockchain solutions. Currently, SING is capitalizing on the emerging opportunities in the cannabis market through partnerships, equity-financed acquisitions and internal product development.

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

• Strategic investment in Hempistry, allowing Sugarmade shareholders to possibly benefit from relationship with industrial-hemp cultivation company
• Industrial hemp market in the U.S. projected to reach over $1 billion in revenues in 2018 with an expected 14% CAGR through 2022
• Sugarmade is one of the largest, publicly traded hydroponic supply companies investing in the legal cultivation sector
• Expansion into European hydroponics supply market to provide additional revenue growth opportunities
• Led by experienced team of executives instrumental in successfully growing multiple business operations

Sugarmade, Inc. (OTC: SGMD), one of the largest publicly traded hydroponics supply companies moving into the industrial hemp space, is a product and brand marketing company investing in products and brands with disruptive potential. Sugarmade’s brands include: ZenHydro.com; CarryOutSupplies.com; and BudLife. Headquartered in Monrovia, California, a city within Los Angeles county, Sugarmade has various business operations in diverse marketplaces including packaging and paper goods for various industries, agricultural supplies.

Sugarmade has expanded into the European hydroponics supply market with a growing base of orders taken through Amazon UK. Over the past few financial quarters, Sugarmade has seen revenue growth patterns expand geographically. As recently as mid-2017, the majority of hydroponic-related revenue growth was seen from California and other West Coast marketplaces, however growth is becoming more geographically dispersed among U.S. states where legalization has eased restriction. This movement into the United Kingdom further expands the base of geographic growth areas for Sugarmade.

Sugarmade recently launched a new corporate initiative in the booming industrial hemp and CBD, committing up to $1 million in capital over the next 12 months to invest in Hempistry, Inc., a privately held Nevada corporation. Hempistry has begun planting an ultra-high cannabidiol (CBD) industrial hemp strain on a land option it holds on 23,000 acres of prime Kentucky farmland. The strain of industrial hemp being grown by Hempistry is ultra-rich in CBD but contains less than 0.3 percent of THC, the psychoactive ingredient found in cannabis. The U.S. hemp industry is expected to produce well over $1 billion in revenues in 2018, with a compound annual growth rate of 14 percent through 2022, according to the Hemp Business Journal.

Demand for industrial hemp and products derived from hemp is soaring, with no let-up in sight, which the company sees as a “tremendous opportunity to become a supplier to this fast-growing sector,” said Chairman and CEO Jimmy Chan, who is also an advisor and minority shareholder of Hempistry.

Sugarmade’s investment into the market for high-CBD hemp is expected to be highly accretive for common shareholders in two ways. First, Sugarmade’s investment will be in the form of common shares in Hempistry allowing Sugarmade common shareholders to possibly benefit from any future initial public offering of Hempistry. Second, Sugarmade is expected to sign a supply agreement with Hempistry for cultivation supplies, which would be additive to corporate revenues.

Sugarmade has also completed a master market agreement with industry leader BizRight Hydroponics, Inc., a leading marketer and manufacturer of cannabis and hydroponic growth supplies, which offers a range of hydroponics-related products including: HPS grow lights, electronic ballasts, HPS bulbs, nutrient mixes, environmental control products, pH measurement and calibration solutions and storage products. BizRight operates the ZenHydro.com website and other e-commerce properties and sells various products to distributors and retailers. BizRight is expected to produce in excess of $30 million in revenues during 2017, with substantial growth expected for 2018.

Sugarmade division CarryOutSupplies.com, the leader in paper and plastic take-out supplies, serves nationwide customers by offering a wide array of high quality products that are cost-efficient, custom-made and delivered on time. This business unit currently serves 2,000 quick service restaurants, garnering from 30-40 percent of the market share. Sugarmade plans to expand operations via the addition of market share and the introduction of new product offerings.

Management

CEO Jimmy Chan is an experienced business executive instrumental in growing multiple business operations with a strong expertise in international trade and banking, and international manufacturing and importation. He is also the founder of CarryOutSupplies.com, a company that revolutionized the custom-printed paper supplies subsector of the quick service restaurant industry, which merged with Sugarmade in 2014.

