“Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company.” – Booker T. Washington
I’ve never been shy about voicing my opinion when it comes to the importance of being a socially conscious company. Gordon Gekko’s “greed is good” mantra may have been the corporate world’s adage in the 80’s and 90’s, but “good” looks a lot different now, and at Sparq we’re only as good as the people, companies, and communities we surround ourselves with.
Mission first
Our mission since Sparq was founded has always stayed the same: provide meaningful employment opportunities for marginalized communities by creating roles for software developers in mid-sized cities throughout Middle America, thereby closing the Digital Divide. By doing so, we provide a great value for our clients while our software developers enjoy the high quality of life they’ve come to expect by living outside of major tech centers like Silicon Valley. This mission went into overdrive when we received the support of Bain Capital’s Double Impact Fund.
In good company
Bain’s investment in Sparq is part of what they refer to as Double Bottom Line Investing (DBL2). In other words, there’s a focus on both the traditional bottom line of financial performance (there’s no mission without margin), but also an equal importance given to the positive social impact of a company. Other companies in the Double Impact portfolio include Broadstep, HealthDrive, Penn Foster, Rodeo Dental and Arosa. Whether it’s through affordable dental care for children living in low income communities, or affordable in-home care for the elderly, or accessible online education for any socio-economic demographic, the Double Impact companies all have one thing in common: they’re doing well by doing good.
I encourage you to take a look at Bain Capital Double Impact’s Year in Review and see why we’re proud to associate ourselves with a group that takes giving back as seriously as they do their bottom line and why we believe in “No greatness without goodness.”
About the Author:
As Chief Executive Officer, Monty Hamilton leads the executive team and drives the overall strategy for Sparq. Monty is responsible for leading the strategic direction and the growth of Sparq and is leading the team in their goal to launch 10 new high-tech hubs over the next few years. Each facility will have 200 colleagues in low cost of living, high quality of life locations. He is a sought-after speaker on the outsourcing and domestic sourcing topic and has recently been featured on CNBC, BBC, NPR radio and at various industry conferences including IAOP, Gartner, Digital Georgia and others. In addition, recent articles depicting Sparq’s innovative outsourcing model have appeared in Business Week, CNN Money magazine, CFO magazine, and CIO magazine.
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