Jacksonville Jaguars Shad Khan donates 1 million to OneSpark

[duvaldude08]

Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan pledges $1 million in capital to One Spark festival participants
9:06 AM, Jan 23, 2013   |   
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan will lend his support to the entrepreneur with the next great idea, pledging $1 million in capital to participants in April's One Spark "crowdfunding" festival.

During the April 17-21 festival, the nonprofit organization looks to foster innovation by bringing together investors and creators of technology, science, music or art.

"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," Khan said in a release. "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."

Khan has pledged the funds through STACHE Investments Corp., which he founded in 2012 to back Northeast Florida entrepreneurs. One Spark will provide STACHE with profiles of participants prior to the festival to review, the release said.

"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 Elton Rivas, co-­founder and executive director of One Spark, in a release.

So far, more than 250 creators are registered for the festival and 65 downtown spaces will host creations and showcases. Participants can be from anywhere in the world and are invited to show their works.

During the festival, the public votes on the creations and creators can get a slice of a $250,000 crowd fund based on how much of the vote they gain, according to the release. Investors can also contribute directly to creators.

Registration closes February 22. For more information on the festival and how to participate, visit One Spark's website.

[blizz01]

STACHE Investments Corp

- now that's awesome!

[PeeJayEss]

STACHE Investments Corp

- now that's awesome!

+∞

[CityLife]

The article in the TU makes it seem as if there may be strings attached.

"Khan is pledging up to $1 million in capital investment to assist entrepreneurs whose innovative ideas are chosen during the upcoming One Spark festival in downtown Jacksonville, event organizers said Wednesday."

It could be quite possible that Khan has some sort of agreement that gives him first right of refusal on good ideas and that he has agreed to invest up to $1 million IF there are good ideas. Meaning he could hypothetically only invest $25k if there aren't any ideas he feels are worthy of investment. Any one know if that is the case?

[Captain Zissou]

I was assuming that would be the case.  Khan will commit UP TO $1M, but he has the option to determine what his final commitment amount will be based on the ideas presented at the festival.

[blizz01]

Makes sense....what if all of the ideas are crappy?  (hope not)

[fsujax]

Here is a piece from the Daily Record. Sounds like he might invest in more than one to spread it around a bit.

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=538578

[CityLife]

I was in a rush when I posted about the "up to" thing earlier in the thread, but basically "up to" is commonly used by lawyers in crafting agreements to cover their clients backs. In fact, I lost what I thought was a pretty straightforward lawsuit once specifically because the phrase "up to" was used in a contract. Khan's lawyers likely put that in there to give him an out in case the event is a bust.

Basically its a marketing ploy to drum up excitement and in this case it worked, because the first poster in the thread actually thought Khan donated $1 million.  Khan will invest in ideas he feels are capable of making him money. If there are none, he will invest little, but if there are great ideas, he may invest well over $1 million.

[copperfiend]

STACHE Investments Corp is beyond outstanding

[CityLife]

STACHE Investments Corp is beyond outstanding

With panache like that, I think he will quickly become a celebrity sports owner nationwide, like a Mark Cuban type. Can anyone else think of a cooler major franchise owner?

[downtownjag]

STACHE Investments Corp is beyond outstanding

With panache like that, I think he will quickly become a celebrity sports owner nationwide, like a Mark Cuban type. Can anyone else think of a cooler major franchise owner?

None exist.

[Wacca Pilatka]

Certainly, no other has agreed to appear as a backup dancer in a Gangnam Style-themed videologue of his home city.

And to my knowledge, no other greets fans of his team at road game tailgates.

[duvaldude08]

I was in a rush when I posted about the "up to" thing earlier in the thread, but basically "up to" is commonly used by lawyers in crafting agreements to cover their clients backs. In fact, I lost what I thought was a pretty straightforward lawsuit once specifically because the phrase "up to" was used in a contract. Khan's lawyers likely put that in there to give him an out in case the event is a bust.

Basically its a marketing ploy to drum up excitement and in this case it worked, because the first poster in the thread actually thought Khan donated $1 million.  Khan will invest in ideas he feels are capable of making him money. If there are none, he will invest little, but if there are great ideas, he may invest well over $1 million.

It didnt "drum up exitement" with me. Even If I didnt mis-read it, I still would have posted