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| Andy Sparks, explorer extraordinaire |
Age: Early twenty-something
Why I wanted Andy to be part of The Passion Campaign: Andy's enthusiasm and inventiveness is evident from the moment of first meeting him. His willfulness to forge better paths in life is infectious, and reading this conversation will leave you feeling like you can believe in yourself too.
My favorite quotation from his responses: "I hope I can use my time here to teach people to believe in themselves, but to have a sense of humor about how absurd the whole thing we call life is."
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Andy Sparks is one of the most curious, daring, and inventive twenty-somethings to walk the planet. Our paths crossed at a social entrepreneurship conference in 2011. From that meeting onward, we've kept in touch via email and it's been awesome to see his trail crossing from state to state, embodying the spirit of a true entrepreneur anywhere his feet touch the ground.
In college, Andy was involved with the Alleviating Poverty Through Entrepreneurship Summit and Business Builders Club, both of which are AWESOMEly impactful initiatives. He became the CEO of his own startup, LaunchGram, just being shy out of college then moved to San Francisco to eventually become part of the Referly software company. Read on to learn more about the twenty-something entrepreneur who advises you to pick the right friends and who once dreamed of starting a microbrewery called "The Scheming Lemur Brewing Company."
Q: If you were to describe your own personal mission statement, what would it be?
A: 'The Future is Ours.' A little less than a year ago, my buddy Michael Marantz and I collaborated on a video by the same title because we both believe the future belongs to each and every one of us; it is ours to create.
Q: Many people are inspired by quotes or sayings and these stick over time as reminders of inspiration and motivation. What is yours?
A: "Most people would rather be certain they're miserable than risk being happy." - Robert Anthony -- I have this quote tattooed on my right side because I'm afraid I'll forget it. Harkening back to my "personal mission statement" as you put it, I believe that our happiness lies in our own individual hands. That said, achieving happiness often involves taking risks and that's scary, but I've found the most fulfilling happiness lies at the end of periods of strife and growth.
Q: What's your story?
A: I was born outside of Denver, Colorado. My Mom decided to exchange her career as a teacher for that of the most awesome Mom ever, and my Dad has worked his way up the corporate ladder his entire life. I'm absurdly lucky to have such loving and tolerant parents, as I haven't always been an easy child. When I was 12 my Dad got a new job opportunity in Philadelphia and we moved. I made a lot of friends there, but people in Philadelphia are noticeably less optimistic than those in Denver - maybe it's the lack of sun in Philly. I graduated high school wanting to be a Christian minister, but by my sophomore year I had given that up in an effort to start a microbrewery called "The Scheming Lemur Brewing Company." It turns out, starting a microbrewery before you're 21 is illegal, so I found work first at a local Express clothing store, which was terrible, before getting a job at a local technology/advertising startup called DOmedia.
At the same time I started work with a college entrepreneurship club called the "Business Builders Club," where our mantra was "Make millions, wear jeans, change the world." It was insensitive but ambitious, and we were proud of it. We organized a conference called, "The Alleviating Poverty Through Entrepreneurship Conference (APTE)," which was focused on showcasing market-based solutions to alleviating and eventually eliminating poverty. It was the first time I realized young people could actually make a difference. My last year of college, I started work with a mobile software company as their third employee. We sold mobile app development services to hospitals and healthcare companies. We built that company to 16 people over the next year and a half. At that point, I got hungry to start my own thing and did. It was called LaunchGram. We aggregated news about movies, video games, and TV shows on one page per product. I got two friends - a designer and software developer - to join my team and we moved to California. We raised some money from 500 Startups, but I realized LaunchGram wasn't what I wanted to work on. A month later, I sold LaunchGram's assets to another software company called Refer.ly, where I now work.
Q: What are you passionate about? What do your interests gravitate toward?
A: I've always said, and meant, that I'm passionate about the potential of people. Each and every one of us has the potential to be a great artist, whatever that means to you. Everything I do is centered around finding ways to unlock people's potential. On a less grand scale, I also love backpacking, drinking craft beer, and reading every book I can find.
Q: How did you discover that you felt pulled toward this passion?
A: I'm 23, and that means I come from a generation whose parents raised us saying "you can be anything you want!" The truth is though, that we can't. There is no way on Earth I could be a professional basketball player; I'm 5'9" and about as white as Louis C.K. Our parents raised us to believe in ourselves, even though sometimes that was delusional. A lot of us came of age and then got jaded by the fact that life wasn't as rosy as Mom and Dad painted it to be when we were eleven. I'm passionate about helping people understand that each of us has the potential to be something, but not necessarily anything.
Q: What is your vision of "the good life"?
A: Do what you love, love what you do.
Q: What's at the top of your bucket list?
A: See Earth from outer space.
Q: What are your core strengths?
A: Honesty and sincerity, but those two things can hurt. A lot of people either don't say what's on their mind in fear of offending, or say things they don't actually mean. I think everyone deserves the truth, and that takes some getting used to.
Q: What are the three biggest influences in your life right now?
A: I've been reading the late Christopher Hitchens' "Arguably" recently, and I really look up to him as a thinker and writer. Hitchens is phenomenal at looking past BS, using research to back up his points, and understood the importance of being able to laugh at ourselves. Danielle Morrill, our CEO at Referly, is one of my best friends but also the biggest coach in my life outside of my Dad. She knows what I want in my life and knows how to push me when I'm afraid or trepiditious. Finally, my Dad will always be one of the biggest influences in my life. Only your parents can say they've known you your entire life. My Dad keeps me grounded, and has always been supportive of each of my crazy endeavors.
Q: What is your personal mantra for living life?
A: Happiness is a choice.
Q: What advice do you have for others to live their best life?
A: You might have eight hours left to live, or eighty years; you simply do not know or have control over that. If you prepare yourself for both scenarios, you'll learn to cherish every single moment by not wasting your time here. Additionally, be extremely picky about who you spend your time with. If your friends don't push you to be something better, find new ones.
Q: Finally, what do you want your legacy to be?
A: I hope I can use my time here to teach people to believe in themselves, but to have a sense of humor about how absurd the whole thing we call life is.
