Shad Khan, Jaguars owner, ends association with One Spark, calls financial ties

[Gunnar]

I don't think that any of the apps (or business) need to be specific to Jacksonville (i.e. a Jacksonville only parking app).

What I feel is important - if the aim was to help Jacksonville business - is that the business impact (jobs, taxes, investment) are felt in Jacksonville.

If you have a Jax company that has a product which is successfull in the whole USA or even better all over the world than this would be great.

Conversely, if you could get start-up / companies / investors from other countries to set up their US subsidiary in Jax, fine, too.

[ProjectMaximus]

To address simms above, the last two companies KYN funded caused much of an alarm.  One of the mission statements and words from One Spark is Khan was investing to assist with commerce in Jacksonville, FL.  The wedding planner who only had a website is in Tampa and the parking app guys are in Arizona.  these are the two they picked out of the almost 600.  It's very mystifying why? Neither had ties to Jacksonville and did nothing for commerce in Jacksonville.  Again, if you look at the information posted upthread about One Spark, you will see both of these companies way down the list, each earning less than $300..  Why KYN fiercely supported these two in the last year is what many are upset about.

The way KYN was represented to me was simply as a business accelerator, not specific to Jax. I had several friends around the country who considered applying. KYN only said that they tried to promote Jax to those companies and find ways to incentivize companies who wished to stay/setup in Jax at the conclusion of the program. Another one of my friends lived in DC, was accepted to Y Combinator in SF and then moved to NYC afterward to continue to grow/launch his business. Another friend whose company was in Gainesville, was accepted to some Kaufmann program in Kansas City for 6 months, and then moved his business to SF after it was over. These business accelerators are just part of a global ecosystem...Jax having one that was striving to enter into this ecosystem was awesome. But that means it couldn't be a "For Jax, By Jax" proposition.

[RattlerGator]

These business accelerators are just part of a global ecosystem...Jax having one that was striving to enter into this ecosystem was awesome. But that means it couldn't be a "For Jax, By Jax" proposition.

I'd say that's incorrect. This was a totally dependent startup. Wasn't it? Prudence, it seems to me, would have demanded a "For Jax, By Jax" start. As I think I said at the beginning of this news, be attentive to Shad. To hell with whether his lieutenant signed off on this, what gives Shad the P.R. benefit he was likely seeking *and* the local impact he wants to brag about

Why would you try and operate from the perspective of a national norm when Shad has already made it clear what his focus is? Demonstrate FIRST your ability to try and operate for the benefit of Jacksonville startups and then try and grow into more of a national norm. At the very least, have two operational categories -- Jax and non-Jax -- and make sure 50.1 percent of any assistance goes to the Jax group.

[simms3]

That's a true point - I never think of Jax on a national/international stage, so it felt logical to me for KYN to focus on Jacksonville only, but then you have to wonder, KYN, a small "startup" accelerator itself trying to enter the world of Y Combinator and others and it received funding for and only backed (inefficiently) 6 companies?  I guess start small?  But accelerators do rely a tremendous amount on volume...

Definitely not a good thing that KYN and OneSpark share a CEO per se.

[whyisjohngalt]

One Spark has always had sort of questionable ways of operating, as far as the festival itself goes. It's very confusing and it seemed to be constantly changing. I took that to be growing pains, and I still WANT to believe that's all that these problems are. But with KYN shuttered and the financials appearing to the layperson to be pretty gruesomely proportioned, even as an ardent supporter I have to worry about One Spark paying the ultimate price. And a worse side-effect; the cynical tone of Jacksonville's creative community becoming louder than it has been since the first One Spark festival hit downtown. I hate that creativity has such an underdog story in this town, and if this ends up being one step forward, two steps back it'll be heartbreaking. I hate listening to people blast one of the best efforts this town has seen in years to forward the goal of a city that's a creative destination. Even though the criticism appears deserved.

I agree and believe this year will be like a hangover from a manic high.  No "up to $3.5 million" support, no international festival coming up and frankly, no real success for creators.  An awesome ride filled with delusions of grandeur and, sadly, disillusionment of the creators this festival was "for".

"Out, out, brief spark! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

[RattlerGator]

Still blaming Shad, Stephen? SMDH.

[RattlerGator]

Go 'head, Stephen. Let the envy (and projection) flow as the boomerangs continue to smack, smack, smack.