Smart Storefronts: Winners from Boston Event at McCarter & English

Here are the winners from our June event at McCarter & English in Boston.

imageSurge 
Oleg    Vyadro,           CEO    OLEG@IMAGESURGE.COM         
ImageSurge converts any retail storefront into a through-glass touch interactive marketing and eCommerce platform.

Comments: Innovative solution to make storefronts com ealive. Has revenue. Shortest runway to likely success.

FROZEN7  
Ernest  Jacquet COO  ernestj@MentorLLC.com      FROZEN7 is Liquid Nitrogen manufactured natural ("Farm to Table") Ice Cream retail chain opening first store in The Market Place Mall (owned by Irvine Co.). FROZEN7 is trademarked (Disney) and competes with SUB-ZERO and Creamistry- growing over 100% per year.

Comments: Great franchise concept. Has two competitors, no IP but a likely momentum pay.


Private Group NetworksJudith  Benardete, CEO          jbenardete@gmail.com           845-392-2629            Private Group Networks Private Group Networks has developed an app that facilitates communication for groups of all kinds. iSpark- currently in use as the FirstTouch app for soccer teams- will solve problems resulting from the need to improve communication between, for example, health care providers and their constituents. FirstTouch is applicable to affinity groups of all kinds that form community around any issue whether that is political activism, non-profits, medical conditions, greek life, alumni groups or trade associations.

Comments: Good numbers and signs of growth. Buyout possible but some fears of being overtaken by a big player.


QC Check LLC  Marc Blumenthal        Managing Partner      marc@novationsinc.com       QC Check is focused on helping businesses do better through real time customer & employee feedback which is critical for any business that wants better product & performance, customer retention, business growth and success. When businesses don’t get real time feedback, it can go viral when it’s too late to reverse the damage.  QC Check has a working prototype, a great team, filed IP and an innovative solution to a 7-billion-dollar market that is stuck in the Middle Ages. Smart strategic funding of $250 k is sought in connection with a pending SBA loan.

Comments: Great idea for improving customer feedback but requires some customer effort and does little to improve the actual feedback.

A New Bicycle from Washington? Results from DC

Congratulations to the winner, Wilz Bikes - an expandable bike that grows from a stroller to a tricycle and then a battery-powered vehicle - may still be an idea on a piece of paper but it is clear that we have already helped this idea get off the ground!

The runner-up, Dog Pawz - a dog-walking aggregator that doubles as an in-home pet product retailer - didn't even realize what they had until our workshop helped uncover it.

As for the second runner-up eGrocer, they got an education in having a "Wow" factor - a pantry camera - before getting anyone's interest in the finer points of their plan.

We'll be back in Q3.

Results from the May NY Startupalooza

Here are the results for the May event with commentary.

Winner:

First Wave
Brian Bell,  CEO, brian@firstwavetechnologies.com    716-560-2203
Over 80% of patients on life support develop delirium after 4 days adding $65,000 of cost and resulting in 300% higher mortality due to difficulty clearing common IV sedatives from the body. Alternatively, over 1000 patients have been reported in the literature showing inhaled anesthetic are cheaper, more consistent and reduce time on the ventilator.  But traditional OR machines are large, expensive and most importantly, manually controlled. MCD has developed a next-generation anesthesia making delivery of these beneficial gases practical for the first time, and is endorsed by the #1 physician worldwide in ICU delirium.

Comment: Big potential even with FDA hurdles ahead

Bazaar Technologies   
Yasser Toruno  CTO  yasser@accessbazaar.com     9174424506  
We're simplifying the entire wholesale distribution process. We are a three-sided B2B marketplace that leverages technology in a way that has never been done before.

We've built a platform to be a one stop shop that allows retailers to see multiple wholesalers, compare prices, product, and inventory to help retailers make the best purchase decisions for their businesses.
- Analytics to monitor your business
- Directly engage with wholesalers
- Browse product listings and make purchases
- Same day door to door delivery"                  

Comments: Useful. Could be hard to sign up small retailers in scale. Great local startup.

MeVee
Tomer  Dicturel  CEO  kristen@mevee.com    
MeVee is the free social media live streaming platform that captures the can’t-miss moments, carries video and banner ads, and shares advertising revenue with content creators. MeVee records your live videos – they won’t disappear unless you delete them. Push the “Go Live” button to start broadcasting worldwide. Share your streams on all major social media channels. Anyone can view your streams, even without downloading the app. Explore MeVee to discover interesting, funny, and premium content. You can also live stream privately with a friend or a group. The Wall Street Journal writes that, “MeVee was designed intentionally to be different from other live streaming apps” while The New York Times says that MeVee is “causing a stir.”

Comments: Compelling but had to clearly differentiate in crowded field.

Future Moments LLC
Gary Levitt, Owner,  gary@micswap.com     323-201-1497
We're a mobile app creation company making fun unique tools for everyday content creators.  As of now we've created ‘MicSwap’ & ‘MicSwap Pro’, the first and only microphone modeler and recorder to hit the iTunes app store. Forbes said it’s “like Instagram for your voice”. We also created ‘Audio Fix: for Videos’, a useful app optimizes and cleans the audio in your videos. Our latest app, ‘Audio Master’, automatically masters your songs, demos, podcasts, etc. http://future-moments.com

Comments: Clever app. Useful. Needs some marketing help but very promising.


Special Mention

Parabiotic Research & Development Corp.     
Ira Trachtman Founder/CEO  ira.trachtman@parabiotics.com    516-650-6416
Parabiotic Research & Development is an early-stage company developing innovative combination antibiotic/probiotic drug products for the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel disease-Crohn's and colitis as well as infectious diseases. There is no other drug on the market for IBD that shares the same properties as our lead product PB-1, that are both therapeutic and prophylactic combined in one single dose.