Garage Invention Could Turn Restaurants Into Power Plants

Would you like power with those fries?

A new garage-engineered generator burns the waste oil from restaurants’ deep fryers to generate electricity and hot water. Put 80 gallons of grease into the Vegawatt each week, and its creators promise it will generate about 5 kilowatts of power.

That’s about 10 percent of the total energy needs of Finz, a seafood restaurant in Dedham, Massachusetts, where the first Vegawatt is being tested. At New England electricity rates, the system offsets about $2.50 worth of electricity with each gallon of waste oil poured into it. read more

Houston Is Recession-Proofing Its Economy With Wind Power

When Vestas, the world’s largest wind-turbine manufacturer, announced plans for a new U.S. research center, 42 states lined up to make sales pitches. The winning location would be rewarded with hundreds of jobs, millions in tax revenue, and green-business cachet. Finn Strøm Madsen, president of the Danish firm’s tech division, wanted a site near big-name universities, so Massachusetts (MIT) and California (Caltech, Berkeley) seemed obvious choices. Portland, Oregon, was already home to Vestas Americas’ headquarters. But in June, Vestas picked Houston. read more

Music Industry to Abandon Mass Suits, Cozy Up To ISPs Instead

After years of suing thousands of people for allegedly stealing music via the Internet, the recording industry is set to drop its legal assault as it searches for more effective ways to combat online music piracy. read more

Imeem Gobbles Up A Young Startup, Anywhere.FM

After less than a year in operation, the team at Anywhere.FM reached an early payday today when veteran social music service Imeem gobbled them up for an undisclosed sum, most likely in a cash and stock mix. The iTunes-style web music player had raised under $100,000 in financing from Y Combinator and angels, making an early exit likely below $5 million possible. Anywhere.FM with its 60,000 users and over 9 million uploaded songs will continue to exist as is, but the founders will be joining Imeem to complete their earnout and continue work on their iTunes-style music player at Imeem’s San Francisco office. read more

Nanosilver Paint Promise To Banish Mold And Wipe Out Superbugs like MRSA and Ecoli

THE M COMPANIES, in partnership with EdenFresh, LLC, is developing a similar product (actually more complex and effective) using a hybrid-nanosilver compound, which is added into paint products. Check out ECOATS.NET!

Check out this great article about a similar product in Entreprenuer:

Warm, wet European summers offer the perfect growing conditions for fungi. Species such as Zygomycota, Deuteromycota and/or Ascomycota, responsible for mould and mildew growth, may be thriving in up to a fifth of Europe’s houses, according to a 2006 study by the Federal Statistical Office in Germany. New as well as old buildings are affected, with nearly a tenth of German apartments estimated to have mould and mildew growing in them. read more

LISTEN UP: Music To My Ears

Here’s something new I’m gonna try on my blog – adding a music component to it. Let me know what you think…the one above is: Charles Hamilton – BROOKLYN GIRL. read more

4 Steps to Assessing Your Product’s Profit Potential

I’VE TALKED TO a lot of people who have found a promising market by coming up with a product or service that would solve a problem. But they’re paralyzed about taking the next step. What if they put in the time and effort — and possibly money — and it flops?

There’s one process they’re missing. Validating your market after you’ve come up with a niche business idea is a crucial step you can’t afford to skip.

Of course, there’s no way to guarantee success, but ask yourself the four questions below. If you can check off every one, you’ll know — as much as possible — that you’re onto a winner. read more

Atrium Magazine spotlights Ivan Mladenovic

August 5th, 20008 – Ivan Mladenovic & The M Companies featured in Gulliver Schools THE ATRIUM magazine.

Check out the full article here

The M Companies launches new website

July 1, 2008 – Executive business development company, The M Companies, launched today it’s new company website, www.themcompanies.com. The site is geared to not only provide detailed information about the company and it’s ventures, but also as a business development community.

New features include a business development BLOG, which will highlight new trends, salient articles, and posts from partner sites in the community. We have also added a more detailed PROJECTS section, which provides more detailed information about ventures currently being undertaken at The M Companies.

We hope you enjoy the new site, and welcome any comments or suggestions.