Personnel Needed Get in on the ground floor of Maristream! Make $60,000-$200,000 per year. Work from your own home or office.	Partners Needed to Provide Invention Services Again, get in on the ground floor of Maristream! Make 176% Over Your Customary Service Charges. Work on one or many projects at a time.
Funding Needed - See www.Send-Yo-Money.com $1,622 needed for initial start-up costs. $5,310 needed for Xtender Strips start-up costs. You will be listed in our Founders and Funders section on our web page (below) if you contribute $500 or more. This is not an offer of securities or equity in Maristream, LLC - You will not be given any ownership by contributing to our cause.

 

Maristream - Your full-service, one-stop, no-cost organization to bring your new products or ideas to market - for inventors, innovators, entrepreneurs and visionaries.

We are forming a new company to help inventors, innovators, and entrepreneurs to bring their ideas and new products to market, and we invite you to get on board with us for an exciting and fulfilling ride!

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The MonsterBot 3-D Printer - A Manufacturing Plant in a Suitcase:

Maristream's MonsterBot 3-D Printer (starting at $9,999 retail) is a portable, rugged, highly configurable, re-sizeable, and affordable 4-extruder 3-D printer with a virtually unlimited build volume.  You can take MonsterBot anywhere in the world and set it up in a few minutes to build massive 3-D structures, such as houses, bridges, statues, and park fountains, along with entire water systems with water pumps, plumbing, and irrigation for remote villages, and even use it to pre-build structures (unattended!) on the moon and other planets for astronauts to occupy for long-term stays.  With currently-available build materials, virtually indestructible structures can be built for our troops in war zones to protect them from all sorts of dangers, up to direct rocket attacks.  The base configuration accommodates builds up to 12" x 16" x 12", and extensions can be added to it (for just $100 per additional foot!) to produce just about any sized object that you want.

MonsterBot prototypes are currently in development, with testing scheduled to begin in June of 2013 and proof-of-concept builds (which will be live-streamed on the internet) scheduled to begin in July, 2013, and initial production runs starting in August, 2013.  The base MonsterBot will be priced at $9,999, but, for a limited time, you can pre-order your own MonsterBot today for just $7,499 (plus $1000 per additional 10 foot extension as needed - specify when ordering; sales tax paid for Arkansas residents).

Currently, the specs and description are as follows:

• 4 Thermoplast pinch-wheel extruders with spline shaft motors and up to 300º C heaters - accommodates 3.00 mm diameter filament; can swap in other extruders and technologies as needed.

Custom-built heated build plate 12" x 16" (maximum build height approximately 12") for the base configuration.	Heavy-duty sprocket assembly in the vertical lift system
Heavy-duty drive mechanisms and stepper motors (MDrive® 34 or Sonceboz NEMA 34 motors) - can run continuously for days in harsh environments.
Extremely portable and light-weight (using 12" and 16" aluminum frame sections) - can be disassembled and reassembled in minutes and carried from site to site in a standard suitcase.
Constructed using off-the-shelf components and software which are easily obtainable in a plug-and-play design.
Having no traditional fixed frame or case allows it to create nearly unlimited build volumes on various build bases (such as concrete slabs for house builds).

• 12V components support various power sources, such as 120V/240V plug-in power supplies, battery power, solar power, and automotive power (through cigarette lighter).

• Supports a wide variety of build materials, from standard ABS and PLA to HDPE and PCL and to the more exotic materials currently on the market.

• USB 2.0 connectors for laptop and desktop computer control, or even iPad, iPhone, and Android control (apps to follow).

• Multiple sizes of spools of material (or even continuous supplies from MakiBox Ramen pellet extruders or other extruders) can be accommodated.

To pre-order your MonsterBot 3-D Printer at 25% off the retail price (only $7,499), click the PayPal Buy Now button here.  Also specify any additional dimension lengths that you want (at $100 per linear foot per dimension)  Delivery should be expected beginning in August, 2013.  Note that only 100 MonsterBot 3-D Printers will be eligible for pre-orders.  After that, no further orders will be accepted until the production builds commence in July, 2013.

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The MonsterBot 3-D Printer Challenge Is On!

Maristream's MonsterBot 3-D Printer is a portable, configurable, re-sizeable 3-D printer with a virtually unlimited build volume and multiple extruders, and is created using inexpensive off-the-shelf parts.  With MonsterBot, you can take it anywhere in the world and set it up to build massive 3-D structures, such as houses, bridges, statues, and park fountains, along with entire water systems with water pumps, plumbing, and irrigation for remote villages, and even use it to pre-build structures (unattended!) on the moon and other planets for astronauts to occupy for long-term stays.  Your challenge is to design a MonsterBot 3-D Printer using AutoCAD 3-D or some other CAD software that can produce a standard .stl file that can be run through an existing 3rd-party 3-D printer to create its parts as needed.  Your MonsterBot should be able to build a house that is 50' wide by 30' deep by 12' high (from the ground floor - the concrete slab - up to the tip of the roof) with minimal human intervention and which will require minimum post-build finishing of the house (such as installing carpeting and light fixtures).  It should use off-the-shelf components as much as possible, preferably locally available.  You can assume that the 4-extruder nozzle/heater assembly and the software to run the printer is readily available from the 3rd-party 3-D printer manufacturers.  You can also assume that you will only be running your MonsterBot in good weather (not in rain, snow, hail, extreme cold or extreme heat).  You do not have to design the individual 3rd-party parts in your CAD drawing, such as stepper motors, long screw lifts, and the nozzle assembly, which are available off-the-shelf, but just note them in the specs that you include with your submission.

