Earlier today, eXp Realty International Corporation (OTCQB: EXPI) announced that it has entered into an agreement with VirBELA, LLC, one of the leading developers of 3-D, avatar-based, immersive online worlds. As part of this agreement, EXPI gains exclusive rights to the VirBELA platform within the real estate industry, as well as an option to exclusive rights within a number of related industry verticals, such as mortgage origination, mortgage lending, title and escrow and title insurance.

“Since our inception, we have built a family of more than 1,100 professionals across 35 states and parts of Canada whose office, workplace, and world is and has been 3-D, avatar-based online environments,” Glenn Sanford, founder and chief executive officer of EXPI, stated in this morning’s news release. “VirBELA represents the next generation of these environments and recognizes their potential impact on business, collaboration, and community.”

VirBELA was originally developed at the University of California San Diego’s Rady School of Management using a $1.7 million grant from the Graduate Management Admission Council. With this capital, VirBELA, LLC successfully developed and demonstrated an immersive, 3D virtual-reality campus environment that hosted a global business-simulation competition for management students at top universities across three continents. Using the same tools, VirBELA is able to create custom 3D simulations in order to support the training and development needs of its partner organizations, which will allow EXPI to offer a more collaborative platform to its growing base of agents and brokers.

“No company has come close to leveraging immersive online environments to the degree or in the ways that eXp has for the benefit of its agents, brokers and shareholders,” Dr. Alex Howland, chief executive officer of VirBELA, stated in the news release. “We believe firmly in the company’s mission, management and growth and look forward to being an integral part of its continued success going forward.”

Leveraging VirBELA’s innovative technology, EXPI, through eXp Realty LLC, is able to provide 24/7 access to collaborative tools, training and socialization features for real estate brokers and agents in a fully-immersive, cloud office environment. To date, this platform has shown effective in reducing agents’ overhead costs, increasing their profits and improving the service value they are able to provide to clients. With these benefits in mind, it’s little wonder that EXPI’s network of agents has experienced such strong growth since its launch in October 2009. In early March, the company welcomed the 1,000th real estate professional into its family of agent-owners, positioning itself among the top 50 real estate brokerages in the United States based on agent count.

EXPI offers an aggressive revenue sharing program that pays agents a percentage of gross commission earned by fellow real estate professionals whom they attract to the company. In 2014, EXPI launched its initiative of sharing equity with its agents and brokers, effectively catapulting the company into a period of accelerated growth and improved retention that’s still underway.

For more information, visit the company’s website at http://investors.exprealty.com

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Content Checked Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: CNCK) is the company behind the innovative ContentChecked, MigraineChecked, and SugarChecked mobile applications. Its SugarChecked app identifies the four main types of sugars in products with a quick and easy barcode scanner. The app offers comprehensive sugar content information that is fact-checked by a team of nutritionists. It’s like having a nutritionist in your pocket.

Content Checked’s vision is to be the go-to source for people seeking to maintain a clean and healthy diet. The company’s goals are to educate consumers about what is in their food and improve the way they shop for packaged food and beverage products.

Content Checked’s mission is to offer fast, reliable, and efficient mobile apps that help consumers make more informed purchasing decisions and live healthier lives in accordance with their dietary preferences. Across SugarChecked’s social media channels, the company recently began releasing video advertisements illustrating the harmful effects of sugar, alerting consumers to its potentially detrimental effects.

To view the video advertisements, visit the following link: http://dtn.fm/S5aNj

While the mission and story of Content Checked are inspirational and uplifting, Wall Street tends to focus on the numbers and figures. For the six months ended September 30, 2015, the company’s revenues were $657,850, net of reserves, as compared to no revenues for the six months ended September 30, 2014. The company had cash and equivalents of $5,509,532, as of September 30, 2015. Generating considerable revenues is a significant accomplishment for a company founded in July 2013.

To view the company’s full financials, visit the following link: http://dtn.fm/sIJ7M

For more information, visit www.contentchecked.com

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Star Mountain Resources, Inc. (OTC: SMRS), a junior exploration and mining company, acquires and consolidates mining claims, mineral leases, producing mines and historic mines in the U.S. Through its minerals exploration efforts, the Tempe, Arizona-based company identifies claims, leases and mines with future growth and production promise.

