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Chairman & CEO Joshua Sodaitis Announces Annual Letter to Shareholders

Peer to Peer Network

McapMediaWire -- Peer To Peer Network a.k.a MobiCard Inc. (OTC: PTOP ) today released the following annual letter to shareholders: Dear Fellow Shareholders: Each year, I make it a priority to write to you on behalf of PTOP. I believe that a clear and concise strategy outlined at the beginning of the year helps keep the company focused on the strategic objectives that we aim to achieve. Although I know that each of you has different priorities, we all want the same thing, the value of growth and the company to succeed in our goals. In the year 2022, we faced challenges at every turn: a lingering pandemic, unprecedented government actions, a highly polarized congressional U.S. election, mounting inflation, a war in Ukraine, and a dramatic economic funding shortage that short-changed PTOP. We lost a member of our advisory board who decided to be involved in negotiating the MOBICARD™ 2.0 tech contract and then disappeared after having promised to pay for the contract. We hope he is okay and will return for the new year. Adding to the disruption, these events were unfolding while we learned that DWAC eligibility would not automatically make PTOP shares accepted for transfers to existing brokerage firms. Ultimately, we could only afford half of the strategic objectives we had laid out for the year 2022. Since I have been CEO dating back to 2018… 2022 was the 1 st year in which I was not able to knock down all of the strategic objectives I had laid out in my annual letter at the beginning of that year. But during this difficult time, we have a moment to put aside our differences, offer solutions and work with shareholders who may not have been as active previously. In the year 2023, we have an opportunity to come together in defense of PTOP & MOBICARD™ 2.0’s future. We have seen in many years prior that the shareholders of PTOP have come together previously during instances of conflict and crisis. I am optimistic that we can reengage with previously disgruntled shareholders, & long-lost advisors, for all of our interests collectively. This juncture is also a moment when our company needs to work together to achieve the mutually beneficial strategic objectives, I laid out ahead for the year 2023. Although I began this annual letter to shareholders in reflection of 2022’s challenging landscape, I remain proud of what our company, our employees, & 1099 independent contractors have achieved, collectively and individually. As you know, I have long championed the essential role of transparency, and honesty in our community — MOBICARD™ 2.0 has the potential for bringing people together, enabling companies and individuals to reach for their dreams, and being a source of strength in entrepreneurism. Throughout this past challenging year, we never stopped doing all the things we should be doing to serve our shareholders and remain true to our transparent financial reporting requirements. Looking back on the last year and the past 4 years — starting from my time as CEO in late 2018 — it is clear that my financial discipline, constant investment in innovation, and ongoing development to better the company, is what enabled us to persevere in our steadfast dedication to help shareholders and maintain our financial reporting requirements. I’d like to note some steadfast principles that are worth repeating. The first is that our management team goes to work every day recognizing the enormous responsibility that we have to our shareholders. Maintaining our ability to be listed on the OTC Markets Pink Sheets is the top priority. Second, while I don’t run the company worrying about the stock price in the short run, in the long run, our stock price is a measure of the progress we have made over the years. This progress is a function of continual investments in our people, systems, and product, in good and bad times, to build our capabilities. Whether looking back to 2017 when I first got on the board and the stock was at $0.0001 per share, or in the years since, Peer To Peer Network’s shareholders' investments have resulted in our stock’s significant improvement. These important investments that many of you will make directly into PTOP in the weeks and months to come will also drive our company’s future prospects and position it to grow and prosper. I have no doubt in my mind that 2023 will see the release of MOBICARD™ 2.0 and its debut will lead to significant improvement in the appreciation of our stock price, and of the value of the company overall. In 2022 we announced the Kick-off of a complete front-end overhaul. We completed that goal. We also announced a complete redesign that would include improvements to our web apps, and mobile apps, and make MOBICARD™ easier to understand, faster to use, and add additional functionality. We were calling it MOBICARD™2.0. We are $30,000 short of having MOBICARD™ 2.0 completed. That is why I am discussing with our tech team the idea of perhaps releasing MOBICARD™2.0 in stages. This will allow the app to be out and gathering users while we push out updates to add the other additional functionality and features. This will be a big decision for 2023 that will greatly depend on the capital available to the company come to the end of February. We have consistently described to you, our shareholders, the basic principles, and strategies we use to build this company — from maintaining a fortress balance sheet, constantly satisfying regulators, continually improving risk governance and controls, and serving shareholders. We are proud to announce that our Q1 financials will be completed soon, and we will continue to clear debt off of our books, while not accepting any form whatsoever of any toxic debt. In 2022 we applied and were approved for DWAC eligibility. In 2023 we plan to hold a majority vote to effectuate key corporate actions with FINRA that will better suit the company and enable further investment from existing shareholders. Namely a restructure. I hope to conclude this vote in the next week