Arman Tabatabaei serves as operations consultant, providing high-level, day-to-day strategic guidance and tactical operational supervision for all aspects of the corporation’s business. He is an expert at data collection and analysis relative to resource management, risk forecasting and profit and loss management.

Sugarmade specializes in growing and acquiring innovative brands to maximize value for company employees, shareholders and other stakeholders. Sugarmade believes its future is very bright as the company expands operations within the cultivation sector and rapidly increases its revenue base.

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

• High quality, non-irradiated “whole flower” cannabis to be produced at scale with focus on optimizing crop yields and quality to maximize profitability and return on investment
• Co-founder Tom Flow is a world renown cultivation expert and co-founder of MedReleaf (acquired by Aurora Cannabis for C$3.2 billion)
• General shortage of high-quality cannabis flower in Canada expected over near term – Flowr’s 60,000 kg targeted capacity will help fill this gap while commanding premium prices
• Cultivation facilities designed to support ultra-high yields with each room targeting six harvests and an industry leading ~450 g/SF/year once optimized resulting in relatively low cost of goods sold
• Targeting medical and adult-use markets, all with a focus on high margin, premium cannabis to drive top and bottom line growth.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro subsidiary is funding construction of a first-of-its-kind R&D facility under an exclusive R&D alliance with Flowr
• Named one of the initial suppliers to the Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB), British Columbia’s sole legal wholesaler of non-medical cannabis
• Strong management team with 50+ years of industry experience

The Flowr Corporation, a Health Canada Licensed Producer (LP) of cannabis under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR), is an emerging Canadian cannabis leader founded by Medreleaf co-founder Tom Flow and a team of industry pioneers, successful start-up executives and top industry scientists. Flowr’s purpose-built cultivation facilities may be the most advanced in the industry, consistently generating high crop yields, delivering premium and ultra-premium cannabis products, and maximizing return on investment. The company also may be an R&D leader as it was selected by the Hawthorne Gardening Division of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company as its exclusive Canadian cannabis R&D partner.

Flowr’s flagship facility, an 84,000-square-foot campus on seven acres in Kelowna, British Columbia, is engineered to grow premium cannabis in rooms that meet pharmaceutical industry production standards for cleanliness. This, along with exacting protocols designed by the Flowr team, enables Flowr to grow cannabis that meets Health Canada’s stringent standards without treating it with the taste- and smell-killing gamma irradiation that most other producers have to use to clean their product. Irradiating the plant – a process similar to pasteurizing food – impairs many of the important terpenes that provide the positive effects, flavors and scents of cannabis while strengthening unpleasant terpenes. Flowr’s products may deliver a better user experience, thus commanding premium prices.

Flowr’s cultivation facilities, built with proprietary, patent-pending systems, are designed to deliver yields targeted at 450 grams per square foot by the end of 2022, which is three times more efficient than the industry average of approximately 150 grams per square foot. By optimizing yield, the Company may produce significantly more cannabis flower on a smaller footprint than other producers, thus generating far high revenue per square foot and keeping costs much lower, leading to higher margins. The Kelowna facility is presently 20 percent operational with the remaining 80 percent slated to come online by early 2019. It is expected to produce up to 14,000 kg of premium, non-irradiated cannabis flower in 2019. With further enhanced yields and planned expansion of production facilities on the campus, Flowr will reach a total capacity of 60,000 kg annually in 2022.

Leading Flowr’s cultivation program is industry pioneer, company co-founder and Flowr president Tom Flow. Flow is widely recognized for his cannabis thought leadership and expertise building and operating cannabis cultivation facilities. Flow also co-founded MedReleaf and designed, built and set up SOPs for their flagship Marcum cultivation facility. Marcum has continued to be perhaps the most productive facility in the country prior to the Flowr flagship facility. Long one of Canada’s most efficient and profitable LPs, MedReleaf was acquired by Aurora for approximately C$3 billion. Flow and his team have designed and built a total of 17 cultivation facilities and secured three producer’s licenses under various Canadian regulatory regimes.

