1)The first person in my new social capital experiment is a friend of mine named Steven Malanati from a club called GatorTech here at UF. Here is a very hands on technical person with a background in coding and tech. He has coded many websites and even an app for a small company here in Gainesville. This person is my domain expert in the field I want to go in. He is able to give me advice and technical help on building my app. I had his phone number and contacted him and I had actually talked to him before about my idea and said he was always up to help me with technical problems. Then I contacted him again this week and he told me the most relevant stuff that I would need to start an app as far as data and information. This is my way of getting technical help which would be one of the hardest parts of starting this business idea.
2)Another person who is now in my social capital experiment is a person named Landon Everitt. He works at Study edge and works closely with the owner on many aspects of how the business is run. He sees hundreds of students a day, all flocking to this business to get help on their classes. Which in part, is my goal for my app. So he sees this unmeet need of students wanting to get more help outside of the classroom. Landon is my expert on the market that I am trying to get in. I have known him for a long time and I just contacted him and we had a conversation about the market that comes to study edge and how he thinks I could capitalize on that market. He offered good tips about what he hears students complaining about or what other tutoring places lack which is very helpful in starting a business. Landon is a great tool to get me closer to my target market and gives me an inside to the people that I want to sell to before I sell to them.
3)My last person in my social capital experiment is my new friend Ryan from the UF Heavener IT help desk. He is another very technical, hands on person who helps deliver technical support to other start up apps just like mine. Even though these apps my not be directly in my market, he is offering the same "supply" or advise to make these apps better. He has hands on coding experience and is very knowledgeable when it comes to coding. I tried to think of someone who would give hands on technical help and someone referred me to him and he just so happens to work at the help desk. He is a very nice guy always willing to help. He said he would help me get started by supplying helpful advise when it comes to tech. He is just another great tool that I can use when it comes to developing and starting an application.
This one was different because you had to go out of your way to find the people you needed to network with. While other networking events I have been to, they were all people that I could talk to because they were there for that reason. Plus these you have to go out of your way and explain yourself and you ideas while with networking in the past, I just had to kind of sell myself. This gave me confidence to go into a room and just start talking to anybody about mostly anything.
Yeah I agree that this assignment was pretty eye opening. Its interesting that you feel that you could go into a room and talk to anyone about anything. I feel the opposite in that I believe my networking skills are lacking heavily. I think its hard to go out and start interesting conversations with people who arent just answering to be polite. I would be interested in how you approached these people and started a convo with them to help you. Most of my networking was from friends of family, so it is interesting to see someone who just created new networks like that. Overall, great post and interesting insights.
ReplyDeleteI think you understanding how this networking experience is extremely beneficial and challenging is one of the most important outcomes of this assignment. Understanding how to translate this experience to other aspects in your daily life within the business can be the difference between success and failure, and confidence is key for sustained success!
ReplyDeleteYour first person is your friend which I found interesting. I also used friends in this and it made me realize that the connections we make in our closet friend group are some of the biggest. We often try to look for older and "more experienced" people in the field, but the truth is they don't always know what's best. Apps have not been around a long time and we are the generation that is taking technology to the next level, so why not benefit off the connections we have with the young people around us. I like the creativity, good work!
ReplyDeleteIt is important having friends in your network, especially friends that will benefit your business plan. Having a buddy with a technical background can be invaluable in today's day and age, having two is even better. No business can be successful in today's society without some technical help. I'm glad these interviews helped you feel comfortable in expanding your network.
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