. >> todd speckor. have two kids, 5 and 2. >> while at first glance this may sound like a parenting support group, it's not. this is a meeting of investors who all have at least $10,000 on the line in a new venture called the mother company. >> thank you guys for coming. i'm going to talk you through a brief investor presentation. >> the mother company is run by abbey shiler and samantha counter. >> we're developing a whole line of products based on social and emotional learning for young kids. the backbone of that line is our ruby's studio series. >> hi, everyone. welcome to my studio. i'm ruby. >> and then from that, we're making plush dolls based on characters from the show. >> abbey came up with the idea in 2008. she had the vision, she had the drive. what she didn't have was the money to make it all happen. >> i remember sell things on craig's list to pay for people. >> so like any ambitious entrepreneur, she set out to find funding and despite doing this in the worst economy this country has seen