“Creativity is always an extension of you. You can only create as far as you know, which is why it’s always important to keep learning.”

 -Dwayne Walker, Sparketh CEO

 A professional artist and the CEO/co-founder of Sparketh, Dwayne is passionate about Sparketh’s mission to foster and nurture creativity and provide valuable artistic instruction on a virtual platform.  In this interview, we chatted about how Dwayne’s own artistic and educational background shaped Sparketh’s development, his views on the power of art and learning, and his hopes for Sparketh’s future.

On His Role at Sparketh

“Yes, technically I’m the CEO,” Dwayne says when I ask him about his role at Sparketh. “But that’s just a name to me.  In reality, Tim (Sparketh’s vice president/ co-founder Tim Samuel) and I work together as a team.”

“Within that team,” Dwayne continues, “I’m more of the ‘visionary.’ I have the dreams-the overall vision-for what Sparketh can and should be. A lot of times those dreams are very imaginative and intuitive–which is why I love it when Tim is on board with one of my visions for Sparketh. If I dream it, and Tim approves it, it means it might actually be something we can do!”

He continues, “Sometimes, I have ideas that are too big or that aren’t something we should be focusing on right now, but if Tim is also passionate about a vision that I have for Sparketh, it means that he’s already making a plan for how it can happen. He’s a genius with knack for reverse-engineering. Because things with Sparketh change all the time, we are always working together to figure out how those constant changes affect Sparketh’s ongoing development.”

Dwayne, a professional artist, teaches many of the art courses on Sparketh’s Website, something he’s been doing since the company’s beginning. Now that Sparketh has grown, additional art instructors have joined Sparketh’s team to teach students an even more diverse range of artistic skills and styles.

 In terms of his day-to-day activities with Sparketh, Dwayne also works on the branding and marketing, as well as conducting a lot of meetings and in-person communications. Though Sparketh began on a much smaller scale – with Dwayne teaching art courses and Tim filming, editing and uploading videos online – it has since grown into a larger company with a growing team of helpers. However, even as Dwayne and Tim delegate some of their former activities, they continue to maintain their primary roles, using the opposite skillsets that made the idea for Sparketh possible in the first place.

Creativity Fueled by Sacrifice, Learning, and Courage

When I ask Dwayne to tell me something unique about his background, the answer isn’t what I expect. I expect him to immediately tell me about his art, or about his artistic inspirations. While we talk about those things later, that’s not where he begins.

 He starts by telling me about something his mother taught him.

 “I was born and raised in Atlanta, but my parents moved here from Jamaica. They both worked hard to support me and my five siblings, but then my dad was injured on the job. After that, my mom worked extra hard to not only raise us, but also to support us financially. She gave so much of herself to make sure we had what we needed.”

“My mom really taught me what sacrificial love looks like,” Dwayne emphasizes, “and in the end I think that’s really one of the most important lessons anyone can learn.” 

His mother’s example of sacrificial love and giving impacted the artist and entrepreneur deeply. Dwayne brings it up a few more times throughout our interview, noting that – though his mother was not an artist herself – she repeatedly encouraged him in his own creative journey, “She supported me, creatively, in whatever way she could,” he says.

Perhaps this is one reason that Dwayne lists, “giving more than you receive,” as one of his top values. He explains. “If you can leave two good things behind for every good thing that you receive, you’re leaving the world a better place than you found it.”

He says that his other top values are learning and courage.

The Link Between Creativity and Learning

It’s apparent from talking to Dwayne that an indiscriminate thirst for learning is a very vital part of his work and life.

“I make time to read every day,” he says, early on in the conversation.  “Sharing and gaining information is one of the best things I do for myself. I like to consider myself in a state of … ‘ultra-learning.’” Dwayne continues, “I have this big fear that I won’t be able to learn all that I need to learn by the time I die, so I’m always trying to learn as much as I can, about all kinds of different things. If you were to go look at my bookshelf right now, you wouldn’t be able to tell what in the world I’m into. There are books about every topic imaginable.”

For Dwayne, there is also a clear connection between learning and creativity. “Creativity is always an extension of you,” he says. “You can only create as far as you know, which is why it’s always important to keep learning.”

The Importance of Taking Risks

“Courage is another one of my greatest values,” says Dwayne. “It’s only when you step out of your comfort zone that you can really begin to see big changes and great things happen in your life.”

Courage is certainly something that has played a role in Dwayne Walker’s own life so far. A self-taught artist, Dwayne reached out of his comfort zone as a teen to compete in numerous art competitions and pursue a professional art career at a very young age. Dwayne, as well as his business partner Tim, both took several risks in order to bring Sparketh  to life.

