#20 – Growing Your Social Capital

Domain Expert Interview: The person I reached out to was Brittany, who is a Garmin Ambassador. I chose Brittany as my contact since it seemed more reasonable to speak with her than it would be the CEO (basically knew I would never hear back). I found her on Hoovers and it was only her number so I contacted her through LinkedIn, and have not yet heard back. However, having her in my network would enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity because she knows an abundant amount of information about the product that I would like to produce, and I think just having her as a contact in general would be very beneficial. She could help direct me in the right way since she is very knowledgeable about the industry itself.

Market Expert Interview: I interviewed Hannah, who is a college-aged female that lives about 2 hours outside of Chicago. She runs very frequently, participates in all types of organized races, and has actually used different types of watches, therefore she is in my targeted market filling the market expert role. I met Hannah through a friend of a friend, after describing that I wanted to interview someone who lived near Portland, Chicago, Boston or Boulder. I reached out to her over email since I felt a little uncomfortable giving her a call. Hannah provided me with a lot useful information about the market, and her advice on how to differentiate my product from those already out there. Including her in my network enhances my ability to exploit an opportunity because she understands my intended market (especially since she’s a part of it) and informs me of what customers want out of my product.

Supplier Interview: I interviewed Henry, who was one of my old bosses at my internship. Since I am developing an app, he fills the spot of supplier because he understands how to code, and actually developed the whole website and all of the technical algorithms for his company. I emailed Henry about my business idea. He explained that my app was definitely feasible, and further described in technical terms how one could make it happen. When working with him in the past, we would always discuss what design and layout looked best to attract consumers, so he also shared his tactics with me on that. Having Henry in my network enhances my ability to exploit an opportunity because his technical advice is very valuable. He knows a lot of useful information and is always willing to give a helping hand.

Reflection: I personally found this as one of the more difficult assignments for this class because I had to really think of who to reach out to, considering I don’t know many people in this industry or field. However, this assignment does show how easy it is to network and how willing others are to share their knowledge with you. When it comes to networking, especially target networking, you have to be proactive about the process and unafraid to reach out. Great learning experience!