Spark Series is Growing Up

In February of 2017, I kicked off a pet project whose intent was to bring people together in meaningful ways. Since then, the Spark Series has hosted 45 events. 250 inspired and interesting people have sat at a lunch table and shared with each other their passions and willingness to give. These real-time interactions were often quite remarkable. 

Now that Spark has reached its second birthday, I’ve taken time to reflect on what we’ve built and where it’s going. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. The experience has inspired and changed me. But now that Spark is out of its infancy, we need to decide what we want to be when we grow up. 

Our tagline is a call to action: “Offer. Ask. Inspire.” Make genuine offers of help to your peers. Ask for their help in advancing your passion. Inspire breakthroughs as a result of it all. Via this community, I’ve been a witness to hundreds of purposeful offers and asks. Frankly, the volume and sincerity of them have exceeded my expectations.

But if I’m being honest, the “inspire” element could use more of a boost. I’ve suspected for a little while that the structure of our events wasn’t creating enough opportunity for members to take meaningful action. Sure, lots of great connections were created, but facilitating great introductions is not our purpose. Spark is meant to activate those relationships.

To learn more, the Spark Series ambassador team and I have spent the last few months collecting feedback from members. After listening closely, I’ve decided to make a big change:

Future events will focus on an area of shared interest that is likely to inspire action. Example themes could be mentorship, social good, venture creation, etc. The offers and asks of participants would relate directly to the topic. 

Years 1 and 2 of the Spark Series were a really successful experiment, and I’m extremely excited for our next chapter. If you would like to chat more with me about my vision, or if Spark sounds like it’s for you, please drop me a line via [email protected]. I look forward to it.