Not long ago, launching a business meant building a product and finding customers. Today, it often means something else entirely.
Modern founders and creators are expected to be marketers, sales teams, community managers, brand strategists and distribution experts — sometimes all at once.
For millions of small business owners and independent entrepreneurs, the challenge is not just growing their companies. It is doing so without the staff, budget or connections traditionally required to scale.
A newly launched artificial intelligence platform called onSpark is entering that landscape with a different idea about how businesses grow. Instead of helping entrepreneurs manage more tasks, it attempts to help them find the people and companies who can share those responsibilities.
The platform, created by entrepreneur Kyle Kane in collaboration with Martell Ventures, uses AI to match businesses, creators and brands with strategic partners and guide them through collaboration and deal execution.
Its founders believe that for many modern entrepreneurs, growth is no longer about building bigger teams internally. It is about building networks externally.
The Rise of the “Solo Enterprise”
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of non-employer businesses — companies run by individuals without full-time employees — has grown steadily for more than a decade and now accounts for over 80 percent of all U.S. businesses.
At the same time, Deloitte estimates that roughly 50 million people worldwide now identify as content creators, entrepreneurs or independent digital professionals working outside traditional corporate structures. (Deloitte)
But independence comes with challenges.
Many founders operate with limited staffing while competing against companies with dedicated sales teams, marketing departments and distribution networks. That imbalance often forces entrepreneurs to rely on dozens of disconnected software tools and marketing strategies just to stay competitive.
“This is the era of the solo enterprise,” said business strategist Natalie Ford, who advises early-stage startups. “People can launch faster than ever before, but scaling remains incredibly difficult without access to distribution and partnerships.”
onSpark is designed around that problem.
Turning Connections Into Business Infrastructure
Rather than functioning as a marketing platform or customer management tool, onSpark attempts to act as what its creators describe as a partnership operating system.
The platform uses artificial intelligence to help users discover potential collaborators, evaluate alignment and structure partnership agreements designed to generate revenue or expand distribution.
Users are guided through four stages of partnership development — Discover, Verify, Launch and Amplify — with tools intended to help businesses identify collaborators, evaluate compatibility and scale successful joint initiatives.
The concept reflects a growing shift toward ecosystem-based business building, in which companies expand through alliances rather than relying solely on internal resources.
Research suggests this strategy is gaining traction. Industry data indicates that 76 percent of business leaders now view ecosystem partnerships as one of the most disruptive forces shaping their industries. (LinkedIn)
Why Collaboration Is Becoming a Competitive Advantage
Economists and business researchers have long studied the impact of collaboration on innovation and growth. A recent academic study analyzing decades of corporate collaboration networks found that each additional direct partnership between organizations was associated with measurable increases in innovation output across industries. (arXiv)
Meanwhile, retail and market research firm Coresight has reported that strategic partnerships can increase revenue by up to 20 percent while reducing customer acquisition costs through shared marketing and distribution efforts. (Westmoreland County Chamber)
These findings help explain why many companies are investing more heavily in partnership strategies — and why software designed to manage those relationships is becoming a fast-growing category.
How onSpark Attempts to Predict Successful Partnerships
One of the platform’s most distinctive features is its attempt to analyze the human side of business relationships.
The system evaluates partnership compatibility using a combination of behavioral data, personality assessment frameworks and communication style analysis. The goal is to generate trust and fit scores that help users identify potential collaborators with aligned working styles, values and execution approaches.
The platform incorporates multiple assessment models, including DISC, Myers-Briggs and Enneagram, alongside other behavioral insights designed to predict partnership effectiveness beyond traditional metrics like audience size or brand recognition.
Supporters say this approach reflects the reality that many partnerships fail because of misaligned expectations rather than flawed business strategy.
Critics caution that personality analytics can oversimplify complex professional relationships. Still, the growing use of behavioral data in hiring, leadership development and team management suggests the concept is gaining broader acceptance.
Early Users See Partnerships as a Shortcut to Scale
The company reports early success among both enterprise and startup users. According to its launch announcement, HubSpot partnership leaders observed measurable increases in qualified lead generation while working with onSpark’s methodology.
The platform also cites an example involving startup founder Chris Seidman, who reportedly generated $160,000 in partnership-driven revenue within a single month after using the system to connect with a creator network.
Such examples represent early adoption rather than long-term validation. However, they highlight the potential appeal of partnership-driven growth for entrepreneurs with limited resources.
The Changing Definition of a Business Team
onSpark’s development with Martell Ventures reflects growing investor interest in collaboration-based growth strategies. Venture-backed startups are increasingly building partner ecosystems alongside traditional sales and marketing operations.
Dan Martell, founder of Martell Ventures, describes partnerships as a way to help companies grow faster without expanding overhead.
“Most founders don’t have a distribution problem,” Martell said in the company’s announcement. “They have a leverage problem.”
For small businesses, that concept can be particularly relevant. Instead of hiring full departments, entrepreneurs may rely on networks of creators, agencies, brands and collaborators to expand reach and capabilities.
A Broader Shift in How Businesses Grow
Industry analysts suggest that the rise of partnership platforms reflects a larger transformation in the structure of business itself.
A recent report examining future collaboration models concluded that partnerships are moving from occasional marketing tactics to core operational strategies embedded across research, product development, distribution and brand building. (Business Fights Poverty)
That shift mirrors broader workforce trends, including the growth of freelance economies, remote collaboration and project-based business structures.
What It Means for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses
For everyday business owners, the appeal of platforms like onSpark is straightforward. Instead of trying to master every growth function internally, entrepreneurs can potentially scale by aligning with organizations that already possess complementary audiences, expertise or infrastructure.
The platform is currently offering limited early access, allowing founders, creators, investors and business operators to explore its partnership network at onspark.com.
Whether onSpark becomes a central tool for business growth or one of many collaboration platforms competing for adoption will depend on how effectively it can translate relationships into measurable outcomes.
But for entrepreneurs navigating a rapidly changing economy, the platform represents a growing realization that modern business success may depend less on building bigger teams — and more on building better alliances.
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Company Name: OnSpark
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Website: https://onspark.com/
