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Changing the World
Starting in Austin
Thesparkaustin.com 1
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Meanwhile…
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Key Idea: Showcasing
Showrooming means going into a store to look at a product but buying it online.
Showcasing means trying a product in an inventory-free “store” and ordering it for home delivery or downloading.
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At the
Same Time,
in Austin …
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In the headlines Dec. 8, 2015
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Austin residents spend $1 billion per year on Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation outside the home. Our 26 million visitors spend another $500 million. Yet a recent Austin Business Journal survey of almost 400 respondents rated Austin “D” or “F” for the quality of our museums.
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Austin’s Innovation Experience
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The solution:
The Spark
40,000 Square Foot Space in Austin Targeted Opening 2017 Targeted Attendance 400,000+/Year Targeted Ticket Price $15 3 Keys: Stories – Showcase – Events Supported by Café and Retail Shop Includes Robotics and Drone Arena Includes Auditorium with Stage
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Stories Showcase Events
Engaging, ever-changing stories replace traditional exhibits
Embedded in Stories and Events, sponsors and exhibitors strut their latest stuff
Almost continuous weekend and weeklong events around themes
Each focuses on now, new, and forthcoming innovations
Each focuses on now, new, and forthcoming innovations
Each focuses on now, new, and forthcoming innovations
Allow visitors to try, touch, play
Allow visitor to try, touch, play
Allow visitors to try, touch, play
Include historical perspective and look at more distant future
Sponsors and Exhibitors pay space rental and commissions
Ties to local schools with robotics competitions, job fairs, etc.
Focus on innovators, how & why, human stories
Our team selects the most exciting innovations to put on show
Weekend events for major local innovators: Dell, Samsung, UT, City, State
Stories are unified by themes, the dots are connected
Showcase is unified by themes, the dots are connected
Hackathons, Maker events, …
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Stories About People
(Innovators)
Top: Elon Musk, Hedy Lamarr, Sol Price Bottom: Fred Smith, Leonardo Da Vinci, Walt Disney 26
Stories: Innovation Across Society
Key Topics for Austin Location
Agriculture Electronics Music
Architecture/Construction Energy Photography/Video
Art Finance Printing
Astronomy/Space Food/Cooking/Nutrition Religion/Spirituality
Chemistry/Physics Innovation @ Home Retailing/Restaurants
Clothing/Textiles Innovation @ Office Social Media
Communications Journalism/Publishing Sports/Athletics
Cosmetics Games Toys
Crime/Law Enforcement Medicine/Biology/Health Transport/Mobility
Education Movies/Television War/Defense
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Connecting the Dots
Discovering Patterns
Who was the innovator? Gender, location, age, education, … Where did the idea come from? Research, accident, need, … What served this purpose before this innovation? Major Category of Innovation? Product, service, idea, method Type of Innovation? Additive, subtractive, transpositional, … How long did it take? Institutional setting? Corporate, startup, solo innovator, … How big/pervasive is/was the innovation? How was it distributed/disseminated/diffused? How was the innovation financed? Entrepreneurial strategy? Low cost, higher quality, good design
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Interactive, Family Friendly,
Visually Exciting, Surprising
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Traditional Museums Immersive Experiential Education /Storytelling
Close at 5 PM Open evenings when customers are free
Open 6 days a week Open 7 days a week
Donors and critics the priority Visitors the priority
Own building, using capital Lease building, flexibility
Static, permanent “exhibits” Ever-changing, fresh “stories”
Focus on objects and technologies
Focus on people and evolutionary processes
Passive, read and take it in Active, try, touch, experiment, play
Ideas are driven by curators from above
Ideas are driven by both staff and our visitors
Feels like an encyclopedia A magazine or movie
Weak on narrative, storytelling Storytellers
Gift shop and café tacked on Integrated visitor experience
One location Investment and expense savings from building a chain 30
Individualized Experiences:
Each Visitor has multiple options
Play our scavenger hunt, customized to your age and interests. Get course credit for passing a quiz at the end of your visit. Our automated tickets and apps allow you to see the things you are most interested in. Participate in various adventures and games. Be part of our “Guinea Pig” program to playtest games etc. Special events for your group.
