Spark Business Institute

What Spark Business Institute does

Spark Business Institute (SBI) is a privately held, founder-owned management consultancy based in Arnold, Maryland that sells proprietary diagnostic assessments and advisory services to small and mid-sized US businesses experiencing what the firm calls 'The Small Business Plateau.' The company is led by CEO Patrick Lee, a serial entrepreneur who founded SBI after earlier founding the Eastern Veterinary Blood Bank and Chesapeake Think Tank (2012). Its core offering is a 90-minute Spark Business Diagnostic priced at $1,200, which evaluates leadership transparency, decision-making style, strengths, challenges, and growth inhibitors (Founder's Cap, Jack-of-all-Trades Mentality, personnel, infrastructure, technology, market-facing potential), and delivers an in-depth PDF report within 72 hours. A free 5-minute Plateau Placement Test serves as a top-of-funnel lead generator, and the firm sells three add-on modules — Leadership Package, Innovation Package ($250), and Growth & Optimization Package — to deepen engagement post-diagnostic.

SBI distributes its services primarily through direct website sales, with supporting inbound channels including phone consultation, email outreach, and a content marketing engine built around the SBI Super Blog, SBI Super Podcast, founder-authored book 'The Great Small Business Plateau,' and an active presence across LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. Customer mix is exclusively SMBs across diverse verticals (e.g., language services, legal, research, general services), with over 200 businesses served cumulatively. Pricing is transactional rather than recurring, with no subscription or retainer component, and there is no documented funding, M&A activity, partnerships, or AI/automation capability in the current product stack.

Name

Spark Business Institute

Legal name

The Spark Business Institute

Website

https://sparkbusinessinstitute.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Spark Business Institute is a founder-led US consultancy that sells a $1,200 proprietary diagnostic assessment plus add-on packages to small business owners experiencing growth plateaus, supported by a free online quiz, a blog, a podcast, and a published book.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Arnold

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. Spark Business Diagnostic: One-time comprehensive business assessment at $1,200 that provides an in-depth PDF report analyzing business transparency, leadership capabilities, decision-making style, strengths, challenges, and growth inhibitors. Takes approximately 90 minutes and requires financial data (3-5 years of P&L statements).
2. Add-On Diagnostic Packages: Supplementary assessment packages including Leadership Package (assessing leadership skills across Vision, Alignment and Execution), Innovation Package ($250 - assessing Innovation Quotient, risk tolerance, and creativity), and Growth and Optimization Package (evaluating motivations and readiness for disruptive growth).
3. Free Assessment Tools: Free Plateau Placement Test - a quick 5-minute quiz providing initial insights into barriers that may be slowing business growth. Serves as a lead generation tool that converts prospects to paid diagnostic services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Spark Business Institute provides diagnostic assessments and personalized consulting support for small and mid-sized business owners whose companies are stalled at a growth plateau. Its core paid service is the 90-minute Spark Business Diagnostic, supplemented by optional leadership, innovation, and growth-readiness assessment packages; a free five-minute Plateau Placement Test serves as the entry point.

Product overview

Spark Business Institute offers a diagnostic and consulting platform centered on The Small Business Plateau concept. The core offerings consist of a free Spark Assessment (5-minute quiz) followed by the paid Spark Business Diagnostic ($1,200, 90-minute evaluation). The portfolio includes three add-on packages—Leadership Package, Innovation Package ($250), and Growth and Optimization Package—that extend the core diagnostic. Educational content is delivered through the SBI Super Podcast and SBI Super Blog, with additional resources including Patrick Lee's book 'The Great Small Business Plateau.'

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SBI Super Podcast: A podcast hosted by Patrick Lee discussing small business success and Main Street revitalization.
• SBI Super Blog

Products and services

• Free Plateau Placement Test A free five-minute quiz for small business owners that identifies barriers that may be slowing business growth and success and introduces prospects to Spark's diagnostic services.
• Spark Business Diagnostic A 90-minute, $1,200 evaluation requiring three to five years of P&L statements that combines Business Evaluator and Mindset Evaluator assessments and delivers an in-depth PDF report on business transparency, leadership, decision-making, strengths, challenges, and growth inhibitors.
• Leadership Package An add-on assessment package evaluating six essential leadership skills within Vision, Alignment, and Execution to identify where an organization is likely to thrive or struggle.
• Innovation Package A $250 add-on assessment of Innovation Quotient, risk tolerance, and creativity to assess an individual's or organization's capacity to innovate.
• Growth and Optimization Package An add-on assessment of motivation alignment, positivity ratios, attainment and avoidance skills, and problem-solving capabilities to determine readiness for disruptive growth versus optimization.

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Gazelles (Scaling Up): Gazelles (formerly Gazelles International) delivers the Scaling Up methodology and growth diagnostic to small and mid-sized businesses through certified coaches, targeting the same growth-plateau pain point that SBI's Small Business Plateau framework addresses.
• Strategic Coach: Strategic Coach sells quarterly coaching programs and diagnostic tools to entrepreneurs and small business owners, using proprietary frameworks and assessments — overlapping directly with SBI's diagnostic-plus-add-on package model.
• EOS Worldwide: EOS Worldwide sells the Entrepreneurial Operating System to small and mid-sized businesses via a global network of implementers, providing structured diagnostic tools (the EOS assessment) and ongoing facilitation — directly analogous to SBI's diagnostic-plus-advisory model for the same SMB segment.
• ActionCOACH: ActionCOACH is the world's largest business coaching franchise, targeting small business owners with structured coaching programs and assessments; it competes for the same 'stuck business owner' customer that SBI targets and sells comparable diagnostic and coaching packages.
• FocalPoint Business Coaching: FocalPoint is a global business coaching franchise offering diagnostic assessments and coaching for small businesses and entrepreneurs, leveraging proprietary tools and a Brian Tracy-aligned methodology — a clear comparable to SBI's diagnostic-and-coaching approach.
• Predictable Success: Predictable Success provides diagnostic assessments (the Predictable Success Assessment) and advisory services to small and growing businesses, including a published book on business stages — directly comparable to SBI's diagnostic-plus-book thought leadership approach.

Others

• Birdeye: Birdeye is a customer experience and reputation platform used by SMBs to manage reviews and feedback; it is adjacent rather than directly competitive, but competes for the same Main Street business owner's growth-stack budget.

Broad incumbents

• SCORE: SCORE is a US nonprofit network providing free mentoring, workshops, and resources to small business owners across the same Main Street segment SBI targets; it serves as a free incumbent alternative that can absorb demand SBI might otherwise capture.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCn6nw7c6PW6uKQccOiB775g
• Facebookfacebook.com/thesparkbusinessinstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spark-business-institute
• Instagraminstagram.com/thesparkbusinessinstitute
• TikToktiktok.com/@sparkbusinessinstitute

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 Business Institute