Your MonsterBot design should be easily disassembled into sections up to a maximum length of 12' so that it can be transported in a van, SUV, or pickup truck and erected on-site.  Be aware that you will have to compensate for the sag of the build material as it travels around with the 4-extruder nozzle assembly (the spool of build material may be as far as 50' from the nozzle assembly).  You will also need to research and find the appropriate materials to be extruded by your MonsterBot, and get the prices and specifications, such as tensile strength, compression strength, R-value (preferably R-27 or greater, which can be met with a honeycomb or other structural arrangement with air pockets inside the walls), UV resistance (won't discolor in the sun), fire resistance (preferably 3-4 hours plus), and expected life span, for those materials.  If any human intervention other than refilling the build material supply is required during the build, you will need to describe that in your submission (such as jacking up a layer of plywood at ceiling level to hold the ceiling and rafters as they are being built).

You can submit your resulting 3-D .stl file, along with your materials list and specifications, and your list of off-the-shelf components and their individual prices and suppliers, and the steps to assemble and disassemble your version for transport (limited to 12' sections; which should take under an hour to assemble or disassemble) to "The MonsterBot Challenge" at srea1957@yahoo.com.  The contest ends on April 30, 2013 at 12:00 PM (midnight) Central Daylight Time.  The best design, as determined by Maristream's staff and other 3rd-party experts in their fields, will win $100.00.  And, as a bonus, if your design is less expensive, faster, and is a better design than Maristream's own MonsterBot 3-D Printer, we will send you $100.00 for the first 50 MonsterBot 3-D Printers sold by Maristream (for a total of $5,000)!  In case of a tie, the entry with the earliest submission will win.

Contents:

What Is Maristream and How Is It Putting Innovation To WorkTM? For Prospective Partner Companies Product Focus Advisors Initial Micro-Funding Sought Founders and Funders Personnel Needed The New Product Selection Process Terms and Conditions Press Releases Articles of Interest Sample Project - Xtender Strips Patents/Trademarks in Progress Rapid Prototyping (3D Printing) Virtual Stores of Arkansas MicroHomes of Arkansas Maristream's Emergency Response Teams MonsterBot 3-D Printer The MonsterBot Challenge (ends June 31, 2013) Stephen Rea – Founder of Maristream A Special Thanks To The Following

What Is Maristream and How Is It Putting Innovation To WorkTM? Maristream is a full-service, one-stop, no-cost organization for developing and marketing new products for inventors, innovators, entrepreneurs, and other visionaries. Our goal is to be the premier research, development, and new product marketing company of the South, offering our services to individual inventors and innovators around the country to bring their ideas and new products to market, thus "Putting Innovation To WorkTM."
		Our role model and inspiration is fellow inventor and philanthropist Dean Kamen of DEKA Research, inventor of the Segway Transporation System and many other innovative medical devices and products (with 440 patents so far).  And, of course, we couldn't fail to mention Sam Walton of Walmart, who drove around in overalls in his old beat-up red pickup truck to visit his stores unannounced to see how their associates were treating his customers.  (He once fired my wife's manager at a Little Rock, AR, Walmart for getting onto her because she "spent too much time" helping him that morning at the store!)

These services will be offered at no up-front cost to the inventor or entrepreneur. Once we evaluate the market potential of his/her idea or new product (a triad of internal and external evaluations), we will only ask for 10% of the profits from the product and its derivatives, with the inventor getting the remaining 90% of the profits (unheard of in the industry). If the product succeeds, we will all make money. If it fails, well, we made a mistake somewhere along the way, but the inventor or entrepreneur has not emptied his/her bank account to bring that product to market, and he/she is free to work on other ideas or products (concentrating on what he/she does best).

For Prospective Partner Companies:

For those companies out there that would like to join us as partners and get "A Piece Of The Action", please contact me at srea@maristream.com. You will be expected to contribute your part, whether it is building prototypes, design work, consumer research, marketing, manufacturing, or whatever your specialty is, for no cost to the inventor. Your only payment will be from the 10% share of the profits that we get from that product and its derivatives, with 10% of that going to Maristream, 7.5% going to the product champion, and the remaining 82.5% going to the partners in monthly checks for the life of the product and any of its derivatives (for example, iPad 1, iPad 2, and the new iPad - don't we wish!).  Any fixed non-partner costs will be deducted from the original profits before the distribution takes place.  A sample distribution of the profits over the first year is shown in the spreadsheet here.

Why would you want to be a partner of Maristream?  Are the following six reasons enough to convince you to join with us?

1. First, if a product that you work on with us succeeds (and we do our best to find products that will succeed using a three-phase evaluation process before we even start working on them), your ongoing percentage of the profits collected from that product and its derivatives should be more than what you would usually make on a standard contract for your services.

2. Second, you can choose whatever product in our new product submission pool that you want to work on - whether it is a big project with lots of profit potential, or a small project to fill a void in your production calendar to keep your staff busy, or a specialized project in a niche market that you are interested in.