In March 2018, Flowr and the Hawthorne Gardening Division of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company – a world leader in lawn and garden products – announced an exclusive strategic R&D alliance. After evaluating numerous Canadian LPs, Hawthorne chose to partner with Flowr based on the experience and expertise of the company’s cultivation and R&D teams and the company’s advanced growing capabilities.

Hawthorne will fund the construction of a 50,000-square-foot R&D facility that is integrated into Flowr’s Kelowna campus. This facility is North America’s first dedicated cannabis R&D facility focused on advancing cultivation techniques and systems. The facility will support researchers from both organizations and combine laboratories, indoor and greenhouse grow suites, training areas and genetics breeding areas in a single building. It is expected to open in early 2019. In addition to helping Flowr maintain its competitive advantage in cultivation, the company’s R&D program will keep it on the cutting edge of cannabis innovation.

Flowr is entering the market with three different brands to meet the growing demand for premium, non-irradiated cannabis in the medicinal and adult use markets:

• FlowrRx, featuring premium quality medicinal cannabis that enables patients to live better, fuller lives. A dedicated Client Services team will provide patients with personalized support while an R&D team develops innovative flower strains and premium products targeted to specific conditions. Patient well-being is considered at every stage of the process – from genetic selection to harvest, trimming and curing techniques. FlowrRx and its team of passionate scientists and leading cultivation specialists are dedicated to advancing the scientific understanding of cannabis.
• Flowr is the company’s premium recreational adult-use brand featuring an active, West Coast-inspired lifestyle for the cannabis connoisseur and enthusiast market. Through the continuous innovation of procedures and practices, Flowr’s talented team of experts is crafting premium products that deliver unparalleled experiences.
• Ace Valley, an exclusive partnership with top-selling Ontario craft beer company Ace Hill, will bring Flowr’s premium product to the millennial and casual adult-use markets under the Ace Valley brand.

Flowr recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch, the province’s sole legal wholesaler of non-medical cannabis, to supply premium and ultra-premium flower to the province’s retail outlets. The company has agreements with several major medical distributors and is in discussions about retail distribution with additional provinces where it believes it can obtain prices commensurate with the quality of the Flowr products. The company is also evaluating other market opportunities including export.

Flowr is poised to become the pre-eminent indoor premium cannabis grower in Canada and one of the country’s top five LPs. The company’s focus on yield, quality and price point and its team’s ability to grow at scale should drive high margins, significant growth and strong return on investment.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.FlowrCo.ca

• 359 Mobile targets mobile gaming for the first release in its joint business agreement with DevLex; it focuses on providing predictive analytics for the sport of cricket, which is second only to soccer in global popularity
• Mobile gaming market forecast to surpass $1 trillion by 2022; industry analysts predict that mobile offerings will take a “disproportionate slice” in countries with high smartphone penetration

Consorteum Holdings, Inc. (OTC: CSRH) subsidiary 359 Mobile, Inc. is optimistic about the future of its Universal Mobile Interface™ (UMI) platform as smartphone penetration grows globally. Newzoo research finds that mobile device penetration in 2018 is highest in China, India, the U.S., Brazil and Russia (http://ibn.fm/jizHn).

CSRH is targeting sports gambling for its first release as part of its joint business agreement with DevLex. It combines its UMI with DevLex’ Predictive Analysis Platform and focuses on the sport of cricket, which is second only to soccer in worldwide popularity with an estimated 2.5 billion fans, according to Topend Sports (http://ibn.fm/nt3Aa). The cutting edge Edgelytics platform analyzes a massive historical database encompassing player as well as team statistics, which users can query and run tailored analytics on to help facilitate a more informed basis for wagering on particular cricket outcomes.

CSRH offers complex mobile solutions and mobile payment solutions through a mix of license agreements, strategic partnerships and joint venture revenue sharing arrangements. Its 359 Mobile subsidiary acts as a technology and services aggregator, meeting the diverse needs of clients.

Juniper Research projects that the online gaming market will reach $1 trillion by 2022 (http://ibn.fm/XGJui). “There are already strong signs that mobile offerings will take a disproportionate slice of the online gambling market in countries with a high penetration of smartphones,” states 359 Mobile’s website (http://ibn.fm/NtOxP). Research in Zenith’s Mobile Advertising Forecasts 2017 finds that, in 2018, smartphone ownership will grow to 66 percent of individuals, up from 63 percent the prior year (http://ibn.fm/LS2tr).

