1.) The first person that I spoke with teaches at Virginia Tech and is a friend of my aunt. I have never met this person before and he fills the slot of domain expert because he, in fact, knows a lot about education and how to get the best possible results out of students. My aunt recommended that I contact this person because she believed he would be related to my business idea. He did me a favor by taking time out of his busy schedule in order to hear out my business proposal. I don't think he is expecting much from me at this time, but we'll see in the future and I'll be happy to help. I think having this contact could potentially assist me in providing the best education service that I possibly can since I can seek advice from someone who is currently a professional in this industry.
2.) For the second part, I contacted a friend of a friend who works for an investment firm. I believe this person is an expert in the market because he knows all about customer research and how to evaluate if a company has any value or not. This is actually someone that my friend has been recommending that I try to intern with since I am in finance, so this could be mutually beneficial for both of us since he gets an intern and I obtain experience. I think a relationship with this person will help me gauge how much customers value my service and how to really find and understand consumer interests.
3.) My third contact is an important supplier in this industry because he works for a large tutoring service that supplies services to students who are attending university. This person was previously a teaching assistant but moved into the tutoring industry. This person has actually tutored me before and I requested to have a quick discussion with him about my business proposal. He provided advice on how to best reach students and how to make life and education easier for them. In return, I will advertise his service to friends. I believe by knowing this person and seeking out his advice, I will be able to expand my own knowledge on the industry.
I think my networking will have more of a purpose in the future. I will try to meet people who are more directly related with what I'm trying to accomplish. I think this experience did differ from past experiences because I have never really pursued networking the way I did here. I just kind of met the people whom I've crossed paths with. In this exercise, I went out and looked for networking opportunities.
Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteThe three people you interviewed seemed to have offered you rich information that can help you when it comes to making decisions for you own company. These individuals have the experience and knowledge to share with new entrepreneurs like yourself. I like how you went outside of your comfort zone and talked with people who were strangers to you.