3. Third, you can work on various new products at a time depending on your capacity, from one or two products at a time for smaller shops, to dozens of products at a time for large organizations.

4. Fourth, you will work with a team of other partners that are contributing various services in the product-to-market flow for the product, and can take advantage of their expertise in new product development, as well as offer your own expertise to them.

5. Fifth, you will be contributing to and promoting the innovators and visionaries around the country, possibly creating new companies or even being on the ground floor of entire new industries.

6. Sixth, your competition may be partnering with us, so, if you want "A Piece Of The Action", you should consider partnering with us as well (no pressure, though!).

Note that this is a new paradigm of compensation for your services, which may sweep the industry to spread the risk of bringing new products to market. If the product fails, you will make no money. If the product succeeds, again as above, your ongoing percentage of the profits collected from that product and its derivatives should be more than what you would usually make on a standard contract for your services. And, you will have to delay your income from that product until it has been successfully established in the market and is generating profits, if any (and it will generate profits if we have all done our jobs right). That's the risks we take (product success or failure, no up-front payments, and delayed gratification), and the rewards we receive (greater compensation than standard contracts, networking with like-minded service providers, promoting innovation, and creating new companies and industries) for "A Piece Of The Action".  (We may require you to obtain small performance bonds and bid bonds to protect the other service partners.)

Services:

Some of our services include:  New Product Evaluation, Design and Enhancement of New Products and Ideas, Consumer Research, Rapid Prototyping, Product Testing and Certification, Patent and Trademark Research and Applications, New Product Manufacturing, New Product Marketing, Business Planning and Development, Product Licensing, and other product-to-market services, along with Philanthropy.

Besides bringing their products to market, we will also be helping inventors license their products to other companies, or even create a new business around their products, depending on what the inventor wants to do.  Our business development partners will help them register their company (Inc, LLC, partnership, or whatever form they would like it to be) with the Arkansas Secretary of State (or whatever state they are in), get a federal tax identification number, apply for other certifications and licenses that they will need (such as a DUNS number, a GS1 US company prefix license to generate barcodes, and other corporate, state, and federal filings), find office space for them, help them build a staff for their company, and help them temporarily manage their company until they can run it on their own.  Then, we will step aside and let them take over their company, with no strings attached, except for the 10% profit share from their new product and its derivatives.  And, they can come back to us at any time for advice or additional help running their company or even restructuring their company - again, at no up-front costs to them.  So, I hope we are as successful at building businesses in Arkansas that we will be at marketing their new products and ideas.  It would be great to be the catalyst for an explosion of new businesses in Arkansas!

When we have enough money, we will be creating an inventors workshop containing the latest and best rapid prototyping equipment, product design stations (with CAD software), patent and trademark search stations, and other computer aided design stations, manned by highly trained product design specialists, to help inventors work out the bugs in their new products and create and test prototypes for their inventions.  I've heard some refer to this as an "inventors playground" or an "inventors fantasyland".  We will try to have everything in there to help the inventors build and refine their ideas.

Product Focus:

Our product focus will be on those new products that are amenable to rapid prototyping and quick turnaround, such as small consumer and industrial products and components.  So, at the current time, we will not be doing large consumer and industrial products such as cars, refrigerators, and turbines.  We will also not be doing pharmaceuticals (drugs), oil and gas, and other chemical and medical products, as well as weapons and other products that are subject to stringent government regulations and the main focus of litigation and lawsuits.  We just don't want to expose our partners to that risk.  There are plenty of other new ideas and new products out there to keep us busy.

Advisors:

Someone who has a successful business bringing his new products to market asked me if I had a group of experts helping me with Maristream.  We do have some excellent advisors on Maristream's board of directors who have founded several successful businesses and have brought products to market, as well as having the common sense and insight to keep me on the right path.  Do I have experts?  Yes I do.  I have people like you out there who have been through the good times and bad times and know the in's and out's of bringing a product to market, and are willing to share their experience to mentor others and guide them into successful businesses. Are you one of those mentors? If so, I would appreciate your help.  Please contact me at srea@maristream.com with your experience and give me pointers on what you've learned about bringing a new product to market and what to look out for. If you are not a mentor, why not?  You should be; otherwise, what kind of legacy will you leave? Something to think about.

Initial Micro-Funding Sought:

Our initial Phase 1 startup costs for Maristream, LLC, will be around $1,622, which is broken down below (see www.Send-Yo-Money.com):

  275.00 for Trademark application for: Maristream name and logo
  275.00 for Trademark application for: "Putting Innovation To Work"
    45.00 for Arkansas LLC corporation filing
    22.50 for Arkansas LLC Articles of Organization filing (update)
  299.00 for DUNS number filing
  244.62 for Advertisement on LinkedIn (1 month; additional Phase 1 funding sought for advertisement purposes)
  130.00 for FrontPage 2003 Web Page Development Software
    80.00 for Go Daddy web site hosting
  162.99 for IP Camera (Amazon)
      9.25 for Edison Nation subscription
    25.00 for Edison Nation contest submission ($1 Million prize)
    50.00 for Forum on Entrepreneurship Breakfast Series

With this startup funding, we plan to seek out and sign up partners, and to launch our full-service organization to free up the inventors and innovators to do what they do best - to come up with ideas and new products - and leave the rest of their worries to us - product evaluation, market research, design and engineering services, prototypes, product testing, patents and trademarks and FCC/IC/CE certifications, manufacturing, software development, documentation/manuals, packaging, marketing, distribution, business planning and formation, product licensing, and other services that they will need to bring their ideas or new products to market. Truly, we will be Putting Innovation To WorkTM .  Note: The funds contributed via SendYoMoney.com are donations only, and do not give you ownership in Maristream, LLC (no securities or equity positions are involved or implied by SendYoMoney.com).