and will make an announcement accordingly. In 2023 we plan to file a form C with the SEC. This will enable Reg CF or Crowd Funding. This will enable PTOP to seek the much-needed funding to achieve strategic objectives. Crowd Funding allows for an unlimited number of unaccredited investors and also allows for PTOP to advertise and promote the purchase of our stock directly through the company on social media and online. We plan to work with a specialty company that will host it on their site as well as promotes us to a list of their investors. In 2023 we need to complete a PCAOB compliant audit in order to clear both the Reg CF and in our opinion the corporate actions/ restructure. If PTOP is able to obtain the funding necessary to complete these objectives, our stock should be well over a penny and there most likely will be an entirely new shareholder base interested in our company right in time for our MOBICARD™2.0 apps to drop. We also plan to file an entirely new patent based on our MOBICARD™2.0 solutions. This should build momentum. The plan is for 2023 is simple. Make a press release after the following completed strategic objectives: Complete a Majority Vote Engage a Crowd Funding Company Engage & Fund an Auditor Pay our Tech Team to get out Mobicard™2.0 into the stores Complete the PCAOB audit File with FINRA for a stock re-structure File form C with the S.E.C. for a Reg CF = Crowd Funding / Get approved Engage with Investors Hub (Home Take over Page placed adds) Release Mobicard™ 2.0 Promote User Growth through a well-funded PR & Marketing campaign. If you look deeper, you will find that PTOP’s success and accomplishments are founded on our commitment to EACH-OTHER. Shareholder value can be built only if you maintain a healthy and vibrant company, which means doing a good job taking care of funding requirements, employees, and shareholder interests. Conversely, how can you have a healthy company if you neglect any of these stakeholders? As we have learned in 2022, there are myriad of ways that each stakeholder is dependent on the other. Adhering to our basic principles and strategies allows us to drive forward, and properly manage our capital, as we have consistently demonstrated over the past year. Finally, the basis of our success is our people. Our shareholders and new prospective shareholders that pay to build the company and maintain the regulatory requirements, PTOP’s CEO who makes the strategic decisions, manages the risks, determines our spending priorities. Whatever your view is of PTOP’s complexity and the risks and opportunities ahead, having a great team of people — with guts, brains, integrity, and an enormous capability to navigate personally challenging circumstances while maintaining high standards of professional excellence — is what ensures our prosperity, now and in the future. If I can round up the $150,000 necessary to move the company forward in the next two months we will clear more than half the list within 6 months. We will all be able to experience the BEST year PTOP has ever had! I plan to answer a bunch of shareholder questions on the PTOP message boards on Thursday so I encourage anyone with any comments questions, or concerns to reach out at www.ptopnetwork.com Just think about where the stock can go if we knock down the objectives I have outlined. It will come down to funding to get those initiatives accomplished. together we can make this by far the best year ever. I look forward to talking with all of you on our shareholder message boards at www.ptopnetwork.com. Like us @MobiCard on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @freemobicard. MobiCard A new phase is coming soon! Contact Info: Joshua Sodaitis, Chairman & CEO MobiCard, Inc. 45 Prospect Street Cambridge, MA 02139 Phone: 1-617-651-2460 Email: info@freemobicard.com App Website: www.freemobicard.com Investor Website: www.ptopnetwork.com ABOUT: Peer to Peer Network aka MobiCard is the 1st of its kind digital contact/business card. It will greatly facilitate the ability of individuals and businesses to share information and more effectively expand their visibility and brand awareness. Mobicard is a combination of powerful mobile apps and desktop apps with wide-ranging capabilities, including linking videos, user websites, all forms of contact information, and all of each user's social media links into one consolidated source. It is more than just a digital business card; it's a "dynamic digital footprint." A subscriber can custom create their business card to include a company logo, profile photo, contact details, website, audio messaging, social media links, and multi-media content. The platform sharing and alert system enable users to share their card via text/SMS, e-mail, and global social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. The system provides the user instant text alerts when their card is opened or shared with third-party referrals all while building an invaluable database of contact leads. Safe Harbor Statement: This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company invokes the protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements regarding our expected future financial position, results of operations, cash flows, financing plans, business strategies, products and services, competitive positions, growth opportunities, plans and objectives of management for future operations, as well as statements that include words such as "anticipate," "if," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "could," "should," "will," and other similar expressions are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from anticipated results, performance, or achievements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include those set forth in our filings at www.sec.gov. The company is no longer a fully reporting SEC filing company. We are under no obligation to (and expressly disclaim any such obligation to) update or alter our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Contact Details MobiCard, Inc Joshua Sodaitis +1 617-651-2460 info@freemobicard.com Company Website https://www.freemobicard.com/

