Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

One Spark 2016 To Be Shorter, Have Fewer Creators

Bonnie Zerr
/
WJCT

Next year’s One Spark Festival promises to be smaller and shorter than in the past.

Organizers of what’s billed as “the world’s largest crowdfunding festival” announced a number of changes Monday.

One Spark board member Rena Coughlin says, for one thing, the length of the festival had become overly burdensome, so they’re cutting it back to three days.

“The creators were pretty vocal about the extended One Spark last year—that they were trying to fully participate for really long days for five full days and I think it nearly killed some of them," Coughlin said. " I mean, I think it was too much.”

Coughlin says they also plan to reduce the number of creators from more than 500 last year to just 300 in 2016.

And, instead of opening the competition up to anyone with an idea, Coughlin says next year’s applicants will be vetted so only serious entrepreneurs are invited to participate.

One Spark 2016 will run from Thursday, April 7 through Saturday, April 9.

Cyd Hoskinson began working at WJCT on Valentine’s Day 2011.