20A – Growing Your Social Capital

Domain Expert: Caleb
1) Who they are and what their background is:

Caleb has been a vegan for over 7 years, he does not suopport anything that involves the killing or mistreatment of an animal for human gain. 

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

Caleb fits the domain expert because he is very well educated on the detrimenal truths to the leather indusrty, and also is very experienced in buying products that are animal free.

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

Facebook vegan group

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

I told Caleb about my idea and he was immediately interested in learning more. He agreed that there was a need for higher end belts that were animal free. He shared with me his experience with other belts he's had in the past, and didn't expect anything in return. He just wanted to help.

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

By adding Caleb to my network I have an expert who can give me advice from a different perspective, an expert perspective. 

Market expert: Donna

1) Who they are and what their background is:

Donna is an e-commerce genius and has an online shop that sells cruelty free products such as make up and other accesories. 

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

Donna fills my Market expert domain becasue she runs a business that has a similar audience. People that value animal free products. 

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

I looked around on etsy and messaged her.

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

It was really cool chatting with Donna becasue she was very open. I didn't feel that she was hiding her keys to sucess, she infact wanted to share them with me. She simly seemed eger that I reached out to her in search for advice. She mentioned how she uses targeted facebook ads to reach her market. 

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

Not only does Donna add perspective from a marketing standpoint, she also provides technical guidance on working with ads. 

Industry Supplier: Sandra 

1) Who they are and what their background is:

Sandra is a Pinatex representative who helped me ored my first batch of sample pinapple leather. She works at Pinatex on the sales team.

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

Sandra fits this domain the best because she works directly for the supplier I would be sourcing my materials from.

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

I called pinatex and made them aware of my interest to buy some material, and they paired me up with Sandra. During the purchasing process I asked a few questions and she seemed happy to help. 

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 buying material from her, I was an actual paying customer to her, so in return, she gave me insights on Pinatex. Such as how they make it and best practices when it came to sewing it.

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

Sandra is a good connection because I now have a direct relationship to my own supplier. 

Reflection: This assignement defintely put me in a position to think more creatively about the people I meet. What can I do for them? What can they do for me? I found myself thinking that often. The concept of potental goodwill between two people became tangible as I started expressing myself in a manner where people knew my intentions from the get, they respected me for that.