Assignment 20: Growing Your Social Capital

1)    Who they are and what their background is.

Valerio Tedesco, CEO of 150% (150 Por Ciento), digital full-service agency. 

2)    Domain expert:

He works with multinational companies of mass consumption in almost all aspects of the industry…selling them products connected to the internet. He also has another company, LookApp, that does marketing research in which they do crowdsourcing in order to connect common people to other companies. These people give data to the companies who then use the information they receive to make business decisions. 

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

This person is my aunt’s husband and is currently with me and my family. 

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

The conversation we had was very insightful. I explained my business idea and he gave some very good advice as to how I can make things simpler for myself and the customer via the app. I asked him what he considered to be the most difficult part of his job and he quickly responded that it was to innovate. That it was in this way that people would become attracted to what you were doing.

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

I knew what my uncle did, but in very general terms. After talking to him I realized how good of a resource he could be for me in terms of guidance with both business concepts and apps.

1)    Who they are and what their background is.

Alejandro Diaz, Communications Director of 150%

2)    Industry Supplier

He works for my uncle and is the one who essentially links the companies with 150% and explains what 150% can do for them.

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

This person works for my uncle. I contacted him through WhatsApp.

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

My conversation with him was more casual and straight to the point. He told me what his position in the company was and how he makes the services they offer known to other companies.

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

Now that I have spoken to him, I feel that if I ever needed to reach out to him for advice, I wouldn’t be so shy.  

1)    Who they are and what their background is.

Jennifer Smith, she is a second-year student at FSU.

2)    Market expert

I didn’t really find a market expert, so I decided to interview someone who makes up part of my market.

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

This person is my best friend. I told her about my assignment and called her through WhatsApp.

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

Since she also cooks on a daily basis I asked her how often she realizes food has spoiled. I also asked her if she knew anyone else who had a food waste problem and she told me that it’s definitely something that a lot of people she knows suffer with. I told her about my business idea and she said that she thought it would make a huge difference for a lot of people who want to solve this problem.

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

Having one person from my target market will help me know more about their needs and expectations when it comes to the app.

Reflect. I definitely felt like this exercise was a first step for me personally in terms of networking. Reaching out to people can sometimes seem a bit intimidating but now having done it, I feel like this will help me to get out of my comfort zone and seek others for advice or opinions.