February 07, 2023 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Preya Co Investor Relations and Corporate Advisory Firm Announces Launch of New Website and Expansion of Services

Preya Co

McapMediaWire -- Preya Co, a boutique investor relations firm based out of New York, is pleased the announce the launch of its new innovative corporate website: www.preya.co The new website was created to better reflect our portfolio of services and strategies the firm has to offer. Preya Co provides individualized attention and customized plans to cater to each company’s specific needs toward ensuring a high value return service. “We spent much of 2022 exponentially growing our client base and partnerships toward additional capabilities and second-to-none service,” said Preya Narain, Director of IR Strategy and Operations. “Bolstering our clients communication is our specialty, as we know that maintaining a transparent avenue of contact with consumers and shareholders is essential in both the public and private sectors. Our firm works cohesively with management teams to tell each company’s unique story streamlined across multiple formats and channels of engagement.” Research shows that the USA has approximately 302.35 million social media users as of 2023. This translates to roughly 90% of the total U.S. population using social media. “Whether you have a small business, large public company or even a mid-sized private company, social media is the key to driving brand awareness and expanding your business’s base of clients,” adds Narain. The firm’s services include: IR Strategy Shareholder Meetings Presentations IR & Corporate Websites Private Company Advisory Corporate Governance Press Release Writing Social Media Management Crisis Communication Executive Search One key strategic partnership is with Mcap Mediawire ( www.McapMediaWire.com ) (“Mcap”), a cutting edge media, marketing, disclosure/news dissemination firm that services both private and public companies with offerings such as effective press release dissemination, journalist/blogger pickup of news and articles, news videos, marketing programs, CEO Interviews, and more. Mcap Founder, Mark B. Newbauer states, “We have had the immense pleasure of working with Preya for nearly 5 years now and I’ve yet to find a professional with her specialty that delivers their work with more care for the client. Preya truly goes above and beyond for those she serves and works with and is a trusted name among CEOs and Shareholders/Investors alike. We are thrilled to be expanding our capabilities through her service, alongside special offers on our services to her client base toward a win-win.” Multimedia Presentation: Preya Co Investor Relations and Corporate Advisory Firm Announces Launch of New Website and Expansion of Services Video: https://youtu.be/iWYFsbTkCB8 For more information and updates, please visit www.preya.co Contact Mcap Mediawire: cs@mcapmedia.com 707-682-9473 Contact Details Preya Co Preya Narain info@preya.co Mcap Mediawire Mark B. Newbauer +1 707-682-9473 cs@mcapmedia.com Company Website https://www.preya.co/

February 07, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Alan Schneider Celebrates 15 Years as Owner of Minuteman Press Franchise in Northvale, NJ

Minuteman Press International Inc

The Minuteman Press franchise in Northvale, NJ has been operating for over 40 years. Alan Schneider and his wife Nadine are celebrating 15 years as owners and share their insights and reflections. Minuteman Press in Northvale, NJ is located at 202 Livingston Street, Northvale, NJ 07647. Congrats on 15 years! What does this milestone mean to you and what are the keys to your success and longevity? Nadine and Alan: “This is a tremendous milestone for us. Although we have hit this milestone in our tenure, the shop has been in business for over 40 years in this community. We are well known and very involved in the town. For years, people were saying the printing industry was dying. Then the pandemic hit and I think everyone feared a little bit for the future. However, I have to say that I never expected the bounce back from the pandemic to be such a boon for business. I think people realized that community is important, supporting local business is important, and although online marketing has a place, it’s not the only game in town. Print is still king. The keys to our success and longevity are: providing a warm and friendly place to do business; being knowledgeable about our products and services; letting our clients know that their success is important to us and we are here to help them; caring about our clients as people—not just as customers; and, most importantly, reliability and integrity.” What are some of the key ways you’ve grown your business? Nadine and Alan: “Believe it or not, the pandemic was a blessing for our business. It forced us to take critical look at how we were operating. We took a hard look at our numbers, and strategized on what we could do better in both operations and marketing. On the operational side, we cut out some of the fat and streamlined things where needed.” Alan: “My wife, Nadine, has an MBA in marketing and has owned a marketing and graphic design business for 15+ years. She joined me in our Northvale, NJ location and is providing all the graphic design services. Not only was this a strategic financial/operational move, it was the best marketing move we could have made. We are now truly a marketing, design and printing company – a one-stop shop!” Nadine and Alan: “Our clients are provided with a free consultation on the best ways to market their business. We do the strategy, design and printing. When the clients see the results, they come back for additional products and services—and they tell their friends! The savings we realized from our reduction in payroll was also reinvested in the business by increasing our participation in the SEO/Internet marketing program. We are starting to see an uptick in our internet leads! A couple of other cool things… Last year, we expanded our marketing strategy by promoting ourselves as a local family business. Our holiday cards now feature our family photo – myself, Nadine, and our 4 grown children. The theme is, Family is everything. We appreciate you being part of ours. I can’t tell you how many compliments we received on that card. People feel like they know our family, and always ask how our kids are doing. This year, we will be planning a marketing program to celebrate my birthday on October 26 th. Why? Because we found out that it’s also National Printing Day! We are going to have a lot of fun with that. We also do a lot of in-person networking by being active in our home and business communities. We are BNI members and directors, are involved with many not-for-profits, serve on the boards of the local Chambers of Commerce, and are Auxiliary Police Officers in our hometown. We are always visible helping the community in whatever way we can.” What are your high-demand products and services? Nadine and Alan: “We do a ton of direct mail, particularly EDDM. Although the program has been around for years, it’s really been gaining traction since the pandemic. Once our clients see how well direct mail works for them, they either expand their reach or frequency…or both. We help them build their customer lists as a result of their EDDM efforts, then assist them with targeted direct mail programs to these new customers. We are proud to say that many of our clients credit us with helping them build their businesses through direct mail. They refer to us as the direct mail experts! We also began heavily promoting branded apparel. It’s featured in the front of our store, and we make a point of mentioning it to our clients when they come into the shop. Once we learn about their business, we suggest what types of apparel and promotional items they may want to consider to boost their brand awareness.” What are your key growth areas? Nadine and Alan: “Again, direct mail and apparel are huge for us. Design as well. Our previous graphic designer was more of a layout/production person. Nadine is a true creative. Everything we do for a client now has a marketing strategy behind it, and a creative, eye-catching design. Clients who come in with their ideas are truly blown away by how we bring their visions to life. One successful campaign for a client usually snowballs into more business—and more referrals! But our true measure of success is knowing how we are helping our clients grow their businesses.” How would you best describe your community? Nadine and Alan: “Northvale, NJ is one square mile in area, right on the New York State border. The community is comprised of mostly residential homes, a small downtown with shopping and a handful of light industrial/manufacturing. Since it’s a small-town area, we focus on serving the local trades, retail stores, restaurants, professional services and industrial businesses. We have also built a client list outside of our small regional area by creating relationships with professionals that can provide us with ongoing business.” Why do you think printing remains so vital to businesses today? What are the benefits of print? Nadine and Alan: “Several years ago, email marketing became extremely popular because it was free. Today, in-boxes are flooded with messages that are deleted before they are even opened. A wasted marketing effort, even though it is ‘free.’ With print, your message is tangible. A direct mail piece in someone’s mailbox is handled – even if it is eventually discarded. Someone saw it, and handled it. Print is the ultimate conversation-starter. Hand someone a brochure, mail them a postcard, or even embroider your company name on your polo – and you are now visible to them. The most successful businesses rely on print for the majority of their marketing, so it is definitely here to stay.” What was your background before franchising? Alan: “I owned a food distribution company prior to owning a Minuteman Press. I wanted something new, but I still wanted to be a business owner. I chose Minuteman Press because of the company’s reputation for training and support of its franchisees. Also, printing is a consumable business which means repeat business.” What has the support from Minuteman Press International been like for you? Nadine and Alan: “Pick up the phone, send an email, and someone is there to help. The conventions are invaluable. We always come back learning something new, whether it’s from corporate or fellow owners. We look forward to seeing everyone, and meeting new people. It’s like a family reunion! We’ve also come back with new vendors to try which really had an impact on our business.” What are the biggest rewards of owning your business? Nadine and Alan: “Being an integral part of other people’s businesses and helping them achieve their goals. Also, being part of the community.” What advice would you give to others? Nadine and Alan: “Be professional and be persistent!” Minuteman Press in Northvale, NJ is located at 202 Livingston Street, Northvale, NJ 07647. For more information, visit their website: https://minuteman.com/us/locations/nj/northvale/ Learn more about #1 rated Minuteman Press franchise opportunities and read Minuteman Press franchise reviews at https://minutemanpressfranchise.com. Contact Details Minuteman Press International Chris Biscuiti +1 631-249-1370 cbiscuiti@mpihq.com Company Website https://minutemanpressfranchise.com

