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Cars are about to get a lot more expensive. This startup wants to make your services cheaper. Sparq Diagnostics, cofounded by Codrin Cobzaru and Daniel Nieh, has developed a plug-in scanner designed for everyday drivers. In a market full of specialized tech and pricey mechanics, Sparq aims to give car owners affordable insights into their vehicles health. Since launching just three months ago, Sparq has already sold 15,000 devices across Southern California, and is aiming for a nationwide expansion by the end of the year. My wife came in crying that she had been taken advantage of by a mechanic that shed been going to for the past five years, Cobzaru says. Thats the reason we started Sparq. The educational component is where we believe theres a lot of leverage we can bring to everyday drivers. It all starts with knowing whats going on with your vehicle. Inside Sparqs car tech Nieh and Cobzaru acknowledge the dozens of OBD-II products (which scan for a vehicles Diagnostic Trouble Codes) already on the marketand indeed went through hundreds of them during their product-testing phase. But these devices are often built for experienced auto mechanics or scrappy DIYers, not the average car owner. Meanwhile, more consumer-friendly scanners from companies like Nonda and BlueDriver are not comprehensive enough to tell you what is wrong with your vehicle down to the OEM level, Nieh says. Thats where Sparq comes in. The device translates the insights of an OBD-II scanner into a user-friendly app, presenting information through digestible tools and metrics including a red/yellow/green health indicator and a top-line vehicle score out of 100. And Sparqs AI chatbot allows users to ask questions about their vehicle and receive personalized answers. Nieh calls this letting your car speak back to you directly about what it needs. Nieh and Cobzaru founded Sparq in 2021about a year before ChatGPTs public debut kicked off the worlds ongoing AI mania. Working with different large language models excited the duo, especially considering the volume of data they were holding onto. AI could make some of these complex car troubles even more digestible. While Cobzaru declined to disclose exactly which models Sparq uses (he notes that there are multiple, calling it their secret sauce”), hes quick to separate Sparq from the dozens of specialized AI chatbots. We had the app built, as well as the device, he says. Its not just a wrapper on top of ChatGPT. Plugging the device into my own rental car (a Jeep Grand Cherokee), the diagnostics app quickly picked up on the make and fuel status and, after rapidly performing dozens of tests, rated it 88/100. It flagged a high-voltage condition in my Intake Air Temperature sensor and explained that the defect could cause decreased engine performance and overheating. I asked the chatbot when I should bring the car in for service, and it advised waiting until I hit 48,000 miles. Fixes like these can be expensive. The average American spends $1,452 for every 15,000-mile year, per AAA. Moreover, Americans are frustrated by negotiating with mechanics. In a survey of 1,000 car owners by American Trucks, 50% of respondents said that an auto repair shop had tried to sell them unnecessary fixes, and 35% said they had been overcharged. Interestingly, Sparqs chatbot estimated the cost of that service at between $275 and $375. This is a key point of leverage: Letting drivers know exactly what a mechanical procedure should cost can empower their negotiations. Cobzaru says their AI generates these labor-cost estimates based on the users region and local averages. Of course, mechanics arent likely to be happy, since Sparqs labor-cost estimations could cut into their margins. But Cobzaru claims many in the auto service industry have responded positively. They love when people come in educated because theyre more likely to proceed with a specific service, he says. Tracking SPARQs expansion Nieh and Cobzaru had two startups before Sparq Diagnostics. Their first was Shair, an apparel company that Nieh describes as a brutal learning lesson for the then-17-year-olds. After that, they founded a gun-safety company called Truss Technologies, which the duo put on pause to focus on their latest venture. After some initial product development, Nieh gauged consumer interest by running pre-product marketing campaigns. Those efforts netted the founders $51,370 on Indiegogo and $38,417 on Kickstarter. Since then, the company has continued to raise capital, though the two declined to disclose how much theyve raised to date, citing an ongoing investment round. Having built the core Sparq device, the duo is now focused on the future. In the near term, Cobzaru is training Sparqs AI on the collected-user data, with the goal of reaching the next level of personalization. They just announced sound and image recognition in their AI system: If a user scans their tire, Sparqs AI can estimate their tire pressure. Soon, theyre hoping to have tests for mechanical wear-and-tear built into the device, too, which could go a long way toward crash prevention. Based on how frequently you brake and how hard you break, as well as your speed deceleration, we can know how thick your brake pad is, Nieh says. Thats something that were going into. Their long-term vision is even broader: Sparq owned-and-operated service centers, a mechanic recommendation system based on user data and more. Says Nieh, Were just scratching the surface.”
