20- Growing Social Capital
The first person I found to establish a social connection with was Erika who is a physics major at the University of Florida. She was able to help me in a field I had no clue about. I needed to find someone like this because I do not know the logistics of how a helmet works and what kind of protection I would need to put in the helmet. Erika was born and raised in Tampa, FL where she found a passion for physics and science at a young age. She now works on multiple projects for the University of Florida. I established contact with he at a study session for one of my classes.
Next I needed to find a person that was an expert on the market. This would be Jeremiah at Chain Reaction Bike shop on University Avenue. He is an expert in the industry because he is the manager at this bike shop. He sees many customers buy helmets and safety equipment at his store. He grew up in Jacksonville Beach, FL and often rid his bike down A1A. His education was from the University of Florida’s business school. I had a phone interview with Jeremiah and he was very open with me. He gave me some insightful tips on my startup with helmets. It’s great that I got the chance to talk with Jeremiah because now I have an outlet to sell my potential product.
The last person I found was a supplier in the industry. When I was in Chain Reaction I saw that a lot of their helmets were made by Bell a pretty large helmet company so I decided to email their contact/support which lead me to Liam. Liam is a lead supply executive. He didn’t write me much back but he was very encouraging in starting my business even though he would be my competition. :)
I thought this exercise was very helpful because I now have some very important contacts. I learned a lot about the industry and where I could take my business. I think this was a big step towards the final product and I am excited to continue my journey with this idea.
Hi Baron! I love how you went above and beyond to talk with various people in the industry. I enjoyed reading the descriptions of the three individuals you got in contact with. I think you did a great job of finding a range of individuals that could offer up advice. I am someone that has very limited knowledge of physics so I appreciate how you went out of the way to find someone that does have a lot of knowledge in a subject you weren't totally clear on. Great work!
ReplyDeleteBaron,
ReplyDeleteYou did a nice job with this assignment. It seems as though you really found some people who have some great knowledge in the industry. Knowing these kind of people really is half of the battle in almost any industry you are in. Keep making contacts and digging deeper into the industry of your product and I think you'll be on the way to success. Overall, nice job!
Baron,
ReplyDeleteThe connections to the industry you are targeting are very in depth and diverse. The idea of "who you know" rings true in many cases, and it seems as if you've got networking for you and your future business/product covered. Good job!
Hi Baron,
ReplyDeleteI loved the reflection you had at the end of your post. I agree that after completing this assignment that I didn't really realize that anybody could be an important contact. Networking is very important and getting product ideas is the first place to start. I also agree that after talking to these people it made me much more excited about my product idea. Great job!
Hi Baron,
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job on this post. I like how you set up for this post. It is clear and informative. I think the those interviewer from different areas are really connected to you business idea and i believe their suggestion are really helpful as well. Those contacts are going to become a key point for you to make your business idea become stronger. I can see that you business idea is getting real deal now.