As college students perusing degrees in business, they both dropped out when they became passionate about making a plan for Sparketh, deciding to put their efforts into the project fulltime.

His Journey as a Self-Taught Artist

A large part of Dwayne’s story as an artist, and a large part of the inspiration for Sparketh, comes from his experience as a self-taught artist.

“Growing up, I loved art from an early age. I loved anything creative–but my parents weren’t artists,” says Dwayne.  “They couldn’t teach me how to draw, but they did encourage my creativity in any way they could. Any type of resources I could find, I stuck to, and I taught myself.”

When asked if there was a certain point he knew he wanted to be an artist, Dwayne laughs and recalls his first official art sale:

 “I’m not sure how old I was – very young- but I remember tracing a dolphin from a coloring book and my aunt buying it for five dollars.  Five dollars is a lot of money for a kid — all the candy in the world. So that was my initial motivation.” He continues, “Honestly, I was also motivated to do art early on because I was competing with my older brother. He’s three years older than me and is an amazing artist, but when we were kids he took a break for a year and switched over to music. I continued doing art, and I think part of me was driven by the desire to ‘beat him’.”

Later on, Dwayne says, the motivation to pursue art became more internal.

“As I got older, I began to create art for more emotional reasons. A lot of times when I was growing up, I would feel things that I didn’t know how to put to words. Creating was the way I was able to express myself. I lived to create. At some point, I realized that I should strive to create for a living. I owe art my life in a way, because it’s become such an extension of myself.”

When he was a teenager, he began entering art competitions, winning over 50 of them. Out of these, one competition stands out among the rest in terms of the way it shaped his artistic journey.

“I almost didn’t even make it into that particular competition,” he tells me. “It was a two-part contest, and the first part involved a submission in the mail. I heard about the deadline on the radio and knew I’d have to get something in the mail that same day in order to meet the deadline. It was just a couple of hours before the post office closed, too, but I got it in in time and was selected as a finalist with 19 other people.”

“Bicycle Graveyard,” (above) was the sketch that made Dwayne one of the finalists in the competition.

He ended up winning the live competition, a drawing contest that took place at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. This yielded a television interview and, more notably, an influential trip to Italy.

Finding Inspiration in Italy

“It (that trip) changed everything,” says Dwayne. “In Italy, I saw ‘art beyond the pencil’ for the first time. Everything in Italy is art: the food, the buildings, the museums, people painting on the street. It’s all art. There were a few competition winners on that trip, and the tour guide we were with  made a point of expanding our idea of the arts. We did art related activities the whole time: everything from culinary tours to studying architecture.”

It was also in Italy that Dwayne discovered a love of painting and saw the in-person work of his longtime personal inspiration, Leornardo Di Vinci.

“I think I first saw myself in his fascination with wings,” says Dwayne, who states that he’s also always gravitated towards drawing/painting imagery of hummingbirds, wings, and (also like Di Vinci) portraits.

“I also connect with his passion for curiosity, and his love for freedom and art.”  Echoing his own love of learning, Dwayne says that he also is in awe of Di Vinci’s passion mastery of a variety of interests.

“He also didn’t conform,” Dwayne adds. “He was fully focused on creating. He could by hired by one person and then later be hired by their mortal enemy. None of those politics mattered because it was all about creativity and learning for him.”

On Art Education and Homeschooling 

“In many ways, Sparketh was inspired by my homeschool experience,” says Dwayne.

He explains that, while he wasn’t homeschooled for his entire education, he “bounced around a bit between different public schools and homeschooling.”

“My mom wanted to homeschool me,” explains Dwayne, “but there were years that she’d put me into public school, specifically so that I would have access to publicly funded art programs because we didn’t have the resources for classes.”

Despite this, however, Dwayne says that homeschooling was really where he got to tap into his own creativity. “Even though my mom wasn’t an artist, she’d find ways to integrate art into history or math because she knew how important it was to me. Homeschooling was really when art got to be the center of my education.”  

Even though homeschooling gave Dwayne more opportunities to independently pursue art, he admits that a resource like Sparketh would have made a big difference for him.

 “I know that things would have been a lot different if I’d had a resource like this (Sparketh). I always used to dream about some ultimate resource for learning art. If I’d had it, growing up, I’d be a much better artist than I am now, and it would have taken a lot of stress off of my mom. Having Sparketh-finding something anything close to it-would have been the missing key to my artistic education at home.”

Dwayne tells me that getting to connect with students, particularly those who have been looking for the missing piece in their study of art at home, has been the most rewarding part of the Sparketh experience for him so far. In particular, he recalls the very first family they signed up as clients.

