Portfolio Companies

Some of the past presenting companies to IdeaSphere^SM are shown below. For more information about their presentation to the group or current business needs, contact us at info@IdeaSphere.org.

Note: Clicking the company logo will take you to that company's website.




	We Hear What You're Saying: Metaphor Solutions provides speech recognition solutions to automate customer and personal service by phone. They will use their "off-the-shelf" solutions like prescription-refill and voice access to Microsoft Outlook, to enable mass adoption of speech applications in many call centers and enterprises. Come listen - and speak back - regarding Metaphor's place and direction in the market.



	The UPS Service to the Stars: Space exploration and travel . . . every child's fantasy! Constellation Services International is currently working with NASA to reduce the cost of supplying cargo to the International Space Station. CSI plans to capture this $1 billion per year market using very low-cost proven off-the-shelf technology. CSI has invented the standardized container for space, and has acquired exclusive rights to the key technologies needed to build them.



	Regenerated Resources develops, manufactures and distributes "Organic-Gro", a "process-patented", chicken-litter fertilizer. Cited as a "Dual Eco" solution, environmentally friendly in two ways, "Organic-Gro" is both an all natural, organic fertilizer and a recycler of excess poultry litter. Our vision is to become a catalyst that revolutionizes the $4.6 billion fertilizer business into one that becomes environmentally responsible -promoting healthier living for our children, pets and environment.



	ProofreadNOW supplies proofreading services to advertising, marketing, legal, publishing, and other users concerned about accuracy and the potential impact of printed mistakes. A client logs onto our secure server and submits a digital or faxed document. Experts in our worldwide army of at-home (1099) editors review the document, identify corrections, and make suggestions for improvement. The client retrieves the document and applies the corrections and comments.



	600 lb gorillas, Inc™ is a sales and marketing company that develops and merchandises high quality frozen cookie dough for resale in retail outlets. The company, founded in February 1999 and based in Wrentham, Massachusetts, has distribution channels to support its current product placement in over 700 supermarkets throughout New England and nearly 100 additional all-natural stores. 600 lb gorillas has also been approved for a regional placement in Costco Wholesale Club locations with anticipated rollout later in the year.



	Your Gift Certificate, LLC is a marketing company specializing in "life event" turnkey marketing programs. Our New Homebuyer Housewarming Gift Box program helps retailers and professionals reach the lucrative new homebuyer market quickly and dramatically - at the exact time when they are spending over $9,000 on average on their new home and forming new shopping patterns. This initial program is well established and thriving in the Boston market and is now being launched in 10 other markets across the country.



	Clothes for a Cause® is a branding company that supports national non-profit initiatives by selling specially-designed fashion collections targeting specific demographics. The Company has partnered with such charities as `NSYNC's Challenge For The Children, the Tiger Woods Foundation, the Magic Johnson Foundation, The Big Bam!, Banner of Hope and the Cancer Research Foundation. It's products are featured in Saks, TJMax and other retail outlets, and online with QVC.



	PlumChoice, Inc. is the category leader in secure online computer support for the home, small office, telecommuter and business traveler. The company's premium services utilize best-of-breed remote session technology, internet sharing tools and voice connect to provide easy-to-use, cost effective, convenient and high quality service to its customers. Building upon a virtual company model, and having already established high brand name recognition, the Company is now poised for exponential growth.



	Windward Mark Interactive, LLC ("WMI") is a simulation and gaame development studio located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 2002 from a graphics research team at Harvard and MIT, the goal goal of WMI is to creat compelling games and simulators for the entertainment and defense industries. WMI is currently developing its first entertainemtn title, Alliance, for the PC and home game consoles. The game will benefit from the team's expertise in graphics and artificial intelligence technology, as well as the team's knowledge of military history.



	My Sound Works is a key supplier and supporter of the Digital Music Revolution. We develop, market and sell products that connect people to all of their music; work with all stereos, all computers, and all music media. Our initial product is the PC Audiowire and MP3 Hookup, which allows you to listen to the MP3s on your computer up to 100 feet away through your stereo speakers.



