What Spark Network does

Spark Network Group LLC is a privately held media and events company headquartered in Monrovia, California, founded in June 2020 by Jim Wiandt, the founder of ETF.com, ETF Report, IndexUniverse.com, and the Inside ETFs conference series. The company operates a multi-format content portfolio built around the intersection of finance, climate investing, and culture. Its product surface spans four original podcasts (Pennies from Heaven with Jim Wiandt covering ETFs, Outside In with Jon Lukomnik on interdisciplinary finance, The Sound of Success with Nic Harcourt on music and creators, and Climate Talk with Gaby and Shaila on decarbonization), an event platform running in-person and virtual conferences such as Spark Disruptors, ETF Donostia, WealthTech, and the Bogleheads speakers series, and content hubs including Spark Radio (music curation) and Spark Cafe (multi-category editorial).

The business derives revenue from three streams: one-time event ticketing and registration for its conferences and virtual events, recurring sponsorship commitments from financial-services partners (notably Morningstar, State Street Global Advisors, Defiance ETFs, Ethic, and iClima Earth for the Spark Disruptors franchise), and a monthly and annual subscription membership with a stated no-refund policy. Distribution relies on owned websites (sparknetwork.com, events.sparknetwork.com, disruptors.sparknetwork.com), major third-party podcast platforms (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music), and social channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter). No public technology stack, app, API, AI capabilities, funding history, or headcount figures are disclosed in the available source material, and the company operates without a parent or institutional investor identified.

The primary customer base is financial professionals (institutional investors, asset managers, advisors) seeking climate, ETF, and sustainable-finance content and networking, with a secondary segment of music and culture enthusiasts engaging through artist interviews and curated playlists. Go-to-market is event-driven, combining high-profile in-person gatherings with virtual/streaming access and always-on podcast distribution. The company shows active operations through late 2023 based on website and podcast publishing cadence, but no quantitative growth, revenue, or scale metrics are available to triangulate against.

Name

Spark Network

Legal name

Spark Network Group LLC

Website

https://sparknetwork.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Spark Network Group LLC is a private media and events company operating podcasts, conferences, and content hubs at the intersection of finance, climate investing, and culture, serving financial professionals and general audiences through event ticketing, sponsorships, and subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Media and Events

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Partner, Channel & Vendor Conferences (MPAGAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Live Podcast Recordings (MPAGACAJ), Paid Live Events & Virtual Tickets (Webinars/Streams) (MPACAFAC), Creator Tools & Monetization Platforms (Podcasts/Audio) (MPAIADAG)

Keywords

• Financial industry events
• Podcast production
• Climate investing media
• ETF industry conferences
• Music culture content

Headquarters

HQ city

Monrovia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Event ticketing and registration: Revenue generated from paid event registrations for conferences and virtual events including Spark Disruptors, Donostia Series, ETF Donostia, and WealthTech events.
2. Event sponsorships: Sponsorship revenue from partners including Morningstar, State Street, Defiance ETFs, Ethic, iClima, and others for events and content programs.
3. Subscription service: Monthly and annual subscription service for membership content and features. Refund policy states no refunds given for subscription services; cancellation stops renewal at next billing cycle.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Spark Network produces and distributes original financial, climate investing, and music/culture content through a portfolio of branded podcasts, an in-person and virtual conference series, and owned content/newsletter hubs. Revenue is generated primarily from paid event registrations, corporate sponsorships of events and content, and a subscription/membership offering for premium content.

Product overview

Spark Network is a media and events company operating a multi-platform content business consisting of podcasts (Pennies from Heaven, Outside In with Jon Lukomnik, The Sound of Success, Climate Talk), in-person/virtual conferences (Spark Disruptors, ETF Donostia, WealthTech, Bogleheads Series), and content hubs (Spark Radio, Spark Cafe). The portfolio is organized around themes of business, finance, climate/investment innovation, and culture, with the CEO/founder Jim Wiandt having previously built ETF.com and related media properties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pennies from Heaven with Jim Wiandt: Podcast featuring choice insights and debate with names in the ETF world and beyond, hosted by Jim Wiandt, founder of ETF.com and CEO of Spark Network.
• Outside In with Jon Lukomnik
• The Sound of Success with Nic Harcourt
• Climate Talk with Gaby and Shaila
• Spark Disruptors
• Spark Cafe
• Spark Radio

