Jacksonville Startup Path.To Finds The Path.To Startup Failure, Shares Ways to Avoid It

Path.to, Jacksonville startup,startups, startup failure“Failing gracefully.” That’s a topic that comes up a lot in the startup world. We are all too familiar with the failure rate of startups: depending on who you ask, 70-80% of startups fail. On Tuesday we found out that Jacksonville startup path.to will be shutting down on July 19th.

Almost a year ago we interviewed path.to’s CEO Darren Bounds after reporting the previous month that they had expanded their “e-harmony for jobs” startup to include Chicago, Boston, and NYC.  For a while everything looked great for path.to. They were rewriting the boring old job search platform and making it more intuitive with algorithms and indepth profiles.

Not only that, but the team is incredible. We met most of them just a few months ago during Jacksonville’s OneSpark festival. A few of the Path.to team members were helping music discovery startup Aurora while others were helping social event tracking startup #eventhash.  During the event, organizer Elton Rivas told us that the path.to team were very active in Jacksonville.

“Failing sucks – especially when it comes to your startup. It’s like being kicked hard in the shins right after being dumped, all while standing in the pouring rain with no cabs in sight, only to have a huge truck drive by and splash mud all over you,” path.to community manager Jill Felska wrote on the company’s blog.

What happens next for the team? Well naturally they’ll continue being innovators, entrepreneurs, and members of Jacksonville’s thriving statup scene. Specifically though, Fileska reports that many of the team will continue innovating in the hiring space and making it a happier space by working at Ignite, a job industry idea incubator also based in Jacksonville.

While the ride is officially over tomorrow, the path.to team shared these six valuable lessons they learned during the two years they were building path.to.

1) Don’t wait to solidify your monetization strategy.

“A ‘build it and they will come’ mentality has taken over the startup space. And yes, we were included in that camp. The problem is, it rarely works that way.

We started out with the strong belief that if we could build up a large, impressive user base, that the customers would follow. Unfortunately, we were wrong. We underestimated the amount of education that would be needed to sell our product – and then were very slow to give it the sales attention it really needed.

Monetization can’t be an afterthought when it comes to startups. Shiny products are great only if they’re solving a real problem that customers will pay for.” – Pete Cochrane, President

2) Technology alone isn’t the solution. 

“When the product isn’t succeeding like you expect it to, working to make sure you are providing the core service to the customer is more important than continually adding features, optimizing site-speed, and conversion funnels. Perfecting the tech stuff is fun for some of us, but it is only worthwhile if it adds value to a service that people are finding useful.” – Charlie Cauthen, Technical Architect

3) Two-sided markets are a bitch.

“Building a two-sided market is hard. Really, really hard. If I had a do-over, I would start in just one or two key cities, then wouldn’t expand past them until we had built a strong community of both job seekers and businesses who saw value in our product. Becoming a go-to product or service in your launch city not only validates your idea, but also helps drive engagement in future cities.” – Jill Felska, Chief Community Officer

4) Build for the customers you already have.

“We spent a lot of our time trying to make Path.To better by adding new features, adjusting our pricing strategy and trying to make it available to as many people as possible. While important, it’s the existing customers that really matter. If you remember to focus and appreciate the users that you have, they’ll do the work of sending more people your way.” – Kristin Gattis, Path.To People Person

5) Team communication and trust is key.

“Communication is possibly your most important organizational asset. You can have the best team of engineers and designers in the world, but it means nothing if you can’t work together and solve problems. Poor communication drives down morale and can seed resentment that persists until the issue is resolved.

Learning to surface and resolve issues quickly was one of the most important lessons we learned throughout this process. While we could not identify and resolve every problem, creating an environment of open communication and feedback was crucial.

Just as you have processes to monitor the health of your product and servers, someone in your organization should also to pay attention to the the human aspect of the product.” – Joey Marchy, Project Manager

6) Test, test, test…and then learn to let go. 

The biggest thing I learned throughout the process is to test your product’s efficacy as often as possible. Constantly ask yourself whether you’re really solving someone’s problem at the core or if you’re just making current processes slightly better. Accepting that something isn’t working and changing course is more important than getting it right the first time.” – Dennis Eusebio, UX/UI Designer

Hindsight certainly is 20/20 isn’t it? The funny thing is, these lessons aren’t breaking news. They’ve all been written about before.

