Lingo Media, through the implementation of its aggressive growth strategy, has established itself as an outfit to watch in the educational technology space. Last week, the company’s recent progress toward achieving sustainable growth in the $56 billion global English-learning market was highlighted in an article by Investor’s Digest of Canada. The key to this growth, according to the article, lies in Lingo’s ability to gain industry recognition and start making sales in the rapidly expanding educational technology market.

Over the past two years, Lingo has invested considerable time and resources into completing a transformation from a conventional textbook publisher into an emerging player in the EdTech market. The development of a digital library and the creation of a functioning platform through which to present its language-learning programs proved to be a complicated and lengthy process. However, with the creation of an online business unit now complete, Lingo appears to be primed for strong growth in the short term.

Lingo stands out from big names in the edtech market, such as Rosetta Stone (NYSE: RST) and Duolingo, for its dedication to the development of specialized modules to meet the needs of every type of student – from preschool through to adults. By customizing its learning products, the company is able to more adequately address the language needs of specific groups, effectively increasing the marketability of its products.

In the first three quarters of 2015, Lingo’s innovative approach to the English-learning industry has helped it secure a strong foothold in one of the world’s most promising educational markets. Since July, the company has entered into contracts in Mexico, Peru and Colombia, establishing a presence in a region with more than 600 million people and an educational system that, in many respects, lags behind the rest of the developed world.

With the foundation in place, Lingo appears set to capitalize on its work in previous quarters. In the second quarter of 2015, the company recorded just under $1.8 million in total revenue, doubling its results from the previous year. This financial growth carried over to the bottom line, with Lingo achieving net profit of $979,000 for the period. As the company continues its sales rollout, it is in a favorable position to build on these results while benefitting from the high margins offered by the EdTech market.

As Lingo progresses toward positioning itself as a major player in the educational technology space, it is expected to continue to record revenue from its legacy publishing operations thanks to a contract with the Chinese government. Providing stable, recurring sales of roughly $1.5 million a year for the next five years, this contract is anticipated to pad the company’s top and bottom lines for the foreseeable future. As a result, Investor’s Digest of Canada suggests that Lingo’s tiny market cap, which is currently about $12 million, leaves plenty of room for upside for forward-thinking investors.

For more information, visit www.lingomedia.com

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OurPet’s Company was recently highlighted in an article by investment research platform Seeking Alpha. The overview studied the company’s position in the rapidly expanding pet market, as well as its prospects for sustainable growth in the future.

OPCO has had great success in recent years focusing on products designed to satisfy the mental and physical health, safety and comfort of pets around the world. The company has established strong sales channels through which to promote additional growth. OPCO sells its products through some of the biggest retail names in the world – including pet specialty retailers such as Petco and Petsmart (NASDAQ: PETM), as well as more diversified sales channels like Kroger (NYSE: KR), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).

Bolstering the company’s success in these retail channels is the performance of the pet market. In 2013, the U.S. pet industry was the country’s third largest consumer market, accounting for approximately $60 billion in total revenue. Despite its size, analysts insist that there is still plenty of room for improvement. In total, about 68 percent of U.S. households own a pet, and research indicates that the majority of pet owners are willing to spend a significant amount of their income on their pets. As a result, the forecast CAGR for the market is between four and five percent through 2018, giving OPCO a strong foundation upon which to promote sustainable growth.

Moving forward, OPCO is in a favorable position to expand its ecommerce sales. In 2014, ecommerce already accounted for 10 percent of the company’s total sales, but a number of factors suggest that these sales figures could rapidly expand in the coming years. OPCO is currently the number one rated company in their product category on Amazon, which has helped it dramatically improve its results through the ecommerce giant. In 2014, the company’s ecommerce sales grew by nearly 40 percent, as compared to the previous year, with a 67 percent sales bump on Amazon leading the way. Following this performance, OPCO’s management team has highlighted ecommerce as one of their primary strategic initiatives for achieving sales and growth targets in the future.

As one of the only pure plays left in the pet industry, OPCO is one of the only ways investors can participate in the industry’s rapid growth. This position gives the company a noteworthy advantage in promoting additional growth while making it an extremely appealing acquisition target. In the months to come, OPCO’s efforts to establish improved brand awareness will likely play a key role in its ability to continue expanding its market share. For prospective shareholders, these efforts could translate into an opportunity to realize strong returns sooner rather than later.