February 06, 2023 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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Hypemachine launches a PR subscription platform with a powerhouse network of top PR executives from bluechip agencies such as Edelman, FleishmanHillard, and Ogilvy

Hypemachine

New York-based company Hypemachine today announced the launch of their platform and bluechip PR network ( www.hypemachine.io ). The company has attracted early-stage to publicly traded firms globally as clients and replaced what mid-sized PR agencies used to do with its technology and business model. Hypemachine offers à la carte PR subscriptions that can be scaled up or down quickly based on client needs. The company provides bluechip PR agency quality results at a fraction of "big agency” fees. How Hypemachine is different: Hypemachine Match – Hypemachine identifies what media relationships PR executives have, the sectors they worked in, and what they enjoy doing most in PR and matches senior PR teams to clients in tech, consumer, venture capital, and other sectors. Hypemachine Intuitive Dashboard – Hypemachine’s intuitive dashboard provides PR data and recommendations from Hypemachine's executives. The next stage of the dashboard will use artificial intelligence combined with executives' personalized insights. Hypemachine’s dashboard also streamlines the administrative and account management work that junior staffers typically do. Hypemachine Story Strength Score – The company has also created a ‘Hypemachine story strength score’, which assesses clients' announcements and story assets and offers recommendations on how to make them more compelling for reporters. “As a two-time startup founder and former agency SVP at a leading PR agency in New York City, I saw that the agency model was broken for most brands and founders,” says Hypemachine Founder and CEO Olga Orda. "A big part of why we’ve attracted so much incredible A-list, senior talent at Hypemachine is that they feel their work and senior counsel is valued, both in our network and by our clients," Orda said. “Contrary to what many may assume about public relations, we get paid to think, and public relations is more than just who you know. Even if I’m best friends with a reporter at the Wall Street Journal, no reporter will put their career on the line for a terrible or boring story. That’s why we hire the best talent in the industry from leading brands and agencies. We're passionate about helping clients strengthen their storylines and get media coverage.” “Adapting to the changing public relations industry, Hypemachine has created a powerful model for clients to capture tomorrow's audiences," says Andrew Graham, Founder and Head of Strategy at Bread & Law and 2021 PRSA-NY president. About Hypemachine Launched in 2023, Hypemachine ( www.hypemachine.io ) offers a PR subscription platform and powerhouse network of former PR executives from bluechip firms such as Edelman, FleishmanHillard, Ogilvy, and other leading agencies. Hypemachine’s senior associates have advised brands and organizations such as Google, GE, Samsung, Unilever, Netflix, Salesforce, and Amazon. The company offers bluechip PR agency capabilities at a fraction of “big agency” fees and an intuitive Hypemachine PR dashboard for clients. Based in New York City, Hypemachine’s clients include early-stage to publicly traded companies globally. Contact Details Hypemachine Media Relations info@hypemachine.io Company Website https://www.hypemachine.io

