Since 2011, Sparkus has been dedicated to helping companies offer self-coaching opportunities for employees to reach their full potential and achieve personal goals. Thousands of individuals have benefited from the program, pursuing plans of action that benefit both professional objectives and evolve upon personal performances in a variety of capacities. Co-Founder Dani Benreytan has nurtured the project since its inception, carefully fine-tuning the needs of the platform along the way to attentively complement the needs of their clientele while scaling the project’s scope to reach an ever-expanding audience. The platform’s continued growth comes as no surprise, with 2019 offering plans of new opportunities and new markets abroad.
We took some time to speak with Dani on what attracted him to the field of Design, the importance of finding motivation in one’s career objectives, the goals of an ambitious project like Sparkus, and what’s next on the horizon for the globally growing platform.
Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m a service designer and entrepreneur working in mainly HR Tech fields and innovation. I studied design in Domus Academy, before moving on to work on several branding projects embracing innovative approaches to both products and services. In 2011 we founded Sparkus to help individuals find their own path in their career. In 2013 we started to work with companies aiming to broaden coaching services within the employee base. Soon after, I designed the Sparkus online coaching management platform.
Could you share a bit about the origin story of Sparkus? What was the inspiration there?
I was a mediocre student in high school and started to receive coaching in 1998, when I decided that becoming a designer would be my future career. In 2003 I graduated from university as the class Valedictorian. I realized that it’s more important to find your motivation, rather than just being capable of something. In 2011 I met with a team of coaches – now my partners – who were aiming to market their coaching services. That meeting ignited the basic idea of Sparkus – a gamified self coaching tool to kick-start and scale coaching services.
How does someone best utilize the platform? What goes into a typical online coaching experience?
Most of the time, a coachee (the individual receiving coaching) starts self-coaching steps after the company assigns them a necessary package. Then step by step they clarify their future vision, current status, goals and plan of action moving forward. This is typically all done in a self-directed, self-paced process. As long as the coachee tries to be honest and answer the questions genuinely, they will get the most out of the platform.
Behind the scenes, what goes into how you choose to design the coaching packages? How many people are involved and what is your day to day role like?
We have a strict framework for designing the coaching package. Our team of coaches, project manager and designer gets together with our HR team to set goals and clarify company culture. Then we make insight meetings with employees and potential coaches/mentors. After we make sure to cover all of the possible personas, we decide on the steps to include. Then with a multi-pass methodology we customize the tone, language, visuals according to accumulated knowledge.
How does ATÖLYE fit in?
We utilize ATÖLYE as a source of inspiration and network opportunity. We are always in a rush for new projects and we mainly set up shop on the client side, so having a base to reliably come back to and reengage with creativity is bliss.
You also have quite a strong background in design, in which you still remain actively engaged. Could you tell us a bit about the work you choose to take on? What impact has your design experience played in developing Sparkus?
Design is the way of perceiving life for me. As I grow as an entrepreneur of Sparkus I made a lot of rookie mistakes as a business person, and design is the methodology to solve them. With that experience I realized I can help other designers and entrepreneurs to not to make same mistakes. I’m mentoring a lot of teams and designers along the way. I’m always available for designers, entrepreneurs and innovators to be their sounding boards.
Are there any major plans or goals moving forward that you’d like to share with us? What’s next on the horizon?
We are on the verge of becoming a global HR Tech startup. Since 2016 we were showcasing Sparkus in Europe and this year, one of our partners will be the boots on the ground in Amsterdam. We started global projects with some notable clients. So the natural next step is to grow as a company and team. We will be hiring new teammates this year as well.
As we’re a publication for foreigners, any final words of advice or places to visit for people looking to make the most out of their time here in Istanbul?
Istanbul is not just a city; it’s a combination of districts with different characters resulting in this borderline personality of a city. I urge everyone to go out of their comfort zone and visit different faces of this beautiful city. If you love Nişantaşı go to Kadıköy. If you are happy with Beyoğlu try to visit Sulukule. If you are a fan of Bebek and the sahil, try to visit Bayrampaşa Kanatçı Haydar. Let the city surprise you as you can experience diversity in abundance.
To keep up with Dani and his work, be sure to visit the official page for Sparkus. You can also follow via Facebook and Twitter.
ATÖLYE Spotlight is our series on the inspiring community members of Istanbul’s most creative space.
All images courtesy of the interviewee.
