John M. Thompson

VeriFone, Inc. designs and manufactures transaction automation systems. The company was founded by William Melton on April 14, 1981 and is headquartered in San Jose, CA.

e.spire Communications, Inc. provides local and long distance telephone, Internet access and Web hosting services. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Herndon, VA.

Factory Card & Party Outlet Corp. operates retail stores that sell greeting cards. Its stores offer party supplies, greeting cards, gift wrap, balloons and everyday, seasonal, and other merchandise. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Naperville, IL.

Tallan, Inc. develops information technology software solutions. It focus on portals and collaboration, business intelligence, application integration, mobile platforms, user experience, e-commerce, web development, and cloud services. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Rocky Hill, CT.

Founded in 1999 by Gregory Berlacher, Emerging Growth Equities Ltd. is a full service investment banking and brokerage firm located in located in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. The firm focuses on small-cap, emerging technology companies in high growth industries including: medical technology, healthcare services, semiconductor design and engineering, software products and consulting services and special situations. Emerging Growth Equities is a member of the NASD and the SIPC.

EpiWorks, Inc. develops and manufactures compound semiconductor epitaxial wafers. It produces III-V epitaxial wafers that are tailored for optimal performance in multiple next generation applications. The company was founded by Quesnell J. Hartmann, Gregory E. Stillman and David A. Ahmari in 1997 and is headquartered in Champaign, IL.

NYSE Chicago Holdings, Inc. provides stock exchange and ancillary services. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

National Multiple Sclerosis Society-Silicon Valley Chapter provides healthcare services. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.

Semtek Innovative Technologies Corporation has been a leader in card data capture and magnetics technology since 1999, serving public and private sector customers who require highly secure OEM components for their fixed-base and wireless devices. Specializing in small form-factor data capture devices in magnetic stripe, smart-card, RFID, and biometrics, Semtek has begun to play a key role in providing technologies to the card payments space that resolve that sector's security vulnerabilities. Semtek's Data Capture business is a market leader in enabling wireless and handheld devices to accept card data (e.g. credit/debit cards and secure identification cards). It provides card reader components and interfaces that enable a wide variety of handheld devices and cell phones to effectively function as highly secure credit/debit card and data collection terminals. Semtek also provides hardware into non-wireless devices including POS systems and stand-alone terminals. Semtek's Security Solutions business is focused on data encryption, card authentication, security auditing, and other innovative methods of improving the security performance of magnetic-stripe based systems. Semtek's Cipher ModuleTM and Hercules ModuleTM, along with their complementary network-side appliances, provide a comprehensive array of definitive security benefits that enable merchants, processors, and issuers to accept and process payment cards with unprecedented security. Semtek typically provides its products to larger hardware vendors under an OEM model. Its customers include most of the world's leading providers of point of sale terminals, ruggedized wireless devices, points of sale system integrators, and governments around the globe.

Independa, Inc. provides software-based solution. It allows caregivers and family members to video chat, send Facebook messages and photos, set up appointments and medication reminders, and play games with their older loved ones. The firm also offers blood-pressure monitoring devices, scales and glucometers, and can serve as a door sensor and emergency-alert system. The company was founded by Kian Saneii in 2009 and is headquartered in San Diego, CA.

University of Southern California is a private research university that mainly offers undergraduate, graduate & other higher education. The university was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.

Part of Fidelity National Information Services, Inc., SunGard Futures Systems provides computer disaster recovery services. The company is based in Wayne, PA.