Star Mountain explores for gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, silica and zircon deposits. Its active operations are fixed on base metal and precious metal mining acquisitions in North America. Originally incorporated in September 2009, the company was renamed Star Mountain Resources in December 2014 to better reflect its focus on its holdings in the Star Mountain mining district of southern Utah. Around the same time, management made a strategic decision to pursue the acquisition of developed mining assets with a clear path to early production.

With its acquired mineral resources in Beaver County, Utah, and West Ogden, Utah, the company means to focus on the initiation, production and expansion of these resources in order to turn them into producing assets. It is also in the process of re-commencing its mining activities in the Balmat mining district in upstate New York.

In the Star Mountain Mining District in Beaver County, approximately five miles west of Milford, Utah, the company holds interests in the Chopar project, which consists of 116 lode-mining claims and four metalliferous mineral lease sections covering an estimated 3,730 acres. The Star Mountain project involves a total area of 2,320 acres and the company has already conducted a geological analysis, magnetometry studies and a limited reverse circulation and core drilling exploration program on it.

In West Ogden, Utah, the company’s attentions are in the Ogden Bay Minerals project, and in the Balmat mining district of St. Lawrence County, New York, the company holds interests in the Balmat Zinc Mine. The company gained title to the Balmat zinc mine in November 2015 when it acquired Northern Zinc, a private company, and closed on the acquisition of the Balmat Holding Corporation from Hudbay Minerals. This three-way transaction brought the company a high quality mining asset and added seasoned, experienced mining professionals to its existing board of directors and senior management.

For more information, visit www.starmountainresources.com

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On Wednesday, March 30, 2016, Stuart Gray, the president and CEO of recently-launched consumer beverage company Laguna Blends (OTC: LAGBF), was interviewed by Ray Grimm, the company’s Chief Corporate Consultant, in an audio call.

The call began with the introduction of Ray W. Grimm Jr, a direct selling and multi-level marketing expert, and co-founder of some of the top nutritional and weight loss companies. Mr. Grimm is knowledgeable in all things network marketing, and recently became a member of the advisory board and Chief Corporate Consultant at Laguna Blends. Mr. Grimm has what many consider to be the Midas touch in identifying and building multimillion dollar companies, three of which exceeded $50 million in sales within their first five years.

Mr. Grimm talked about first meeting the Laguna Blends CEO, Stuart Gray, and asking him many key questions about the company in evaluating its potential, and how he felt positive about all of the answers he received. He went on to introduce Mr. Gray, providing some important background information, describing how Mr. Gray has had over 20 years’ experience in business and marketing, founding several highly successful media and promotional related companies, showing special talents in network marketing and MLM, in addition to providing consulting to over 120 public and private companies in both the U.S. and Canada.

Mr. Gray began by describing why he decided to pursue a network marketing and hemp-based product orientation for Laguna Blends. His lengthy and positive experience with network marketing, together with his realization that there is so much confusion and misunderstanding relating to the benefits of hemp, suggested to him a major opportunity. Mr. Gray has worked to position Laguna Blends to take full advantage of a fast growing trend, the recognition of the nutritional benefits of hemp. And he sees MLM as the perfect marketing method to communicate a positive message about the real health benefits of hemp.

It’s an open opportunity because there are still many people that are not aware of the many health benefits of hemp. This is a great chance for Laguna Blends to cultivate this relatively young market by educating consumers, and to do it through an affiliate base model that is already expanding very rapidly.

Mr. Gray went on to talk about his vision for Laguna Blends for the next few years. He emphasized that, over the past couple of years, and together with his dedicated management team and consultants, he has constructed a sound business foundation for the company that should last for generations. The idea has always been to develop a non-hype approach that represents a genuine success engine for all participants. This action-versus-hype orientation is in contrast to many other companies in the network marketing industry. The difference is to have unmatched high-quality product offerings, tapping the best technology in the industry. Over the next five years, Mr. Gray sees Laguna Blends becoming a household name throughout North America, with a number of hot product categories, and growing throughout many countries of the world.

