Sparkyard Ignites Excitement at the Dallas State of Entrepreneurship
Marco Johnson from Sparkyard presented at the Dallas State of Entrepreneurship and gave the low down on what's happening in Funkytown.
Innovator Spotlight: Elyse Dickerson of Eosera
Elyse Dickerson, a guest on the Innovate Fort Worth podcast, saw a market need of ear wax impaction. On her podcast episode, Ear Space, she tells the story of Eosera came to be and how she worked on remedying this unmet medical need after a 13-year career in biotech. “When I left it was in early 2015 and I had been exploring mentoring startup companies in the years leading up to 2015. I really got inspired through the Health Wildcatters in Dallas, working with some of their companies and seeing the progress they were making and the opportunities. So, when I left, I thought, you know what? I think I should try this.” Elyse and...
Making the Most of Your Clubhouse Experience
In our Clubhouse 101 post we shared some of the terminology used in Clubhouse, how to set up your profile and begin getting connected and how to join a room. If you are new to Clubhouse and you didn’t see our previous blog, please check that one out first. Now that you have listened in on a few rooms...let’s get you talking! Getting started Let’s start with just being in a room. In the hallway, you can see rooms that are actively happening when you open the map. You can jump into any room instantly. Be sure to join a topic that interests you. You are in the audience (I suggest sitting in on a few rooms before you start moderating any rooms...
Clubhouse 101
So... what is Clubhouse? If you have heard of it but are not sure exactly what it is, we are here to help. Through trial and error, we compiled the “need to know” tips for you. Essentially, Clubhouse is a free audio social media application where you can converse in rooms based on interests, while other people can tune into the room and listen. In a COVID world, the app that lets you hear another person’s voice and network with people you typically would not have the opportunity to. No wonder it took off in the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial communities, and eventually, piquing the interest of big-name celebrities, like Oprah, Elon Musk, and Chris Rock. But first, a warning. Currently, the app is still in beta stages,...
Social Entrepreneurs are Taking Over Fort Worth!
Social Enterprises are taking over Fort Worth. As more consumers decide to make conscientious purchases, entrepreneurs are creating companies with their values in mind. So what is social enterprise? Well, it is kind of hard to define. According to www.socialenterprise.us, a social enterprise is “Organizations that address a basic unmet need or solve a social or environmental problem through a market-driven approach.” Fort Worth has many local social entrepreneurs who are building companies to solve our most pressing issues. Whether it is striving to reduce waste, providing meaningful employment, or leading a wave of innovators and changemakers, read how local entrepreneurs...
3 Lessons from a PeopleFund Borrower
PeopleFund is a CDFI = Community Development Financial Institution and is a non-profit lender. A CDFIs’ goal is to broaden economic opportunity by providing access to financial services. CDFIs provide a range of financial products, like mortgages for low-income and first-time home buyers and commercial loans for small businesses (PeopleFund). About 1,000 CDFIs are in operation across the country. One of the amazing things about CDFIs is that they offer technical assistance and training programs to small businesses to help them get started and grow sustainably. Some offer mentoring and advisory services (That’s ME!). We know that learning and growth requires support. To apply for financing, small-business owners...
Finding Your Way: How to Use the Sparkyard Growth Circuit
We are proud to announce the next phase of the Sparkyard Growth Circuit.. This version lists the 50+ resources that partner with Sparkyard on our online Resource Navigator.
Innovator Spotlight: Kevin Henry of Accountable
Meet Kevin Henry, the CEO and founder of Accountable, the “TurboTax” of HIPAA compliance training, and possibly the only TechStars accelerator alum in Fort Worth. Innovate Fort Worth podcast interviewed Kevin Henry and here is what you need to know! But what is HIPAA, why is it important and how can you build a company around it? “Basically it's the law that governs protected health information. Anyone dealing in the healthcare space that might be touching protected health information has to comply with what is known as HIPAA. HIPAA stands for health insurance portability and accountability act and it's really made up...
Fort Worth is Coming for you, Albuquerque!
As we have discussed previously on this blog, Fort Worth is now the 13th largest city in the country, but it ranks 40th in early stage funding when compared to other US cities. In this post we will explore how Fort Worth compares to these cities in a variety of other metrics, plus we will discuss some reasonable targets we could set to move up in the rankings. Our team analyzed early stage funding using Pitchbook, the proprietary research tool that focuses on early stage investment data, to see where Fort Worth ranked compared to the top 50 largest cities (by...
5 Things You Need to Know About Accessing Start-up Capital
Looking for funding to start or grow your start-up business? As a Start-up, a business with less than two years of operation, you face unique funding challenges. The good news is that there is a community of resources available to help [Thank you Sparkyard]! Knowledge is power. By increasing your understanding about how to prepare for accessing capital that power is yours. I like to think of preparation in terms of those little, stackable children’s toys: Legos. When new entrepreneurs talk about the ideas they have for a business, those ideas are often scattered, like a box of spilled Legos. The little colorful...