The problem is that it’s hard to absorb them and look critically at your business when you’re in the trenches. When things are getting done and moving along everyday.

If our team was to challenge you to just one thing, it would be this: take a step back and really look at what you’re building. What advice from mentors, articles, and your customers could impact your business for the better today? It may just save you the trouble of closing your doors someday down the road. We truly hope it does.

OneSpark was one of the biggest startup events we’ve ever seen, check out our coverage here.

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Etsy + Ebay + Facebook For Nerds = Florida Startup Nerdular [video]

Nerdular,Florida Startup,Factory made, nerds, Jacksonville Startup, OneSparkLast week at OneSpark, the World’s Crowdfunding Festival, a big blue tardis served as a beacon saying something nerdy was going on at the Dalton Agency building in downtown Jacksonville. Perhaps nerdy was the wrong word. The correct word would be Nerdular.

Nerdular was one of seven startups in attendance at OneSpark from the St. Augustine based “Factory” accelerator.

The Florida startup put their best foot forward at OneSpark and hosted an opening party on Wednesday night, and of course the tardis, ready for anyone who wanted to take a picture like Doctor Who.

So what is Nerdular? Well when we first heard about it, it was described as a marketplace for nerd stuff. You know, video game t-shirts, Doctor Who gear, nerdy memorabilia and crafts. We immediately thought,ThinkGeek. ThinkGeek is the powerhouse e-commerce site that sells a lot of that same stuff.

So what’s different about Nerdular?

According to one of their biggest mentors and supporters Jeremy Vaughn, co-founder of the Factory accelerator, Nerdular will be part ebay, part etsy and part community. Think of it essentially as a “merch” room at Comicon or Dragoncon. A big gigantic, organized, flea market of all things nerdy. There will be professional full time vendors selling anything from t-shirts to swords, to steam punk gear, and those hobbyist store owners with handmade wares.

The other thing that is going to drive Nerdular is the social community that will form around the site after it debuts later this year. Nerds from across the globe will be able to talk about all things nerdy in rooms, across status messages and even on pictures of items. So yes, add an element of Pinterest as well.

As for ThinkGeek, it’s strictly a traditional e-commerce site. ThinkGeek contracts with all their vendors, the same way Amazon or Best Buy does. They then house everything in their own warehouses and distribute it as things are sold.

The bad ass software developers at feature[23] are feverishly working on an online platform that bridges all of these ideas together. The Florida software development firm that Vaughn owns is also the backbone for The Factory accelerator. All of the Factory’s companies can draw from the experienced team at feature[23]. The developers know that the nerd audience can be very critical, especially when something is designed specifically for them.

Check out our interview video below you can find out more at nerdular.com

Wait, there’s more from OneSpark, here.

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Interview With Al Leston, On The Wall, A Community’s Digital Story Board [OneSpark]

The Wall,Al Leston,State Of The Re-Union,OneSpark,NPR, Jacksonville startup,startup interviewAl Leston is the host of the popular NPR documentary series, State Of The Re-Union. The NPR documentary style show has Leston going into communities across the country and chronicling the world around him. The show highlights, what makes the community.

Leston was on hand at the OneSpark crowdfunding festiva showing the next extension of State Of The Re-Union, a gigantic, digital tablet based wall. “The Wall” is an installation piece that he hopes to have setup in busy, high traffic areas in a town or city.

thewalllionel“bus stops, court yards, plazas and downtown street corners” are locations that Leston has in mind for this gigantic piece of interactive story telling art.

Just like SOTRU, The Wall will open up dialogue between people with different ways of life and different perspectives, promoting understanding and encouraging conflict resolution. If we can be connected with others in different regions, with different cultures, we will have a better chance of creating solutions to pressing issues. We will become better listeners. We will increase empathy.

The Wall challenges how media inhabits our space. The Internet is an ether, as intangible as it is infinite. But we have trapped ourselves – become idle, passive voyeurs of media. The Wall will surprise us. The Wall will touch us. The Wall will change us. And we will have the power to change The Wall. – From the OneSpark profile page.