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Companies, schools, universities, students, independent innovators, Kickstarter and Indiegogo ideas, and governments show off their innovations and tell their stories of innovators to the general public for periods short or long. New and future products, services, and features can also be tested on our hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Showcase
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Sponsor/Vendor
Revenue Streams
Space/table rental fees Contribution of exhibits, trade show displays Staffing and maintenance fees Commission and affiliate income Focus group and guinea pig fees Corporate events and parties General sponsorship and advertising Co-promotion (e.g., half price tickets at Tesla dealership drives more attendance)
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Events
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Booming MakerFaires attract
Over 1 million per year
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In Austin This Year:
MiniMakerFaire Two Days May 8,000+ Attendees @ $18/adult
Classic Game Fest Two Days July 5,000+ Attendees @ $10
SXSW Create and Game Expo Three Days March 79,000+ Attendees Free
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Types of Events
Open to public, organized by others (MakerFaire, SXSW) Open to public, organized by The Spark Corporate and private meetings and parties Performances and concerts Competitions and contests, including robotics and drones Classes and hackathons Meetups, club and community meetings
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Events
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Example Schedule
Date Event
4th Weekend September Fall Job Fair
1st Weekend October IBM Fest, innovations, IBM employee discount
2nd Weekend October AISD Innovation EXPO
3rd Weekend October GameEXPO (4/ year)
4th Weekend October UT McCombs Showcase
1st Weekend November Dell Fest
2nd Weekend November Fall Food & Fabric Fest (2/year)
3rd Weekend November Biotech and Medicine EXPO
4th Weekend November Robotics competition (2/year)
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Working with Schools
Robotics competitions Science Fairs Job and Placement Fairs Recruiting and admissions events Art, music, other competitions Events for each school district Special programs for class field trips Integrate our message with the school lessons Provide space for events and meetups
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Our Team: Founder Gary Hoover
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In the 1980’s, the average US chain bookstore had revenues of about $500,000. In 1982, Gary and colleagues founded BOOKSTOP,
whose first store in Austin did $1.8 million the first year.
7 years later, the company operated 26 stores from Miami to San Diego averaging almost
$3 million per store, and was bought by Barnes & Noble.
A History of Creating
Engaging Customer Experiences
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In the 1990’s, the average US travel agency sold $1 million worth of tickets,
and the top performers sold $3 million. Gary and colleagues founded TravelFest,
whose first store in Austin did over $9 million the first year.
Despite winning many awards, this concept failed when the
airlines stopped paying commissions.
A History of Creating
Engaging Customer Experiences
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When BOOKSTOP was sold for $41.5 MM and Hoover’s was sold for $117 MM,
the buyers kept the great teams we had assembled.
A History of Attracting the
Finest Talent in the Industry
So far, The Spark has assembled 17 Advisors with diverse, relevant talent.
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Name Expertise Name Expertise
John Arlotta Brand Experiences, Marketing, Retail
Lynne Perry Kincaid Marketing, Community Building
Glenn Astolfi Retail, Finance, Education
Bill Leake Technology, Social Media, Marketing
Zeke Brill Game/Interactive Design
Adam Lipman Biotech, Education, Technology, Operations
Alan Chai Retail, Finance Mary Maltbie Experience/Game Design, Project Mgt.
Amanda Dewoody Medicine/Health Robert Matney Technology, Theatre
Douglas Ferguson Technology, Music Dave Stanwick Social Media, History
Izzy Flores Robotics, Education, Music
Arnie Weissmann Storytelling, Tourism
Russell Foltz-Smith Technology, Education
Leslie Wolke Website, Museum & Wayfinding Design
Temp Keller Education, Finance And many are parents!
Advisors: Students of Innovation
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We are presently seeking the ideal building to lease. Our team includes commercial real estate experts
Don Cox and Chris Oddo, construction veteran Patrick Flynn of Flynn Construction, and
top architectural firm Barley/Pfeiffer.
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Business Model
$10 million capital required for startup and first location: $3.3 million story design and construction, technology $2.5 million café, store, arena, auditorium, theater $1.3 million shell remodel, specialties $2.0 million pre-opening HQ, consultants, marketing $0.9 million reserves
Third Full Year 2020 $11.2 MM revenue; Profit & Loss Statement: $7.2 MM admission revenue $4.0 MM café, retail, commissions, sponsors, events revenue $9.2 MM gross margin (82.5%) $3.7 MM store level payroll and benefits $3.8 MM stories, occupancy, marketing, all other expense $1.7 MM store level profit (EBITDA) $1.5 MM corporate overhead and new location development
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Business Model
Future locations should cost less by copying stories Store level per-store profit projected at over $3MM in year 7 Once we prove our ability to draw crowds, we hope to achieve “anchor” level rents in shopping and entertainment complexes We believe the US can hold 30 of these and maybe 2-3X that We may finance this first store using equity and/or non-equity crowdfunding
For complete details on our projections and financing, Or for information about investing, please email
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Those Who Hear Not the Music Think the Dancers Mad
-- Chinese Proverb
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