Assignment 20A - Growing Your Social Capital
Industry Expert
Who they are and what their background is: Derek Tippins. He is the founder of Nyoobe, an app that helps businesses increase their sales by paying users to spread the word of that business.
Description of how you found the person and contacted the person: Derek has been a family friend for many years and calls me to consult on his ideas every once in a while.
Nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation: I chatted with Derek about my idea for roughly 15 minutes over the phone and asked for his advice on how to successfully launch an app. Derek and I have a back and forth conversation that continuously goes on, and I expect him to ask me for my help later in the future.
How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity: It can be helpful to have someone you can ask for help when they have done something similar already. Launching an app is not an easy process and I am certain I would be referring back to him frequently during the process.
Market Expert
Who they are and what their background is: Osama. He is the founder of BWAFitness and has spent the last 10 years learning about fitness and healthy lifestyles.
Description of how you found the person and contacted the person: I was looking at YouTube videos for workout plans an came across his channel. I contacted him via email.
Nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation: I had an email conversation with this person. I asked him how difficult the fitness market is to get in to and if he had any advice on the best way to enter the market. He was very helpful and I don't think expected much from me, other than me subscribing to his channel.
How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity: The health and fitness niche is often considered one of the most saturated markets on the internet. Having allies in this market can make entering it much easier. There are often times secret tricks and helpful hints that can make your business more profitable.
Supplier Expert
Who they are and what their background is: William Rivers. He is an Affiliate Marketing Manager at ClickBank, a website that specializes in affiliate marketing.
Description of how you found the person and contacted the person: I had previously used ClickBank and knew how the company worked, so I searched "ClickBank" on LinkedIn and messaged him.
Nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation: I sent a few messaged to William asking the best ways to use affiliate marketing. He provided me with helpful tips about using it in apps to get the best conversation rates, which will prove useful later when I implement selling workout plans and diets. I do not think he expects anything in return from me.
How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity: It can be helpful to have an affiliate marketing in your network because it can be a brutal way to get started making money, but once you get your first sale, you start to figure it out. I believe William's tips will help me get that first sale.
Reflection
It's helpful to know what industry your connections are in and what their special skills are. You never know when you may have a specific question that they may be able to answer. In future networking events, I will pay closer attention to the markets my connections are in and take notes of it. In the past, I didn't know what to look for in connections, but now I do.
Who they are and what their background is: Derek Tippins. He is the founder of Nyoobe, an app that helps businesses increase their sales by paying users to spread the word of that business.
Description of how you found the person and contacted the person: Derek has been a family friend for many years and calls me to consult on his ideas every once in a while.
Nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation: I chatted with Derek about my idea for roughly 15 minutes over the phone and asked for his advice on how to successfully launch an app. Derek and I have a back and forth conversation that continuously goes on, and I expect him to ask me for my help later in the future.
How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity: It can be helpful to have someone you can ask for help when they have done something similar already. Launching an app is not an easy process and I am certain I would be referring back to him frequently during the process.
Market Expert
Who they are and what their background is: Osama. He is the founder of BWAFitness and has spent the last 10 years learning about fitness and healthy lifestyles.
Description of how you found the person and contacted the person: I was looking at YouTube videos for workout plans an came across his channel. I contacted him via email.
Nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation: I had an email conversation with this person. I asked him how difficult the fitness market is to get in to and if he had any advice on the best way to enter the market. He was very helpful and I don't think expected much from me, other than me subscribing to his channel.
How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity: The health and fitness niche is often considered one of the most saturated markets on the internet. Having allies in this market can make entering it much easier. There are often times secret tricks and helpful hints that can make your business more profitable.
Supplier Expert
Who they are and what their background is: William Rivers. He is an Affiliate Marketing Manager at ClickBank, a website that specializes in affiliate marketing.
Description of how you found the person and contacted the person: I had previously used ClickBank and knew how the company worked, so I searched "ClickBank" on LinkedIn and messaged him.
Nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation: I sent a few messaged to William asking the best ways to use affiliate marketing. He provided me with helpful tips about using it in apps to get the best conversation rates, which will prove useful later when I implement selling workout plans and diets. I do not think he expects anything in return from me.
How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity: It can be helpful to have an affiliate marketing in your network because it can be a brutal way to get started making money, but once you get your first sale, you start to figure it out. I believe William's tips will help me get that first sale.
Reflection
It's helpful to know what industry your connections are in and what their special skills are. You never know when you may have a specific question that they may be able to answer. In future networking events, I will pay closer attention to the markets my connections are in and take notes of it. In the past, I didn't know what to look for in connections, but now I do.
Hey Jacob,
ReplyDeleteYou really did a great job with your social capital assignment. As I have stated in many of your posts, I am a huge fan of your product, especially the idea of it being free. When you contacted your supplier expert to learn more about the ad portion of your product, I was very intrigued. I think what you learned from William will end up being the most important network connection from this assignment, and will be a key component in the future of this product.
Hi Jacob,
ReplyDeleteI think it is awesome that you got to network and make connections with multiple people that will be very beneficial to you in building your business and developing your product. Its nice to see that Derek Tippins was willing to spend 15 minutes talking to you and giving you useful advice. You should keep up with these people regularly so that your network does not deteriorate.
Hi Jacob,
ReplyDeleteAgain, I enjoyed reading the above assignment. I appreciate the details you provided about each person and how they were able to help you when it comes to your idea. I definitely agree with you that knowing your industry as well as you possibly can and building upon the connections you have and working to acquire others leads to success in business. Constantly thinking and asking questions when you can is how you learn and improve your capabilities.