In meeting Leston he was genuine, concerned about communities and extremely creative. A video loop showing throughout the week at his OneSpark booth showed what he hopes to create with the end result of the wall. He wants people in cities, towns and community’s to take a moment and discover the stories that are being home grown.

The community aspect, creativity and merged use of technology, in “installation art” are what made The Wall the top vote getter in the technology category during the OneSpark festival.

Find out more about Leston’s State of The Reunion program here.

We’ve got over 30 startup stories from OneSpark here.

 

Florida Startup Musical Math Number Line Has An Innovative Approach to Teaching Math

Musical Math Number Line,Jacksonville startup,startup interview,OneSpark,EdTechFlorida teacher turned entrepreneur Deb Bowers has an innovative, musical way to teach students adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers. She’s put it all to music and song using one of FAO Schwartz most popular toys.

Long gone are the days that one has to travel all the way to New York City to see FAO Schwartz signature toys. You know the ones made famous by many New York based Christmas movies including Home Alone. Toys-R-Us has created an FAO Schwartz section in all of their stores and one of their most popular toys from the brand is a gigantic piano kids can walk and jump on.Think Nintendo power pad meets keyboard.

Well Bowers has created a way to use that piano toy, affix a number chart on top and teach kids to add and subtract positive and negative numbers, while performing a song.

Musical Math Numberline comes with everything a parent needs to teach this method at home, except for the piano itself. You can either order it from Bowers’ site via a link to Toys R Us or go to your local Toys R us and pick it up. The numberline comes with the overlay for the piano along with a song book that is filled not only with songs, but songs composed by performing math problems.

To get the entire gist of the idea you should watch the video below. Bowers said she got the idea from her students. She would put masking tape on the floor and have them move about the front of the room adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers. Some students suggested that there had to be a way they could add music to it, so Bowers did.

She just showed off the idea at OneSpark the World’s Crowdfunding Festival where she hoped to get a jump start on bringing the company out to a bigger market. She told us there were lots of interested people that came to see her at her booth and that she was going to continue with Musical Math Numberline regardless of whether she was one of the companies to get funded at the event.

Check out the video below. You can find out more at musicalmathnumberline.com

Here are even more startup stories from OneSpark!

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Never Miss Your Kids Game With RUA Sports, And Raise Money For Their School Too!

RUA Sports, My Mobile Scoreboard,Jacksonville startup,startups,startup interview,OneSparkOne thing that sucks about being on the “sneaker strapped startup road trip” is missing time with my kid. FaceTime makes it almost bearable, and home time is just that, home time.  Now my daughter is going to start officially playing soccer in the fall and while I am going to try and schedule our road trip stops around the soccer schedule, inevitably I’m going to miss a few games.

Aaron Russell the founder of Jacksonville startup RUA Sport feels my pain, along with the pain of thousands of other parents who’s schedules dictate that they can’t be there for all the goals, home runs and triple doubles. Russell’s startup is also great for grandma’s and grandpa’s all over the country that want to keep up with their grandkids games.

ruasportscreenRUA Sports is the creator of MyMobile Scoreboard. In essence this app crowdsources a network of users on-site at a youth sports event in a “play by play” style manner. You’ll never miss a goal, save or a triple play again.

Russell and the team at RUA Sports have also figured out a way to do some non-traditional fundraising for the schools that utilize the app and the social crowdsourcing play by play that it offers.

MyMobile Scoreboard costs $1.99 to download and RUA Sports will give back 50 cents of every download to the schools or youth sports organizations that download the app. Each organization will have it’s own mobile scoreboard so for example a high school could have a mobile scoreboard for their basketball program. Then the parents and others who want to keep up with the game can download the app and give back $.50 per download back to the school. For some schools with heritage and history this could prove to be a really good fundraiser.

Check out our interview video below with RUA Sports and for more info visit ruasports.com

Here are more awesome startups from OneSpark the World’s Crowdfunding Festival in Jacksonville.

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Florida Startup Stocktagon Another Great Research Tool For Your Portfolio’s Arsenal [video]

Stocktagon,The Factory,Jacksonville startup,OneSpark,Startup interviewWe got a chance to talk with Paul Irwin the founder of Florida based startup Stocktagon.