Our initial funding needs for our Xtender Strips product will be around $5,310, which is broken down below (see www.Send-Yo-Money.com):

  275.00 for Trademark application for: "Xtender Strips"
2330.00 for GS1 US company prefix license to generate barcodes
  210.00 for Initial Product Evaluation services (market potential and potential applications of Xtender Strips)
  320.00 for Patent application
1500.00 for Manufacturing setup
  675.00 for Advertising (1 month; any additional funding received would go towards further advertising)

Xtender Strips will be marketed through Walmart, Target, Walgreens, USA Drugs, CVS Drug Stores, and various medical products stores and magazines (since they can help people with swelling (edema) in their feet to wear their Velcro-strap shoes and other Velcro-related products and applications).

Founders and Funders:

Stephen Rea - Little Rock, AR
You?  Get on board with us to support the inventors and visionaries around the country!  Contribute today at www.Send-Yo-Money.com!

Personnel Needed:

We need your experience and enthusiasm!

• Can you champion a new product to and with our partners, from evaluating an idea through product refinement, design, development, safety testing, getting patents and trademarks, manufacturing, packaging, marketing, and distribution, all the way to putting the product on the shelves of retailers?

• Do you love to do new product evaluations, including brainstorming an idea and casting its vision and possibilities to others?

• Can you search out potential new partner companies, enthusiastically pitch our mission to them, and sign them up to do product prototyping, manufacturing, or whatever their specialty is?

• Do you know the in's and out's of patent and trademark searches and applications?

• Do you have experience handling intellectual property, non disclosure agreements, product liability, product licensing, and other legal matters involving bringing new products to  market?

• Is your passion new product testing and FCC/IC/CE applications and certifications?

• Do you want to show off your creativity in developing product documentation, manuals, packaging, advertising, and new product and company web sites?

• Can you market a wide range of new consumer products to retailers and distributors across the country and worldwide?

• Is promoting new products to various companies for licensing your cup of tea?

• Do you like to build businesses from the ground up, from developing business plans through initial personnel acquisition and preliminary management until they get on their feet?

• Do you have other talents and passions that you think we can make use of to help and promote the inventors, innovators, visionaries, and entrepreneurs around the country?

Well, Maristream needs you!  Contact me (srea@maristream.com) and let me know what your passion is and why you want to join Maristream.  We are based in Little Rock, Arkansas, but, as an independent contractor to Maristream, if you want to work remotely from your own home or office, that's fine with us, just so you get your work done.  Your salary will be based on the profit that Maristream makes, and everyone, except for the product champions, will be paid the same amount, from the founder and the president down to the secretary, and everyone in between, every month.  To figure your salary for the month, take 90% of what Maristream corporate brings in that month after expenses (rent, utilities, equipment, supplies, etc.), and divide that by the number of staff that Maristream has (excluding the product champions, and including the founder).  If Maristream does good that month, you will do good that month; otherwise, we will all pay the price for a bad month.  So, that gives everyone the incentive to do the best you can for the team, so that the team can make the most money possible.  You probably won't get paid very much the first few months until we start making some serious money (unless some angel investors or venture capitalists come along to partner with us in our dream), but, where else can you get in on the ground floor of such an exciting opportunity?

When we do start making money, and after all of our expenses are paid and we have the funds available, we will give you back-pay for those initial start-up months that you didn't get paid (or were paid very little) in order to come up with a base of $60,000 per year salary (with a salary ceiling of $200,000 per year adjusted for inflation based on the starting year of 2012).  That will give you an incentive to come on board with Maristream as soon as you can!  Is that a deal, or what?!  To see an example of this, take a look at the Financial Information section of the Investor Relations Document, which has this at the bottom of the Profit and Loss sample spreadsheet.  Note that you will be working as an independent contractor, not an employee of Maristream, so, you will be responsible for paying your own taxes, Social Security (employee and employer parts, which totals 15% of your income), etc., and getting your own insurance (Maristream will add 30% to your compensation to pay for these items), as well as supplying your own equipment (computers, printers, scanners, telephones, etc., and paying the costs associated with them).

Oh, and one other thing - If you don't do your part and get your work done, or if you don't get along with your coworkers, the other team members can vote you off the team (yes, your coworkers can fire you!), even if you are the president of Maristream.  (Stephen Del Rea, as the Founder of Maristream, can only be relieved of his duties by the Board Of Directors (after all, you can't "un-found" a company!), but will continue to receive his percentage of the salaries as long as Maristream and its derivatives exist, which will be paid to him or to his wife or to their trusts in perpetuity.)

