Growing My Social Capital

My business idea that I have been developing is a driver-customer app that does food deliveries as well as other various services.

1)      Who they are and what their background is.

This person is an Uber driver, so naturally they already know what it’s like to work in this type of business as an independent contractor.

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

This person fills the spot of domain expert. They work in the industry first-hand so their insight on this type of service is from first-hand experience.

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

This person is a friend of mine who has been driving for Uber and Lyft for a long time.

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

This person is a friend of mine, the favor they have done for me is to explain things about their job that would help me to work out the kinks in my business idea. They gave me practical advice.

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

Like I mentioned, being in contact with someone who has essentially worked in the same type of service app that I would be developing will give me insight on what may or may not work from the perspective of the independent contractor involved.

Second Interview:

1)      Who they are and what their background is.

This person works in marketing and customer support for the Uber app in my city.

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

This person would be a market expert, because their job is to research trends in the business and market to the customers and drivers accordingly to make sure things run smoothly.

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

My friend who is a driver for Uber told me about how easy it is to contact someone in the business with questions and advice when you are a driver, because they are constantly sending emails and texts letting the drivers know when are the good times to get on the road and what areas are typically the busiest. He put me in contact with this person and it has been very insightful.

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

The favor that this person did for me was just to answer some questions I had about the business and how exactly it works- including conflict resolution and daily operations.

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

Being in contact with this person could give me really good insight on how to find and advertise to my target market and get the app going.

1)      Who they are and what their background is.

This person has been an app developer for an unrelated app.

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

This person would be a supplier. They may not work in the same type of business or market, but they know how to get an app going and running smoothly.

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

My brother is a software engineer and works with app developers in his office. He put me in contact with this person.

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

I just asked him a few questions about how I would go about putting my idea to work and developing an app that will run smoothly. I would definitely have to hire someone with experience to do this part.

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

It is helpful to network with someone who knows how these things work since I don’t. If I needed advice or maybe even some technical help, there is a possibility that he would be able to assist me.

I think out of all the exercises this one would be the most helpful if I were to actually put my ideas into action. All of these people could provide great advice in developing and maintaining this service app. I definitely believe that networking with people in your target industry is immensely helpful and I was satisfied with this exercise.