Pronounced “Cheese-Spa”, it’s the Spanish word for spark. But to us, it’s a lot more than that.
We first heard it near the border of Mexico in Penitas, TX. We were on a shoot capturing the story of an impoverished, close-knit family of four that was the beneficiary of a house being built by employees of our client. To qualify for this free-of-charge home, the mother, Maria, was taking multiple financial classes each week in addition to working full-time. Her husband was often away, commuting all the way to Tennessee for work.
Though the family was struggling to make ends meet, on our final night in town, Maria insisted that we eat at her table.
Over the course of the evening, we asked where she finds the energy to work, raise a family, and take the classes required for the house -- all with a smile on her face and a deep sense of joy and generosity in her heart. Her answer was a single word, “Chispa.”
Unfamiliar with the term, we asked what it meant. With emotions welling up in the room, she told us, “There’s a spark inside me that wants a better life for myself and my children.”
At that moment, everything about the work we wanted to do came into focus: look for Chispa, uncover it, and spread it around the world.
How Chispa became more than just a word. Asset 20 In April 2016 everything changed. Our best friend, founder and the most creative person we’d ever met was stolen from us by a sneaker wave off the coast of Oregon.
Tragedy is the ultimate test of what drives you as a person and as a business, and on that day we turned to Chispa as our guide.
The spark inside us ignited into something greater than we ever knew possible.
It has been a few years since that fateful day and a lot has happened. The pain we experienced changed our lives and the path of our entrepreneurial journey. But it also sharpened an empathetic eye that has allowed us to impact leading companies on the world stage.
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