 “They signed up, but they also stuck with us. We got to know them, got to see the impact that Sparketh was having on their family. A lot of people sell a product and may get a good review, but they don’t really see the impact. We were able to see the impact our product had on this family for years, and that definitely helped shape our mission and gave us insight and clarity into what we were offering.”

Sparketh’s Mission and Hopes for the Future

“I would say there are probably three parts to my “unofficial” mission for Sparketh. The first is to ‘spark,’ or inspire, creativity in kids. That was idea that started Sparketh, really: we want for kids who don’t see themselves as ‘creative’ to find and tap into that part of themselves.”

“Secondly,” Dwayne continues, “we don’t just want to inspire creativity, we want to be there to nurture it, to provide continual resources to help our students foster and improve their skills.” Dwayne adds that he also feels that if a resource like Sparketh several years ago, it would have helped some of his other friends who were artistically inclined. “I had a lot of friends who were interested in art that gave up, and I feel like a resource like Sparketh would have nurtured their creativity and encouraged them to keep going.”

 He continues, “Picasso said that ‘every child is an artist, but the challenge is keeping them an artist when they grow up.’ So in addition to helping ignite that initial spark, we also want to help the artists stay creative.”

“Thirdly,” Dwayne says, “I want to help empower creative individuals and to also empower the idea that ‘creativity is important.’”

“A lot of people who are creative don’t really see how it can be beneficial. I think that creativity will continue to be incredibly important in our future culture. In fact, if you look at ‘most valuable skills that employers look for’ creativity has consistently been one of the top soft skills that employers look for over the last several years.”

Future Hopes for Sparketh and the Importance of Creativity

“My wildest hope is very future-focused,” says Dwayne. “I hope that Sparketh will play an important role for kids who are learning all things creative in the years ahead. We want to be there as a hub to support all kinds of creative learning, and also to go beyond just learning. I want for us to be there to nurture creativity and to empower creative learning as creativity becomes an increasingly important part of our future. My wildest dream is that Sparketh will be a hub for anyone to come to for all things creative.”

Beyond his own enthusiasm for creativity, art, and art education for kids, Dwayne has other reasons for believing that cultivating creativity in the upcoming generation is important.

“I think that cultivating creativity in a culture of conformity is the key to the future,” says Dwayne. “We’re at this point, as a society, where everyone has plenty of skills. We’re not short on skills. But what we will continue to need are innovation and initiative–which are both impossible without creativity. In that sense, creativity is important – is key- to how the world will continue to advance.”

Interview by Kathryn Gustafson

The post An Interview with Sparketh’s Artistic Visionary: Dwayne Walker appeared first on Sparketh.

“You never know who someone could be if they were to become the most creative version of themselves.”

-Tim Samuel, Sparketh Vice President and Co-Founder

Tim Samuel is the vice president, and one of the co-founders of, Sparketh. Tim and I chatted face-to face (virtually) to discuss his role in the organization, his sources of inspiration for hard work and entrepreneurship, and his excitement about fostering creativity through Sparketh.

Tim Samuel loves all things creative and is very open-minded. However, he identifies most with the details: the small practicalities and detailed planning that it takes to bring big ideas to life. He describes himself in terms like, “logical, practical and organized.” In the mechanics of owning and operating Sparketh, Tim could be seen as the engineer, working behind the scenes to keep things working smoothly.

“Dwayne’s the visionary with the big ideas, always pushing us to dream bigger,” Tim says of his business partner, Sparketh’s co-owner and CEO, Dwayne Walker. “It’s my job to then take that big picture and reverse-engineer it into baby steps, so that we can begin to make things happen,” says Tim.  “Dwayne and I work really well as a dynamic duo–we have different strengths and, wherever one slacks, the other picks it up.”

Tim’s daily role at Sparketh involves taking the big goals, breaking them down into achievable tasks, and making sure that all of those smaller facets are running smoothly.

“It’s honestly just a lot of putting out fires,” Tim laughs. He lists just a few of the day-to-day mechanics that it takes to keep Sparketh running smoothly, tasks such as: interviewing new instructors, helping to strategize new courses, coordinating the growing Sparketh team, communicating with homeschooling parents, finding places to film, or filming the instructional videos.

Sparketh started out with the dynamic duo each using their skillset: Tim filming and editing video while Dwayne taught art courses. But since it’s origin in 2015, Sparketh has grown into something much larger, with a variety of different components.

Tim says, “For a while there we (Dwayne and Tim) were definitely overstretching ourselves. We were doing everything— every upload, fixing every bug on the site, communicating with every customer individually.  But in 2018 we realized that we couldn’t keep doing it that way, and we’ve started to grow and delegate to get ready for Sparketh’s future.”