To view the full Seeking Alpha article, visit http://www.seekingalpha.com/article/3508856-ourpets-company-the-last-pure-play-in-the-pet-industry

For more information, visit www.ourpets.com

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Hemp, Inc. this morning announced the release of its quarterly industry publication, The Hemp Nation Magazine (HNM), geared toward hemp industry advocates and supporters with a focus on the ongoing changes within the hemp industry in America.

The online, digital news source is designed to inform, educate, raise awareness and connect the public to the industrial hemp industry by reporting on politics, industrial growth, banking, distribution, medical, lifestyles and legalization.

The Hemp Nation Magazine’s editor Darlene Mea, in a news release stated, “Our mission and goal is to have The Hemp Nation Magazine be the first go-to resource for industrial hemp advocates and supporters seeking credible, current, engaging and curated content.”

The magazine has attracted nearly 1,000 subscribers in less than two months and has 15 advertisers featured in the magazine.

Bruce Perlowin, CEO of Hemp, Inc., said, “I am very pleased with the direction in which The Hemp Nation Magazine is going. We believe our industry publication is editorially savvy, digitally appealing, extremely informative and politically engaging. This edition envelopes the maverick spirit that prompted us to start this publishing venture.”

The feature story in the current issue is “Hemp Industry: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of an American Industry,” by Kyle Ladenburger, which discusses how the “incredibly useful crop (hemp)” became “inaccessible and steeped in controversy.” Readers also learn how innovative technologies are unlocking new possibilities in the article, “Hemp: It’s on its Way to Your Car Battery and Many Things You Haven’t Yet Imagined.”

Hemp, Inc. also issued numerous industry updates highlighting rising interest in industrial hemp in various U.S. states, ongoing legislation, and important market information.

For more information visit www.hempinc.com or www.hempnationmagazine.com

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Elephant Talk Communications Corp. provides mobile proprietary Software Defined Network Architecture (ET Software DNA® 2.0) platforms for its growing base of strategic partners and clients, which includes some of today’s world-leading MNOs and technology companies, including Vodafone, T-Mobile, Zain, HP and Affirmed Networks.

Targeting its share of the broader $1.4+ trillion telecommunications market, Elephant Talk empowers MNOs, MVNOs, MVNEs and MVNAs with a full suite of applications, reliable industry expertise, and high quality customer service. Understanding that partnership is crucial in enabling and delivering the highest level of quality of product capability and professionalism, Elephant Talk also closely collaborates with other expert organizations and leading service providers.

ValidSoft UK Ltd., a subsidiary of Elephant Talk uses personal authentication and device assurance to secure transactions and help customers reduce fraud losses. As part of its multi-factor authentication, ValidSoft integrates its leading Voice Biometric engine into multivendor solutions or as a standalone system. ValidSoft serves multiple clients in the financial government and business automation sectors and is the only company to have been granted four European Privacy Seals, reflecting its commitment to promoting strong data privacy.

Elephant Talk has implemented rigid structures and processes to ensure corporate integrity and the responsible oversight of all business activities. This vision starts with executive management and extends to every employee. Elephant Talk is guided by a visionary leadership team with a rich history of success in key markets pertinent to both the company’s current and desired market positions. In order to achieve and maintain world-class system performance, Elephant Talk leverages this management team along with collaborations with the world’s best technical partners.

Key Investment Highlights:

• Strategic geographical focus includes the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia
• World class mobile cloud management and security delivery platform enables unique product positioning
• Well-positioned for recurring revenue growth, driven by contracts with top industry leaders
• Strong client and partner base for outsourcing services complemented by powerful pipeline of mobile platform outsourcing opportunities
• ValidSoft subsidiary continues to advance IP and patent portfolios; five patents and 22 further patent applications

Today MissionIR released an interview with Oakridge Global Energy Solutions, Inc. (OTCQB: OGES) Chief Executive Officer Steve Barber.

The full audio interview is available at http://OGES.MissionIR.com/interview.html

Oakridge is focused on the design, development and manufacture of American-made high-quality cells, batteries and power systems. Its innovative product line includes multiple lithium-ion technologies and form factors optimized to address four high-demand target markets: stationary power storage units and power back up systems for homes and living space applications; motive applications such as electric vehicles (especially including golf cars, local area electric vehicles, and fleet vehicles); remote control sector batteries for civilian and military applications (for drones and unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned underwater vehicles, and unmanned cars and boats); as well as starter motor batteries for motorcycles, jet-skis, snow mobiles, and boats, together with specialty applications such as military, aerospace, marine, medical and telecom backup.

