Brock University alumnus Jason Sparaga (BBA \u201993) will return to campus virtually next week to share his more than two decades of experience building and growing businesses.<\/p>\n
Sparaga\u2019s talk, which will focus on surviving entrepreneurship, is part of the Business Breathers<\/a> series and will take place from 11 to 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, April 12. Facilitated by Goodman Group, the Goodman School of Business\u2019 community-focused learning and development services provider, the session aims to help people better understand entrepreneurship, whether they\u2019re considering the path or already working for themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cThe world needs entrepreneurs more than ever,\u201d Sparaga says.<\/p>\n Yet finding success in entrepreneurship often means maintaining a truly separate personal life, managing the stress of business highs and lows and having the tenacity to stay the course on what can be a challenging journey. Sparaga will discuss all of these factors during the session.<\/p>\n The Goodman grad brings more than 25 years of experience as an executive, owner investor and advisor to the conversation.<\/p>\n He is also Co-founder and Executive Board Chair of Spark Power (TSX:SPG). He was Spark\u2019s co-CEO from its inception in 2009 until January 2021, leading strategy and driving aggressive growth both organically and through acquisitions. After growing the business to more than $250 million in revenue, he recruited a strong professional management team and stepped back into a board position. He and his partners remain majority shareholders of Spark.<\/p>\n Prior to Spark, Sparaga co-founded and was CEO of Spara Capital Partners, a boutique private investment and merchant bank. In 2015, he was awarded Goodman\u2019s Distinguished Graduate Award<\/a>. He received a Canadian Business Excellence award in 2016 and was an Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in 2017. He\u2019s also a strong advocate for charitable giving, including work with Autism on the Run, Unity for Autism and Prostate Cancer Canada.<\/p>\n