	Doggie Day has developed a franchise opportunity to enable small business entrepreneurs offer professionally managed and staffed visiting pet care services, i.e. cat visits, dog walks, bird feeding, even reptile care, and/or a facilities-based pet care and retail store. Over its initial year the company has established 8 operating units, opened a 5,000 square foot drop off center serving the urban professional and hotel market in Boston, and purchased one existing dog walking service and retail pet supplies shop.



	ZipPark's flagship product, zControlT, is a state-of-the-art parking management system built to meet the needs of valet parking operations. Next generation products such as zEnterpriseT, which provides enterprise-wide business intelligence, will also supply the parking industry with tools that were previously only imagined.




	We develop and deliver web-based and wireless life safety & security communications, workflow and tenant service software tools to real estate owners, managers and the tenants they serve. Our application modules are built upon a core, reusable software platform that provides common workflow and messaging services throughout any building.



	Hellas International is a revenue generating and growing importer, marketer, and distributor of proprietary, value-added brands of Greek specialty foods producing positive operating profits. Hellas is dedicated to creating branded Greek specialty foods that combine authentic, traditional food preparation techniques with the finest quality ingredients resulting in great tasting Greek cuisine.



	VIGIX is a network of kiosks (footprint: 18" x 14") that sells and rents movies and games on physical media. VIGIX kiosks will be accessible to customers in highly trafficked and underserved locations- convenience stores, gas stations, office buildings, airports. Through its kiosks' user-friendly interface and proprietary real time supply chain management system, VIGIX provides a superior user experience



	Closer Communications LLC has developed a customer acquisition management system (the "System"), a proprietary, Pocket PC based, wireless platform for use at tradeshows, conferences and similar events. The System provides a unique means for exhibitors and others to gather, manage and analyze information on attendees, other exhibitors and the event overall.



	HomePortfolio is the leading interactive directory for home design decision-making. By aggregating images and information about hundreds of thousands of home design choices in one place for the first time, the company is making the fragmented $400 billion US home design industry dramatically more efficient for consumers, manufacturers, retailers, and design professionals.



	New Century Brewing Co., LLC ("NCBC") was founded in April, 2001 to pursue this market opportunity and has produced and is marketing a quality, above premium domestic light beer, under the brand name Edison. The brand was launched to the national beer trade on September 10, 2001 at the National Beer Wholesalers Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.



	Home Care Technologies, Inc. ("HCT") is a Healthcare service provider, that uses proprietary technologies to address the developing crisis in Elder Care and Chronic Disease Management that this country will be facing over the next ten to fifteen years.



	Nimesa develops and markets comprehensive software solutions that enable fast food restaurants (QSRs) to offer self-service and customer loyalty rewards. Because QSR operators are suffering from stagnating sales, poor customer service, and increasing costs, self-service can offer a way to improve all of these issues.



	Bottles! offers business services to independent liquor retailers. By creating a network of independent liquor retailers with Bottles! branded merchandising kiosks, Bottles! is able to improve the supply chain ability to influence consumer behavior.



	eSkill Corporation offers Web-based software that creates skill tests based on job descriptions, and screens the thousands of candidates applying for jobs online. Our customers include staffing firms, online job boards, and corporate human resource departments.



	Arpel Corp. is a Medical Correspondence and Duplicating Service Company serving the New York Metropolitan and Long Island areas since 1999. They specialize in free Release of Information (ROI) services tailored to meet the needs of the private and group medical practice markets.



	Eaglehawk Limited is a software company providing secure data management software products that create, maintain, retrieve and manage information for commercial and government organizations.



	Humetrics' "Hiring Management System" automates the application process for hourly workers. Applicants, most of whom do not have Internet access or resumes, can apply remotely using the telephone where they are pre-screened by our voice-response technology. Applicants who pass the pre-screen are then invited to apply at the store. Using technology, the applicant is further assessed and self-enters all relevant data electronically on our proprietary "kiosk" unit. Managers, therefore, only interview applicants who are qualified for the position. Additionally, eliminating paper from the application process saves substantial time and money for the hiring company.