Mr. Barber begins the MissionIR interview by describing Oakridge’s business model and recent visit from Florida Governor Rick Scott to celebrate the opening of its new headquarters.

“[Governor Scott] was here to not only himself personally open our new headquarters, which is our expansion facility because we outgrew our initial starting point from two years ago, but he also announced a… $33 million incentive package from a combination of the state of Florida, the local county [Brevard County]… and the city of Palm Bay, which is where our corporate headquarters is. I think that really got everybody’s attention quite nicely,” says Steve Barber.

Mr. Barber then briefly details Oakridge’s ongoing restructuring initiatives and how the Company is now aptly positioned to expand its market reach in the global lithium-ion batteries market, which is expected to reach approximately $70 billion by 2020.

In addition to his executive position with Oakridge, Mr. Barber is the chairman and chief investment officer of a private office family fund, Precept, which searches out “the next great new thing” in which to invest. It was through Precept that Barber noticed the incredible growth of the lithium-ion battery space, along with the need for American-made and commercialized batteries of superior quality.

In 2014, Precept took control of Oakridge, which at the time was a shell company, polished it up, and with a new management team decided how to best utilize the patents for lithium ion battery technology it holds.

“Through our family fund we searched around and about two years ago we found Oakridge and decided to invest in and take control of it,” Barber explains. “And that’s another good thing for investors, because as a family fund we’ve got our two parallel funds… and we own almost 90% of the company, which means that we can do the restructure that we needed to do successfully, reposition the company how it needs to be repositioned, inject fresh capital — which has been, in total, around about $40 million. We really put our money where our mouth is with this one. And of course, we’re long-term holders… we aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.”

Today, Oakridge is the only pure-play “Made in the USA” manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries available for purchase. The company’s battery products are designed for golf cars, jet skis, motorcycles, boats, home energy storage and many more exciting applications.

“Batteries are boring unless you wrap them in cool stuff, so we make batteries for cool stuff,” explains Mr. Barber.

The CEO also names and explains the qualifications of key members of its leadership team and recent corporate milestones before concluding with an overview of what’s to come in the near future.

“It’s extremely important to us, in creating a successful company, that you have the right team. That’s really what we’ve spent the last 18 months to two years doing. We restructured the company completely, cleaned it up… We’ve filed for NASDAQ — which the company expects to achieve when the share price climbs to $4. The company is also gearing up to order new equipment to expand its existing production to become fully operational by spring of 2016, positioning the company among the top 10 battery manufacturers by capacity in the world,” he says.

For more information, visit http://oakg.net

Hemp, Inc. has been on a tear in recent months. On the heels of recording its best quarter in company history during the second quarter of 2015, the company has continued to make considerable progress toward the impending launch of its hemp processing plant in Spring Hope, North Carolina. Initially, Hemp, Inc. plans to process kenaf in the 70,000 square foot facility, but recent regulatory action has set the stage for industrial hemp legalization in the near future. Last month, a legislator in North Carolina introduced a bill that, if passed, would commission a pilot program studying the immense benefits of industrial hemp cultivation. Put simply, the movement to legalize industrial hemp is rapidly gaining steam, and Hemp, Inc.’s decortication plant is a big reason for the push.

“The Spring Hope facility will give North Carolina farmers a leg up in this industry,” Representative Jeff Collins, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives and sponsor of the industrial hemp legislation, stated.

The commercial potential of legalized industrial hemp is vast, as the plant can be used to produce more than 25,000 products. From paper, fabric and building materials to high quality health and beauty products, the countless benefits of hemp have ushered in a growing revolution calling for the legalization of a crop that’s production has been banned in the U.S. for more than 70 years.

In preparation for this green revolution, Hemp, Inc. has partnered with Gawk, Inc. (OTC: GAWK), a global innovator of digital technology, in order to enhance its web presence and improve its ability to speak to consumers and investors about its progress during this exciting time. Through this partnership, Hemp, Inc. will be provided with a secure cloud-based platform that can be remotely managed from anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

“Gawk has been materially beneficial to us in our pursuit of informing the public of the many benefits and uses of hemp-based products,” Bruce Perlowin, chief executive officer of Hemp, Inc. stated. “Having our own private cloud infrastructure with Gawk as our strategic partner allows us to focus on our core business with the confidence that our infrastructure is robust.”

