One Spark 2013 Creator Experience

The One Spark event is over and I wanted to share my memories with you before the excitement fades away. First, I want you to know that I am a Creator. I can say that to people and now have them understand what that means. I thank the One Spark event for that understanding. This event has established the word “Creator” as a source of pride and a way to identify fellow “out of the box” risk takers in Jacksonville. I smile now knowing that I am not alone.

I have to admit that I was one of the last people to sign up for the event because I was not sure whether I could get time off from my full-time job to attend. Of course, it made it easier to join when I was suddenly laid off –  time off was no longer a problem. I signed up with no expectations. Who will care about a company run by a 43 year old mom that helps working families? I expected about 10 votes from my friends probably totally $1.50 from the One Spark cash fund. I ended up getting so much more. So much more.

Being a type A person, I headed down early on Wednesday to set up. I was set up in under 10 minutes. I could have gone home, put my feet up and waited until the check in at 2:30 to return. The anticipation and excitement in the air prompted me to stay. My feet paid the price days later but it was worth it. I stayed and walked to other venues to meet my fellow Creators hoping that their stories were similar to mine. Most of them were. If they were not set up, I helped with their displays while hearing their story. If they were set up, I listened to their pitch, shared mine and wished them good luck. We were fellow Creators not competitors. I vowed to remember each story in my mind so if we crossed paths again, I would recognize them as a fellow inaugural One Spark Creator. I should have taken pictures because the names of the people and companies are slowly fading in my mind. I met my husband for lunch and I shared my excitement. I can get a little too intense for my laid back husband but that is how our marriage has worked for 15 years. Intensity and calm. He caught my enthusiasm.

Second day started with an unbelievable opportunity to meet with STACHE investment team. Sorry if you came by and my booth was unattended until 1:00 but what would you choose? Now almost every Creator watches the Shark Tank TV show so the night before consisted of running all of the Mr. Wonderful questions in my head. I barely slept. In the morning, I entered the stadium into a lobby that I would have never seen in my life. Even worse, I can’t remember the last Jaguar game I attended. I hoped that they wouldn’t hold that against me. In the lobby, I introduced myself to the other waiting presenters. Why not? Even if they only selected one company, I was going to be classy about it. Time stood still and more people began to appear. Low and behold a company that I knew walked in the door: Restroom Alert. I love these guys. I was happy that they were selected and even better Rod is veteran at this type of meeting. He has created and sold several businesses. He was very encouraging and going first. We were second.

Our turn arrived and out came the Sharks or so I thought. A quick handshake clearly communicated that there were not any Sharks at all. Just businessmen who care about Jacksonville. Yeah! My heart leaped and a friendly conversation about my company followed. The funniest part was seeing a person whose career I find interesting waiting inside: Jason Headsets.com. That is right Headsets.com. He actually follows me on twitter. I wondered whether he saw my tweet that I posted while in the lobby. It read: “Today is the big pitch to STACHE! I’ll say let me help families save money so they can buy Jaguar tickets. Win Win!”. Probably not. Our meeting ended with smiles and dreams of the future. After talking to other selected companies throughout the week, we all left with hope and felt well liked. I returned to my booth unable to control my thoughts of the future but it was time to present and start asking for votes.

For the next 3 long days, I met so many people that validated the need for my product that I wished I had recorded their testimonies. The Creator Isabelle Killian of Tada Language actually did. She is so smart. We became fast friends and found that our products reach the same target market. We joined forces and went out into the crowd together. She approached with her cute french accent and I would close the deal. What a team we were. We also talked about how much we love being businesswomen. We shared our frustration with people not understanding our passion and dedication to our products. We vowed to support each other. She was also selected by STACHE.  We even dreamed about both of us being selected and sharing office space. We checked our email constantly and were told that a decision would not be announced on Sunday. So our One Spark journey is not completely over.

(Fellow Mom Creators – MomentStrong, PlanSummer, Tada Language and Nerdular)

I met so many Creators who continued to come by and visit me. I finally got to see a real demo from Profile Gorilla and decided quickly that my company will use their product. I can’t wait. Their product is not easy to quickly explain. You have to see a demo but trust me every small business needs it especially understaffed start up companies. During my time at the One Spark event, it also occurred to me that I have lived in Jacksonville a really, really long time. I watched Yovia present at the Main Street pitch deck and realized  I knew her from somewhere. We figured out that we had danced at the same studio back in high school. She saw my children in the crowd and game them hats that said “Awesome”. They wanted to wear them to school today.  Other people recognized me from my consulting days, past employment, college and children’s school. Most of them were impressed. They had no idea that I owned PlanSummer.

So many experiences I’m afraid this blog will go on forever. I have one last thing to say. THANK YOU One Spark organizers and especially One Spark volunteers.  To the special One Spark volunteer who saw me fading fast and stood in a long line to get  me a Diet Coke: What would I have done without you? I am sure that there are things that went wrong or could have been done better. I hope the One Spark team is enjoying this rainy day on a comfy couch. You did a great job! You accomplished more than bringing people to the downtown area, you turned the lights on in Jacksonville. Not any light but a gigantic spotlight on the Creators – Entrepreneurs of Jacksonville! Thanks to you a spark  has turned into an active, thriving Creator community. We are now ready to be the next largest employers in Jacksonville and start a productive fire downtown. I truly believe small companies are the new fuel and Jacksonville is going to start getting really hot!