Stocktagon is a research tool that combs press releases, earnings call notes and other media and press information to help the user find relevant information about stocks. For instance, with the recent fertilizer crisis in Texas, you could use Stocktagon to research the word fertilizer and it would show you what publicly traded companies were mentioned in stories about fertilizer. It would also show you the context for which those stories mentioned your search terms.

While in beta now, Irwin hopes to offer Stocktagon to individuals, big brokerage houses and everything in between. Information has always been a powerful tool when stock and commodity trading, and tools like Stocktagon make it even easier to find that information.

Stocktagon was in the first batch of companies to go through The Factory accelerator in St. Augustine. The Factory was started by Vaughn’s software development company Feature[23] which gives them a unique position as they leverage the development side of Feature[23] to help build the accelerating startups.

With a 10 year background in finance, including a stint at Deutsche Bank, Vaughn is particularly bullish on Stocktagon. “I can’t wait to show it off to my friends in fiance” Vaughn said when we spoke with him at OneSpark. Vaughn plans on leveraging personal relationships in the finance community along with some of his connections to get Irwin and his team in front of the biggest financial companies in the world.

“Big companies can be leery of startups like Stocktagon and ProfileGorilla” Vaughn said. That’s typically because a large company would have to change the way they use another form of technology to incorporate a new startup. Many big companies are hesitant to do that because some fear that startups will run out of money, and won’t be able to pay development costs. With The Factory the development portion is already built in.

Stocktagon was one of seven startups housed at The Dalton Agency during OneSpark. We’ve already interviewed cohort mates RestroomAlert and ProfileGorilla.

Check out our video interview with Stocktagon below and for more info visit stocktagon.com

Here’s more startup coverage from OneSpark the world’s crowdfunding festival.

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ProfileGorilla Shows Off Their Complete Business Management Software Startup At OneSpark

ProfilleGorilla,The Factory,Factory Made,Jacksonville startup,OneSparkThe Factory, St. Augustine Florida’s accelerator program, housed all of their startups at the Dalton Agency venue during the OneSpark crowdfunding festival in Jacksonville this week.  They were also one of the first startups (creators) to pitch the crowd on the Community First Pitch Deck (stage) on Wednesday at the festival.

ProfileGorilla takes most aspects of a businesses administrative operations, that are currently performed across a multitude of software products and combines them into one collaborative suite of tools.  While that may seem like a daunting task, they’ve just made life much easier for the people running the back end of a business.

Not only that, but ProfileGorilla is a collaborative tool which allows businesses to let their third party vendors and other folks that need access to their operations, to access them through their Profile Gorilla account.

While this is an enterprise software solution, co-founder Ed Baldwin is quick to point out that the scalable solution is perfect for any size enterprise at any stage in their development. Meaning that if you are with a legacy enterprise company with 700 employees, ProfileGorilla brings a huge advantage to your back office. If you’re a startup with two employees, it also brings a huge advantage to  your back office.

With that, Baldwin is recruiting business clients of all sizes and invited startups at OneSpark to set up a free account.

One of the biggest advantages to ProfileGorilla is that it’s scalable in nature on the user size. It’s the perfect business management system for that one or two person startup and as the company grows, ProfileGorilla grows with it.

Check out our video interview with Baldwin below and go sign up for ProfileGorilla here at profilegorilla.com

 

No one has more OneSpark coverage than nibletz.com The Voice Of Startups Everywhere Else.

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Sports Startup Sportsbook Revolution Is A Safer, Fun Way To Bet On Sports, And It’s Legal

Sportsbook Revolution,Jacksonville startup,startup,startup interview,onesparkJacksonville startup Sportsbook Revolution is setting out to revolutionize sports betting for people who like the thrill but don’t want to bet away the house or the car. The best part is, it’s totally legal and based in Florida, not off on some island country.

Wayne Lachowicz, an admitted recreational sports better, designed Sportsbook Revolution to be a safer, less risky place to get the thrill out of sports betting.

Here’s how it works, a user signs up for a Sportsbook Revolution profile and pays a monthly subscription fee of $25. In exchange for the $25 the user gets 25,000 points they can use to bet on their favorite sports teams in NBA,NHL,NFL and MLB. The wagering works similarly to betting at the sports book in Las Vegas, but you’re betting points rather than betting cash.