Juniper Research also predicts that the number of online gamblers will almost double to 684 million by 2022. CSRH believes that the growth in ownership of smartphones bodes well for its UMI mobile platform. Statista research projects that global smartphone users will exceed five billion by 2019 (http://ibn.fm/pKxWE).

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

• Several nations are preparing to ban or reduce petroleum-fueled vehicle sales, raising the capital of electric vehicle components
• First Cobalt is exploring the potential of quick-to-market resources for supplying EV battery needs
• In spite of industry’s exploratory efforts to reduce reliance on cobalt, experts continue to predict outsized market for coming decade

Companies tied to the mining industry generally would not be among the first to receive recognition for their efforts to sustain the planet’s ecosystem, but the reality is that mineral explorers such as First Cobalt Corp. (TSX.V: FCC) (OTCQX: FTSSF) (ASX: FCC) are actively engaged in searching for ways to deliver resources to the commodities market that are friendlier to the environment than those preferred in dominant technologies.

Automobile manufacturers are on the front lines of the global shift in fuel standards occasioned by developed nations’ efforts to reduce fossil fuel emissions that pollute the air. Countries such as France, Ireland, the United Kingdom, India and the Netherlands have begun establishing governmental policies that will ban the sale of traditional combustion-engine vehicles after a coming date (http://ibn.fm/Lt4gK), while China is aiming to improve its environmental quality by requiring two million EV sales per year by 2020 (http://ibn.fm/I4LE4). Likewise, 10 states within the United States, led by California, plan to require millions of EVs on the road as a percentage of their automotive markets within the coming decade in what is shaping up as a potential battle with the federal government (http://ibn.fm/JSejE).

While the health impact of air pollution has occupied a significant amount of the discussion, concerns about fossil fuels’ impact on the environment are also visible in the increasing reports of global climate change, such as news about the warming of arctic regions (http://ibn.fm/BjzAI) and the impact of rising sea levels on ocean-front real estate values (http://ibn.fm/qigcv).

That global interest has driven the cobalt market to astronomical price increases during the past two years. Cobalt is a metal key to the development of electric vehicle conversion plans because of its significance in providing low-heat stability to the lithium-ion batteries currently used as standard in EV power trains. Cobalt is in relatively scarce supply compared to the pending demand, however, and its primary sourcing from countries out of favor with developed Western nations has spawned efforts to find cobalt-alternative battery supplies. Amid those efforts, the demand for cobalt is still forecast to rise by more than double its current high levels, according to commodities research-house Wood Mackenzie (http://ibn.fm/x1yBL), and the head of strategic cobalt marketing at Kazakh mining company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) recently predicted that the cobalt boom “is guaranteed for the next seven to 10 years” based on continued “legacy” demand in ceramics, jet engines and other products (http://ibn.fm/roF26).

First Cobalt Corp., with headquarters in Canada, is a vertically integrated North America pure-play cobalt company. First Cobalt is operating three significant North American assets: the Iron Creek Project in Idaho, which has a historic mineral resource estimate (non-compliant with NI 43-101 reporting standards) of 1.3 million tons grading 0.59 percent cobalt; the Canadian Cobalt Camp, with more than 50 past-producing mines; and the only permitted cobalt refinery in North America capable of producing battery materials.

The currently shuttered refinery has the potential to play a significant role in an emerging metals market on the continent — for now, China’s refineries process 80 percent of the world’s supply of cobalt (http://ibn.fm/CXTEo), creating a significant reliance on trade with that nation amid recent escalations in commerce politics between the United States and China.

First Cobalt listed earlier this year on the OTCQX Canada Index and is focusing its efforts on bringing the Idaho site’s historic estimate up to modern reporting compliance before the end of the year.

