20A-Growing Your Social Capital

1. I decided to contact my cousin who is a software engineer. He's from Chicago and he studied at Northwestern University. He is considered a domain expert in my industry since he has knowledge of building apps and he has built a couple himself. Since my application requires an app he is the right person to contact. I asked my father for his phone number and I texted him links to my elevator pitch so he can watch. He thought my idea was really interesting and if I would need any help he would help offer it to me. He also gave me a couple of important tips regarding starting an app up and how to get it well known. Including him into my network would be very beneficial in exploiting my opportunity because of his knowledge and experience in the field of software engineering. He is willing to help me by offering me some ideas of how to pursue this application. 
2. My friend's brother works for ADT Security, which is a system that ensures safety for homes and businesses regarding break-ins. I decided to talk to him because he sells to people who are in need of an advanced safety measure. Since he also does B2B transactions, he gave me some tips to reach potential buyers. Therefore, he is considered to be a market expert in my industry. I talked to him when I decided to hang out with him and my friend. He showed me how he organized his customers and how he branched out to reach more people in the market. He also went through his personal selling processes in which he showed me multiple important steps in securing a sale with a buyer. Having this person in my network will really help me exploit my opportunity because he has experience and a given insight of potential markets. He says that he also provides services to small businesses which are part of my target segment. Having connection to him will help ensure that I can reach the right people effectively and efficiently.
3. I decided to contact a person who supplies safety software for mac computers. He sells software programs that detect and clean viruses and other malware. I would consider this person to be supplier category because he supplies and sells programs to businesses and basic consumers. I found this person by simply calling the phone number of my mac cleaning program and asking a couple questions. The man was nice and had time to talk and give me a couple of tips of how to sell applications like this. He says that the most important part of selling is too make good relationships with your customers and plan out an affective way to gain buyer attention. He says that a good personal selling approach is the reason that he is able to sell to many customers. By giving me this advice he provided me with some important tips regarding how to supply my product. If I can contact this person again, I believe he would be able to help me and give me a couple of more tips. 

This experience helped me because I learned how to build connections and relationships with people who can potentially assist me in launching my product. In the future, I feel that I am better equipped to meet up with people and communicate my product idea. This experience differed from others because I was looking and talking to people that have specific knowledge in the three different domains in my industry. Learning more about these domains from a first hand view can greatly benefit me and my business.