At the end of the month your points carry over or you can cash them out for prizes. Lachowicz also says as they continue to evolve over the next few months they will eventually split the profits with the users and giveaway money as well.

Since you’re only risking $25 a month it’s a much safer way to gamble. Also, right now, there is no way to “re-up” during the month. This way you can’t blow through your $25 and continue to spend more money on betting. When you’re out of points, you’re sidelined until the next month when your points reset.

They’re considering some way to let you re-up effectively making it as risky as any freemium game or app with in-game purchasing, but that’s a decision that Lachowicz and his team are very carefully considering. Sportsbook revolution is more about the thrill and fun of betting on your favorite teams rather than trying to win money.

The site is in beta right now and they hope to open it up to the public in the next few months. It’s 100% legal, operating as a subscription based sweepstakes rather than online gambling. Sportsbook Revolution is putting the “game” into sports gambling.

Check out our video interview below and for more info visit sportsbookrevolution.com

 

We’ve got over 20 startup stories from OneSpark here at nibletz.com

 

Ooworldcoop Biggest Mover At OneSpark Day 2

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The OneSpark staff just announced the day 2 biggest movers in the crowdfunding voting for the crowdfunding festival. Over 500 creators are competing for there share of a $250,000 pot that will be distributed on Sunday to help launch these creations and take these projects, businesses, startups and inventions.

There are 4 main categories: Art, Music, Science and Technology there’s also a 5th “other” category,

Oooworldcoop, a technology startup trying to mesh Facebook with EBay in a social marketplace platform, as a co-op was the biggest mover in the tech category today.

Yesterday’s biggest mover was Aurora, a local music discovery app.

Here’s the complete rundown on video:

Oh yes! We have a lot more OneSpark coverage here

Interview With OneSpark Creator Burro Bags [video][onespark]

Burro Bags,Jacksonville startup,creator,OneSparkWe ran into Amanda from Burro Bags, who’s OneSpark project was set up at the Jacksonville Landing plaza. Burro Bags has been in business manufacturing bicycle accessories and messenger bags for the past five years.

Now though, they’ve introduced a new line called Impakt. With this line they are taking used promotional items and upcycling them into a variety of products. You’ll find handbags, messenger bags, and other accessories in their new line.

They showed off the creations they made using the flag pole signs for the recent Jacksonvilel Jazz festival. The banners are made of high quality, durable, vinyl and PVC. Typically after an event these things get tossed aside, or if they’re lucky, upcycled into things like drop cloths for painting.

Burro Bags found the value in the materials and the artwork itself and made an entire line out of it.

With all the signage in the downtown area for OneSpark, there is sure to be a nice OneSpark line for Impakt next year.

Although this falls outside the realm of startups, Burro Bags is crowdfunding here at OneSpark the inperson crowdfunding festival and it’s a great example of the variety you’ll find amongst the 464 official creators.

Check out Burro Bags here

We’ve got more OneSpark coverage here at nibletz.com The Voice Of Startups Everywhere Else.

Out Of Toilet Paper? There’s A Startup For That: Restroom Alert [onespark][video]

Restroom Alert,Jacksonville startup,Florida startup,startup,startup interview,OneSparkWho’s ever gone to the bathroom at a public place only to sit down and find there’s no toilet paper in the toilet paper dispenser? Or you go through a beautiful looking store or a great restaurant and find paper towels all over the floor and a trashcan that looks like it hasn’t been dumped in days?

Well if you said yes, you’re not alone. These problems happen to millions of people every week at a variety of restrooms across the country. Going into a dirty, filthy or not well stocked bathroom affects businesses in ways you wouldn’t believe. One survey said that 94% of respondents said that a non well kept bathroom would make them leave an establishment.

Some believe that when going to restaurants a dirty restroom is a signal that the kitchen may not be that clean either. While there are people who will speak to a manager or an employee about the cleanliness of the bathroom, others are embarrassed to do so, or sometimes so grossed out they just want to leave.

Well now there’s an app for that. The multi-platform Restroom Alert, is a way for customers to anonymously report to a manager, owner or other employee that their restrooms need some attention.