In particular, the company’s use of 3D immersive technology is exceptional. It’s a technology that Mr. Gray first brought to a real estate company, making it the fastest growing real estate brokerage company in history. Last year the company did $900 million in transactional revenue, and it represents a good comparison to the way the Laguna Blends model is being set up, though customized for the needs of Laguna. It’s a truly game-changing technology for this industry, allowing far greater efficiencies in communication throughout the network, reducing dependence upon traditional time-consuming hotel meetings and in-home parties.

Mr. Gray also described the importance of the Laguna Blends management team in creating an organization that will work and grow quickly. He emphasized the importance of trusted long-term relationships, which he has developed over his years of previous work in the network marketing industry. Mr. Gray has worked with some of the top leaders in the industry, and these contacts have allowed him to put together “the best of the best” for his management team, from tech to marketing to manufacturing and in all other aspects of the business. You only attract this kind of talent by offering a clearly unique opportunity. It’s why Laguna Blends has made so much progress is such a very short time.

As a network marketer that has been in the trenches, and understands what it takes to be successful, it’s absolutely critical that everyone on the management team respects the field leadership. They need to know that management is in constant communication with them, knows what’s going on, and is devoted to their success, being very generous in the way they are rewarded. This is what spurs real growth.

Mr. Gray then talked about the products being introduced, the first of which is Caffe, Laguna’s hemp coffee beverage that contains both whey and hemp protein, which is already getting rave reviews, and Pro369, Laguna’s flavored single serving hemp protein packs that can be added to cold beverages, which was just introduced. Consumables in general, and the functional beverage market in particular, has a record of being extremely positive for direct selling companies. In the case of Laguna’s Caffe product, coffee is the second most consumed beverage on the planet, while the Pro369 product is easily combined with any beverage. Together with the newly appreciated benefits of hemp protein, such products represent a perfect opportunity combination for network marketing. Laguna will be the first network marketing company that efficiently markets nutritional functional beverages containing hemp, and the company expects explosive growth in sales even when viewed conservatively. In the future, Laguna Blends will be expanding its product line, both in the hemp and non-hemp areas.

In summary, Mr. Gray expressed his confidence that Laguna Blends has all of the right ingredients in place, including the right manufacturing and shipping partners, the right technologies and marketing orientation, and the right products at the right time, and all with a financial structure that gives Laguna the ability to scale. Even though Laguna Blends is newly launched, the feedback has been overwhelming.

For more information, visit www.lagunablends.com

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Before the opening bell, Star Mountain Resources, Inc. (OTC: SMRS) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, St. Lawrence Zinc Company, LLC, has issued a promissory note in the aggregate principal amount of $500,000 to the Development Authority of the North Country, a New York public benefit trust. Per the terms of the note, payments of accrued interest associated with the loan commenced on April 1, 2016, with full repayment of the principal amount, in addition to all accrued and unpaid interest, due on or before April 1, 2017. The loan has been guaranteed by both Star Mountain and wholly-owned subsidiaries Northern Zinc, LLC and Balmat Holding Corp.

“We are appreciative to the Development Authority of the North Country for this financing,” Joe Marchal, chief executive officer of Star Mountain, stated in this morning’s news release. “We consider this one of many partnerships in our plan to re-commence operations at the Balmat Mine.”

Since closing on its acquisition of the Balmat zinc mine last November, the company has remained focused on recommencing mining operations at the complex. In recent months, this focus has intensified as global mine depletion and severe production cutbacks have led to a strong rebound for zinc prices. Year to date, zinc has climbed more than 23 percent since bottoming in early January (http://dtn.fm/8E7hd), prompting analysts with Goldman Sachs to state that zinc currently has “the strongest bull case” of the metals market (http://dtn.fm/5Bg0O).

