20A – Growing Your Social Capital

1)    Who they are and what their background is.

I have a cousin that is a patent lawyer. She went to law school in Ohio and became a patent lawyer a few years ago.

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

The slot that I am filling is the domain expert. She has lots of experience working with clients to get their ideas patent. My ultimate goal is to have my creation patent and she could be able to help me.

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

I was able to get in contact with my cousin quite easily as we still keep in touch with each other.

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

My cousin was able to explain to me how the process would go and how difficult it would actually be. She was able to give me the business side of what actually happens. She said she would continue to keep in touch and help me with anything she could.

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

Including this person helps me to start somewhere. Without knowing someone that can help with your idea, it is hard to move forward. She is in her own network of people so I could even grow with that network.

1)    Who they are and what their background is.

This person is my dad’s friend who went to the University of Pennsylvania and got a degree in business and marketing. He currently holds a job as a Vice President of Marketing for a company in Pennsylvania.

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

This person is the market expert. His job is in marketing and he has a lot of work experience.

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

I was able to look him up on Facebook and send him a message.

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

He was not able to speak for too long but he gave me a rundown of what he does and then I told him about my idea. He was able to talk to me about consumers and what they look for.

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

This person helps me learn another aspect about products and services.

1)    Who are they and what their background is.

I was not able to find someone who was a supplier in my industry, but I was able speak with a family friend who works in logistics for an automotive company.

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

This person is the supplier and works closely with the supply chain at his job.

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

I was able to contact him through Facebook.

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

I was able to learn about the logistics of his company. Even though it was not directly related to the industry of my product, I was able to learn about how important the supplier is to relay products from the manufactures to the consumers.

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

This person helped me expand my knowledge on a process I did not know anything about.

After doing these assignments I was able to gain more insight about starting a business. It seems like quite a challenge to have an idea become popular. This experience was different because it was the first networking experience where I reached out to people unexpectedly.