CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Optimism and sophistication pervaded Monday's "demo day" for FlashStarts, a downtown business accelerator that introduced 12 new companies to intrigue and applause.

More than 300 people crowded into the elegant Allen Theater in Playhouse Square for the evening showcase, 57 accredited investors among them.

The moneylenders included Robert Hatta, a partner at Drive Capital, who called the event a milestone in Cleveland entrepreneurship.

"This was, in my opinion, the best demo day yet by any accelerator in Cleveland," said Hatta, who helps run a $250 million venture capital fund in Columbus. "They built a really, really diverse set of companies."

Those fledgling companies include remesh, makers of an online communication platform that the founders say can both sell consumer products and help attain world peace.

"I'm intrigued by remesh, because what they're trying to do is really, really big," said Hatta, who was likely speaking for many when he added, "I don't quite understand it yet."

Demo days, a graduation for entrepreneurs, typically raises as much mystery as hope. They climax accelerator programs at FlashStarts, Bizdom, Shaker LaunchHouse and other business incubators with a showcase of the new companies and their products and services.

This was the second class graduated by FlashStarts, an accelerator founded by Cleveland entrepreneur Charles Stack. He's well known in technology circles for Flashline, a local tech company he sold to Oracle.

Stack and his business partner, Jennifer Neundorfer, accepted 12 startups in to their summer boot camp, offering business training, office resources and $25,000 in exchange for an 8 percent equity stake in the company.

Now on their own, the companies are seeking funding to prove their business models and grow.

"They're all high risk, which makes it fun," said Lee Zapis, the president of Zapis Capital and a so-called angel investor, one who supports companies in their infancy.

Zapis said he would take months deciding which if any of the showcase startups to invest in. But he plans to learn more about Mango.

Founded by a pair of Case Western Reserve University fraternity brothers, Mango aims to help American colleges recruit international students with social media and email campaigns shaped for the home country.

"This project is very personal to me," said co-founder Kevin Wang, who came to Cleveland from China via Canada.

"America has some of the best educational institutions in the world," he said, adding that he relishes the prospect of connecting more international students to his experience.

Wang and former classmate Eric Vennaro see a growing market as colleges seek to overcome admission droughts with foreign students who pay full tuition.

Stack said many of the FlashStart companies, Mango included, are already signing up customers and ringing up sales.

"This group is enjoying a lot more traction," than last year's class, he said. "There's a higher quality of teams. They came in with better ideas."

In a series of five-minute presentations, representatives of the companies introduced themselves and their teams. The audience met a diverse muster of entrepreneurs; men and women, college students and seasoned professionals, doctors, video gamers and television producers.

Here's a brief look at the new companies that aim to make a go of it in Cleveland:

Bracketr

A digital marketing firm, Bracketr's first product is an image-based single-elimination tournament to promote products and brand loyalty.

Founders: Julie Petrarca, Merrill Beth Ferguson and Gina Rodriguez

Class6ix

Using an "intuitive algorithm" that studies viewing habits, Class6ix combines local and national online news videos into personalized newscasts.

Founders: Brothers Ted and Phil Cannelongo

GorMonjee

Counting calories is not enough for healthy eating, the founders of GorMonjee insist. They promise to simplify and encourage eating right with online, personalized menu suggestions and meal critiques.

Founders: Dr. Vivek Narayan, Joshua Smith, Jonathan Penn, William Baker and Oliver Zak

KnotProfit

Wedding gifts just grew more inspirational. The founders of KnotProfit are offering socially conscious, engaged couples the chance to support their favorite charities and causes via their wedding website.

Founders: Kritika Kripakaran and her fiance, Joshua Harris.

Koalah

This web-based gaming platform lets users wager against each other legally in Ohio and several other states. It also cuts game developers in on the action.

Founders: Ari Lewis and Sagar Rambhia

Lufthouse

Using the latest Bluetooth technology, Lufthouse aims to let companies and museums tell their stories to a wider audience at trade shows and exhibits. Its mobile phone application triggers a narrative as a person passes a transponder.

Founders: Lauren Wyeth and Joan Soskin

Mango

With U.S. colleges eager to recruit qualified international students, Mango designed a web platform to help navigate the online complexities and language barriers in foreign countries, starting with China.

Qwickly

Co-founded by a seasoned educator, Qwickly claims to offer an easy-to-use Learning Management System to foster better teacher-student interactions.

Founders: John DiGennaro and Matt Hadgis

remesh

Want to be heard above the crowd? Remesh says it can harness the power of collective intelligence to allow groups of people to communicate as a single being. They also say you have to hear it to believe it.

Founders: Andrew Konya and Aaron Slodov

STEMpowerkids

How do you get your child interested in math and science? This e-commerce company mails to your home monthly activity kits designed to engage kids in promising pursuits.

Founders: Addisah Sherwood-Ajiboye and her husband, Bolu Ajiboye

Travel Later

Vacation: who can afford it? Travel Later offers online tools that, it says, help consumers save for, plan and pay for vacations, making travel possible for a new group of consumers.

Founder: Rob Holland

Vestor

With an online crowdfunding platform, Vestor aims to allow an array of people to invest in real estate developments. It's being tested on the Le Meridien Hotel project in downtown Cleveland.

Founders: Matthew Moss, Scott Schirg and Jeff Chen