“The recent rebound in zinc prices along with a strengthening world-wide economy validates our decision in November 2015 to acquire the Balmat zinc mine at a deeply discounted price and its 585,000 tons of proven and probable reserves of 9.2% grade zinc plus the mineralized material adjacent to the current reserves that in all likelihood will be reclassified to reserve status as the mine progresses,” continued Marchal. “These factors are enabling us to continue to prepare the mine for operations and start putting it back into production while we seek funding.”

Last month, Star Mountain gave prospective shareholders a preview of the potential upside offered by the Balmat zinc mine when it announced the reception of an Industry Guide 7 (IG7) Mineral Reserve Report for the asset. In addition to reaffirming the company’s initial reserve estimate for the property, the IG7 Report outlined the potential for the company to generate roughly $80.8 million in revenue over its initial 2.5-year mine plan. The report also confirmed that the long production history of the Balmat mining operation could be sustained well into the future, beyond this initial mining period.

With the recent rise of zinc prices and confirmation of the viability of the Balmat zinc mine through an IG7 Report, Star Mountain is strategically positioned to promote strong growth moving forward. Look for the company to leverage the expertise of its management team and its newly-strengthened cash position in order to expedite the recommencement of mining operations at the Balmat mine in the coming months.

For more information, visit www.starmountainresources.com

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It’s that Saturday morning Mom has been anxious about for a couple of weeks now. With the week’s pile of laundry mounting, she has come to the realization that it’s now time to fight through traffic and parking lot chaos to do some last minute mall shopping before her business meeting tonight at seven. A couple of other details come to mind. Dad’s still out of town, and she’s got three children between four and ten in tow with the clock racing toward lunch hour. Fortunately, Giggles N’ Hugs, Inc. (OTCQB: GIGL) has the ideal solution!

Giggles N’ Hugs’ path toward growth is paved with ways to provide busy parents the peace of mind of knowing their children’s imaginations will be captivated and their nutritional needs met on each and every mall visit at prestigious Los Angeles, California, mall locations. All of the food at Giggles N’ Hugs is made with the freshest quality ingredients available comprised of a variety of organic, nutritious choices that provide parents the satisfaction of knowing that their children are eating food that is healthy for them. By rolling nutritional menu offerings in with customized themes targeted to a child’s imagination, the company sees an avenue that leads toward satisfying unmet needs of the small mall visitor while creating shareholder value.

Notably, Giggles N’ Hugs has been voted the #1 spot for indoor after school activities in the Los Angeles area. The company offers children numerous activities and games while allowing them to have fun on a giant pirate ship, dive into a ball pit or slide down slides. Other activities include monkey bars, a jungle gym and a hopscotch course. If that weren’t enough, there’s karaoke, dance parties and scavenger hunts, as well. Children are entertained by Disco Joe, Jitterbug Jake, puppet shows, face painting, and balloon artists. GIGL’s well-trained staff facilitates fun from entry to exit.

Giggles N’ Hugs, Inc. owns and operates kid-friendly restaurants with play areas for children 10 years of age and under. The company owns and operates a restaurant in the Westfield Mall in Century City, a restaurant in the Westfield Topanga shopping center in Woodland Hills, and a restaurant in the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California. Giggles N’ Hugs, Inc. is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, and opened its first restaurant in 2009.

Learn more by visiting www.gigglesnhugs.com

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It’s said that green is the new black. According to Packaged Facts, the movement toward sustainable practices in the pet industry has been underway for quite some time, “beginning with recycling efforts, expanding to bio-based/biodegradable materials and now encompassing a variety of initiatives driven by consumer demand.” Ohio-based OurPet’s Company (OTCQX: OPCO) is aware of this. The company develops, produces, and markets various pet accessory and consumable products designed to awaken pets’ natural instincts, be it in feeding, playing, or waste management.

Examples of the company’s ‘green’ commitment include the following cat products, which are made from sustainable or recycled/recyclable materials: Spider Wand™, Loofah Wand™, Catnip Carrots, Catnip Fruits, Veggie Assortment and the remainder of the Pet Zone EcoPure Naturals® line.

