We were lucky to catch up with Kevin Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kevin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

In 2016, I left the events industry to take a job in a new and unfamiliar field. I didn’t leave the industry because I lost passion; my decision was simply about personal and professional development. OK, I won’t bullshit you, it was about money. I gave my new career choice a couple of years, but ultimately I was unfulfilled.

That’s when a friend of mine recommended I connect with my current business partner, Kris Marino. Kris had left her long tenured job at the Foundation of Barnes Jewish Hospital, and was producing events on her own. I had known Kris for years — we worked on one project a year together. I was on the production side, and she was on the client side. We actually never met in person until we decided to meet up for lunch. Our lunch turned into a two and a half hour conversation, beers were included. We left lunch deciding to launch our own event production company.

I had a kid on the way, and decided to throw all caution to the wind. I decided to quit my job, and Kris and I started Big Blue Spark. This was the biggest risk I’ve ever taken, but I’m glad I took it.

Kevin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My mom has worked in broadcast media since I was a child, so I frequented concerts, plays, and other various live events. I’ve always loved entertainment and live events, and I remember wanting to be the person that created and produced these experiences.

I got my first taste of the events industry as an independent concert promoter. I had some wins, I had some losses. Honestly, I had no idea what the hell I was doing — I didn’t tell the agents this, but I knew the basics, make sure the bands get paid, actually promote the show, and make sure they’re well fed. This kept a lot of bands, agents, and managers happy. I loved promoting concerts, but it was an extremely competitive field, and I didn’t have the same relationships with agencies as some of the other promoters in town. It did teach me a lot regarding live production, talent buying, contract negotiations, and basic business administrative processes.

This moved me to my next job at a local events agency in town. The agency produced a wide range of events — non profit gala, brand launches, concerts, small scale festivals, and small corporate events. I loved the variety, no two days were the same.

This brings me to Big Blue Spark today. We started Big Blue Spark to provide event management and production solutions for intimate social events to large galas, festivals, and corporate events. Kris comes from a very event management (F&B, event conceptualization, logistics) heavy background, and I have a lot of event production (technical direction, AV production management, entertainment) experience. This business has a lot of “characters”, but we like to think that our team is a part of your (client’s) team. We also have a company mantra that states ‘we’re not assholes’ — it’s painted on our office wall.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I’d encourage every new, established, and soon to be business owner to read The Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Communication, transparency, and having fun with our clients. Obviously, you have to be professional, and make sure you’re providing exceptional service, but no one said you can’t have fun in the process. We are pretty authentic, what you see is what we get, and I think that has gone a long way with people.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bigbluespark.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/bigbluespark
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bigbluespark
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bigbluespark/
• Other: https://vimeo.com/bigbluespark

Image Credits
Picture 1: Phillip Willett Picture 4: Myrina Otey