Week 10 Growing My Social Capital

1. Domain expert in the industry
I contacted a member of the Best Buy Geek Squad because I knew he would be knowledgeable about the product I am producing (temperature regulating Iphone and Android cases).  He is a technical expert on anything electronic related, so he could really help me exploit my opportunity.
2. Expert on my Market
I contacted the manager of an Apple store since his customers will be my customers.  Iphone and Android users are my target market.  He was able to tell me the general demographics of the majority of the customers.  I can apply this information to help me exploit my opportunity.
3. Important Supplier to My Industry
I contacted the manager of a Best Buy store since I think Best Buy would be a great retail chain to sell my product.  We discussed where my potential product would be located in the store, how we could feature it so more people would notice it, etc.

For everyone that I contacted, I found contact names via Google, and then searched on LinkedIn for their contact info.

I explained to everyone the idea for my product, and they all thought I had a solid idea.  They recommended that I focus on only a couple regions in the U.S. first where the largest market is.  They each thought southern Florida, Georgia, and California would be the most successful off the bat.  They advised that after I establish a following for my product, then I could expand to other regions in the U.S. and then eventually abroad.

This experience definitely differed from my networking experiences in the past because this is the first time I sought out people who could give me specific information that I can apply to a tangible product.  Before, I sought out people who seemed like they could give me helpful insight, but this time I actually researched the people before contacting them.  I will research more like I did here for any future networking events.

Week 10 Elevator Pitch No 3

For my third elevator pitch I took everyone's comments and suggestions into consideration.  I received excellent feedback on how I could improve and make my pitch stronger.  I filmed my pitch away from my window this time because it was distracting to someone before.  I also dressed a bit nicer than my previous t-shirt and shorts for a more professional look as suggested by a couple people.  I also got closer to the camera this time because someone mentioned I was a bit far away before.  In my previous pitch, I only mentioned that my cases are for Iphones, and someone was interested if I make the same cases for Android phones.  So, I added Androids into the mix.  Someone wondered how my product compares to Lifeproof cases so I touched on that topic briefly and added how my product is also waterproof.  I also related to someone who commented on my pitch saying they always throw their phone under their towel at the beach to keep it from getting overheated.  And finally, I went into more specifics on how the case actually blocks the heat from getting through to the phone; someone made a comment that they were confused how a "thermal insulated phone case" wouldn't cause the phone to get overheated in itself. 

I was just speaking freely here, but it probably seems like I am looking at a script!  Who knew you have to look at the camera lens and not at your reflection...