The New Product Selection Process:

Each new product or idea submitted to Maristream will go through, essentially, three evaluations before they are accepted as a project for Maristream to work on.  Initially, a New Product Evaluation group, consisting of the product champions and others within Maristream, will meet to examine the latest set of submissions for possible consideration (at which the inventor is encouraged to attend to answer questions that come up about his new product or idea) - which will probably be held via conference call, since our product champions and others can work from anywhere in the country.  An independent third-party group (such as Invention Evaluator) will also examine the submission to preliminarily evaluate the product, and submit its findings to the New Product Evaluation group.  Those products that are accepted are placed into a pool of products for the partners and product champions to review and evaluate to determine if they want to work on those products.  A champion for that product is selected from those champions that bid on the product, who will promote and guide the product through the product-to-market process.  When a partner selects a product to work on, the partner submits a bid on the project to the product champion (or to Maristream headquarters if a champion has not been chosen yet), consisting of a plan of work (including a timeframe, the services to be performed, and the resulting deliverables), along with a budget for that work for their part in bringing that product to market. The partner is also encouraged, along with the product champion, to promote that product to other partners that can bring that product to market.  Once a critical mass of services that are bid is reached, as determined by the product champion, in which most or all of the steps and services will be covered to bring that product to market, and assuming that the bids that are received and considered pass the "credibility test" as determined by the product champion, the bidding partners and the product champion will meet for a review of the bids and a final acceptance discussion.

For that Final Acceptance Meeting (FAM, which is the third product evaluation), scheduled by the product champion, the champion will send the bidding partners copies of all of the bids submitted for all of the services to be performed for the partners to examine before the meeting for credibility and completeness, giving the partners at least one week to examine those bids.  At the FAM, led by the product champion, in which all partners (or their designates) bidding on the project must attend (else the partner's bid is forfeited) - again probably held via conference call, the partners make any adjustments to their bids, if needed (after discussion with the partners and product champion about those proposed changes), the final list of partners to work on the project are selected, a product-to-market services flowchart is created containing the services, timelines and expected deliverables from the selected partners, and an initial project budgets and payments spreadsheet is started containing the services, bid amounts, fixed costs, and timeframes (see example here).  If there are insufficient services represented by the partners in attendance at the FAM, or if one or more partners decide that they don't want the project to proceed at the current time (and there are no other bidders at the FAM to take their place), the product champion can fill in the holes during the FAM by calling and recruiting other partners for the project as needed (using the currently submitted bids for those services); otherwise, the product will be placed back into the pool of products for reconsideration and subsequent bids.  The original bids by the partners are kept with the resubmitted product unless the partners decide to withdraw those bids or unless the bid has been forfeited.  A final go/no-go decision on the project is made by the product champion and the partners selected for the project (all must agree), who then all sign the Project Acceptance Contract (PAC) before leaving the FAM.  A partner can withdraw his bid by informing the product champion at any time up to the final go/no-go decision on the project, on which all of the selected partners must agree.  Once the PAC is signed, the partner is committed to perform the services that he has proposed in his bid (and any other services that he agreed to do during the FAM to fill in the gaps), and it is his responsibility to make sure that he can properly allocate and schedule his services, facilities, and personnel within his company, among the other projects that his company is working on, to complete his work on the project at hand within the timeline determined during the FAM.

When a "go" decision is reached, the inventor is notified by the product champion that we have accepted his product, and the necessary agreements and legal documentation is signed by the inventor and the product champion (as a representative of Maristream). The product champion forwards the following documentation to Maristream headquarters for filing and internal publication:

1. the initial new product or idea submission documentation from the inventor

2. the selected partner bids (plan of work and budget)

3. the product-to-market services flowchart and timeline

4. the initial project budgets and payments spreadsheet

5. the Project Acceptance Contract

6. the inventor agreements and legal documentation

The partners will perform their services in a timely manner as documented in the plan of work at the direction of the product champion within the product-to-market flowchart. Any overages in their budget will be the responsibility of the partner to absorb. Then, when the product has gone to market and has started generating profits, the 10% profit percentage from our share of the product's profits that the partners and product champion get will be distributed on a monthly basis to them based on the budget they initially submitted for that product (so, the partner doing $10,000 worth of work will get 10 times the amount of those profits that a partner doing $1,000 worth of work will get; the product champion will get at least 7.5% of our share of the profits, which can be increased by the selected partners during the FAM, and Maristream will get 10% of our share of the profits). A sample spreadsheet of the initial bids and the profit distribution for a new product during the first year on the market can be seen here.

If there is more than one partner that wants to perform the same services on a product, the rest of the partners at the FAM will select the partner to perform those services based on the budgets and timeframes that the competing partners submitted, with the smaller budget and timeframe being accepted in most cases (dependent on the quality of the services that the partner has provided on prior projects inside and outside of Maristream). In order to spread the work around, when a partner does not get selected to work on a project that he bids on (on competing partner submissions), for the next project that he bids on, his "budget" that is considered on competing partner submissions will be reduced by 25%, and the other partners will base their decision on whom to select using this "reduced budget". An additional 25% reduction will take place on each subsequent project that he bids on but fails to obtain, until, after 4 projects, his services will be considered as if they were offered for free. Those subsequent budgets will, however, have to pass the "credibility test" by the other partners, so, if he proposes a wildly high budget on the 4th and subsequent projects in order to increase his percentage of the profits, his bid will not be accepted by the rest of the partners in their deliberations during the FAM. Once the partner successfully bids on a project and is accepted to work on it, his bids revert back to full value. On those projects that he is accepted to work on, the percentage of profits that he receives for that product is based on his original budget for that product (not on the "reduced budget"). This way, the work is spread around among the partners offering similar services.

