Success Story

Spark Crowdfunding: 45% Less Admin, 2× Pipeline Visibility

Spark Crowdfunding is a platform connecting ambitious startups with everyday investors. As their business scaled, they found themselves juggling multiple systems: a custom website backend, manual spreadsheets for daily “mission” lists, and some HubSpot usage with incomplete data syncing. They wanted to streamline their operations so the sales team could spend more time on revenue-driving activities and less on data entry and spreadsheet checks.

The CHALLENGE

The team at Spark Crowdfunding approached us at a critical time in their growth from startup to scale up.

As the leading two-sided crowdfunding marketplace for investors and startups investing in the hottest companies in Ireland, Spark Crowdfunding had quickly grown out of the systems and processes that had sufficed to get them this far. They needed a new foundation for a new era of growth as they scaled their operations, which had become laborious, people dependent, time sucking and inefficient as they maintained and grew an outdated system.

Some of the concerns they had were:

Overloaded Processes: Admin tasks ballooned, with staff manually exporting data from the website, reconciling spreadsheets, then importing partial data into HubSpot.
Information Silos: Contacts, deals, and campaign data were stored in disconnected systems, creating confusion about where “true” information lived.
Worries about Disruption: The team feared that any platform overhaul might disrupt daily operations, risk data errors, or require prohibitive effort to adopt new processes.
Data Accuracy Anxiety: Salespeople needed real-time investor insights but worried about partial or incorrect data after any significant system change.

The team had a vision for Spark Crowdfunding to provide the best investment opportunities in the most streamlined way to investors in order to make it easy for startups and investors alike to accelerate their own growth trajectories. In order to do this, they needed a state of the art platform far beyond what they had before... which is where we came in!

"Mount Arbor guided us to set up a full membership system in HubSpot. Our data is no longer scattered in spreadsheets—everyone can see the same real-time status, saving hours of admin, and allowing us to connect with the people in our community in meaningful and valuable ways."

Jenny, Project Lead, Sing Ireland

SOLUTION

A Single Source of Truth and Integrated Systems for Growth

Mount Arbor worked closely with Spark’s leadership and development partners to create a single source of truth in HubSpot:

Integration & Mapping:
- Mapped the custom website backend fields (investor, project, and payment data) into HubSpot “Contacts,” “Companies,” and “Deals.”
- Consolidated spreadsheets and existing HubSpot properties, removing duplication and creating reliable, consistent data flows.
Reducing Admin Load:
- Streamlined workflows so the sales team no longer had to toggle between separate sheets for daily call lists.
- Set up automated data syncs (e.g., new users, partial payments, “mission” lists), freeing up hours of manual reconciliation.
Clear Steps for Adoption:
- Provided hands-on training and support, guiding sales reps on how to track deals, record call outcomes, and run real-time reports—all within HubSpot.
- Addressed anxieties about “broken” data by gradually verifying each phase of the import and integration.

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Results and Progress

45% Drop in Admin Time: Consolidating data sources allowed Spark’s team to invest more effort in engaging potential investors.

2× Pipeline Visibility: Sales reps now see all investor interactions and deal statuses in one place, making it far easier to prioritize and close deals.

Improved Confidence in Data: With a stable, single repository for investor and payment information, staff spend less time checking for duplicates or missing records.

Faster Onboarding of New Campaigns: When new projects launch, they appear immediately in HubSpot, eliminating the previous lag of manual imports.

Looking Ahead

Having proven the value of integrated systems, Spark Crowdfunding can continue refining their workflows, testing advanced features (like custom reporting and deeper automation) without fear of data chaos. They have a platform robust enough to handle future growth, while the sales team remains focused on nurturing and converting high-potential investors.

About Mount Arbor
Mount Arbor helps businesses unify their systems, strengthen their sales processes, and achieve growth through deep HubSpot expertise. For Spark Crowdfunding, the transformation meant fewer spreadsheets, clearer deal pipelines, and more energy spent driving investment rather than wrangling data.