Products and services

• Pennies from Heaven with Jim Wiandt Podcast hosted by Spark Network founder and CEO Jim Wiandt featuring insights and debates with leading figures in the ETF world and beyond, aimed at financial professionals and ETF investors.
• Outside In with Jon Lukomnik Interdisciplinary podcast for financial professionals hosted by Jon Lukomnik, featuring interviews with non-traditional sources to bring cross-disciplinary insights to the financial community.
• The Sound of Success with Nic Harcourt Podcast hosted by LA DJ Nic Harcourt featuring interviews with notable figures across music, writing, art, business, and technology about the music that has influenced their lives.
• Climate Talk with Gaby and Shaila Podcast hosted by Gaby Herculano and Shaila Leekha of iClima interviewing business and financial leaders about solutions for creating a decarbonized planet and climate-habitable future.
• Spark Disruptors Event series focused on climate technology and investment innovation, featuring speakers from partners such as Morningstar, State Street Global Advisors, Defiance ETFs, Ethic, and iClima Earth, targeting institutional investors and asset managers.
• Spark Events In-person and virtual conferences covering climate technology investing, ETFs, wealth management, and disruption in finance, including Spark Disruptors, ETF Donostia, WealthTech, and the Bogleheads Series, with on-demand content access after events.
• Spark Radio Music curation platform and playlist hosted by Nic Harcourt featuring new music discoveries and artist recommendations, accessible through the Spark Cafe hub.
• Spark Cafe Newsletter and content hub featuring articles and categories on Business and Leadership, Climate and Environment, Innovation, Markets and Investment, Lifestyle, Community, and Health and Wellness.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MorningstarcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMorningstar is a partner for the Spark Disruptors Climate and the Investor event, providing expertise in ESG strategy and sustainable investing thought leadership.
• State Street Global AdvisorscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerState Street Global Advisors partnered with Spark Disruptors, with Brie Williams (Head of Practice Management) participating as a speaker on fiduciary responsibility regarding climate issues.
• Defiance ETFscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerDefiance ETFs is a partner for Spark Disruptors, with CIO Sylvia Jablonski participating as a speaker on climate tech investment approaches.
• EthiccoreGTM or Marketing PartnerEthic is a partner for Spark Disruptors, with Jay Lipman participating as a speaker on climate and impact investing.
• iClima EarthcoreGTM or Marketing PartneriClima Earth (green fintech company) is a partner for Spark Disruptors. Co-founder and COO Shaila Leekha participated as a speaker. Clima Investments (related entity) also involved.
• Climate & Capital MediaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerClimate & Capital Media is listed as a partner for Spark Disruptors, with Blair Palese (Climate Editor) participating as a speaker.
• SparkChangeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSparkChange is listed as a partner, with Dan Barry (Chairman) participating as a speaker on climate tech investment.
• Toroso InvestmentsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerToroso Investments is listed as a partner for Spark Disruptors, with Mike Venuto (Co-Founder and CIO) participating as a speaker on climate investing.
• BNE (Blue New Endeavor)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerBNE is listed as a partner for Spark Disruptors.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bloomberg Media: Bloomberg combines flagship financial news, podcasts (Bloomberg Surveillance, Odd Lots, etc.) and live Bloomberg Events; it competes for the same institutional audience and sponsor budgets that Spark Network targets, but at vastly greater scale.
• Morningstar: Morningstar is both a core sponsor of Spark Disruptors and a broader incumbent in investment research, conferences and podcast content (e.g., The Long View). It is a relevant peer because it pursues the same advisor/asset-manager audience with overlapping event and audio products.
• CNBC Events: CNBC runs high-profile financial conferences (e.g., Delivering Alpha, Net Green) and produces business/finance podcasts; it competes with Spark Disruptors for marquee speakers, sponsors and institutional attendees, but at much larger reach.
• Barron's (News Corp): Barron's produces investment content, podcasts and events (Barron's Roundtable, Advisor Conferences) targeting financial advisors and wealth managers — a comparable audience to Spark's financial-professional segment.

Direct peers

• Financial Times (FT Live): FT Live operates a global calendar of paid business and finance conferences (climate, ETFs, wealth management) alongside FT podcasts and subscriber content, the same multi-format, sponsor-driven model Spark Network pursues at smaller scale.
• Reuters Events: Reuters Events runs large, sponsor-supported business and financial-services conferences worldwide. It is the closest direct comparator to Spark Disruptors, Donostia and WealthTech in terms of paid delegate events for financial professionals.

Others

• iHeartPodcasts: iHeartPodcasts is a major podcast publisher and advertising network; it is an ecosystem counterpart rather than a direct competitor — Spark distributes across podcast platforms of which iHeart is a leading example, and competes indirectly for podcast ad dollars.

Emerging players

• The Information: The Information runs a subscription newsroom, niche events and a podcast network focused on tech and finance professionals — a comparable 'specialist media + subscription + events' model to Spark Network, but oriented toward tech/business rather than climate/culture.
• Axios: Axios combines newsletters, podcasts (Axios Today, How It Happened) and a growing events business (Axios Events, Axios HQ). Its event-plus-content-plus-subscription model is structurally analogous to Spark Network's, though at broader scale and different verticals.
• ETF.com (TMX VettaFi): ETF.com is the prior company founded by Jim Wiandt; it now sits inside TMX VettaFi and remains the dominant ETF-focused media and events brand. It is the most direct functional analog to Spark Network's ETF content and ETF/WealthTech events.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Spark Network