Company Profiles: Spotlight on Travel and Tech

Identity theft can cause havoc on a victim’s finances. It can cost thousands of dollars to restore reputation and financial health, not to mention time lost and the untold toll of physical stress. But the best defense against identity theft may be a good offense, and that’s where companies like IdentityForce find their niche.

“The chances of consumers being victimized decreases when they make the conscious decision to be proactive and become vigilant about protecting their personal information,” said CEO Steven Bearak, who spoke to RewardExpert about the business of protecting customers from identity theft.

If you’ve ever purchased an automobile, you know all too well that the experience can be cumbersome, time consuming, and frustrating — even if you have perfect credit. Cody Green, founder and co-CEO of Canada Drives, a Canadian fintech company, witnessed this struggle thousands of times first-hand. He saw the pain caused by the traditionally archaic car financing process while working at a dealership in Western Canada. Together with his co-CEO Michael Galpin, Green set out to revolutionize the industry with an automated tool to connect car buyers with dealerships and financing programs.

Do you have high interest credit card debt you’d like to consolidate? Do you want to make a few home improvements to increase your home’s value? Are you starting a business, planning a wedding, or having a baby? A personal loan can provide the cash you need to make any dream a reality, and Prosper, a peer-to-peer lending platform, can make applying for and obtaining that loan easy.

Take a moment to think about your monthly budget. Where does your money go? If you’re like many consumers, you probably spend the greatest percentage of your income on necessities like your mortgage, car loan, and insurance coverage, as well as chipping away at credit card debt. Now think about what you could do if those expenses were reduced. Whether your daydream includes taking a vacation, saving for retirement, or just enjoying the fruits of your labor more, lowering your interest rates and premiums could make it a reality—and LowestRates.ca can help you to do so.

The recent rise in ecommerce shops has created a huge demand for ecommerce business solutions. Digitally, an online store has many needs in order to run a successful operation. They need a safe and secure website to protect their business transactions and their customers’ information, and a payment processor that can securely handle numerous transactions. Successful ecommerce shops need a user-friendly website builder to design their website, company logos and graphics. Finally, it’s also necessary to have a team of marketing and customer service professionals.

Open Invention Network, a collaborative enterprise that enables innovation in open source and an increasingly vibrant ecosystem in Linux, is the largest patent non-aggressive community in history.

One mobile phone application is helping the blind and visually impaired community like nobody has before. Be My Eyes, an app that is operated via a simple press of a button, is transforming lives around the world — and it’s not just for those who use the service for their own benefit.

These days, paying for college is not an easy feat. While the cost of tuition and fees continues to rise, household income has actually declined—forcing most students to take out loans in order to complete their education. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, nearly half of student loan borrowers leave school at least $20,000 in debt. Thirty percent of borrowers are unable to make a dent in their loan balance after five years of repayment, and more than 60 percent of borrowers not reducing their balances are delinquent.

The growth and continued expansion of online business can be exciting, albeit a bit daunting. Luckily, there are companies aiming to make the process smoother and provide financial incentives for individuals to join.

It’s difficult to imagine a social topic of general American discussion that is more polarizing than the legalization of marijuana.

After many states have legalized marijuana for both medical and recreational purposes, skeptics still remain. More and more states are letting their citizens decide, but special interests still cloud the issue.

In the era of online shopping, buying items at brick-and-mortar stores can sometimes seem a bit stale and behind the times. In fact, many retailers struggle with the fact that shoppers go to stores, do their research, look for the best price and then go home and buy the same item at a different retailer online.

In today’s society there are so many distractions, making it sometimes hard to focus – whether it be in the classroom or in everyday life. With ADD, ADHD and other disorders, tutoring may not be enough. LearningRx takes learning a step further with brain training. As its website states, the company’s approach goes beyond basic tutoring by improving attention, math, memory and reading skills in ways that last – for both kids and adults. In the company’s 35+ year history, founder Dr. Ken Gibson and his staff have helped over 100,000 individuals with a unique cognitive training methodology.

Does the hustle and bustle of everyday life leave you wanting a place to relax? What if you could experience a natural oasis from urban and suburban life just steps away from the Motor City? The Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority, Metroparks, is a special regional park district that spans nearly 25,000 acres in southeast Michigan and receives an average of 8 million visitors annually.

If you live in an area with heavy traffic (L.A., anyone?) remote employment may be a good solution for you. Having the flexibility to live and work from anywhere in the world has become a highly sought-after job perk. Among the non-self-employed population, working from home has grown by 115% since 2005, and 2.8% of the workforce now work from home at least half the time.

Healthcare is a massive expense in the United States, with spending on healthcare hitting $3.3 trillion in 2016. That equates to more than $10,300 per person. With the costs of both care and insurance rising, saving money on healthcare becomes imperative. But what if you could skip the doctor’s visit and still get the care you need? That’s where telehealth companies like American Well come in.

What would you do with $2,763? That’s the average refund American taxpayers received last year, and many are already planning how to spend their next windfall. A recent survey by TaxSlayer, a tax preparation and financial technology company, found that saving (43 percent) and paying off debts (42 percent) topped the list of possible tax return uses among the nearly 2,400 taxpayers surveyed. However, not all were planning to be so frugal: 13 percent intended to treat themselves to a gift, while another 13 percent expected to treat themselves to an experience (such as an expensive dinner or a vacation).

The days of mailing in paper tax returns are long over. This year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) expects Americans will electronically file at least 90 percent of the more than 155 million returns expected by the April 17 tax deadline. That’s not so surprising, given the steady increase in the popularity of e-filing among tax professionals as well as self-preparers. What is surprising, however, is that only a fraction of the estimated 100 million Americans eligible to prepare and e-file their federal tax returns for free will cash in on that opportunity.

Create the online store you’ve always dreamed about.

That’s the motto at Jumpseller, a cloud e-commerce solution that is ideal for small businesses to be able to create their online store and sell anywhere in the world.

Tiago Matos is a co-founder at the company. He recently spoke with RewardExpert regarding his company’s journey throughout the past decade and what the future holds in what is a very popular industry.

New York is the city that never sleeps. It’s also a mecca for culture, business and real estate.

Stribling & Associates has certainly helped impact the real estate scene. For decades the real estate brokerage has been providing market expertise and individualized services to buyers, sellers and renters.

Through strategic partnerships with Cervera – a real estate brokerage in Miami — and the international estate service firm Savills, Stribling’s global reach extends to more than 700 worldwide offices.

To survive in the business world nowadays, you need a strong brand.

Companies like Bop Design get the wheels in motion. Bop Design is a marketing agency focused on branding, website design and content marketing strictly for B2B companies that are serious about growth and expansion.

Jeremy Durant is the cofounder and business principal of the agency. He talked to RewardExpert about working with B2B clients who aim to build brand awareness and generate more sales-ready leads from their website, as well as through leadership content.