Cboe Exchange, Inc. provides options exchange services. It trades equity options, security index options, options on exchange traded notes and products, binary options, one-week and quarterly options, long-term equity anticipation securities options, and flexible exchange options. The firm also provides information on various stock and options trading strategies, options trading tools, stock and option quotes and data; and options information and education. Additionally, they offer access to product information, conference notices, portfolio management tools, and educational materials for institutional investors and products and strategies for advisors to protect client’s portfolios. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

Founded in 1986, Merriman Capital, Inc. is an SEC-registered broker/dealer and investment banking firm headquartered in San Francisco. The firm is a subsidiary of Merriman Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MERR), a financial services firm that focuses on fast-growing companies and their institutional investors. Merriman provides advisory and investment banking, equity research, institutional services, corporate services and venture services primarily to corporate clients. Merriman Capital provides research, brokerage and trading services primarily to institutional clients. The firm offers a full range of specialized and integrated services including: equity research, specialized trade execution, equity capital markets, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, sales and trading, market making, corporate and venture services, restructurings and strategic advisory services. Merriman Capital employs bottom-up, fundamental analysis of small-cap companies in select industries including clean technology, healthcare, technology and consumer/Internet/media. The firm also has expertise in emerging markets, with emphasis on emerging markets in China. Merriman Capital is known to engage in shareholder activist investment strategies. Merriman Capital is a member of the NASD, the SIPC and FINRA. The firm serves as an introducing broker/dealer for Pershing LLC. They do not hold or maintain funds or securities or provide clearing services for other broker/dealers.

Chicago Board of Trade provides trade derivative facilities. It allows speculators throughout the world to interpret economic data, news, and other information. The company was founded on April 3, 1848 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

AT&T Business Services provides business communication services to multinational corporations, small and midsized business clients, and government agencies. It offers networking, mobility, cloud, security, hosting, application management, unified communications, VPN, VoIP, and conferencing solutions for medium to large businesses. Its Global Networking Technology Services (GNTS) division offers voice and data services, such as private lines, special local access services and domestic, and international long-distance calling services. The company is headquartered in Dallas, TX.

National Multiple Sclerosis Society is a not-for-profit organization that provides advocacy, fund raising, clinical services, client programs and up-to-date information to individuals with multiple sclerosis, their families and healthcare providers. The company was founded in 1946 by Sylvia Lawry and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Chardan Capital Markets LLC is a registered broker-dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by Kerry Propper and Steve Urbach in 2003. The firm offers a range of services which include capital raising, merger and acquisition advisory, strategic advisory, equity research, corporate access and institutional trading to institutional clients.

National Futures Association is a self-regulatory organization for the derivatives industry. The non-profit company is based in Chicago, IL. The company's focus is on providing innovative and effective regulatory programs. The company was founded by Leonid Adolfovich Melamed.

Founded in 1970, Bradley Woods & Co. Ltd. is a broker/dealer located in New York City. The firm's research focuses on forecasting the impact of U.S. federal governmental policy on the U.S. equity and fixed-income securities markets. They offer a variety of products and services that help clients understand and measure the impact of legislation and regulation on U.S. companies and markets. Bradley Woods & Co. provides macro-oriented analysis. In addition, the firm offers intelligence about specifically defined issues in the areas of telecommunications, healthcare, energy and defense. Bradley Woods also offers a continuous analysis of U.S. foreign policy ranging from the Middle East to Asia.

ComHear, Inc. provides audio technology products and services for consumer, enterprise, and professional applications. Its products are powered by MyBeam, a beam forming technology and KAP enhancement software which provides immersive 3-D audio soundscapes. The company was founded by Randy Granovetter in 2013 and is headquartered in San Diego, CA.

Part of Chardan Capital Markets LLC, The Special Equities Group LLC provides specialized merchant banking and brokerage services for emerging growth companies. Based in New York, NY, the company focuses on U.S.-listed emerging growth public companies, offering strategic advice and efficient funding solutions through their independent fund or discreet capital raising. With over a decade of client relationships and more than 250 transactions closed, The Special Equities Group has cultivated long-term, strategic relationships with co-investors who trust their honest advice and objective evaluations of investment opportunities.

CBOE Livevol LLC provides equity and index options technology and market data services. It offers a spectrum of technology and data solutions including a consolidated feed, real-time programmatic analysis and scanning, historical files and back testing, real-time decision support, flat files, XML web services, web components, custom development and consulting. The company was founded by Stefen Choy in 2009 and is headquarters in Chicago, IL.^ ^