Pending unforeseen delays, Hemp, Inc. executives expect the decortication plant to be fully operational before the end of 2015, putting the company in a strong strategic position to bolster its financial performance while preparing to capture a sustainable foothold in the industrial hemp market following legalization. As North Carolina inches closer to this regulatory change, the company is preparing to launch a redesigned website that better communicates its established strategic position in the world of industrial hemp.

For more information, visit www.hempinc.com

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For years, costly fountains and simple, coin-operated puzzle tables and rides held center court in malls across the U.S. By the 80s though, shopping mall owners and operators had replaced these pieces with less costly art/performance spaces and lounge areas they believed would attract more customers. These days, mall designers are offering new enticements to keep shoppers from shopping online or at competitive locations. They are adding restaurants fit for foodies, promoting real-life services like fitness clubs and hair salons, and turning to cozy play areas to bring in more shoppers (both parents and kids), capture their attention and get them to stay longer in their malls.

Giggles N’ Hugs, which owns and operates three family-friendly restaurants in major malls in the Los Angeles area, has been enjoying this rising trend. Recognizing that the once-humble play area is a thing of the past and that cushy new play areas are the shopping malls’ new secret weapon, the company doubled down with its restaurant concept. At each of its locations, Giggles N’ Hugs has paired innovative, kid-friendly entertainment and play spaces with adult-friendly, organic food and drink menus, and created a popular, family-friendly atmosphere and winning formula that has brought its first three locations notable success. During the course of the first and second quarters of 2015, for example, the company’s sales of $1.75 million surpassed last year’s levels by 6%.

Major expansion is now in the works for Giggles N’ Hugs and its highly marketable restaurant concept. The company is preparing to duplicate this concept at new locations in West Coast markets like Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego and Orange County and has been actively discussing expansion with several large mall owners, including the Westfield Group. Giggles N’ Hugs typically targets kids who are 10 or younger and, in the Westfield Group, the company just might have found a like-minded strategic business partner. At its Galleria at Roseville mall in California, Westfield has been testing out a play area stocked with touch-screen games, puzzles and Jenga-style games more suited to kids aged 6 to 10 who wish to do more than run and climb.

For more information, visit www.gigglesnhugs.com

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To misquote Mark Twain, reports of the death of cash have been greatly exaggerated. Make no mistake, the use of cash to make purchases has most certainly been on a steady decline in recent years. In a 2012 survey by Mastercard (NYSE: MA), nearly three-quarters of Americans said that they used cash less than they did a decade earlier. Reaffirming this point, a 2013 study indicated that a massive 80 percent of consumer spending in the U.S. was cashless. Despite this popularity, a total shift away from paper money is unlikely in the short-term, and, according to a report on Strategy Eye Digital, that’s a result of a lack of truly compelling digital alternatives.

“One thing we need to do is work out the needs of merchants where cash traditionally is prevalent,” James Allgrove, head of growth at Stripe UK, stated at London Fintech Week. “Take Uber and cabs – magical experience of not having to pay tips and split fares. We need to understand the needs of each industry and build payments for that industry rather than one size fits all.”

Alternet Systems, Inc. (OTCQB: ALYI) is playing a key role in the transformation of the payments market. Through its strategic partnership with MUXI, a Brazilian leader in multichannel technology solutions for the electronic point of sale industry, the company is in a strong strategic position to introduce innovative, brand-agnostic point of sale terminals and disruptive payment technology to the U.S. market, which includes the largest outdated legacy point of sale infrastructure in the world.

MUXI’s technology enables a full range of vital payment solutions – including the implementation of mobile point of sale infrastructure across tablets and smartphones. Demand for these mobile solutions is high across a host of industries due to their affordability and versatility, as compared to fixed point of sale terminals.

The hospitality industry, in particular, represents a strong opportunity for Alternet. In a 2014 study by Hospitality Technology, more than two-thirds of restaurants surveyed intended to add new functionality, features or modules to their current point of sale solutions in 2015. Additionally, approximately 38 percent of restaurants planned to develop and deploy point of sale solutions for use on mobile devices.

Expanding implementation of new features such as mobile wallet services and contactless payment solutions, as well as the ongoing EMV migration, is creating a strong opportunity for Alternet to establish a sustainable foothold in the $37 billion global point of sale market. Look for the company to increase its market share by continuing to rely on the unique benefits of its innovative multichannel solutions.