A Curious and Innovative Mind

“I love questions,” Tim admits. “I’m actually kind of obsessed with questions. In college, I first started to take note on the power of questions and even started working on a book about it.”

Talking to Tim Samuel, it is immediately evident that he’s constantly in observation mode. He’s well-spoken, passionate about the future, and openly inquisitive. A few times in our interview, he flips the script and asked me the questions: “Do you like doing interviews?” (for instance). He seems genuinely interested in the answers.

When I ask Tim if he has any daily rituals to promote creativity/inspiration, his answer provides further proof of his love of questions.

“Last year, I decided that I would take the time to answer a question a day. Using the game, ‘Tabletopics,’ I chose 365 questions and programmed my phone to ask me one at random, every morning,” he says.

“The question pops up in the morning and I think about my answer throughout the day. At night, I’ll sit down and write a blog post about it.”  His blog contains daily updates: thoughtful musings over challenging personal questions.

A quick scroll offers confirmation of the consistency of Tim’s inspiration ritual: no days are missing  (impressive among even the most faithful bloggers).

His Inspiration and Values

In addition to finding inspiration from this daily ritual, Tim also says that he finds creative and entrepreneurial inspiration from those around him.

“I find inspiration all over the place,” he says. “I look to the journeys of people I admire. It’s not always famous people. I could be my brother playing basketball, or my sister pursuing dance. I look at how they push for their goals and don’t give up, and that inspires me.”

Tim says that he does have a few famous heroes, too, namely: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg–entrepreneurial leaders who are  well-known for their innovation, entrepreneurship, and the way they are shaping the future of the 21^st century.

“Elon Musk (of SpaceX, Tesla and Paypal) is probably my number one,” Tim says. “I admire the tenacity he has for his goals, and the fact that he never allows failure as an option in anything he does. Some people – a lot of people – quit when things don’t immediately work out, but he never does.”

Tim continues, “And the nature of his projects is so grand and so important—he’s inspiring the world on a whole different level than anyone else. He’s not just in it for the money. He’s genuinely trying to impact the world in a positive way—to change the world. I aspire to do that one day.”

In terms of values, Tim says that his top three are: honesty, respect and empathy.

“Being honest is super, super important,” says Tim. “Not just being honest with other people, but also yourself, can save you a lot of trouble. Respect can too. Especially in relationships, it’s important to make sure you wouldn’t ever do anything to another person that you wouldn’t want done to you. Empathy is the last one, but maybe the most important. If we could all just try to put ourselves in each other’s shoes, it could really make the world a better place.”

Tim says that he tries to apply these values to all of his relationships, including those with Sparketh’s customers.

For example, he explains that, while he does have many creative interests, he doesn’t consider himself to be the “most talented person, fine arts wise.”

Tim says, “Recently though, I sat down and did an elephant silhouette painting—one of the courses on Sparketh. Not only did I really enjoy it, but it gave me a lot of insight into things that students might think or need while using one of our courses.”

Why Sparketh?

As he said in his discussion of Elon Musk, Tim has a desire to bring innovative and positive changes to the world.  However, since he (self admittedly) isn’t an artist, I was curious to know how and why his entrepreneurial interests have translated into Sparketh.

“Creativity is the most underrated – and number one factor- that drives innovation in the world,” responds Tim. “The human race couldn’t thrive and progress as much as we do without it. It’s easy for us to get stuck in the spreadsheet, looking at numbers. But if you don’t express your creativity – if we don’t foster that as a society – then we wouldn’t have any innovations, no new ideas. These are crucial to the human experience.”

For Tim, it’s all about creativity, and importance he believes it to have — especially for the upcoming generations.

“I think that art education can and should be done better and more affordably,” says Tim. “When most people think of ‘art,’ they think they have to spend a certain amount of money or be gifted. My philosophy is that you can teach anyone to learn creative things. I think, if we keep going with Sparketh,  we can encourage a lot of people to pursue their creative interests. You never know who someone could be if they were to become the most creative version of themselves.”

Rewards and Challenges

Tim says that, as he and Dwayne have traveled to various homeschooling/educational expos around the country, making personal connections with the families who use Sparketh has been the most rewarding and motivating facet of the entire experience.

Sparketh was initially designed with homeschoolers in mind, since it can be done from home and gives kids access to professional art instruction from anywhere. However, since its origin it has become a valuable component to more and more kids and teens in private and public schools, as well. This is especially true since many kids were at home during the Covid-19 pandemic and looking for ways to be creative at home.

Thinking about the way Sparketh has, and will continue to, positively influence kids is very motivational for Tim.