February 06, 2023 10:30 AM Eastern Standard Time

AI-Generated Cover Art and Article Surprise Readers of NCMA’s Contract Management Magazine

National Contract Management Association

Only by reading to the end of “AI Is Coming for Contracting,” the February cover story, did Contract Management Magazine readers learn the truth about author Annaliese Trenchfield. “She” was an amalgam of generative artificial intelligences. In a first-ever test, the editors of the National Contract Management Association’s (NCMA) flagship magazine used Open AI’s DALL-E2 to create the cover image and the same company’s Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT3) model to write the cover story. “What better way to bring home to government and industry contracting professionals AI’s growing potential to alter their work and careers than by showing them what it can do?” said NCMA CEO Kraig Conrad. “The slightly ominous nature of the cover art was intentional,” he added. “All of us quickly must adjust to AI augmenting our work. But as “Ms. Trenchfield” made clear, rumors of human replacement are greatly exaggerated... for now.” The cover package details current AI applications in government contracting. It was brought to life by Contract Management Editor in Chief Anne Laurent with the support of John Ferry, CEO of Trenchant Analytics, (TAC), which is prototyping an AI-powered contract writing application, AcqBot, for the Department of Defense. “I had seen Cosmopolitan magazine’s DALL-E2-generated astronaut cover, and I thought, why not go all the way, and have AI generate a cover image and story about AI in contracting,” Laurent said. “Almost immediately after ChatGPT went public last November, contracting folks began musing on social media about using at work. So, I knew there was an appetite for exploring AI.” Just a day after Laurent posted it on LinkedIn, the cover package had attracted thousand of impressions, the equivalent of going viral for an article about contracting. “It was averaging 100 hits an hour for the first day or so,” she said. “My post didn’t give away the surprise, but I did advise people to read all the way to the end of the story where Trenchfield’s “bio” appeared.” Ferry, who prompted DALL-E2 to produce the cover illustration and article, generated 1,580 images to find the cover image. “Each prompt produces four images, so that comes to 395 individual prompts,” he said. Like many ChatGPT users, Ferry quickly discovered the limits of AI language models. Asked to write about the use of robotic process automation in government and provide web links and citations, “GPT-3 gave me 50 or more very official-sounding system names complete with acronyms, military service sponsors, and website links. All were completely fictitious,” he said. View the full February issue. For more on the story behind the February cover, look for the March issue of Contract Management, coming soon. # # # The National Contract Management Association (NCMA), founded in 1959, is the world's leading association in the contract management field. With more than 18,000 members, NCMA is dedicated to the professional growth and educational advancement of procurement and acquisition personnel worldwide. NCMA strives to serve and inform the profession in government and industry by offering opportunities for open exchange of ideas in neutral forums. NCMA's Contract Management Standard is the foundation of foundation contracting training for the entire U.S. government. To learn more, please visit www.ncmahq.org. Contact Details Dominick Belfiore, Director of Operations and Special Projects +1 571-207-5151 dominick.belfiore@ncmahq.org Company Website https://www.ncmahq.org/