	Presension has developed, Perfect Pitch™, a proprietary sales tool designed to deliver the most persuasive, powerful message to each customer. The technology is focused on increasing the number and frequency of successful sales presentations - capturing which messages are most effective with different types of customers. Perfect Pitch™ ensures that a salesperson or channel partner is armed with up-to-date, relevant content to seal the deal.



	Ovation Products Corporation's water purification technology provides individuals and companies a robust, cost effective and environmentally superior way to control the purity of the water entering and leaving their homes and businesses.



	CircleLending is a loan-servicing company dedicated to administering loans between friends, family, and community members. The Company capitalizes on recent regulatory changes to act as a first mover in the market for facilitating interpersonal loans. It helps lenders reduce the high default rate and late-payment rate of interpersonal loans. It helps borrowers secure affordable loans and manage the repayment process with flexibility and convenience.



	The Company's products are designed to put the "best manager" in every store! By utilizing and monitoring an organization's "best practices," the Company’s products can improve customer satisfaction and measurably increase bottom line results through more efficient and effective store level operating activities.



	Crosskate has created the first viable product, using patented technology, in the emerging all-terrain outdoor recreational segment. Our product integrates the thrill of downhill skiing, the fitness of cross-country skiing and the accessibility of mountain biking and in-line skating. The company seeks to capitalize on our superior technology and the need for new and innovative products focused on fitness and outdoor recreation.



	FoodLogic LLC (the Company) designs, develops, and delivers natural and organic products in two major areas, food products and health and bath products for the mainstream consumer and retailer interested in healthy lifestyles. The Company, which is based in Newton, MA, differentiates itself from competitors by partnering directly with the retailer to provide turnkey solutions to meet the mainstream retailer's needs in this rapidly growing, highly fragmented segment of the food industry.



	Entrex is a private company exchange which brings the efficiencies and methodologies of the public capital marketplace to private businesses. Entrex creates "Reporting Member Companies" for their exchange through a certification process similar to publicly "listed" companies. This is done through a process less burdensome than public company listings and filings --yet provides private companies credibility and exposure which has been previously unavailable in the private sector.



	The Theracycle is the newest product developed by the 70 year old Exercycle Corporation. The Theracycle is a unique motorized exercise bicycle that was developed to serve those who need exercise but lack the strength and endurance to get it through other means.



	zoinks!, since opening its flagship toy store in Faneuil Hall Market Place in November, has become the largest independent toy store in New England. This is the first of 50 stores to be located at major tourist destinations across the country.



	Caveo Technology is a developer of motion-sensing systems that enable new features and functions for computers, PDAs, cell phones and other devices. Their strength is in identifying these opportunities and creating cost-effective new products that meet market needs. Applications for motion sensing include detection of theft or intrusion, use of motion as an input to hand-held devices, and motion measurement to determine position or location of objects.



	Biotech Corporation has secured its position as the nutriceutical leader by providing over 25 of the highest quality products that people need and want most. They are the industry leader in all-natural hair-loss and thinning hair products for men & women. Founded in 1995, products include Shen Min an all-natural alternative to the hair loss/growth product Rogaine, NuHair, an all-natural hair loss/growth product, Norexin, a unique jitter-free weight loss product, and Natural Curves, an all-natural breast enhancement supplement.



	Poindexter Systems, Inc. provides optimization technologies that help direct marketers maximize the performance of their online advertising. The core product, named Poindexter POE, addresses a critical problem for online marketers: how to increase the performance of their ad campaigns. POE is a service that uses mathematical techniques to improve the response rate (as measured in clicks, purchases, or registrations) of online ads. By understanding the geographic, technographic, and historical profile of every viewer, the system is able to deliver the version of an ad most likely to garner a response, based on prior response patterns of similar viewers.



	Rheingold Brewing Company, Inc., headquartered in New York, NY, was formed in 1998 by Mike Mitaro and Walter Liebman, of the founding Liebman family. Introduced in 1883 by Liebman Breweries, Rheingold held as much as 35% of New York's beer market in the 1940's through the 60's. In the mid-70's, after multiple new owners and intense pressure from large national brands, Rheingold fell from its dominant position and lost much of its market share. The Rheingold brand was essentially dormant from 1976 until 1998, when the Company raised investment capital and obtained the right to brew and distribute Rheingold once again.