“When I look at the way that this (Sparketh) could impact kids and teens, I get really excited about it,” says Tim. “I know the struggle that kids can when they have creative interests, but they can’t pursue them for physical or financial reasons. Sparketh takes art education to a place where anyone can learn more about their creative interests, from anywhere.”

When I ask Tim what the biggest challenge with Sparketh has been so far, he has an answer. “2018,” he says, “definitely 2018.”

“Up until that point, Dwayne and I were the whole company, which had grown a lot since we started in 2015. Things were getting bigger and responsibilities were growing, and we kept trying to fill every role at once. On top of all that, we were also trying to go to as many expos as we could—over 20 in a matter of months. We were always driving or flying somewhere. Eventually, it took a huge toll on us. We ended up both being in the same hospital, at the same time, as the result of physical health problems. We’d just stretched ourselves too thin. We were burnt out.”

“Even worse,” says Tim, “we felt we’d let our Sparketh customers down. I even wrote an article about it, explaining exactly what had happened that year.”

Ultimately, however, they didn’t give up. After taking some time to rest, the duo came back with a refreshed view on Sparketh and its mission. “We decided that the solution was simple– we needed a team.” With a growing team to delegate the daily workings of Sparketh, Tim (and Dwayne) are now ready to continue to nurture the company’s future.

On His Hopes for Sparketh’s Future

Tim says, “I would say my ‘unofficial’ goal is to make the next generation the most creative generation. We want to give this generation all the resources and tools they need to flourish. And leave them no excuses for why they can’t create anything they put their mind to.”

Tim explained that they also have upcoming dreams in terms of Sparketh’s course offerings.

“We knew we wanted to start with painting and drawing because it’s simple to do with our online format, and because of Dwayne’s passion and background. However, we also want to expand to offer other courses in subjects like baking, acting, dancing and magic. But that’s not even a ‘wildest dream,’” Tim says, laughing. “We know we are going to make that happen.”

Tim says, “My wildest dream for Sparketh is for it to be known world-wide as the creativity haven. That, for anything going on in the world that has to do with creativity, Sparketh would have their hand in some way and be supporting it. If it has to do with expressing creativity, we want to be a part of it.”

The post An Interview with Sparketh’s Idea Architect: Tim Samuel appeared first on Sparketh.

This year (2021) on October 22, the two best friends and co-founders of Sparketh crossed an exciting and rare milestone–they were featured on the hit show, Shark Tank. If you missed the live episode, just skip over the next paragraph… and photos (spoiler alert!)

Sidenote: If you haven’t seen it yet, you can watch Sparketh’s Shark Tank episode on Hulu. It’s the third episode of the current season (13).

Sparketh’s dynamic duo wowed the judges with their vision, their enthusiasm, and their presentation. Ultimately, they scored a “double shark deal,” with Barbara Corcoran (“The Queen of Real Estate”) and Daniel Lubetzsky, guest shark and founder/executive chairman of the KIND empire.  However, Sparketh’s deal had a contingency. Barbara and Daniel decided to invest $100, 000 in exchange for 20% of Sparketh… but only if Dwayne and Tim can show proof of profitability in six months. The clock is ticking!

As a member of the Sparketh team, I was eager to hear from Tim and Dwayne about what it was like to be on Shark Tank. In the following Q & A, we talked about their  Shark Tank experience, their evolving vision for Sparketh, and why these co-founders think that creativity is one of the most valuable qualities someone can possess.

On the Shark Tank Experience

How long have you watched Shark Tank and when did you know you wanted to go on the show? 

Dwayne: I’ve been watching the show for over a decade–since I was a kid really. So I’ve pretty much always thought it would be cool to be on it. We started the process of applying to be on Shark Tank last spring. There was a lot involved in the process in terms of submitting tapes and videos and paperwork, but it was all part of the journey. 

What was the actual experience of being on Shark Tank like? 

Dwayne: Well, first of all, what you see on TV was like a 10-15 minute feature, but in reality we were in there for about 50 minutes. We talked to the sharks a lot more than you got to see on the episode and went into much more depth about Sparketh. The Shark Tank room is also really big. I don’t know if it was more spread out than usual because of Covid protocols, but it is huge. Another thing I wanted to mention is that, even though Tim was like in power pose during the whole presentation, he wasn’t feeling well at all that weekend. He was feeling pretty bad that whole day and then pulled himself together right before going into the tank and stuck it out.  