For more information, visit the company’s website at http://ibn.fm/FTSSF

• VC operating in computer science and information technology space
• Employing venture capital services model
• Finbridge subsidiary is a player in fast growing alternative finance market

Information technology is transforming the global economy, and this fascinating exposition gives some examples of those changes by pointing out (http://ibn.fm/8KwqT) that “Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate.” Disruptive digital technologies, coupled with access to large amounts of data, are, as one commentator noted (http://ibn.fm/Uuf3T), “facilitating new products and services, creating new processes, generating greater utility, and ushering in a new culture of management.”

At the forefront of this revolution are companies like Accelerated Technologies Holding Corp. (OTC: ATHC). Like most VC companies, ATHC acquires and monetizes the equity in portfolio companies. However, in addition, it employs a venture capital services model and so provides guidance, infrastructural support and investment capital to entrepreneurs with game-changing ideas.

That approach is already underway at its Finbridge subsidiary. The fintech company was set up to provide capital to alternative lenders, with receivables between $2 million and $5 million, operating in the merchant cash advance and other short-term micro loan environments by factoring their receivables. These alternative lenders include independent sales organizations (ISOs) that market debit and credit card processing services to merchants on behalf of credit card member banks. An ISO will provide ongoing customer service to the merchant once the account has been activated and, in many instances, some degree of funding, for which it is compensated. However, as a result of providing credit, its cash resources fall and receivables build up on the balance sheet. Consequently, if origination of merchant accounts is to continue, access to short term funding is vital. The factoring services provided by Finbridge can play a crucial role in ensuring that ISOs have the funds to facilitate new merchants.

Finbridge, based in New York City, was incorporated in 2017 and began operations the same year. The company’s lending model provides ISOs with an alternative to applying for a bank loan or leveraging private investment capital to obtain cash to grow their business. Apart from originating new accounts, ISOs may also require funds to add sales agents, expand operations, buy out a partner or invest in their IT infrastructure.

Although its primary source of revenue will be derived from the loans made to ISOs and Merchant Cash Advance Lenders (MCAs), Finbridge will also provide other revenue-earning services. These include performing credit checks, split funding, ACH capabilities, lockbox and data visualization, CRM software, merchant background checks, services to determine a merchant’s repayment ability and collection services to be undertaken by an in-house legal team. MCAs are short term lenders that will advance a lump sum to a merchant in exchange for a percentage of daily credit card sales, plus a fee.

Also in ATHC’s portfolio is IconXchange, which is being developed to fund personality brands, such as those associated with sports and entertainment personalities. Using blockchain technology, IconXchange will offer a decentralized, open, resilient infrastructure that allows individuals, for the first time, to quickly and safely obtain and exchange direct investment in personality “icons” of the sports and entertainment industry, which will be facilitated by using IconXchange Coins, an easily tradeable cryptocurrency designed exclusively for such trading.

Another company in the ATHC fold is XStreamCorp, which presents an opportunity to market a revolutionary Reality Gaming Social Network. Designed to compete with Facebook’s Social Gaming market, the platform will incorporate proprietary technologies providing users with streaming video, audio and messaging capabilities, with the aim of enhancing both the user’s experience and the gaming effect.

ATHC’s most recent venture, launched in July 2018, is Intelagy. This is a business hub for small to mid-sized businesses that will provide affordable electronic payment and point-of-sale solutions, alternative funding and digital media and branding services for merchants operating in retail, online and mobile environments.

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

• Gamify ecommerce platform employs game mechanics to increase customer engagement
• Gamification market to hit $22 billion by 2022
• Management team has successful track record in game development

Playing games, one historian has said, is more fundamental than civilization, for even animals play, an observation indicating that game characteristics may be found or employed in a variety of real life situations (http://ibn.fm/BEzs5). As a result, in marketing, in particular, and in business, generally, assimilation of game mechanics is now thought to lead to greater customer engagement. This is propagating the fast growing market (CAGR of 41 percent) of gamification, which is projected to reach $22 billion by 2022. In the vanguard of this novel development is DeepMarkit Inc. (TSX.V: MKT) (OTCQB: MKTDF), a gamification company out to create innovative ways to use game mechanics for business purposes. The company is home to a team of ecommerce and marketing professionals working together with game developers and software engineers to deliver a unique game-based marketing platform for businesses.