“The prevalence of cash can be somewhat attributed to inertia,” Dave Wascha, global digital product director of Travelex, stated at the Fintech conference. “It’s up to this industry to decide how long it stays around.”

For more information, visit www.alternetsystems.com

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Choosing a transfer agent can play a major role in determining a company’s success. While all transfer agents perform the same basic functions, one firm has consistently gone the extra mile to meet and exceed the expectations of its clients. Over the last half century, Continental Stock Transfer & Trust has established a position among the very best in the industry through a commitment to superior client responsiveness and uniquely tailored business solutions that meet the specific needs of smaller to midsize emerging and growth companies. Today, Continental remains dedicated to companies with 50,000 shareholders or fewer, and it currently provides unparalleled support to more than 2.5 million shareholders of record nationwide.

Despite its position as the fourth largest transfer agent in the United States, Continental does things a little differently than mega transfer agents. To start, the company gives clients 24/7 access to its senior-level experts. This personalized attention, along with truly flexible offerings, innovative technology and exceptional execution, serves as the foundation upon which Continental builds suites of services that are ideally suited to the individual needs of each client.

Continental’s tailored services are offered to clients at an unmatched value that has repeatedly earned the company top honors in annual industry surveys. For four consecutive years, Continental was awarded the prestigious TALON Award, which is presented to the leading transfer agents in North America.

Any organization’s true strength lies in its people, and, for over five decades, Continental has gathered some of the industry’s most experienced experts to ask the right questions, provide the right answers and deliver the precise support that its clients and their shareholders require. Steve Nelson, the company’s president and chairman, leads the Continental team. Leaning on more than 30 years of industry experience, Nelson’s involvement in the day-to-day management of client initiatives sets the pace for Continental’s commitment to living up to its reputation as the industry’s most accessible transfer agent.

Just because all transfer agents specialize in the same basic functions doesn’t mean that they are all created equally. For growth and emerging companies, Continental’s unmatched combination of size, value and attention to detail makes it an option that’s certainly worthy of consideration.

For more information visit www.continentalstock.com

As part of its recently announced expansion, Oakridge Global Energy Solutions this morning said it plans to fully utilize the many patents developed and owned by the company in thin film solid state batteries, to be used for “game-changing” applications in electronics, robotics, industry, medical devices and the military.

In 2002, the company acquired Oak Ridge Micro-Energy Inc. to advance the development and commercialization of rechargeable thin film solid state lithium battery technology that was based upon the thin film solid state lithium ion technology developed by Dr. John B. Bates, Ph.D., while he was employed at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (“ORNL”) under license from ORNL.

“The timing is now right and the market is now ready for thin film solid state batteries,” OGES executive chairman and CEO Steve Barber stated in the news release. “These amazing next generation batteries last for years without the need for recharging while providing steady power to smart phones, computer tablets, smart watches, medical electronics, and even animatronics and flexible applications such as the incorporation of batteries into the fabrics of clothing and tires.”

Barber notes that while the broader market wasn’t ready for the technology when it was invented the mid-1990s, “now is the perfect time for Oakridge to commercialize our industry-changing technology.”

OGES expects to complete the last phase of pre-production prototyping in early 2016 and be ready for full commercial product and manufacturing in late 2016 to early 2017.

“This is yet another very exciting product line that nicely complements our existing products that we have already introduced, and will be a real game-changer for the global battery industry and truly represents the next generation of batteries,” says Barber. “With this new product initiative, in commercializing more great technology invented right here in the USA, we are continuing with our mission statement of on-shoring jobs and manufacturing back to the USA by providing the market with another Made In the USA product instead of having to rely on imported products.”

Barber also notes that the process for manufacturing thin film solid state batteries significantly differs from the current process of producing small format or large format lithium cells, and is more fitting to the manufacturing techniques used in the semiconductor industry. OGES will tap into the local workforce and acquire new equipment as necessary.

“We will utilize the considerable depth of skilled employees found in and around the Space Coast area to set this manufacturing operation up in a separate facility to accommodate the special processes required in the manufacture of these new game-changing batteries. We anticipate having that new facility location selected by the end of this year in the Space Coast area where we are currently located and will immediately begin sourcing equipment and hiring employees,” he says.

For more information visit www.oakg.net