Conversely, once a project is selected and work has begun on it, if a partner fails to perform the services that he bid on, his subsequent "budget" will be increased by 50% in the consideration of his services by the other partners for that next project, and they will base their decision on whom to select on competing partner submissions using this "increased budget". An additional 50% increase will take place on each subsequent project that he bids on and wins but fails to complete, until, after 2 projects, his services will be considered as if they were offered for double the amount that his budget proposes. If the partner fails to complete a third project, he will be suspended from bidding on projects for 6 months. This way, the partners must take their bids and the timely completion of their services seriously, as the other partners depend on him to do his part so that the product successfully makes its way to market.  Once the offending partner completes 2 projects successfully, his bids revert back to full value. (If a partner fails to perform the services that he bids on, the product champion will seek an alternative partner to fulfill his services based on the bid that he submitted for the project. The product champion will inform Maristream headquarters of the substitution, and Maristream will send the alternative partner a check for $1,000 to take over the original partner's services.)

Terms and Conditions:

The Terms and Conditions for submitting your new product or idea to Maristream are given in a Microsoft Word document here.

Press Releases and Others:

Edison Nation $1,000,000 Prize Submission
Maristream's New Paradigm of Compensation - "A Piece Of The Action"
Gone in 60 Seconds (G60) Contest presentation for Maristream
Maristream Profit And Loss (Projected)
Incredible Profit, Payroll and Philanthropic Potential For Maristream

Articles of Interest:

Why Companies Should File For Patents Now
Patent Reform: A Guide For Tech Companies
Untangling The Real Meaning Of "First-To-File" Patents
     (Note: An early disclosure, which starts the clock ticking on a one-year "grace period", can be beneficial with respect
     to U.S. patent rights, since that disclosure prevents anyone else from filing for a patent on that new product or idea.)
The Inventor Protection Act
America Invents Act (AIA)
Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS)

Some Key Dates:

September 16, 2011 - America Invents Act (AIA) signed into law.
March 16, 2013 - "First-To-File" portion of the "America Invents Act" (AIA) takes effect.

Sample Project:

Xtender Strips - Extends existing hook-and-loop fasteners (such as Velcro) for applications such as Velcro straps on shoes.

The problem: The Velcro straps on my shoes are too short and don't stay attached because of my swollen feet.

The solution: Using hook-and-loop fasteners (such as Velcro), attach a length of hook fabric strip to a length of loop fabric strip, end-to-end, with the hook fabric strip facing up and the loop fabric strip facing down. The hook fabric strip will attach to the existing loop fabric strip of the shoe or other application, and the loop fabric strip will attach to the existing hook fabric strip of the shoe or other application, thus extending the existing Velcro strap on the shoe. Trim the hook and loop fabric strips as needed.

Location where the solution was determined:     San Antonio Walmart Supercenter Store #2239     8923 W Military Dr     San Antonio, TX 78245 Date of solution: 3/27/12 at 11:30 PM Time from problem identification to solution idea: 15 minutes. Time to create a prototype: 20 minutes (plus drying time of the glue). Proposed name of product: Xtender Strips. Time for trademark search: 10 minutes. Time for trademark application: 30 minutes. So, we have a prototype and a trademark to submit as a new product to Maristream.

If the Xtender Strips product is selected to bring to market, Maristream will create a product-to-market services flowchart and timeline and a Project Budgets and Payments spreadsheet during the Final Acceptance Meeting containing the services listed below.  Those marked TBD are the ones that the partners will be working on for the project.

Product Evaluation: (The results from the New Product Evaluation group and the independent third-party group will be entered here, and the costs for those will be entered into the spreadsheet.)

Market Research: TBD

Design and Engineering Services: TBD (any refinement of the new product needed here?)

Prototypes: Prototype supplied by inventor.

Product Testing: Not needed (no FCC/IC/CE certifications needed)

Patents and Trademarks: Trademark obtained by inventor. FCC/IC/CE Applications: No certifications needed. Manufacturing (Initial Tooling and Setup): TBD Software Development: Not needed. Documentation/Manuals: TBD Packaging: TBD Marketing: TBD Distribution (Arranging for Distributors): TBD Business Planning and Formation: Not needed (will seek product licensing). Product Licensing (Contacts and Contracts): TBD

The Xtender Strips project will proceed with the selected partners all performing the services that they bid on, and the product will go to market, and, hopefully, the profits will start rolling in monthly, and our 10% of the profits will be distributed to the selected partners, the product champion, and Maristream.  (Note that since Maristream owns this product, Maristream will also get the 90% of the profits that go to the inventor - who is Maristream in this case.)

Status of Xtender Strips:

3/27/12:
Created a prototype of Xtender Strips.