Games may seem to be a far way removed from the serious business of marketing but marketing initiatives attempt to activate some of the same psychological attributes – achievement, competition, collection, collaboration and community – to which games appeal. A game that awards points triggers our need for achievement, for example. One with levels fulfils our desire for status, while another that calls for teams fosters our sense of community. What this means is that cleverly employed game attributes can be used to generate customer leads, promote products and deliver rewards, as well as to build brand awareness and strengthen customer loyalty.

The DeepMarkit platform will allow customers to build branded games that incentivize audiences, generate leads and drive sales. It integrates a variety of gaming elements with interactive advertising and powerful visuals, including 3-D images; is flexible enough to be scaled for campaigns of all sizes; and is suitable for multi-channel and omni-channel approaches that incorporate web, mobile and social media. It’s a marketing platform that can create a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) for a company or brand and make it stand out from the crowd… and it’s affordable. Both free and paid solutions are available (http://ibn.fm/9oUAy).

Known as Gamify, the platform offers a selection of easily customizable gaming apps featuring a customer’s branded e-store, as well as tailored landing pages, technical support, real-time analytics, data collection and engaging marketing campaigns. Gamify’s patent-pending app comes complete with unique user incentives that draw consumers in with games and prizes, which in turn engages shoppers, turning them into buyers and building brand loyalty.

Darold Parken is the CEO and a director of DeepMarkit. He practiced corporate securities law for over 20 years and has extensive experience in creating, funding and managing public companies. He is the founder and was CEO of Chartwell Technology Inc. from its inception in 1998 to its sale to Amaya Gaming Group in 2011. Chartwell developed an industry-leading online gaming software system that continues to power some of the largest gaming companies in the world.

Jason Saelhof is head client architect. He has over 15 years’ experience as a graphic designer, developer and client architect in the online gaming industry. In 1999, he joined Chartwell Technology as a graphic designer and began taking on increasing responsibilities, becoming game developer then creative lead and on to lead client architect. Saelhof’s team developed one of the first casino games to operate on a mobile platform. He is a specialist in HTML.5, JavaScript and ActionScript.

Paulyn Tran is marketing manager. She comes from a background of international public affairs and government relations and has led several nonprofit organizations’ social media teams.

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

• Production ramp-up using Petroteq’s proprietary oil extraction technology generates interest in national media
• Company preparing to produce 1,000 barrels of oil per day with 8,000 bpd target set in two years as proof of technology concept
• Petroteq exploring licensing agreements and joint ventures, as well as expansion of its blockchain application

A buzz-worthy oil extraction operation in the bitumen-rich desert of northeastern Utah continues to build toward full-scale operation as energy industry insiders watch with growing interest to see if the mining technology developed by Petroteq Energy Inc. (TSX.V: PQE) (OTC: PQEFF) (FSE: PQCF) will yield the anticipated benefits that it envisions.

“We have a very disruptive technology,” Petroteq CEO David Sealock told the New York Times in a recent report (http://ibn.fm/CoPfK). “There was a treasure chest here that didn’t have a key, and this technology is the key.”

Petroteq has spent the past two months ramping up anticipation for its environmentally friendly, proprietary process of removing fuel crude from oil sands at its leased 2,541-acre Asphalt Ridge operation. Despite historical failures elsewhere by corporations intent on mining oil sands in a commercially feasible way, Petroteq’s closed-loop system promises to produce Asphalt Ridge’s expected 87.5 million barrel yield inexpensively and without contaminating local ground and water resources.

The company utilizes a process of crushing oil-rich rocks and applying a “benign” proprietary solvent mixture to withdraw the fuel from the crushed rock before transporting it to Salt Lake City refineries 150 miles away. The “cleaned” rock is returned to the ground and the solvent mixture is recycled for new batches of rock extraction, the Times reported.

Petroteq recently announced the completion of continuity testing as part of its plan to begin extracting 1,000 barrels of oil per day during the third quarter of this year, which it expects to quickly increase to 8,000 barrels per day by late 2020 or early 2021 (http://ibn.fm/4IzpQ). The Times notes that such volume is a trifle in the global 100 million barrel-a-day market, but the company’s extraction technology is where the real potential lies and the Asphalt Ridge operation is designed as a proof of concept.