Consumers view companies with eco-friendly initiatives positively and are demanding products created with eco-friendly, ‘natural’ ingredients and materials. Experts predict continued growth in the natural category, which includes pet food and pet care products. As reported by Packaged Facts, U.S. retail sales of natural pet products saw a “compound annual growth rate of 15.2 percent” from 2010 to 2014.

Bob Vetere, president and CEO of the American Pet Products Association (APPA), announced at the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida, that overall spending in the pet industry for 2015 came in at a record $60.28 billion. These spending figures are part of APPA’s annual comprehensive report that covers pet spending in the market categories of food, supplies/over-the-counter (OTC) medications, veterinary care, live animal purchases and other services.

Pet services, which include grooming, boarding, walking, training, pet sitting, exercise and yard services for pets, saw the largest growth and more than tripled the growth percentage of any other category. Coming in at an 11.8 percent rise from 2014 to 2015, owners are now spending $5.41 billion on pet-related services.

“The 2016 industry spending forecast is very promising and although spending trends in various market segments ebb and flow, the industry as a whole is continuing to prosper, which is always great news,” said Vetere. “And with increased research on the health benefits of pet ownership, we anticipate even higher industry sales in the years to come.”

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

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Earlier today, Laguna Blends, Inc. (OTC: LAGBF) introduced Pro369, an innovative, water-soluble hemp protein product, to its growing network of affiliates in the United States and Canada. Pro369, which joins the company’s previously introduced ‘Caffe’ instant hot coffee beverage, is a world-class product that contains hemp, omegas and ginseng and is available in four delicious flavors. The company’s affiliate base will be able to purchase Pro369 as of 12:00pm PST today by accessing their Laguna affiliate shopping cart online.

“The feedback from the first product Laguna recently introduced, ‘Caffe’, has been tremendous. By infusing both hemp and whey with coffee we have generated interest in hemp within a mainstream market of coffee drinkers,” Stuart Gray, president and chief executive officer of Laguna, stated in this morning’s news release. “We are equally as excited to now offer Pro369 to our active affiliates and their customers.”

Pro369 offers Laguna particularly strong marketing power in Canada, where the company has been granted a Natural Product Number from the country’s Minister of Health. With this license in hand, the company can make a number of favorable health claims regarding the benefits of its new ‘on-the-go’ protein, including claims that Pro369 helps build and repair body tissues, assists in the building of lean muscle and helps maintain a healthy immune system.

Since launching its affiliate program in early March, Laguna has recorded rapid growth from all corners of the U.S. and Canada. In less than a month, the company has attracted more than 700 independent affiliates, greatly exceeding its previously released growth projections. In an effort to continue building on this momentum, the company is constructing a team of industry experts to facilitate the development of true industry-leading products. This strategy was readily apparent in the development of Pro369, when, through a strategic partnership with Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. (OTCQB: NSPDF), Laguna gained access to HempOmega® technology, an environmentally sustainable, vegetarian source of omegas 3 and 6 that serves as the foundation for Pro369’s superior protein formulation.

Laguna’s unique business model, which is focused on the expansion of a network of independent affiliates, puts the company in a favorable position to achieve sustainable growth moving forward. Look for Laguna to continue leveraging this strategic advantage as it builds on its current momentum in the months to come.

For more information, visit www.lagunablends.com

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Earlier today, Oakridge Global Energy Solutions, Inc. (OTCQB: OGES) announced its commercial revenues for the first quarter of 2016. During the period, the company successfully leveraged the momentum created by the commercial launch of its game-changing lithium-ion battery products to record the highest quarterly revenues in its near 20-year history. Oakridge exceeded its previously announced $250,000 revenue guidance, recording a total of $263,427 for the quarter.

“This is a very exciting time to be part of Oakridge,” Steve Barber, executive chairman and chief executive officer of Oakridge, stated in this morning’s news release. “We have, for the first time in company history (which dates back to the 1980’s), generated significant commercial revenues in Q1, 2016, and in doing so have exceeded our guidance of $250,000 in expected Q1 revenues.”

