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September 25By Comments OffRead more...

Interview with Caroline McKnight from Create Fort Worth

Fort Worth's newest addition to the entrepreneurial ecosystem, Create Fort Worth, is officially open and welcoming small businesses and entrepreneurs to take advantage of its resources and coworking space. We interviewed one of the powerhouses behind this space's success, Caroline Mcknight, Create Fort Worth's Community Coordinator. The Abilene Christian University alumna is bringing her classroom experience with non-profit and corporate communications to Fort Worth's small business owners and entrepreneurs as the "house mom" of the new space. McKnight will be leading tours, directing onboarding and offboarding, meeting with community members, and everything in between to make sure that Create Fort Worth...

September 18By Comments OffRead more...

Scaling Your Sales

The dream of many entrepreneurs is to get their product on the shelves of big-box merchandise retailers. But how do you take your product from the R&D stage to stores such as Walmart and Target? We’ve compiled a list of steps needed to make your goal a reality. If you’re new to the entrepreneurial world, this cluster of words may seem overwhelming. Here’s what you need to know about creating a product:   Product Validation is a process that decides whether there is a demand for your product. Do consumers really want or need this solution you're providing? Once you’ve decided that your product...

September 7By Comments OffRead more...

The 5 Things I Learned on the HSC Next Team This Summer

As a Fort Worth native, the opportunity to work in our entrepreneurial ecosystem and startup scene has been very fulfilling. But when I started this internship, I didn’t know how much I would learn about my hometown, myself, and the business world beyond our city limits. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to work for Sparkyard and HSC Next as my first internship. Regarding introductions to professional life, I would say that mine was pretty stellar. Writing about what I learned this summer without launching into a full novel is challenging because the amount of experience and understanding I've gained...

August 31By Comments OffRead more...

Emerald City vs. Cowtown Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

From 2015-2020, 16 cities raised over one billion dollars in early-stage capital. Of those cities, nine of them have less than one million people, similar to Fort Worth. Removing the well-established startup cities from the equation, we are left with Seattle, Atlanta, Denver, Oakland, Washington, DC, and Nashville. However, these six cities have an average population of 604,706 (about half the population of Hawaii): roughly 350,000 less than the estimated population of Fort Worth in 2023. If Fort Worth is the 13th most populated US City, why is our entrepreneurial ecosystem not reflecting its size?  Last summer, we analyzed what makes...

August 24By Comments OffRead more...

5 Unexpected Lessons From This Summer

Last summer, I dove headfirst into the workforce a few weeks following my high school graduation. And I guess you could say I had an okay experience because I ended up coming back for a second summer—and better yet, I was able to work with them full-time.   As I enter the last week of my internship, I can’t help but feel somewhat perplexed as to where I should start my end-of-summer blog. Since this is my second summer with HSC Next, (you can see my takeaways from last summer here) I’m forced to be a little more creative with my points...

August 22By Comments OffRead more...

Atlanta as an Entrepreneurial City

From 2015-2020, 16 cities raised over one billion dollars in early-stage capital. Of those cities, nine have less than one million people, like Fort Worth. Removing the well-established startup cities from the equation, we are left with Seattle, Atlanta, Denver, Oakland, Washington, DC, and Nashville. However, these six cities have an average population of 604,706: roughly 350,000 less than the estimated population of Fort Worth in 2023. If Fort Worth is the 13th most populated US City, why is our entrepreneurial ecosystem not reflecting its size?  Last summer, we analyzed what makes Nashville a great entrepreneurial city, and the aspects of...

July 31By Comments OffRead more...

Hiring is Hard. Sparkyard’s New Jobs Board is Here to Help!

Here at Sparkyard, we keep a close eye on Fort Worth's local economy, and recently, we have noticed astronomic growth. You may have heard that Fort Worth is the 13th largest city in the nation, but did you know that it is the #1 city in the country for raw population growth, with approximately 53 people added each day? Cowtown is predicted to have a million residents by 2030 and surpass Dallas in population by 2045. With this explosion of new residents, our economy is expanding to accommodate the city's needs. The mix of major corporations and a growing entrepreneurial ecosystem...

June 28By Comments OffRead more...

Why Not Fort Worth?

The necessity of entrepreneurs and their impact on a city's economy is often underestimated. More people are learning that Fort Worth is one of the fastest growing cities in Texas, and they assume that means all aspects of the city are thriving. While that is true in some respects, Fort Worth’s support for and investment in new companies lacks in comparison to the city’s wealth and population.   Thus began Sparkyard’s mission: to connect entrepreneurs with resources and information regarding the local startup community. The main purpose of the platform is to help business owners navigate the entrepreneurial growth process. Startups five...

June 28By Comments OffRead more...

Top 5 Events in the Summer of 2023

As the summer heats up, so does the anticipation for some of the most relevant and engaging business events in DFW. These events provide a platform for professionals across industries to gather, network, and gain invaluable insights into the latest trends, strategies, and innovations shaping the business world. If you're looking to stay ahead of the curve and make meaningful connections, this blog is your ultimate guide to the summer's top five must-attend business conferences.  Virtual Workshop: Supercharge your business with ChatGPT and AI  It is no secret that Chat GPT has changed the business world tremendously since it became accessible to...

June 21By Comments OffRead more...

Startup & StartOut: Researching and Empowering LGBTQ Entrepreneurs

As of 2022, there are 1.4 million LGBTQ business owners in the United States, contributing $1.7 trillion annually to the national economy. LGBTQ entrepreneurs often find themselves navigating a system that perpetuates inequalities, limiting access to the necessary financial resources to thrive and succeed. In honor of Pride Month, I wanted to share some research findings on the LGBTQ community and resources for queer entrepreneurs. Out of $2.1 trillion dollars of funding tracked after the year 2000, only 0.5% of all the funding raised for startups went to LGBTQ entrepreneurs. The nationwide LGBTQ+ population stands at 7.1%.   The average LGBTQ+ entrepreneur created...