Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Curtis Sparrer, Principal and Co-Founder of Bospar, located in San Francisco, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Bospar champions the disruptor. That could be companies changing the status quo with disruptive technology. Or a person with a different point of view. We’ve worked with the inventor of the cell phone, the creator of Tetris and the woman searching for extraterrestrial intelligence! Our experience includes the ABCs of tech, from AI to Zero Trust. We work with seed-round startups, unicorns valued at over a billion dollars, and publicly traded companies.
Key practices include:
- EDTECH - utilizing technology to improve the quality of education
- FINTECH - modernizing financial services through AI, blockchain and big data
- HEALTH TECH - making healthcare more effective through technology
- HR - facilitating meaningful connections between employers, prospects and employees
- MARTECH - helping marketers get closer to their customers and improve their buying journey
- MOBILITY - bringing intelligence and automation to drones, passenger vehicles and commercial fleets
- STACK - rethinking how we manage, access and secure data, on-prem and/or in the cloud
- SUPPLY CHAIN - empowering data-driven decisions around planning, component sourcing, inventory and transportation
Bospar delivers PR and marketing expertise across sectors by eliminating geographic barriers — we’ve been a fully remote agency since our launch in 2015. Without having to sink money into buildings, we can invest in the best people the market has to offer. For clients, this means a hyper-responsive team of over 100 people distributed across four time zones that is not distracted by commuting or suddenly sickened by a workplace pandemic. Bospar’s content team grew 40%, including three-time Pulitzer nominee Peter Kerr. The Content Team added new capabilities, including case studies, eBooks, research reports and white papers.
Bospar teamed up with former chief marketing officer Lauren Essex to offer integrated marketing, extending our positioning and messaging programs to customer-facing vehicles essential for clients’ go-to-market plans: websites, cross-platform campaigns, video commercials, webinars, event sponsorships, newsletters and even old-fashioned paper brochures. Bospar deepened its investment in broadcast with help from CNBC/Bloomberg alum Eric Chemi and FOX/CNN veteran Brett Larson. Eric and Brett lead a broadcast team that provides media training, roadshow prep and Bospar’s Politely Pushy Podcast, which serves as a safe space for clients to showcase their broadcast interviewing skills.
Our social media team added new capabilities as well: In-depth social user behavior and decision-making research analysis; influencer relations development and management; social paid advertising for brand awareness campaigns; and video production and graphic design.
Tell us about yourself
What’s the worst job you ever had? For Curtis Sparrer, the winner is overnight news producer in Toledo, Ohio. From midnight to 8am he produced a daily 90-minute newscast in a place sleepier than the proverbial one-horse town. That overnight endurance content helped Curtis develop his storytelling chops. He learned to make news where there was none.
He interviewed Katie Holmes’ father about his daughter losing her “TV virginity” on “Dawson’s Creek.” He produced a live broadcast fashion show to celebrate the opening of the city’s introductory Banana Republic. Curtis harnessed that creative experience for newsrooms in Houston and San Francisco, winning a regional Emmy.
He relied on that skill to create PR campaigns for PayPal, Tetris and the alien hunters at SETI. That storytelling I.Q. and a nose for news led to his co-founding Bospar, the “Politely Pushy” agency. Bospar launched as an entirely work-for-home offering in 2015 – a move PRovoke deemed “prescient.” He has published over 100 articles on PR. Business Insider named him to its list of 50 most important people in tech PR – twice. The Financial Times listed Bospar as one of America’s fastest-growing private companies.
San Francisco Pride credits Curtis for rescuing its LGBTQIA+ event from dissolving into infighting. But Curtis’ proudest moment? Standing up for women’s rights. When Texas announced the nation’s most restrictive abortion ban, Curtis took a risk, being first to offer his Texas staff a $10,000 relocation package. Using his news experience, he made the potential relocation of six employees a story that captured the attention of media outlets worldwide. Salesforce and Citi would follow his lead. He led 10 other agencies in “PRoviding Choices,” a job fair for PR professionals wanting to leave Texas. When Roe was overturned, he offered to cover medical costs for his colleagues if a procedure was outlawed in their state.
And he credits it all to the worst job he ever had.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
The Financial Times named Bospar to its 500 Fastest-Growing Companies in the Americas. O’Dwyers named Bospar a Top 50 PR Firm, noting we achieved the highest increase in client fees in 2021, advancing 83.2% to $12.4 million. Inc. named Bospar to its Inc. 5000 list (second year in a row!)
Bospar launched its Red and Blue Media Strategies program, led by Brett Larson (who Curtis recruited). As a veteran of both Fox and CNN, there’s no one better suited to advise clients on the best strategies to navigate the cultural media chasm. Bospar launched its integrated marketing services to support Bravo star Fredrik Eklund for the launch of his retail app. Bospar led the rollout, creating the go-to-market strategy, the website and app store description. Curtis launched three monthly roundtables to get a pulse of his staff: one each for VPs, managers and point people. As a result, Curtis named Bospar’s first senior director of professional development, Bospar veteran, Gaby Perez-Silva. Together they launched Bospar U to train new staff.
Curtis reached out to historically black colleges and universities, hiring an HBCU Student of the Year and building relationships with HBCU professors.
When the Supreme Court overturned Roe, he offered to pay for any medical procedure that might be outlawed in another state. When heat waves hit, he offered to cover the costs of office and hotel space for staff needing to cool down. Bospar offered staff members time off for COVID shots and COVID sickness. In fact, when staff members do get COVID, the agency sends them a get-well package, complete with soup! Bospar offered a $200 adopt-a-pet credit and pet insurance!
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Curtis took a risk, being first to respond to the Texas Abortion Ban, the nation’s most restrictive. He offered Texas staff a $10K relocation package. Salesforce and Citi followed.
He led 10 PR agencies to host a job fair, “PRoviding Choices” for Texas PR pros wanting to leave over the state’s abortion ban. Curtis spoke out when Roe v. Wade was overturned, offering to cover the costs of staffers needing a medical procedure outlawed in their state. That caught the attention of The Female Quotient, “an equality services company that provides thought leadership platforms for women.” They asked Curtis to join their Cannes Creative Festival panel with Punchbowl News Founder and CEO Anna Palmer. She asked Curtis to explain to the head marketers from Dell, Dove, Visa and Snap the importance of brands speaking out about women’s rights early and forcefully instead of waiting to test the waters.
Curtis launched a grant for educators to fight against Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” legislation. Star Trek star George Takei tweeted the news.
Curtis helped rescue San Francisco Pride from infighting over whether uniformed police officers should march in the parade. He wrote the compromise between the two sides, acknowledging Pride’s complicated history with the police and the desire to build bridges.
SF Pride saw its fundraising spike. Before Bospar, it only had $100,000 in commitments. Bospar brought that to $1,900,000, nearly a 2,000% increase.
“I immediately knew we were in great hands when I first spoke with Curtis, his confidence was infectious,” said SF Pride’s Suzanne Ford. “SF Pride faced financial hardship on our way to producing our first in person parade and celebration since 2019, and Bospar led tough negotiations between LGBTQ community, law enforcement and our mayor’s office concerning police presence at Pride. Curtis’ support and professional guidance never wavered as we told our side of the story. I cannot thank him enough.”
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Be relentless. Start your day early. Always be nice.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://bospar.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BosparPR/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bosparpr/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bosparpr
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bospar/
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