The first quarter of 2016 was filled with major milestones for Oakridge, beginning with the successful launch of production operations from its manufacturing facility located in Palm Bay, Florida. The company also announced the signing of a strategic business alliance agreement with Japan-based Sojitz Machinery Corporation, completed the production release of its Liberty Series motorsports starter battery, distributed the first regular commercial production shipments of its Pro Series golf car battery, entered into a strategic business alliance with Maritime Tactical Systems, Inc., and started a second shift of production operations in order to better meet rising commercial demand.

“We have passed the turning point after our lengthy restructure and transition of the company from an R&D company to a fully-fledged commercial production and manufacturing business and are looking forward to a very successful year in 2016,” continued Barber. “We have some truly amazing products, powerful strategic alliances, and some highly synergistic acquisition opportunities in the queue to be announced in the very near future.”

In the second quarter of 2016, Oakridge will look to build on its strong start to the year by continuing to expand its presence in the global stored energy space. The company plans to begin production shipments of its powerful Freedom IV series of living space power products in the coming months as it continues to develop and refine its existing product line. As part of these efforts, Oakridge has ordered additional high speed automation equipment to aid in manufacturing efforts, and it expects this equipment to be delivered before the end of this year.

With the most transformative quarter since its founding in 1986 now in the books, Oakridge is uniquely positioned to achieve sustainable growth moving forward. Look for the company to continue leveraging its immense intellectual property portfolio and extensive history of design and system innovation in order to deliver the latest in energy storage technology and continue to usher in a new era in battery manufacturing.

For more information, visit www.oakridgeglobalenergy.com

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Grey Cloak Tech, Inc. (OTC: GRCK) focuses on developing cloud-based software to detect advertising fraud on the internet. The worst part about credit card fraud and identity theft isn’t the annoyance of cleaning it up (though that’s certainly a factor), but the far-reaching effects that stick with you long after someone has rung up thousands of dollars worth of purchases in your name, including things like ruining your credit score, incurring late charges or making it difficult to get a loan. Grey Cloak Tech is the premier provider of software solutions that identify, track and eliminate digital advertising fraud. Its innovative, proprietary technologies help companies filter inaccurate click and impression data, detect non-human online traffic, block bogus online form submissions and expose counterfeit clicks and video views.

Grey Cloak develops advanced software to overcome the most costly digital threats. Sharing a vision for change and inspired to make the internet a safer place, the company’s founders began developing unique systems to eliminate online fraud and to ultimately build a secure internet for businesses and consumers alike.

Today, Grey Cloak vigorously protects its clients’ interests by identifying fraud patterns at their earliest stages in order to eliminate fraud and its financial ramifications. Grey Cloak Tech is proud to lead the industry with continuous development of the most comprehensive and effective weapons against online security threats. The company has begun laying the foundation for the safe internet with its proprietary digital advertising fraud detection software, Fraudlytic.

Grey Cloak Tech’s robust platform remains unsurpassed in pay per click (PPC) protection. The company’s comprehensive program uses the most trusted methodologies, including behavior-based methods, signature scanning, difference scanning and memory dump analysis. Managed by internet experts in electronic fraud intelligence, Grey Cloak’s algorithms continuously respond to advancing fraud techniques. The Grey Shield product is the online advertisers’ choice when it comes to safeguarding PPC expenses.

TrueClick Compliance includes all of same features of the basic TrueClick package with the addition of a selective online marketing feature especially useful for regulated industries that need to stay in state or federal compliance. By adjusting links and images to correspond to the viewer demographics of individual digital campaigns, such as the variations in state interest rates that insurance providers and banking institutions face, clients’ ads remain in compliance with governing statutes. An ad campaign appearing in the wrong state advertising the wrong interest rate, even by as small of a fluctuation of 0.25%, can cost the advertiser thousands and thousands of dollars per ad… plus, any fees or fines incurred for non-compliance.

By adding cross platform functionality to its TrueClick Compliance package, Grey Cloak allows advertisers to control what viewers see — no matter what device they are using. Marketers’ ads run identically on Windows and Mac operating systems, as well as on popular digital devices such as smartphones and tablets.

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