It’s pretty simple. A business, small, big or gigantic, can sign up for Restroom Alert for $5 per month per room. The establishment will get signs that can easily be affixed to mirrors or walls with a short code to send a text message about the restroom. Does it need toilet paper? Do the sinks need cleaning? Is the trashcan overflowing? Is the toilet stopped up? All of these things and more can be reported anonymously via the text code.

On the business’ side, they get a text message as well saying what needs to be fixed. At that point a timer begins and the platform records how long it takes to go fix the problem.

The system can also alert owners, managers or employees when the restroom hasn’t been cleaned or checked in the allotted time. This wipes out the need for clipboards and paper restroom checklists, which often go unused.

Restroom Alert even supplies analytics detailing the restroom problems, how often they’re stocked and checked and other key factors. A clean restroom is just another way a business owner can provide excellent customer service.

Restroom Alert can be used by small mom and pop shops all the way up to Fortune 500 companies. The owner, or person in charge of such things, can get reports based on their entire network of restrooms. This way they can deal with employees that don’t give a crap about the way the restroom looks (you see what I did there).

While there are plenty of apps that can find you a restroom on the road, this seems to be the first startup to modernize the restroom checklist.

We got a chance to check out Restroom Alert one of the 464 projects found at OneSpark in Jacksonville.

Check out our video interview with Rod Dornsife one of the co-founders of Restroom Alert below.

For more on Restroom Alert visit restroomalert.com or follow them on Twitter @restroomalert

We’ve got a lot more OneSpark stories for you here at nibletz.com The Voice Of Startups Everywhere Else

 

 

Jax Startup Floppy Entertainment Founder: OneSpark Sparking Startup Community

OneSpark starts this Wednesday and runs through Sunday. It’s the first of it’s kind crowdfunding festival for “creators”. OneSpark is taking the crowdfunding concept made popular by  Kickstarter, Indiegogo and of course every single startup that’s popped up since we’ve been waiting for the JOBSact,and brought it off line.
The festival will be like SXSW interactive meets SXSW music and everything in between as creators from around the world spread out at venues across downtown Jacksonville. For a good summary of OneSpark check out this story.

We’ll be talking with lot’s of creators on-site and some as we lead up to this epic event.

First up we have Michael Le Manna, the founder of Floppy Entertainment. In our interview with Le Manna he credits the OneSpark festival for really sparking startups and the startup community in Jacksonville. Even Shahid Khan, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, is on board.

Check out the interview below and for more on OneSpark visit beonespark.com

What is your startup, what does it do?

Floppy Entertainment is the first game company in Jacksonville Florida, founded in 2012. It consists of a small group of highly talented programmers and artists. The vision of the company is to create a new and innovative gaming experience for people on a mobile platform to play for brief periods of time throughout the course of a normal day. Our interactive games are fun, easily understood and challenging. Players will be compelled to play again and again.

Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?

Michael La Manna creative lead, audio designer. Has been writing music for games and media for over 14 years.

Brian Marshburn programmer. Started programming games at the age of 8.

Thomas Schaffer lead technical artist. Master user of Maya software.

What is the startup culture like in Jacksonville?

Other than One Spark there has never been any support for a start up tech company such as game development.

What is one challenge that you’ve overcome in the startup process?

The big challenge working in game development is the expensive software licensing fees.

What are some of the milestones your startup has achieved?

We have won multiple indie development contest and secured sponsorship from Microsoft.

What are your next milestones?

Our first mobile game will be released in the next 4 months.

Who are your mentors and role models?

Other independent game company’s such as Trendy Entertainment in Gainesville Florida, they have been very supportive.

What are some of the advantages/disadvantages growing your startup outside of Silicon Valley. 

One advantage is lack of competition but the big disadvantage is lack or interest of local support.

What’s next for your startup?

Develop and release at a minimum of 3 games a year.

