Winner's circle: your chances of hitting the venture capital jackpot could depend on who you know

Entrepreneur, April, 1998 by Tomima Edmark

Based: Leawood, Kansas

Founded: 1996

Start-up costs: $100,000. "Thirty thousand dollars of that went to obtain a patent on the idea, and the rest was for manufacturing, inventory and advertising," says Ergo Card inventor and University of Kansas industrial design professor Lance Rake.

1997 sales: $125,000

1998 projections: $1 million

Hands-on training: "I experimented with a number of different curves, thinking the market for this product would be senior citizens with arthritis," says Rake. "But what I found is that my kids would pick them up and shuffle them, and they liked the way Ergo Cards felt. It's difficult for kids to learn how to shuffle - it's kind of a tricky, fine-motor coordination activity, and the shape of these cards naturally guides their hands to where they need to be so it's a lot easier to learn."

In the cards: New Deal is now marketing custom-made Ergo Cards with promotional backs featuring corporate logos and advertising slogans.

- G. David Doran

Tomima Edmark is the inventor of the Topsy Tail and several other products and is author of The American Dream Fact Pack ($49.95), available by calling (800) 558-6779. Questions regarding inventions and patents may be sent to "Bright Ideas, "Entrepreneur, 2392 Morse Ave., Irvine, CA 92614.