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E-Commerce
The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. A year ago, our company made a bold move. We put up a million dollars in prize money for any of our team membersno matter their rolewho came up with transformative ways of using AI to serve our clients. As a health marketing agency, we saw it as our version of the renowned XPRIZE, hoping that this initiative would truly spark meaningful change and inspire us to think bigger for our clients. Full-steam ahead on AI adoption We also looked to history to guide us with instances that showed hesitation was the enemy of progress, and that the greatest risks weren’t in thinking too bigbut too small. Take the advent of electricity. When electrification emerged in the late 19th century, it took decades for factories to replace their steam engines. Early adopters simply swapped out steam power for an electric motor, keeping the same layouts and processes. They failed to realize that it was an opportunity to transform workflows and drastically improve efficiencies. They had to go big. Think big. And so did we, now that the AI revolution was at our doorstep. Before we launched the million-dollar contest, we appointed AI coaches to guide our people on the adoption of AI tools. We made them available to anyone looking for help identifying and operational pain points that AI could solve. Our navigators offered workshops, one-on-one tutorials, and informal chats on topics like how to offload repetitive tasks, experiment with AI in day-to-day work, or come up with entirely new ways of doing things. Within weeks, we started seeing project managers using AI for resource planning and copywriters testing content drafts. Launching the million-dollar challenge With the gears on AI adoption now turning, we unveiled the million-dollar employee contest inviting anyone, from administrative assistants to senior leaders, to submit an idea on how AI could streamline workflows, address client needs, or enable entirely new product lines. We collected over 500 submissions that touched almost every facet of the business. To get real-world feedback and validation, we assembled a team of senior executive judges from leading life sciences companies like Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, Lilly, Novartis, and Pfizer. They evaluated proposals for their feasibility, market differentiation, and potential to transform processes. One of the common threads we took in the winning submissions was how AI can work hand in hand with human expertise. The grand prize-winning submission was both innovative and practical: a pharmaceutical compliance tool that proactively reviews marketing claims as they’re created, reducing review workloads for client medical, regulatory, and legal teams. The tool ensures alignment with FDA guidelines and brand prescribing information, freeing our internal regulatory experts to focus on strategic and relationship-building activities. This human-plus-AI hybrid approach underscored all the winning ideas; several of the ideas we developed into prototypes, including three that have already been rolled out to clients. The electrification of the modern workplace Like in the dawn of the industrial revolution, companies cant just replace the steam engines of existing workflows. The entire system, from how each individual is empowered to use AI to how departments exchange data, has to be reimagined. For any leader looking to accelerate AI adoption, here are five key takeaways from our experience: Start by empowering individuals. Provide accessible tools, navigators, or coaches so anyone can experiment with AI. Bake real incentives into the process. Whether its a prize competition, recognition, or special budgets, give employees a reason to step forward with bold ideas. Invest beyond the initial fanfare. Turning concepts into prototypes requires time, resources, and leadership support. Its not enough to offer a cash prize. Pair AI with human oversight. AI can automate tasks, but sound judgment, ethical and strategic thinking must come from your people. Inspire, dont mandate. Change management works best when people feel ownership. Show them the potential, then let them drive. Today, AI is integral to our daily operations, enhancing everything from internal communications to client deliverables. Our people didn’t just adopt new toolsthey helped reshape our culture. Our challenge showed our people that AI is an amplifier, not a magic bullet. It can handle heavy liftingscanning data, generating first drafts, and automating mundane processesso we humans can focus on what truly matters: creativity, empathy, strategic problem solving. Its exactly how Henry Ford rethought the factory: Once you see the new possibilities, you cant go back to steam power. Leerom Segal is cofounder and chairman of Klick Health and Klick Applied Sciences.
