Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan is again pledging up to $1 million of capital investment for One Spark 2014 creators.
This year, he will be joined by several private venture firms for a total of $3.25 million in potential investment opportunities for participants of the crowdfunding festival, held April 9-13 throughout Downtown.
"One Spark has my support again this year because it showcases Jacksonville, particularly Downtown, and everything we have here to offer an entrepreneur," Khan said in a statement. "We will definitely show a preference to qualified creators who have a quality idea that perhaps needs financial support to become reality, and then would be willing to do business here in Jax."
After last year's event, Khan invested in six projects through his Stache Investments Corp.
This year, he will be joined by Arsenal Venture Partners, Florida Blue, Healthbox, Palm Ventures, PS27 Ventures and UE Investors for the $3.25 million for projects selected by the companies.
One Spark also will offer projects access to private individual backing from the public and a guaranteed $310,000 in awards, up from last year's $250,000.
"One Spark is all about creators, people with ideas and connecting them with the resources they need to bring their projects to life," said Joe Sampson, OneSpark executive director. "Make our creators successful, and not only is One Spark successful, but Jacksonville becomes more successful, too."
The five-day interactive event showcases projects in categories such as art, innovation, music, science and technology, with creators using the festival as a platform to garner financial support.
"Connecting great ideas to investment dollars is a critical component of a successful event," said Elton Rivas, One Spark co-founder.
One Spark's creator registration deadline has been extended to Feb. 21. For more information, visit beonespark.com.
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