February 06, 2023 10:30 AM Eastern Standard Time

NASDAQ-Listed HeartCore Inc. Looks Back On The Past Year With Pride

HeartCore Enterprises

By David Willey, Benzinga As the market settles into its new year, companies are gearing up for the fresh challenge of a new quarter and are looking to build on the successes of the past twelve months. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company HeartCore Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: HTCR) may have every reason to look back with pride as it takes stock of a previous year filled with exciting developments that could point to a promising 2023. The looming recession has given the 2022 market its share of difficulties, but Japan-based HeartCore has had some wins throughout the year. A digital transformation, customer experience management and IPO consulting company, HeartCore has established itself in a software business and services market worth over $121 billion. Other companies in the space include Infobird Co. (NASDAQ: IFBD), Zendesk (NYSE: ZEN) and HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS). The first half of the year saw exciting developments for the company as HeartCore became only the third Japanese company to list on the NASDAQ market. It has since launched “ Go IPO ” - a consulting service to help other Japanese companies navigate the complex processes of making an initial public offering (IPO). As part of its consultancy expertise, HeartCore signed a consulting and services agreement with SBC Medical Group, Inc. (SBC) to aid in SBC’s uplisting process. The company expects to generate $900,000 in sales fees through this and several similar service agreements. Looking Back On 2022 - And Forward To 2023 As per the company’s Q1 report for 2022, the company saw a gross profit increase of 74%, gross proceeds from the IPO totaling $15 million, and a global enterprise customer base increase to 858 over the first quarter. Confident in the trajectory of the company’s growth, the board then authorized a share buyback of $3.5 million. The company launched a couple of major products and services over the year, including its e-commerce Robot Store which provides Robot Automation Processes (RPA) services. These RPA bots are part of HeartCore’s digital transformative services to help clients automate and integrate key tasks, such as invoice processing, employee onboarding, ERP data entry, and more. It also launched its truRes-12K. The company says this product is the first 360° real-time virtual reality (VR) camera that is compatible with 12k resolution. Compared with alternative cameras that capture in 4 or 8k, the product offers a high-resolution VR experience which the company especially markets to the medical, manufacturing, aerospace, e-commerce and travel sectors. HeartCore also recently acquired the American information technology (IT) company Sigmaways. This important acquisition represents a vertical integration for the company, providing HeartCore with in-house solutions it previously outsourced. It extends the company’s digital solutions, and both companies profit from cross-selling and upselling to their respective client bases. At the end of October, the company licensed its product Apromore to Japanese tech company Transcosmos Digital Technology Inc. (TCDT). This advanced process mining tool will provide TCDT with increased business visualization and is part of HeartCore’s commitment to providing businesses with cutting-edge digital transformations. The company has plans to build on this past year of development and growth as it advances into 2023. To learn more about HeartCore, visit its website. This article was originally published on Benzinga here. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, HeartCore Enterprises, Inc. is a leading software development company offering Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions to enterprise customers in Japan and worldwide. The Company also provides data analytics to create tailored web experiences for their enterprise clients. HeartCore’s customer experience management platform (CXM Platform) includes marketing, sales, service, and content management systems, as well as other tools and integrations, which enable companies to enhance the customer experience and drive engagement. HeartCore also operates a digital transformation business that provides customers with robotics process automation, process mining, and task mining to accelerate the digital transformation of enterprises. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details TraDigital IR - Malaika Temu malaika@tradigitalir.com Company Website https://heartcore-enterprises.com/

February 06, 2023 09:45 AM Eastern Standard Time

Robert Bache Joins AmeriLife as Vice President of Health

AmeriLife

AmeriLife Group, LLC (“AmeriLife”), a national leader in developing, marketing, and distributing life and health insurance, annuities and retirement planning solutions, today announced the appointment of Robert Bache to Vice President, Health. “As AmeriLife’s Health Distribution continues to grow by leaps and bounds, it’s important that we surround our partners with the expertise and leadership to help accelerate their business,” said Scotty Elliott, Chief Distribution Officer for AmeriLife’s Health Distribution. “Having Bobby join our leadership ranks is nothing short of a coup for AmeriLife, and I’m thrilled to welcome him to our team.” A Medicare expert known throughout the industry as “Medicare Bob,” Bache has enjoyed a nearly 20-year career as an entrepreneur, author, sales strategist, industry influencer and business leader. He spent more than three years at TRANZACT as a top Medicare Supplement insurance producer before founding Senior Healthcare Direct in 2012. Under Bache's leadership, Senior Healthcare Direct has grown into a leading independent insurance broker helping thousands of beneficiaries across the country navigate, compare and enroll in the right Medicare plan options for them. In his new role, Bache will oversee a portfolio of firms within AmeriLife’s Health Distribution, helping to fortify their operations and optimize their synergies with AmeriLife. Bache will also support carrier relations, training and business development efforts for AmeriLife. As a result of Bache’s transition, David Minaya, Senior Healthcare Direct’s vice president of sales, will assume day-to-day management of the agency, reporting to AmeriLife’s President of Direct-to-Consumer, Jim Palmer. “When I joined the AmeriLife family with Senior Healthcare Direct in 2020, it was due in large part to the incredible resources and partners I would gain to help grow my business. Now, I get to help other entrepreneurs and business owners – just like myself – grow theirs, and I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity,” said Bache. “I’m especially proud for David, and I know he, Christina Ragone [SVP of Operations], and the incredible sales, marketing and support teams will continue to flourish under Jim’s leadership.” ### About AmeriLife AmeriLife’s strength is its mission: to provide insurance and retirement solutions to help people live longer, healthier lives. In doing so, AmeriLife has become recognized as the leader in developing, marketing, and distributing life and health insurance, annuities and retirement planning solutions to enhance the lives of pre-retirees and retirees across the United States. For more than 50 years, AmeriLife has partnered with top insurance carriers to provide value and quality to customers served through a distribution network of over 300,000 insurance agents and advisors and more than 100 marketing organizations and insurance agency locations nationwide. For more information, visit AmeriLife.com, and follow AmeriLife on Facebook and LinkedIn. Contact Details Media Jeff Maldonado +1 321-297-1112 jmaldonado@amerilife.com Partnership Inquiries Patrick Nichols +1 727-726-0726 pnichols@amerilife.com Company Website https://amerilife.com/

February 06, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Inkle raises $1.5M to power tax & accounting for US cross-border companies

