Growing Your Social Capital - 20A

1) Domain Expert:

This would be someone who's engaged in the same type of business activity as you would like to be. They may own the same kind of company that you would like to own, or they may be a technical expert who knows a lot about the kind of product or service that you would like to produce.

o   Toni Burrows, Executive Vice President of the Safety Council PBC

o   I googled terms like “child car safety devices”. I found multiple websites from companies that advocate child safety especially in vehicles. They had a ‘contact us’ forum on their website and I sent them a message.

o   I messaged them using the forum with a link to my elevator pitch. I asked for any advice or tips they would have to launch this product. I have yet to receive a response back from them.

o   I think with their expertise and experience in child safety, they could be a benefit to my future product if they were to respond. They can provide me with useful knowledge and help spread the word since they are located in South Florida.

2) Market Expert:

o   Ethan, ‘Jiobit’ Customer Service Representative

o   Like before, I googled terms like “child car safety devices”. I then found a website for ‘Jiobit’. Which is a GPS tracker for your kids. They had a contact us section but only with an address, no phone number or email. So, I used their private chatroom featured on their site to send them a message.

o   First, I messaged using the chatroom not knowing who was going to reply. I sent them a message describing my product and asked for insight on their product currently and advice as to how they chose their target market. Ethan, a team rep replied to me and asked that I send them my contact information, so they their business analyst can contact me back with more information. I have not received further contact from anyone over at ‘Jiobit’.

o   Having a business analyst from a similar market in my network can help me so much. They would be able to mentor me as well as help me prevent making some mistakes they may have faced when first launching their product.

3) Supplier:

1) I used the contact forum again on a website called ‘Global Sources’. They have an online marketplace for auto parts and accessories.

3) I googled “car alarm suppliers” because I feel like a car alarm is the closest thing to my product that already is supplied to my market. At the bottom of their webpage, they have an “Ask the Experts” open forum. I sent them an email with information about my product.

4) I asked if they could provide any useful advice for potential suppliers and how to find the right ones based on the specifics of my design. Being a Bluetooth device with a sensor, I asked if they had any recommendations for suppliers or manufacturers. I provided them with my email so they can reach out to me. They have not contacted me.

5) Having an expert reach out to me would be very beneficial. They have tremendous knowledge on manufacturers and suppliers worldwide, especially in the auto industry. This can cut a lot of time from research for sourcing.

4) Finally: Reflect. 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 have never had any networking experiences like this where I reach out to experts in an industry for a product. It was difficult finding the right people to contact. In the past, my networking has typically always been with individuals in the same industry as me, so we have more in common. It also with people that I know so I have always felt more comfortable. This made me reach out to people I don’t know and ask for advice.