20A- Growing Your Social Captial

20A- Growing Your Social Captial

1) Who they are and what their background is.

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

Finally: Reflect. 

Person 1: Adam Kraemer

1) Adam Kraemer is a post-grad student from the University of Florida, who recently got an internship with PepsiCo as a Marketing Director in South Carolina. Adam worked endlessly to get his Bachelors in Business Administration, and continues to pursue his passion of business through this internship.

2) Domain Expert, because I reached out to him about my business idea and he was very intrigued. He claimed he always had a passion for entrepreneurship, and said he would love to go more in-depth with my idea, and knows some technical experts who could help me achieve my goals.

3) I found this person through my fraternity, and while I never went to school with him, he was eager to talk when I sent him an email.

4) When I first emailed him and he showed interest, I decided to take it a step further and call him. We ended up talking for nearly 30 minutes and said that we would meet up later this summer to continue talking about my idea or other ideas we may come up with in the future.

5) I think this could be one of the most important people I talked to because he already has his foot in the door with a big-time company, and could offer wise words when it comes to new marketing and business ideas in general.

Person 2: Jackson Rossi

1) Jackson Rossi is a college student, but has recently become an expert on the college- student market in Gainesville, Tallahassee, and Orlando due to the creation of his new business Brij. Jackson alongside 3 others have created a business that allows Instagram users to monetize their profiles and connect with local businesses.

2) Market Expert, with his experience he has tracked trends within the college-student market, which is the majority of people who would tend to my product.

3) I also found Jackson through my fraternity, and when he told me about his business idea, I was shocked. Not many college students are as driven as Jackson, and his drive has caused him to build a company that has a lot of financial backing and plans to grow within the college community. I contacted Jackson face to face and told him about my idea, and while he liked the sound of what I was doing, he told me he would have to meet with me at a later date, as he is trying to balance school, his business, and socialization.

4) Like I said above, Jackson will probably need some time before investing more time and energy in my idea, but it was good to meet with him because he gave me advice about how to reach out to the college student market, and how to really improve my idea.

5) Meeting with Jackson was very influential because it showed me inside the mind of another entrepreneur. He said that while he was creating his business he failed multiple times, but continued to try different ideas and ways to make his idea succeed. This kind of motivation runs strong in entrepreneurs and I’m glad a market expert was able to give me some personal advice on how to better my idea and my brand.

Person 3: Dave Errity

1) Dave Errity is the oldest of the three, and works in Tampa as a Sales manager for Ford. He has worked there for multiple years, and has experience with car safety and resources.

2) I put Mr. Errity in the “Supplier” category because my business idea basically revolves around cars and keys, something that he would be supplying to customers. He also is an expert on technology within vehicles and can reassure me about my idea.

3) I found Mr. Errity through my dad, who had worked with him previously. When I went to contact him, I felt it was best to first send an email, in which he replied and answered any question I had, as well as giving feedback about the feasibility of my idea.

4) In contacting Mr. Errity, I asked him about the future of car technology, and how my business idea can apply to the new changes. He offered me valuable advice and expertise on my concept, and ultimately our exchange was helpful.

5) Including Mr. Errity in my network will enhance my opportunity because he has valuable knowledge on suppliers of my customer base. He also will be helpful in reaching out to local car dealerships about new technology and how my product can help them.

This experience trying out ‘targeted networking’ is extremely helpful. Not only does this help in creating an efficient way to learn more about your business opportunity, but it also allows you to network with potential investors or people who can help you move your idea along. This experience is different than my network experiences in the past in that some of the people I contacted I wasn’t very familiar with. In most networking events, I will have researched the company’s representatives and positions they are looking for, while this time it was a little unfamiliar, but a lot more helpful.