3/28/12:
Applied for a trademark for "Xtender Strips".
Submitted Xtender Strips for product evaluation by Invention Evaluator (www.inventionevaluator.com).
Applied for a GS1 US company prefix license which is required to generate barcodes.
Added a description of Xtender Strips to Maristream's web site as a sample project for Maristream's services.
Examined the list of 6075 patents containing the words Velcro and extension.

4/6/12:
The president of the United Inventors Association of America, Mark Reyland, called me to discuss Maristream.  We talked for over an hour and, for the most part, agreed with each other.  That is a good sign.

4/8/12:
Submitted Xtender Strips as a project for funding through Fundageek (awaiting approval).  It's progress will be documented for an article in Inventors Digest being written by Mark Reyland, Executive Director of United Inventors Association of America.

4/4/12:
A men's shoes buyer for Walmart in New York rejected Xtender Strips.  I will try submitting it again, and request an Arkansas crafts or pharmacy buyer this time.

4/13/12:
Received evaluation from Invention Evaluator, who concluded that Xtender Strips was a novel idea that could be patented (no prior art found), and that it was marketable.

4/14/12:
Applied for patent for Xtender Strips (took around 3 hours).

4/16/12:
Presented "Elevator Pitch" for Maristream at the G60 (Gone in 60 Seconds) contest at Vino's in downtown Little Rock, AR.
(Oh, well - didn't win the contest this time, but did get a nibble from one of the investors wanting some more information about Maristream, so, that is probably a better "win".)

4/19/12:
Talked with Velcro's distributor about making 1,000 Xtender Strips for us. They could only do it for $0.21 each, which doesn't make sense, since I can do it for $0.10 each - why is that?

4/20/12:
The secretary for George Davison, the founder of Davison Inventing, the largest invention submission corporation in America, called me to set up a conversation in a couple of weeks to discuss Maristream.  (We are getting traction, and must be doing something right, when the big guys in the industry start calling us!)

Patents/Trademarks in Progress:

Xtender Strips - The "Xtender Strip" is a strip of VelcroTM (or similar hook and loop fastener) in which the proximal side has the "hook" surface oriented in one direction (up), and the distal side has the "loop" surface oriented in the opposite direction (down). That is, the two sides of the strip, joined end-to-end, have the two fastening types opposed. This device can then be used to join, and extend, an existing fastener (eg. a Velcro strap on a shoe), with the extension not apparent (easily concealed).

Digital Portrait - The "Digital Portrait" is a digital display screen of sufficient dimension so as to fit inside a standard or non-standard picture frame, which will show one or more pictures and/or videos, which can be controlled on a manual, timed, remote controlled or other basis, and with the storage of the picture and/or video files on the device itself utilizing fixed memory on the device, or on separate memory cards that can be plugged into the device, or with the storage of the picture and/or video files on a remote computer. This will allow the user to choose his or her own picture frame to put the digital display screen into, and to mount the digital portrait with frame similar to how a standard portrait with frame would be mounted, such as on a wall, on an easel, or on a desk top. It will also allow the mounted digital portrait with frame to be used for multiple pictures and/or videos, instead of a fixed picture for a standard portrait with frame.

Rapid Prototyping (3D Printing):

Maristream offers inexpensive and fast turnaround rapid prototyping services to both individuals and companies wishing to have sample parts created for the project they are working on.  Usually, turnaround is only one day, depending on the size and complexity of the part and the material(s) used to create the part.  Pricing of parts created through Maristream's rapid prototyping services is as follows:

1. For parts with a maximum dimension of 3", the price is $50 for setup fee plus $100 per hour of build time plus the cost of materials.

2. For parts with a maximum dimension of 6", the price is $100 for setup fee plus $100 per hour of build time plus the cost of materials.

3. For parts with a maximum length of 30", the price is $200 for setup fee plus $100 per hour of build time plus the cost of materials.

4. For parts or structures with a maximum dimension greater than 30", the price is $1000 for setup fee plus $100 per hour of build time plus the cost of materials.

Below are some of the 3D printers that we may use to create your part:

The MakiBox A6 LT has a build volume of 88 cubic inches with parts up to 5.9" L x 4.3" W x 3.5" H (single extruder).
The MakerBot Replicator 2X has a build volume of 410 cubic inches with parts up to 11.2" L x 6.0" W x 6.1" H (dual extruders).
The MBot 3D Cube has a build volume of 474 cubic inches with parts up to 7.8" L x 7.8" W x 7.8" H (dual extruders).
The RigidBot Big 3D has a build volume of 1920 cubic inches with parts up to 12" L x 16" W x 10" H (single extruder)
The MonsterBot (patent pending), one of our products, has a virtually unlimited build volume (measured in cubic feet) and parts size (measured in feet) (multiple extruders).

To have your part built, e-mail me (srea@maristream.com, subject: "Rapid Prototyping Services") your 3-D .stl CAD file containing your CAD drawing (created through Autocad 3-D or some similar software) plus a check for the setup fee (see above) and the first hour of build time ($100) plus $20 to ship the part back to you (next day delivery), along with a description of the material that you wish to have it made out of and the color that you want it to be, if you know.  I will send you the part once it is fabricated plus a bill for the remainder of the build time along with the materials cost.