Tim:  But something pretty funny did happen right in the middle of our pitch.  One second we were talking, and then someone yelled, “Stop!”  The cameras stopped. The Sharks stopped. We stopped talking. Then someone from the crew just walked up to me and whispered in my ear, “Here, take this.” They handed me a folded up paper towel and said, “You’re sweating.” They dabbed my face, walked off, and said, “Continue.” Then everything just went back like it never happened. If you watch closely, I think you can see where I have a big bead of sweat on my forehead one minute and then it’s suddenly gone in the next shot.

Did you get the sharks you were expecting to get? Who were you expecting to be interested?

Dwayne: Before we walked in there, we’d already thought through how each one of the sharks could bring something unique or valuable, either from their audience or their unique expertise. We kind of went in with an open mind.

What was it like to watch your pitch on TV for the first time alongside friends and family? 

Tim: It was very surreal and very funny. There was such a disconnect watching it on the screen.  I kept thinking,  “That wasn’t me,” or “That’s funny that Dwayne was looking like that.” We’d spent a lot of time beforehand trying to guess what story they would tell or what moments the editors would choose to pause on, so it was also really interesting to see which moments from the discussion were highlighted.

Dwayne: I don’t really know what I expected it to feel like watching it because I was running around right up until it aired, but it was actually hilarious. I watched it sitting next to Tim and there were so many moments we were just laughing. I really didn’t recognize myself. And honestly, hats off to the editors too. Even though I knew the outcome, my heart was beating and I was feeling the suspense and the intensity– seeing the sweat and hearing all the little sound effects. Watching it with friends and family was awesome–the energy in the room was great. Everyone was super hyped.

Aside from getting a potential deal with 2 sharks, what was the most meaningful thing you’ve taken away from your Shark Tank experience?

Tim: It’s such an awesome opportunity for any entrepreneur to go into the Shark Tank, especially if you’re bootstrap like we have been. It gives credibility – not just to your business- but to you as an entrepreneur. It’s empowering to have such successful and powerful business people see and acknowledge the value in your business. Even without any investment, their feedback alone is so valuable. Sparketh has been a long-term project for us that has never really paid us anything significant or anything like that. But once we saw that these successful people were willing to invest in it, it really made it click for us and made us realize that this is a valuable business, and we are contributing something significant to the world.

Dwayne: Absolutely agreed. As an entrepreneur, you sacrifice so much hoping that people will see your vision. It does bring validation to have someone like that believe in you.

On Sparketh

Was there one specific moment that you can remember first thinking up Sparketh? 

Dwayne: There was definitely a specific moment. It was right after we entered this Shark Tank style contest called Concept2Reality at Kennesaw State University. Our business proposition at the time was called Sirius, and it was a resource for kids that would help with various subjects. Around the same time that we were pitching that idea for the contest, Tim and I were working on a completely different business concept with a group of people, which fell through due to circumstances outside of our control. Anyway, it got us thinking: what project could the two of us team up about that we would both be passionate about?

That’s when we both dedicated ourselves to this one idea. We took some things that we loved about the Sirius project and narrowed it down. Tim is really good at reverse-engineering and narrowing in on what we subject we should start with and what audience we should start with. We ended up deciding to focus on an online art education resource specifically geared towards the homeschool audience– with the goal of expanding into other creative learning, later on.

In the tank, Mark Cuban questioned what makes Sparketh different for students than just learning art on Youtube. We didn’t really get a chance to see you respond on the show, so can you respond to that now?

Dwayne: Honestly. the answer to that is twofold. Firstly yes, Youtube has tons of content, but you have to spend so much time shifting through low-quality stuff to find something that is quality. Given that, it’s hard to figure out a “path” for learning. In contrast, Sparketh is custom-built for learning. We’ve built out learning tracks that kids can follow to learn in a sequential way that builds their skills.

That leads to the second major difference, which is platform. If you remove all of the content from Youtube and Sparketh, the fact is that Youtube is built for entertainment, but Sparketh is built for education. In building Sparketh, we have created educational features that go with the video content to enhance the learning experience: worksheets, vocabulary words, and key takeaways. Also, we have a whole community aspect–which offers kids an online place to continually support each other to create!

How do you manage being best friends and business partners? What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a business with a close friend or family member?

Dwayne: In our friendship we already balance each other out, and our business relationship has really just been an extension of that. If you remove business and just observe the way we learn things together or work on little projects (or even sometimes get ourselves into stupid situations), there’s always a sense of balance there. To anyone out there wanting to start a business with a good friend, I’d suggest that you make sure there’s genuine balance in your dynamic. With us, it’s not all fun and games, but the fun and games is a great addition because he’s my best friend. 

Tim: I agree! I’d also advise someone who is considering starting a business with a friend or family member to pick a business that you are both passionate about. For us, we’re both very creative in different ways. Creativity has always been something that we’re both very passionate about, so that makes Sparketh feel less like business and work all the time. 

