About Us
Why Spark Tank?
Our goal is to empower and inspire young entrepreneurs to ignite the spark of creativity from their Creator – and to see if the result is products or services that help their local community!
What We Value In People & Ideas:
Courage
Courage isn't the absence of fear. It is the decision you make in the face of fear. It takes courage to try, to fail, and to succeed as you learn through life's journey.
Creativity
You were created by a Creator who left world-changing fingerprints on your life. Don't limit the potential ideas and impact He may desire to release through you.
Community
We were created to live in a positive relationship to each other and the world. Share who you are with those around you and learn from those God has placed in your life.
Meet The Teacher
Justin Rule
I started my own business delivering newspapers and collecting subscriptions from my neighbors at age 12. By 14 I had my first job at McDonald’s and ran a small lawn mowing business in my neighborhood. By age 18 I had tried (& failed, kinda) to start ‘1001 Words Photography’ to sell my photos on mugs and greeting cards. (Enter great tagline: Some pictures are worth more than a thousand words.)
I have since started and ran a few businesses successfully, and some not-so-well. From non-profits teaching dance and art in schools, to selling wellness products, to designing websites for entrepreneurs. I now own and run Launch Kits – a web design company I began in 2016 with my friend Adam. (We actually launched as Sparrow Websites, but practicing what I teach: sometimes you need to change or update your brand based on the market!) We rebranded in 2020 as ‘Launch Kits’ and have helped over 2,000 entrepreneurs on 6 continents over 10 years to launch their business online with a website.
I have learned from the ups and downs – so I am excited to help you bring your idea to life.
My Journey In A Nutshell:
Saving Lives and Flipping Fries
How My 26 Jobs Turned A Hobby Into A Million Dollar Business
- Newspaper Route Delivery (12)
- Lawn Mowing (13)
- McDonald’s (14)
- Columbus Dispatch (15)
- Valvoline (17)
- 1001 Words Photography (18)
- Door To Door Painting Sales (19)
- Campus Computer Lab Monitor (20)
- Campus Security Guard (20)
- Church Summer Youth Staff (20)
- Campus Resident Assistant (20)
- Scuba Center (21)
- Ocean City Beach Patrol (22)
- Phillips Crab House (22)
- Purofirst Fire Water Restoration (22)
- BioTeam Mobile (23)
- Nikken/ Carpe Wellness (24)
- Boys and Girls Clubs (24)
- Heads Up Lancaster (25)
- Chiropractic Marketing (25)
- Freelance Web Designer (25)
- NYT/ USA Today Depot (26)
- Breakaway Snacks (26)
- Manos House DARS Inc / Prospect Grove High School (26)
- Coolidge Academy (33)
- YDOP Digital Marketing (33)
- Launch Kits (34)
I am not exactly the poster child for parents who want their children to go to college, get a degree, and hold down a steady job.
I am not really the entrepreneurial example of how to start young and find a unique self-made business opportunity either.
Of the businesses I had begun on my own, three had failed and three were “successful” until an unjustified firing precipitated the launch of my own web design company with a friend.
Over one weekend.
Web design was a hobby of mine since high school that I had dabbled in off and on over the years in order to tell the stories of the businesses I was launching. Believe me, some of those early designs and sites were awful! But God had other plans.
I’m not sure how flipping fries at McDonald’s and enjoying free breakfasts of sausage and egg mcmuffin’s and countless hashbrowns as a teenager prepared me for a bachelor’s degree in Geological Oceanography, or how rescuing actively drowning rip current victims in Ocean City prepared me for teaching forensics and marine science to court adjudicated teenagers with drug and alcohol issues.
Don’t worry – every decision you make does not need a linear and logical progression that leads you to the next thing in life.
Worried about your ability to focus or stay on task? All those things can grow as you mature in life.
You can see that my journey has many failures along the way as well as some success!
The question is not ‘what have you built?’ but ‘who are you becoming?’
I learned this through some hard lessons.
Maybe the answer is right in front of you, much like it was for me. I had an interest and a talent that I never really took the time to slow down and acknowledge until it was the only thing that was putting bread on the table.
If you love to help and serve people, and learn that failure (and success) are not your identity, then you may have an exciting entrepreneurial journey ahead.
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s explore it together!