The company is in talks with companies in Australia, Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago about joint ventures or licensing agreements involving the technology. The company also has a joint venture with Recruiter.com and Oilprice.com that attempts to improve industry job placement and other career services, and it is involved in potentially looking for other heavy oil reserves throughout the United States.

The buildup to full production at the Utah site has been slowed by a few “hiccups,” the Times notes. “There have been logistical, electrical and mechanical challenges and glitches during equipment testing”, the report states.

Still, the work is moving forward, and Petroteq recently announced that it is advancing its blockchain initiative as well in hopes of improving transparency and effectiveness in the industrial supply chain. MetzOhanian, a software engineering firm in Austin, Texas, will help develop applications for the company’s PetroBLOQ platform. The platform is being used by Petroteq to enhance its operational efficiency, reduce its administrative costs and provide support to departmental systems, but it has potential marketability to other industry players as well, especially when it comes to cleaning up sites previously contaminated through other companies’ efforts to mine oil sands.

“The potential for PetroBLOQ’s blockchain principles to create a technology consortia’s [tool] for remediation, and reclamation projects is equally as compelling. We anticipate that as interest grows in leveraging Petroteq’s proprietary technology for surface oil sands mining, the remediation and cleaning of contaminated sites and oil waste reclamation will come to the forefront,” Sealock stated in a news release.

The company has filed an application to uplist to the Nasdaq stock exchange.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Petroteq.energy

• NUGL’s directory services app expands reach across North America
• Search platform and internet directory lets companies and clients locate and connect with each other
• Users of cannabis-related products can leave real reviews of goods and services
• App available for Android and Apple devices and works on all platforms

With the cannabis industry entering the mainstream in a big way, there is a growing need among consumers to be able to find reliable products and services or even specific brands. Technology company NUGL Inc. (OTC: NUGL) seeks to address this major pain point and help customers overcome the challenge of finding reputable and reliable supplies of specific products and services.

Moving in aggressively to fill in this information gap, NUGL has built and launched the world’s first search app and internet directory dedicated to all types of cannabis companies. The online platform and app will allow companies and clients to locate and connect with each other and leave unbiased reviews of goods and services. Available since last year, the platform’s reach has now expanded across all of North America (http://ibn.fm/OnmgW).

Transparency and reliability are of primary importance to NUGL, whose main goal is to set a new standard of technology excellence in the cannabis industry. The platform does not sell listing space, nor allows fake reviews, which means that users are able to get more reliable and unbiased information as they search for goods and services and read reviews and ratings.

Through the web portal or the mobile app, which is available for both Android and Apple devices, NUGL’s users can create a personal or business profile. They are able to carry out a geographical search and find suppliers of products and services in a specific area. Business profiles allow companies to display and market their information to private users. These customers, in turn, after they have transacted business with the companies, are able to leave reviews for other potential clients and customers to see.

On opening the app or web platform, users can see a detailed map which highlights information specific to the legal cannabis industry. This would include, for example, dispensaries and doctors’ offices, complete with their latest profiles, reviews and user ratings. A powerful and user-friendly search function allows the NUGL platform’s users to filter their results and find the information that they are seeking more easily.

Industry analysts predict that consumers in the legal U.S. marijuana market will spend $11 billion in 2018, and that, by 2022, the number will reach $23 billion (http://ibn.fm/9PS3C). As the industry continues to grow and attract new investment, NUGL will be able to connect investors with entrepreneurs seeking capital.

Through the platform, companies will be able to offer each other business-to-business services, such as growers linking to dispensaries. Ancillary services, such as soil and nutrient firms, providers of distillation equipment and accounting or real estate services, can also use the platform to connect with and form business relationships with companies in the cannabis industry. In additional to directory services, NUGL’s platform can be used as a social networking platform, giving it significant marketing and networking potential for businesses.

NUGL has already expanded its services beyond California, where it is based, and has plans to spread its reach across the globe as the cannabis industry continues to see tremendous growth in international markets.

For more information, visit the company’s website at http://ibn.fm/NUGL