Inkle

Almost half of the 20,000 US companies created on Stripe’s Atlas incorporation platform alone (of which almost 10,000 were formed in the year leading up to June 2021) were created by non-US-based founders. In helping these founders (and those based in the US) navigate the US regulatory environment, human chat-based US CPA SaaS product Inkle is today announcing a $1.5 million pre-seed funding round to help these companies handle bookkeeping, tax, and compliance filings through its software solution for US cross-border companies. Picus Capital, Saison Capital and Force Ventures participated in the funding round. Cross-border companies with a US parent holding company often struggle with back-office administration. The Big Four are too expensive, and smaller CPA firms are not able to cover everything or use the legacy solutions and rely on email, Google Drives and third-party generic tools to meet the growing regulatory demands. As a result, small cross-border companies are left in a grossly underserved market with slow, expensive, disorganized, often unresponsive and unaffordable service providers. It also leaves gaps, requiring customers to patch together several consultants and solutions. Add multiple entities and time-zone issues, and it quickly becomes chaotic, resulting in missed deadlines and an unnecessary management burden. Inkle was co-founded in late 2021 by British entrepreneur Anand Krishna after experiencing the tedious headache of managing tax and bookkeeping for several US entities which he had launched, and Ranvir Singh joined him in 2022. In creating an efficient approach to regulatory demands, Anand felt human chat was the need of the day. Inkle is an asynchronous human chat platform that combines a strong accounting outsourcing industry (based in India), with an English-speaking workforce, cost arbitrage, and SaaS engineering know-how - creating the perfect ingredients to address a major pain point. Anand was most recently the Co-Founder & CEO of Index, a personal finance mobile app company which was acquired in 2021 by Tencent-backed Niyo. Prior to this, he co-founded a Y Combinator-backed fintech company having spent a decade at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Vedanta Resources Group. Ranvir Singh was the first employee at Inkle and has recently been appointed Co-Founder & CTO, having architected the Inkle tech stack. Previously he was at Paytm where he helped build and scale Paytm Chat to tens of millions of users. Inkle CEO and Co-Founder, Anand Krishna commented: “Just over a year into our journey, and despite us starting during the pandemic and a global recession, hundreds of US companies onboarded and are now happier with our human chat-based approach to handling their back-office headaches; our CPA teams are delighted with 10x new business volumes without a need to hire extra staff or put any effort into acquiring customers; and we’ve built a dominant position in one focused corridor with solid revenue growth. And yet the customer now gets to pay less than ever before. It’s a win-win-win situation. Software will revolutionise this massive space, which is perfect for disruption by Inkle - building and delivering from right here in Bengaluru for the world. We’re delighted to partner with our first investors to prove we can do the same in other corridors now. Inkle’s full-stack software and collaborative features creates a scalable, on-demand and affordable back office for global companies. It is powered by highly experienced independent US-licensed, India-based CPA teams with decades of global accounting and tax experience. These are independent practitioner-led outsourced teams who are able to rapidly scale up on demand. Customers can manage and track their filings from anywhere. The platform offers asynchronous human chat with bookkeepers and CPAs and clear dashboards with deadline alerts, team collaboration, secure corporate document vault, and transparent billing. Inkle’s newly launched bookkeeping ledger - Inkle Books - fills a glaring gap by synching to bank feeds on one side and recognised accounting softwares on the other. This gap frustrates bookkeepers and Inkle solves this by introducing transaction-level clarification human chat, merchant recognition and categorisation, attachment automation, transaction-level tax monitoring, a global compliance rule engine and more. The majority of Inkle customers have multiple group entities in various countries, Inkle Books tracks the various intercompany money movements inside the group: transfer pricing, foreign direct investment and royalty, as well as handling complex group consolidation. Inkle also facilitates compliances such as registered agent, mailroom, and state, federal and cross-border regulatory reporting. For its independent CPA team partners on the backend, Inkle superpowers them with advanced practice management and workflow solutions, replacing their reliance on Google Sheets and email. Both the customer and CPA softwares are constantly evolving their modern fresh SaaS interface to seamlessly connect all three sides. Inkle, which was bootstrapped and in stealth until now, has grown revenues 7x in the last year to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Inkle has quietly built a strong leadership position in the US-India corridor (half of all YC companies in India, 3% of all YC companies globally and hundreds of US companies overall use Inkle today). Inkle is now expanding into new corridors such as US-Canada, US-LATAM and new sectors such as crypto taxes. Customers include leading tech companies such as Salesken, Mailmodo, Zoko and DriveTrain. Florian Reichert (Partner and Managing Director at Picus Capital), added, “Given the obligatory nature and zero default requirements in accounting, tax and compliance software tooling is a major customer need and hence also in the current economic climate indispensable. With its full-stack SaaS offering Inkle sits at the intersection of customers, CPAs, accounting tools and authorities clearly making workflows more efficient and less error-prone. We are impressed by what Anand and the team has built in a very lean manner and are thrilled to be supporting Anand on his journey to revolutionize how cross-border companies manage their accounting, taxes and compliance." About Inkle Inkle is a global tax and accounting SaaS startup based in Bengaluru, India and headquartered in Delaware, USA. Inkle provides software to enable US companies created by overseas founders to easily and affordably handle tax, accounting and compliance. About Picus Capital Picus Capital is an international, privately financed venture capital company with headquarters in Munich and offices in New York, Beijing, Berlin, London, Bangalore, Stockholm and São Paulo. Picus predominantly invests in Pre-Seed, Seed and Series A rounds and focuses on technology companies in financial services, HR, energy & climate, healthcare, logistics & mobility, real estate & construction, crypto & web3, deeptech and e-commerce. As an entrepreneurial sparring partner, Picus Capital pursues a long-term investment philosophy and supports founders from the ideation phase to the IPO and beyond. For further information please visit www.picuscap.com and LinkedIn. Contact Details Inkle Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://www.inkle.io/

February 06, 2023 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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BIO-key’s Innovative IAM Solutions Address C-Suite Top Priority – Managing Cyber Risk

BIO-key International, Inc.