Virtual Stores of Arkansas:

Maristream hopes to set up several 3-D printers (such as the RigidBot Big 3-D Printer in the picture here) in the windows of the Museum of Discovery at 500 President Clinton Avenue in Little Rock, AR, to build parts for the public and for educational and entertainment purposes.  Thousands of visitors pass through the Riverwalk area in Little Rock every day, and can walk by our window display and watch parts and objects being made.  They can even order a build, go off to lunch, and come back to pick up their newly-created part.  Half of the profits from the sales at the Virtual Store will go to the Museum of Discovery to help support the museum.

MicroHomes of Arkansas:

MicroHomes are hybrid homes, with components from regular homes, mobile homes, and campers. They may be small on the outside (10’ x 20’ modules), but they are fully furnished and decked out with all of the amenities of half-million dollar homes, including electric remote-controlled fireplaces, central vacuum systems, whirlpool tubs, 39” televisions in slide-down hide-a-way pockets, all stainless steel appliances (Frigidaire brand) including double-wide refrigerators with ice and water in the doors, double-oven ranges, quiet dishwashers and garbage disposals, and huge 2.0 cuft LG microwaves, solid red oak cabinets with cherry finishing, Haier washer/dryer combos, along with whisper quiet bathroom fan/light/heater units and heat pump heating and cooling systems, on-demand hot water system so you never run out of hot water, plush sectional sofas convertible into double or queen beds, huge 5’ wide wrap-around decks made from modern composite materials that won’t fade or warp, with electrically-controlled awnings over the decks, and R-19 cellulose insulation in the floors, walls, and ceilings. All framing is joined together with screws, not nails, forming a solid structure that is resistant to storms and able to be towed, along with rolled roofing that won’t come off when towing or facing storms.

Options are available to make your MicroHome self-sufficient (self-contained) so you can take your MicroHome to the deer woods or wherever (including moving it out of harms way if a storm is heading your way), including a trailering package with wheels, axles, trailer hitch, and lights ($600), a water package including fresh (30 gallon) and gray (40 gallon) water tanks and a water pump ($400), and a 5,000W electric generator to run all of the 120V and 240V appliances and the heat pump in your MicroHome ($700). And, we offer free delivery and setup of your MicroHome within 100 miles of our manufacturing plants in Little Rock, AR, and elsewhere (you will need electric, water, and sewer already available for hookup).

We also offer several floorplans with single and double attached modules (see MicroHomes.doc), including the Alpha ($25,000 MSRP), which sleeps two adults, with a kitchen, bathroom, and living room / bedroom combo, and the Bunkie ($45,000 MSRP), a 2-module MicroHome which sleeps two adults and three kids, with a kitchen, living room, kids bedroom with three bunks and a huge 6’ closet space with drawers, master bedroom with queen-sized bed and entries to the bathroom and back deck, bathroom with a whirlpool tub, and huge front and back decks with electrically-controlled awnings over the decks. And, you are donating to a good cause whenever you purchase a MicroHome, with most of the proceeds going to the men’s homeless shelters and other public and private assistance programs, since they are the ones that are building the MicroHomes for you, gaining a skill (carpentry, plumbing, electrical, etc.) while helping the shelters raise the funds that they need to continue helping those of us in need (“There, but for the grace of God, go I.”).

To find the nearest MicroHome dealer near you, contact Maristream, LLC, at 501-944-7486, or at srea1957@yahoo.com (where you will probably get to talk to the founder/principal of Maristream, LLC). And we would be happy to customize a MicroHome for you, with your own colors and patterns of carpets and cabinetry and other amenities. When you purchase a MicroHome, we hope that you will have the most luxurious home in your neighborhood, if not the entire city, and that your friends will come to YOUR house to visit and to hold their family and group functions. As we say at MicroHomes of Arkansas, you will be “Living Large by Living Small” in a MicroHome.

Maristream Emergency Response Teams:

With its MicroHomes, 3D printers, and other in-house technology and service partners readily available, Maristream is in the unique position of being able to meet many of the needs of natural disaster victims (along with the Red Cross and other disaster response teams), such as housing and custom manufacturing.  Maristream's Emergency Response Teams can go into a disaster area within a week's time and bring all of materials and knowledge to help restore some of the things that our far-away (or nearby) neighbors and friends lost from a tornado, hurricane, wildfire, or other natural disaster.  Our first team will be going to Granbury, TX, to build temporary housing in their tornado-devastated neighborhoods, where we plan to show them how to build and furnish 120 MicroHomes in 10 days using their labor (86 of the 120 homes were built by Habitat for Humanity, so, they know construction).  Hopefully, we can get all of the families back to their own neighborhoods to be with their friends and families before the end of the month (May, 2013).  When their houses have been rebuilt, and they move back into them, FEMA can take charge of those MicroHomes and transport them to a staging area for use with later disasters.  Besides the MicroHomes, we will also be taking several 3D printers and scanners, and rolls of material, to build parts and other objects on-site that they cannot readily replace.

Stephen Rea – Founder of Maristream, and Oracle Database Administrator (download resume')

In case you are wondering, the genesis of the name "Maristream" is from my aunt, Mary Katherine ("Mari"), whom I never got to know since she died in childhood, followed by STeve REA Manufacturing ("stream") - OK, I got a shameless plug in there!

A Special Thanks To:

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