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E-Commerce
The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. In todays shifting political and economic climate, companies are reassessing their commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Many are pulling back, and in the process, investments in womens sportsoften lumped into DEI initiativesare being questioned. But treating womens sports as merely a diversity play misses the mark. This isnt just about fairness; its about smart business and impactful marketing. If companies arent scaling back their investments in mens sports, why on earth would they waver on womens? The numbers tell a compelling story: Investing in womens sports delivers strong returns, unlocks valuable new markets, and fosters deep brand loyalty. Simply put, this is a high-growth business opportunity that brands cant afford to ignore. Audience growth and engagement: A market on fire Womens sports are experiencing a dramatic surge in audience engagement. This season, NCAA womens basketball games have drawn record-breaking TV viewership. In only its second season, the Professional Womens Hockey League (PWHL) has sold out arenas in multiple cities. Unrivaled, the player-founded 3×3 basketball league is attracting serious attention. New leagues in the next wave of sports like volleyball, rugby, and softball are gaining traction and attracting record audiences and investment, proving that the appetite for womens sports extends far beyond traditional powerhouses like soccer and basketball. Brands that once hesitated to invest in womens sports are now seeing undeniable evidence of their potential: Ad spending on womens sports doubled in 2024 alone. Viewership is only part of the story. Fans are showing up in record numbers. The National Womens Soccer league (NWSL) set an attendance record in 2024, crossing the 2 million attendee mark for the first time ever and enjoying a 44% increase over 2023, and WNBA teams are seeing unprecedented ticket demandwith new franchise the Golden State Valkyries securing 20,000 season ticket deposits months ahead of its inaugural season. Digital engagement is booming, with social media interactions around womens sports stars rivaling, and in some cases exceeding, those of their male counterparts. In other words, the audience is not just presenttheyre deeply engaged, captivated by the athletes, and hungry for more content. Brands that invest now will build meaningful connections with this fast-growing fan base. Numbers dont lie The financial case for investing in womens sports is equally compelling. Sponsorship dollars and media rights valuations are climbing, yet many assets remain undervalued. Brands that have made early, meaningful commitmentsNike, Ally Financial, Gainbridge, e.l.f. Beautyare already reaping the benefits. Theyre not just seeing strong returns; theyre earning consumer goodwill that translates to long-term brand affinity and loyalty. Previous Parity research has proven that women athletes hold significantly more sway than other public figures, making them a powerful marketing force. Case in point: Womens sports fans are 2.8 times more likely to buy a product or service recommended by a woman athlete than by any other kind of influencer. Despite rising values, womens sports still offer an incredible arbitrage opportunity. Consider this: a $20,000 sponsorship in womens sports can be life-changing for many professional female athletes, providing essential funding for training, travel, and career longevity. In contrast, that same investment in a major mens sport may not move the needle. For brands looking to maximize impact while optimizing their budgets, womens sports present a unique, high-value opportunity. A loyal and underserved fan base Fans of womens sports arent just passive observerstheyre highly engaged, deeply loyal, and eager to support brands that support their teams and athletes. Last fall, a brand sponsor I spoke with made the same promotional offer to fans at both an NWSL game and an NHL game, two leagues where they sponsor teams. Despite the men’s hockey game having higher attendance, the offer saw a 300% higher redemption rate at the women’s soccer match. Numerous studies show that womens sports fans have a higher propensity to recall and purchase from brands that invest in the space. Yet, compared to mens sports, the market remains significantly under-monetized. Talk about a missed opportunity. Brands that authentically commit to womens sports gain access to a passionate, growing audience that has been overlooked for too long. Companies that act now will build lasting loyalty among this engaged consumer base. Womens sports should be a core investment, not a side initiative Theres a fundamental question brands need to ask themselves: If they arent pulling back on mens sports, why should they pull back on womens? The truth is, sportswhether mens or womensdrive culture, commerce, and community. Investments in womens sports should not be framed as philanthropy or secondary initiatives; they are an essential and lucrative part of a brands sports marketing portfolio. History has shown that sports have the power to shape cultural narratives and influence consumer behavior. Womens sports are no exception. The brands that treat womens sports as core investments, rather than side projects, will see the benefits from increased visibility, consumer trust, and revenue. The risk of falling behind Brands that retreat from womens sports now risk losing their early-mover advantage. Momentum is building, and consumers are taking notice of which companies are committed for the long haul. In fact, 50% of U.S. adults believe brands arent investing enough in womens sports. Companies that scale back now may struggle to regain credibility with fans and athletes alike. Savvy brands recognize this moment as an inflection pointa chance to deepen, not reduce, their investment. Those that stay the course and work to balance historically male-dominated partnership portfolios will not only contribute to the continued growth of womens sports but will also solidify their position as industry leaders in a rapidly expanding and lucrative market. Leela Srinivasan is the CEO of Parity.
Category:
E-Commerce
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