Travis Todd has a vision for Berlin.
In his eyes, the sprawling German capital has the potential to become the center stage for something large for the world to admire. For the last seven months, Todd has made One Spark Start: Berlin his crowdfunding opus.
One Spark came onto Todd’s radar when Elton Rivas, one of One Spark’s founders, was scouting locations in Europe. Todd, a Jacksonville native and Jacksonville University graduate, has always kept his hometown in his thoughts.
“When the idea of One Spark came on my radar, I thought it was a fantastic idea,” Todd said. “I not only thought it would fit really well in Berlin, but I thought it would also help the creative scene here.”
All it took for Rivas to realize that Berlin needed to be the new location for the in-person crowdfunding event was Todd’s commitment to his adopted city and the admiration the American had for German culture.
Todd’s beginnings in entrepreneurship can be traced back to his days starting up several businesses. In 2007, he left the advertising field to move to Berlin, where he pursued his first startup, Grove Oats, a social networking site for politicians.
Todd jumped into the social media sphere to start his first company in 2008 during the wake of President Barack Obama’s historic election. He later dissolved the company to join with several Berlin-based tech companies over the next few years.
After creating and working with several businesses — such as Silicon Allee, the first German tech news site written in English — Todd turned his attention to One Spark after his first meeting with Rivas.
When he’s not starting technology-based companies or making Berlin a host city for international events, Todd tries to enjoy the simple things in life. Good food and a refreshing beer fill his nights off from the long hours One Spark entails.
When he’s not in Berlin, he can sometimes be found in the town of Velten, where he holds on to his American pastime of water-based sports, mainly wakeboarding.
Keeping in touch with his American roots is what attracted Todd to the idea of One Spark.
In November 2013 Todd and Rivas began playing with the idea of beginning a One Spark event in Berlin. It was something Todd had been interested in since One Spark began in April, 2013 but Rivas needed time to see how the young festival would develop in its native Jacksonville.
“I think it has a lot of potential in Berlin, because Berlin is a city full of really creative people without a lot of access to money,” Todd said. “I really think that crowdfunding, as a vehicle, can be a way for the creative people of Berlin to finance their project without bank loans or the traditional investment.”
Once the decision had been made to bring One Spark to Germany, Todd was named director of the Berlin office.
“Our goal is to build a community,” he said, “and let the community dictate where the event goes.”
Similar to when it began in Jacksonville, it is unclear where One Spark START: Berlin will lead. He doesn’t want to give out too much hype but the potential for entrepreneurs, artists and musicians to share their ambitions with the world is too aspiring for the people of Berlin to ignore, he said.
Roush is a University of North Florida student in Berlin covering the One Spark event for the student-based Zunden Media.