1) One person must be a domain expert in your industry.
Chase Machado is a service technician for bikes at Gator Cycle. I came into contact with him, while searching for a business where I could implement my product. I found that he was most helpful for their area because he does a lot of repairs for bikes. I asked him about how many times he has encountered having to fix bikes due to theft, and while it's not the most frequent issue, he has seen it a few times. Most times when thieves try to steal bikes, they steal for parts which I was unaware of. They can steal the frame, tires, or really anything honestly. Sometimes the damage takes a long time to fix, especially to the frame. However, things like tires are easier to replace. While speaking to him he says that this idea has the potential to do a lot of good for bike owners. He does think that this idea could deter thieves from stealing bikes, and save bike owners time and money for repairs.
Chase Machado is a service technician for bikes at Gator Cycle. I came into contact with him, while searching for a business where I could implement my product. I found that he was most helpful for their area because he does a lot of repairs for bikes. I asked him about how many times he has encountered having to fix bikes due to theft, and while it's not the most frequent issue, he has seen it a few times. Most times when thieves try to steal bikes, they steal for parts which I was unaware of. They can steal the frame, tires, or really anything honestly. Sometimes the damage takes a long time to fix, especially to the frame. However, things like tires are easier to replace. While speaking to him he says that this idea has the potential to do a lot of good for bike owners. He does think that this idea could deter thieves from stealing bikes, and save bike owners time and money for repairs.
2) One person must be an expert on your market.
David Nassau is a senior IA student at the University of Florida, he owns a non-profit business called Hopping For A Cure. David posts a lot about his business, and events that he hosts so I thought he would be the most knowledgeable about how to literally start an idea from nothing and make it into a reality. He's actually also a RA who works in my building's mailroom so popped in and asked some questions. He's very friendly and eager to help and inspire others. It honestly seems as though David has infinite networking abilities. He seriously knows everyone! So if I am ever in need of coming into contact with someone I know I can count on him!
David Nassau is a senior IA student at the University of Florida, he owns a non-profit business called Hopping For A Cure. David posts a lot about his business, and events that he hosts so I thought he would be the most knowledgeable about how to literally start an idea from nothing and make it into a reality. He's actually also a RA who works in my building's mailroom so popped in and asked some questions. He's very friendly and eager to help and inspire others. It honestly seems as though David has infinite networking abilities. He seriously knows everyone! So if I am ever in need of coming into contact with someone I know I can count on him!
3) One person must be an important supplier to your industry.
Fred Lintz is the General Manager of a business called "Gator Cycle." I came into contact with this person, by looking for local bike shops around UF. There are quite a few, but this is the first one I came into contact with. I found their business by doing a simple google search, where I could then see all their contact info and find a way to come in and ask some questions about my product. I came into their business and asked about how they felt my product would work with their costumer basis, based on the type of people they sell bikes to. They told me that while it is a good idea, the main group of people who would be interested in it would be those who own higher end bikes. Most college students aren't going to drop 500-700 on a bike to get themselves around class, so it might not work that well. But there are still people who are interested in having a high level of protection for their bikes even if it's not as expensive. This business could be a potential supplier of my product, if I were to ever produce it and have it ready to sell.
Finally: Reflect. This experience requires you to do a little 'targeted networking.' How will this experience shape how you participate in any future networking events? Did this experience differ from your networking experiences in the past? How?
I found this experience really enjoyable. It was nice to talk with people who were in "my field" and knew about what I was trying to accomplish. Additionally, I was able to get a lot of helpful advice for as to how I can implement my idea. This experience made me excited about the different directions I can now take with my idea, now that I've been able to talk with some professionals in this area who really know their stuff. I am hopeful that in the future, there could help me more if I were to have any questions.
Fred Lintz is the General Manager of a business called "Gator Cycle." I came into contact with this person, by looking for local bike shops around UF. There are quite a few, but this is the first one I came into contact with. I found their business by doing a simple google search, where I could then see all their contact info and find a way to come in and ask some questions about my product. I came into their business and asked about how they felt my product would work with their costumer basis, based on the type of people they sell bikes to. They told me that while it is a good idea, the main group of people who would be interested in it would be those who own higher end bikes. Most college students aren't going to drop 500-700 on a bike to get themselves around class, so it might not work that well. But there are still people who are interested in having a high level of protection for their bikes even if it's not as expensive. This business could be a potential supplier of my product, if I were to ever produce it and have it ready to sell.
Finally: Reflect. This experience requires you to do a little 'targeted networking.' How will this experience shape how you participate in any future networking events? Did this experience differ from your networking experiences in the past? How?
I found this experience really enjoyable. It was nice to talk with people who were in "my field" and knew about what I was trying to accomplish. Additionally, I was able to get a lot of helpful advice for as to how I can implement my idea. This experience made me excited about the different directions I can now take with my idea, now that I've been able to talk with some professionals in this area who really know their stuff. I am hopeful that in the future, there could help me more if I were to have any questions.
Hey Kristiana,
ReplyDeleteYou did excellent work with this assignment. It's clear that you spoke to people directly applicable to the necessary domains and managed to extract a lot of relevant information for your business. I think it's clear that this assignment helped your concept a lot and I'm not surprised to see you say you found the networking very enjoyable. I think speaking to so many experts on your field will definitely help you as we wrap up the semester.
Feel free to read my post here;
http://fhostettlerufent.blogspot.com/2016/03/growing-my-social-capital.html
Kristiana,
ReplyDeleteFor this assignment you did a great job at locating individuals that would be beneficial for your business venture. By reaching out to these individuals whom have different backgrounds you were able to gather information is relevant to your business venture and key in helping you get you product out on the market as soon as possible. Its great that you enjoyed doing this work and hope you keep up the great work. If you have time please take a look at my blog: http://pljordan1994.blogspot.com/2016/03/growing-my-social-capital.html