The University of North Texas Health Science Center said Friday it received a $450,000 federal grant for Sparkyard, a platform that connects Fort Worth entrepreneurs and startups to resources.
HSC will match the grant with an additional $112,500, the university said.
Sparkyard, a collaboration of HSC, the City of Fort Worth, and TCU’s Neeley School of Business, said the federal grant was from the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration. Sparkyard said it will use the money to expand services and introduce new ones. The federal money is part of Congress’ 2020 CARES Act COVID-19 recovery assistance for communities and regions.
“The combined investment…comes at a critical time for Fort Worth,” Sparkyard said in a release. “Entrepreneurship has proven to be one of the fastest, most equitable and most sustainable ways to rebuild the economy after a downturn.”
Sparkyard’s services, free to users, include customized “Spark” plans for businesses, regional events calendar, directory of business-building resources, and local economic research.
New initiatives that Sparkyard plans to introduce in the next two years:
- Introduce Sparkyard into one additional entrepreneurial market in Texas. “Sparkyard’s success has created a demand for the platform elsewhere in the state,” Sparkyard said.
- Develop a dashboard that follows and charts key indicators, allowing policymakers and other stakeholders to more easily address weaknesses in the entrepreneurial ecosystem
- Build a tool that pairs first-time entrepreneurs with “seasoned business owners” for advice and mentorship
- Create a regional, digital jobs board that young companies can use to find talent
- Translate Sparkyard content to Spanish and Vietnamese. “These are the second and third most commonly spoken languages in Tarrant County,” Sparkyard said. “Data reveals that these groups start businesses at a higher rate than the national average.”
“Sparkyard is thrilled to embark on new initiatives to help Fort Worth and Tarrant County build back our economy stronger with financial support” from the government, Marco Johnson, Sparkyard network builder at HSC, said in the release. “This funding will help us expand our impact and help us reach even more entrepreneurs who will bring exciting new ideas and products to the market.”
Robert Sturns, the city’s economic development director, said “the resources that Sparkyard provides are critical to the recovery of DFW’s entrepreneurial ecosystem in light of the pandemic.”
In a 2020 report on the impact of startups on job creation in Tarrant County, firms one year old and younger accounted for almost 10% of new jobs created in 2018.
“The Neeley School of Business at TCU is committed to unleashing human potential, with leadership at the core and innovation in our spirit,” Daniel Pullin, Neeley’s dean, said in the release. “Our partnership with Sparkyard is critical to our role of becoming a leader in supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in Fort Worth and well beyond.”