What would you like to see happen with Sparketh within the next year?

Tim: I’d love to see three more creative subjects fleshed out on the site so that kids who are creative – but maybe not into traditional art – will have creative learning resources too! That’s something we’ve always wanted to do, and I’d like to see it happen within the next year.

Dwayne: I’d also like to continue to grow our creative community of kids, and I’d love to see us building out even more progressive tracks so that kids can get into even more advanced creative skills.

On Creativity

What have you found to be the most important way that creativity and entrepreneurship overlap? What has been the most important way that creativity has impacted your business?

Tim: I think creativity has enhanced our problem-solving skills and that helps with pretty much anything. You’re always going to have problems in anything you attempt. Success really comes down to how well are you able to solve those problems, and creativity is what helps you solve those problems. As long as we continue to be creative, we will continue to get further and further along in our journeys. Being creative in the concept we developed in Sparketh, and in the way we presented it, also helped us connect with so many of the right people and families who have also helped us in this process.

Dwayne: Additionally, I think that creativity and entrepreneurship go together well because creativity is all about idea generating, and entrepreneurship is about idea implementing.

Sparketh is all about growing creative skills at home. Beyond the homeschooling space, why do you think that’s important?

Tim: Growing your creative skills at home is so important in this day and age when the world is transitioning more and more to a remote workflow. If you make creativity a part of your home routines, then your skills will grow exponentially faster than the people who only create at work or in a classroom. Growing creative skills at home is the foundation to building a life abundant with creativity.

Most people agree that the nature of the modern “job” is rapidly in flux, with new technology constantly creating new fields, and freelancers and entrepreneurs becoming more common than ever before. Can you talk about creativity’s role in all of this, especially for the upcoming generation? 

Dwayne: The new soft skill that everyone is looking for is creativity, and there’s a reason for that. These new emerging jobs are essentially just new problems to solve. As Tim was saying, creativity enhances problem-solving. It also means being more open-minded and curious, able to explore not just what is “now,” but to think about what is coming up next.  Being in a creative state is almost like you’re living in the future while creating the future. Creativity gives kids the right tools to be prepared for the unknown. It helps them to be open to new possibilities and gives them the mindset to be innovative…to solve the problems of the future.

What’s something that you’d like to say to people who saw you on Shark Tank or who are just curious to know more about Sparketh? Any final thoughts you’d love to share with readers?

Tim: We’re passionate about creativity and everything that has to do with creativity. I might not be the most “artsy” person, but I’m passionate about creativity and that comes through in the different things I do for Sparketh. I want to invite anyone who saw us on Shark Tank who is passionate and cares about creativity to reach out to us. If you want to be part of a creative movement for kids and teens and you love creativity – even if you’re not an amazing artist- maybe there’s some way we could chat, share ideas, or collaborate. We love meeting other creatives and people who are passionate about creativity!

Dwayne:  And I also would want to say something to the kids and teens out there who are creative, but who have been beaten down by people they are around. If the school system, or the world, or anyone, has told you that you aren’t good enough or tried to shut you down, I want to tell you that there is a safe place for you at Sparketh. Sure, Tim and I are the ones you saw on Shark Tank up there doing magic tricks, but every single person behind the logo of Sparketh team embodies creativity and is here to support you. Everyone on this team inspires me personally so much, creatively! Everyone behind the face of Sparketh is here to inspire creativity in kids and teens.

The post A Sparketh Q & A with Co-Founders Dwayne Walker and Tim Samuel appeared first on Sparketh.

Of course, most people know her as the spunky, no-nonsense Shark from the popular ABC show, Shark Tank.  This last role is the reason I had the privilege of interviewing Barbara Corcoran and learning more about her “secret sauce for success,” and how creativity has played a vital role in her journey!

As you may know, Sparketh debuted on current season of Shark Tank (Season 13, Episode 3)! During their presentation, Sparketh Co-founders Tim Samuel and Dwayne Walker impressed the judges with their passion and vision. However, there was some debate about whether or not the company could become profitable enough for the Sharks to invest in.

Barbara Corcoran – alongside guest Shark, Daniel Lubetzky (of the KIND empire) – offered Sparketh’s dynamic duo a rare contingency deal. They agreed to mentor the Sparketh co-founders and make an investment $100, 000 in exchange for 20% of Sparketh if the business can prove profitability within a 6 month window.

Whether or not Sparketh proves to be profitable within this time frame, Tim and Dwayne have each expressed gratitude for the experience of being on Shark Tank, and – even more so – for Barbara and Daniel’s mentorship and belief in their vision.