Where can people find out more?

www.floppyent.com Or on twitter as floppyent

Check out more about OneSpark here at nibletz.com the voice of startups everywhere else

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Jaguars Support First Ever Crowdfunding Festival One Spark April 17-21

Onespark,Florida statups,shad khan,Jacksonville startup,crowdfunding festival

Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan (known for his mustache) has pledged up to $1 million dollars at the first crowdfunding festival One Spark (photo: sportsrantz.com)

An amazing thing is happening in Jacksonville, Florida April 12-21 2013. The entire downtown part of the city is being transformed into One Spark, the first ever of it’s kind, gigantic crowdfunding festival.

One of the event’s co-founder and Executive Director Elton Rivas told nibletz.com “Imagine taking crowdfunding offline”.  He went onto describe how venues across the downtown area will be set up to showcase the latest in startups, technology, products and crowdfunding goods. At these showcases the creators and founders can show off their wares and encourage people to crowdfund their project right there in person.

While the concept is great in it’s own right, I mean imagine being able to touch the products on Kickstarter, there’s more to OneSpark than that.

On Tuesday night when we first talked to Rivas there was a minimum fund of $250,000 already in place to help crowdfund some of the project that will be showing off at OneSpark. It was revealed on Wednesday that Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan has pledged up to $1 million dollars through his investment arm STACHE Investments Corp. to help fund these projects.

“One Spark will attract and celebrate creativity in a variety of fields including science, technology, engineering and the arts, all of which are areas of great personal interest,” said Khan. “Jacksonville is the perfect host for this festival and I believe One Spark has the potential to inspire some really big thinking from the brightest minds in the area and beyond.”

“One Spark started with the belief that game-changers emerge from dorm rooms, garages and small studios – where great ideas develop. One Spark 2013 will be the point when creators of all kinds converge in our community, and when people from far and wide join together to decide on the next big thing(s). The heart of our city will be the place to get involved, be inspired, connect and collaborate,” said Rivas.

Some facts about One Spark:

— Open to all: Anyone can be a creator; One Spark venues can be spaces nearly anywhere in the urban core.

— Grassroots and independent: One Spark is built on the premise that the next great creation will likely come from a garage, small studio or dorm room. Creators will pair up with venues, independently, on the One Spark website. The organization does not select any of the creators or venues that make up the event.

— Empowered public: The $250,000 One Spark fund will be distributed based on public vote; the public can also contribute directly to entrants in any amount.

— Five packed days: During the actual event, there will be creator showcases, speakers, culinary experiences, music and what we like to call “spectacles.”

— Win votes and snag a slice of the $250,000 guaranteed crowd-fund. Crowd-fund monies will be distributed by popular vote. For example, if you receive 10 percent of the vote, you would receive 10 percent of the fund, or $25,000.

— STACHE Investments Corp: Formed by Shad Khan in 2012, the investment company has a component that focuses on entrepreneurial ventures in Northeast Florida and will be on the ground looking for investment opportunities during the five days of One Spark.

For more on OneSpark click here

Now that’s four months of great startup events including the biggest startup conference in the U.S. everywhereelse.co The Startup Conerence next month!

Florida Startup: Path.To Is The E-Harmony For Tech Jobs INTERVIEW

Darren Bounds,the CEO of Jacksonville Florida based startup Path.To considers his startup the “e-harmony” for recruiting tech talent. There is a lot that goes into the backend of this job recommendation platform. Path.to must have something right because well known companies like Eventbrite, Evernote and Vimeo have already used the young startup to recruit tech talent.

When someone with a tech background is looking for their next tech opportunity and creates a profile with Path.To, they add their normal skills, and resume along with information that’s aggregated from their professional social graph including Behance, Dribble, Forrst and Github.  This way a more accurate picture of the candidate is created for those recruiters and HR people looking to fill tech positions. The users score continues to grow as they apply to more jobs and make more choices.

We first covered Path.To when they expanded to Chicago, Boston and New York City. Now they’ve added; Austin, Dallas, Houston, Boulder, Denver, and Los Angeles. They’re adding their service to Philadelphia, DC, and Pittsburgh tomorrow. They’re also adding Silicon Prairie on September 4th and Atlanta Georgia along with Jacksonville Florida on September 12th.

Path.To will email job candidates available positions that the service feels are a good match for them. Path.To users searching for a job can opt out of certain employers if they feel that they aren’t a fit, and of course continue to apply for jobs that they feel are, the perfect fit.

We got a chance to interview Bounds, check out the interview below:

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