Changing the World Starting in Austin Thesparkaustin.com 1 2 3 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Changing the World Starting in Austin

Thesparkaustin.com

1

2

3

4

5

Meanwhile…

6

7

8

9

10

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.

11

At the Same Time, in Austin …

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

In the headlines Dec. 8, 2015

21

• 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.

22

Austin’s Innovation Experience

23

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

24

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, …

25

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

27

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

28

Interactive, Family Friendly, Visually Exciting, Surprising

29

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.

31

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

32

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)

33

Events

34

Booming MakerFaires attract Over 1 million per year

35

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

36

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

37

Events

38

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)

39

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

40

Our Team: Founder Gary Hoover

41

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

42

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

• ver $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

43

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.

44

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

45

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.

46

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

47

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 garyhoov@msn.com

48

Those e Who Hear Not the Music Thi hink nk the he Da Danc ncers ers Mad ad

• - Chines

ese e Prover verb

49