By Gita Karunakaran, Benzinga In recent times, the potential threats of ransomware and data breaches have been gaining more attention among corporations around the world. Companies are constantly faced with the threat of loss of control over customer data and the adverse impact of an attack on their brand reputation. This has resulted in cybersecurity risk being elevated to discussions at the most senior levels of corporations. Despite the C-suite attention the subject has garnered in corporate boardrooms, the implementation of suitable risk-mitigating solutions in organizations has seemingly been lagging. Some of the reasons for this could be a lack of understanding of the level of cyber risk an organization is subject to and willing to accept, and thereafter the inability to decide on which cyber security solutions they would need to implement to stay ahead of potential attackers and protect critical data. Companies like BIO-key International Inc. (NASDAQ: BKYI) offer Identity and Access Management (IAM) cybersecurity solutions for enterprises and often play a key role in bridging this gap in understanding by providing their expertise to design customized solutions to suit the individual needs of organizations. Cybersecurity Risk Increasingly Ranks As A Top Corporate Risk Worldwide Potential cyber incidents and business interruption remained the two leading worldwide corporate risk concerns for the second year in a row, according to a report published by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty. The report included IBM data showing that ransomware attacks remained the top threat, and the average cost of a data breach hit a record of $4.35 million in 2022, with the cost expected to surpass $5 million this year. While ransomware has become a serious concern – with threat actors engaging in double and triple extortion against companies resulting in reputational harm – another aspect that has equally become an area of consternation is the tightening of regulations surrounding the protection of customer data. Non-compliance with privacy laws and regulations, like Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or state laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), could result in hefty privacy violation fines adding to the cost of data breaches. With all the attention that cybersecurity breaches and risks have been garnering, it is no wonder that the global cybersecurity market is booming and reportedly expected to reach $403 billion by 2027. What Can Organizations Do To Reduce Cybersecurity Risk? While cybersecurity and IAM are about ensuring that legitimate authenticated users are the ones gaining access to data and resources in an organization, risk management has always had a more strategic focus with the goal to understand the threat landscape and make informed decisions on the strategy that would work for the organization. It has been seen time and again that regardless of the sophisticated technologies being used to keep hackers out, no system is perfect or 100% risk-free. But organizations can indeed take steps to reduce the likelihood and potential impact of such threats, including educating employees, ensuring adequate housekeeping of software and hardware, and restricting staff access in accordance with job role-based needs. According to BIO-key, the method used to authenticate is a core area that organizations need to focus on when assessing risk and informing their IAM strategy. While relying on passwords to authenticate users may be an easy and inexpensive solution, it comes with the risk of weak security and easily breached networks. As a result, companies have begun adding an extra layer of security with Multi-factor Authentication (MFA), which is believed to prevent as much as 90% of cyberattacks. BIO-key says that it incorporates Multi-factor Authentication (MFA), Single Sign-on (SSO), and its one-of-a-kind biometric authentication option (Identity-Bound Biometrics) under a single, unified IAM platform, PortalGuard, to create holistic cybersecurity solutions for its customers. BIO-key has been a trusted provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Identity-Bound Biometric solutions for over 25 years. The company has been playing an active part in changing mainstream Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) within IAM by offering easier and more secure ways to authenticate the identity of employees, customers, and suppliers, while managing access across devices and applications, for enterprises, educational institutions, and consumers. Its innovations are backed by years of research and expertise and its products and solutions are trusted by leading organizations across industries, including Fortune 500 companies in financial services, healthcare, education, manufacturing, communication, transportation, military and government sectors. With a burgeoning global cybersecurity market and increased cyber-risk awareness in organizations, BIO-key seems poised to thrive and grow by offering the most flexible, secure, and easy-to-use solutions to help organizations combat increasing threats. Learn more about BIO-key’s cybersecurity solutions here. This article was originally published on Benzinga here. BIO-key is revolutionizing authentication and cybersecurity with biometric-centric, multi-factor identity and access management (IAM) software managing millions of users. Its cloud-based PortalGuard IAM solution provides cost-effective, easy to deploy, convenient and secure access to devices, information, applications, and high-value transactions. BIO-key's patented software and hardware solutions, with industry-leading Identity-Bound Biometric (IBB) capabilities, enable large-scale Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) solutions, as well as customized on premises solutions. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Catalyst IR- William Jones, David Collins +1 212-924-9800 BKYI@catalyst-ir.com Company Website https://www.bio-key.com/

February 03, 2023 09:25 AM Eastern Standard Time

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Robert Bache Joins AmeriLife as Vice President of Health

Inkle raises $1.5M to power tax & accounting for US cross-border companies

BIO-key’s Innovative IAM Solutions Address C-Suite Top Priority – Managing Cyber Risk