In a recent interview, VP Tim Samuel said, “Once we saw that these successful people were willing to invest in it (Sparketh), it really made it click for us and made us realize that this is a valuable business.”

CEO Dwayne Walker added, “As an entrepreneur, you sacrifice so much hoping that people will see your vision. It does bring validation to have someone like that believe in you.”

Why Barbara Believes in Sparketh

Corcoran was the first Shark to jump in and offer Tim and Dwayne support for Sparketh (after several others had already pronounced themselves, “Out”), so I asked what prompted her to make the first offer.

Barbara responded:  “I was hooked on Tim and Dwayne from the get go! I was looking for any reason to invest in these two entrepreneurs. Tim & Dwayne were likable and hard workers, having overcome all sorts of obstacles – health and business related – to build Sparketh.”

Perhaps due to her own personal experiences building a business empire from almost nothing, Corcoran has a history of  investing in entrepreneurs who have built their businesses up by their bootstraps and found creative solutions when faced with hardship. She famously told a pair of brothers on a previous season of  Shark Tank that she “doesn’t invest in rich kids,” later indicating that she believes an entrepreneur is more likely to strive – and succeed – without a safety net.

When talking about Tim and Dwayne, Barbara stated that she admired their willingness to take on challenges. “They were game to take on the contingency of reaching profitability to earn our investment,” she said.  “Any entrepreneur willing to face that challenge head-on is destined for success.”

Barbara Corcoran on the Power of Creativity

At Sparketh, we believe that creativity means something slightly different to each person who recognizes its power in his or her life.  As many entrepreneurs will tell you, creativity is also vital in the world of business. I asked Barbara about what creativity means to her and what role it has played in her life. She responded:

“I was labeled the dumb kid in school because I couldn’t read or write. But from a young age, my mom made sure I knew my biggest strength was my imagination. My imagination took me further than book smarts ever could. I learned to use my creativity in business and it was the secret sauce to my success.”

Corcoran elaborated on creativity’s role in business, talking about how creativity can shape a person’s ability to make necessary changes. She stated, “Building a business means solving problem after problem until you find something that sticks. And the best way to work through an obstacle is to get creative. The best businesses are run by entrepreneurs who think outside the box and find new ways of doing things.”

This is a philosophy that she passes along to the many entrepreneurs she invests in and mentors. Corcoran told me, “When Covid hit, I called each of my entrepreneurs and told them to make a list of everywhere their business had come from in the past. Then I told them to rip it up. In every business change is inevitable, but only businesses who know how to innovate fast and creatively survive.”

How Barbara Stays Creative and Keeps Things Fun

Barbara shared some insights on how she personally stays creative in her work (and life).  She admitted, “I never had a creative idea sitting at my desk!” Instead, Corcoran advised, “The best way to get creative is to go play in the traffic. The best ideas are found on the outside when you’re out on the field having fun.”

Corcoran is well-known for keeping things fun in the workplace. “Fun is good for business!” Barabara said, adding that: “Fun builds loyalty, and teams are most creative when they’re having fun.”

One of the ways that Barbara keeps things fun at work? Social media! Barbara’s  TikTok channel is full of examples of how this business icon connects with her audience via the playful social media platform.

In our interview, she shared some other ways that she brings fun into the workplace environment. Corcoran said, “At work I make time for company parties and retreats that make for fun Monday morning conversations. And I always plan my vacations far in advance because I’ve learned that half the fun is looking forward to it!”

It seems that Barbara finds creativity and fun in even the little moments of the day.  For example, Barbara told me, “I love to listen to Queen or Bob Marley to get my head on straight!”

Barbara’s Tips for Succeeding as an Entrepreneur

Of course, we’d probably all like to know what Barbara’s secrets to success are when it comes to business. We often place so much emphasis on becoming successful. I wanted to know Barbara’s tips for staying successful as an entrepreneur. How do you keep a solid momentum going?

She responded, “You’ve got to get comfortable taking risks and keep your ambition running every step of the way. But the most important quality is the ability to bounce back from failure.” Barbara said, “Think of yourself as a Jack In The Box. When you take a hit, bounce right back up shouting, ‘Hit me again!'”

I also asked if Barbara had any specific tips for kids who use our online arts education platform at Sparketh. What advice would she share with the kid or teen who wants to do something different with their life — such as becoming a professional artist and/or entrepreneur?

“Figure out who you want to be and picture it in living color,” Barbara responded. “When I started my business, I knew I wanted to be the Queen of New York Real Estate. I dreamt about it every day, picturing every little detail, until it became my reality.”

Interview by Kathryn Gustafson

The post An Interview with Barbara Corcoran: The Power of Creativity appeared first on Sparketh.