A method of raising capital including the steps of: providing a business entity; providing an entity officer responsible for the operation and day-to-day decision-making of the entity; selling all or part of the original owner's interest in a business (e.g. a restaurant) or property (e.g. a residential house) to the entity, providing a contract based on the business or property (e.g. a restaurant operating contract or a residential lease) to generate revenue for the entity; raising equity and/or debt capital issued by the entity from investors to fund the entity's purchase of the original owner's interest; and providing an investor-voting system so a voting majority of investors can potentially replace the entity officer.

In one embodiment, the instant disclosure provides a portable computing device that includes at least: a processor; a non-transient computer media; computer instructions, and where, when the processor executes the computer instructions, the portable computing device is programmed to: transmit an electronic request to establish a user session related to an event, where the electronic request includes a user-specific event-specific identifier that is uniquely related to a user and the event; display, during the user session, an user-specific app-like graphical user interface including: a first interface area displaying a text-based content related to the user-specific event-specific identifier and the event, a second interface area displaying a live virtual event content related to the user-specific event-specific identifier and the event, a graphical user interface element that has been programmed to automatically execute a user-specific action related to the event when a user activates the graphical user interface element in a single action.

An exemplary non-limiting embodiment of an economic development and collaboration system, which enables individuals within a community to efficiently identify and express their interests in one or more economic propositions, is disclosed herein. The economic development and collaboration system comprises a software application which is configured to allow users to uniquely interface with the one or more economic propositions. The system allows for its users to efficiently identify and express support or disapproval of one or more economic propositions. A variety of engagement mechanisms are provided by the economic development and collaboration system to assist users in democratizing their interests. The system allows for a variety of forms of financial support of each economic proposition and provides valuable statistical data which may be utilized by entrepreneurs, business owners, developers, lenders, investors, or public officials when considering whether to implement or support the implementation of one or more economic propositions.

The invention provides a system and method for providing ttx-based categorization services and a categorized commonplace of shared information. Currency of the contents is improved by a process called conjuring/concretizing wherein users' thoughts are rapidly infused into the Map. As a new idea is sought, a goal is created for a search. After the goal idea is found, a ttx is concretized and categorized. The Map provides for modeling where nodes are objects. The Map nodes also serve as binding points to other modeling paradigms such as spreadsheet cells. The needs met by such a Map are prior art searching, competitive environmental scanning, competitive analysis study repository management and reuse, innovation gap analysis indication, novelty checking, technology value prediction, investment area indication and planning, and product technology comparison and feature planning

The disclosure extends to methods, systems, and devices for crowdsourcing an outcome to an issue through a platform. The method includes receiving voting data comprising a vote for an election from a user associated with an account facilitated by a voting server. The method includes generating a record for storing the voting data, wherein the record includes: a hashed identifier assigned to the user of the account, a public key assigned to the user of the account, and the voting data. The method includes broadcasting the record to a distributed network and storing the record on a blockchain database.

A bracket contest system has an entrant device connected to a server having a set of matches in a single elimination bracket tournament in memory. Each match is between two participants in the tournament in which one half of the participants are eliminated in each round. The entrant device receives predictions before a start of a first match. Each prediction includes a pre-set number of predicted winners of each match starting with a winner of a final match. The predictions are entered sequentially based on a predicted final rank of the participants, from first place to nth place. After each selection, a next selection is limited to participants from a predetermined valid position in the tournament. After receiving results of the set of matches, a score of the predictions is made based upon the results, and if the score exceeds a threshold, the predictions are declared a winning entry.

The inventive apparatus for printing, sending, receiving and counting absentee ballots, comprises a printer for creating a plurality of ballots, each of the ballots bearing a unique code device containing a unique identification code and a would-be voter personal computing device for sending a communication from a would be voter requesting a ballot and for sending personal identification information. The personal computing device must receive a biometric to become activated. A board of elections computing device receives a communication from a would-be voter requesting a ballot, the board of elections computing device being operated by software which causes it to execute a number of program steps comprising verifying that the personal computing device must receive a biometric to become activated, receiving personal identification information from the would-be voter personal computing device, and comparing the received personal identification information with voter record information contained in the database of registered voter information a board of elections to determine whether the would-be voter is registered to vote. A balloted voter database is adapted for storing a notation of a positive identification of the would-be voter as a registered voter, and for storing in the balloted voter database a notation that the would be voter is to be sent one of the ballots. A scanning device is adapted for scanning the unique code device on one of the ballots. A sent ballots database stores the identification of the one ballot in the sent ballots database. A voted ballots database receives an indication that a communication has been received from the registered voter personal computing device of the would be voter, the communication comprising the output of a scan of the unique code device on the ballot sent to the would-be voter, the information including the unique identification code, whereby returned voted ballots may be assessed for authenticity, wherein the program of steps comprises assessing authenticity of return ballots by determining that each ballot is included in the sent ballots database and is included in the voted ballots database, whereby the ballots that are included in the sent ballots database and in the voted ballots database are identified as verified ballots, and the election choices in the verified ballots may be counted.

A method for creating a process of building a robust open source and transparent ballot processing computer system by using distributed and de-centralized ballot recording, by preventing unqualified persons from submitting ballots, by preventing a voter from voting more than once, by allowing a voter to review and change a ballot previously submitted by the voter, by blocking the public from tracing a ballot to a voter, by protecting voter's voting rights from stolen voter identity, by providing processes for processing paper ballots by machines, by providing processes for handling mail-in ballots, by providing processes for online voting.

The present invention provides an improved system and method for using cryptography to secure computer-implemented choice mechanisms. In several preferred embodiments, a process is provided for securing participants' submissions while simultaneously providing the capability of validating their submissions. This is referred to as a random permutation. In several other preferred embodiments, a process is provided for securing participants' advance instructions while simultaneously providing the capability of validating their advance instructions. This is referred to as a secure advance instruction. Applications include voting mechanisms, school choice mechanisms, and auction mechanisms.

Presented herein is an interactive platform for judging an activity by a participant in an event. The platform includes a client application program downloadable to a mobile device. The program may include a database storing a mobile device identifier (ID), a user ID, user information, and location data of the device. The application may further be configured to display one or more events of the activity as well as an input for receiving a score of the activity from the user. The platform may additionally include a server system connected with the client application programs via a communication network. The server system may be configured for receiving the mobile device ID, the user ID, the user information, and the location data for the client program, and may further be configured to receive the scores from the users, and to adjust the scores according to determined bias of the associated user.