1) Who they are and what their background is.
I interviewed Dylan Samole, a 35-year- old food supplier of Publix.
Glenn Keller, a 21year old mobile phone application devloper who lives in Amsterdam.
Maxime Lipman, a 35 year old manager of Deliveroo Belgium
2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.
Here, Glenn Keller is the domain expert as he knows what it will take to develop the mobile phone application I need for my project. Maxime Lipman is the market expert as his project is based on the same idea that “cooking takes too long” so he developed a mobile phone app that helps you getting food where you can get food where you want when you want (faster than UberEat). Finally, Dylan Samole would be the supplier as he is a food supplier for Publix in Boca Raton, Florida.
3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.
Glenn has been a friend of mine for years, we went to high school together and now he is learning about new technologies in Amsterdam.
Maxime Lipman is a friend of my father and I asked him to put me in contact with him.
Dylan Samole was the food supplier that everyone from my community knew when I lived in Boca Raton, he was always smiling and friendly and was recruiting interns at Florida Atlantic University (that’s how I met him).
4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation?
To be completely honest, I started every interview by telling them that this is a college project in order to get accurate information as I didn’t want them to feel unwilling to share their experience with me because they were afraid of me entering the market. There is no real return expectation in this case.
5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?
If I ever decide to exploit this idea, I will then ask Glenn to help me to develop the app, I will ask Dylan more accurate information about his sales with Publix and I will probably try to have a Partnership with Maxime.
Finally: Reflect. This experience requires you to do a little 'targeted networking.' How will this experience shape how you participate in any future networking events? Did this experience differ from your networking experiences in the past? How?
I am very familiar with this type of exercises, in fact I have going to professional events with my dad since a very young age. I did not feel uncomfortable asking those questions. I just had to be smarter and not letting them think that I want to enter their existing market in order to get more accurate responses to the questions I needed them to answer. Compared to other interviews we had to do for this class, I had to be way more professional when asking the questions. I was also way more responsive to their answers as I wanted to learn more from them.
2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.
Here, Glenn Keller is the domain expert as he knows what it will take to develop the mobile phone application I need for my project. Maxime Lipman is the market expert as his project is based on the same idea that “cooking takes too long” so he developed a mobile phone app that helps you getting food where you can get food where you want when you want (faster than UberEat). Finally, Dylan Samole would be the supplier as he is a food supplier for Publix in Boca Raton, Florida.
3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.
Glenn has been a friend of mine for years, we went to high school together and now he is learning about new technologies in Amsterdam.
Maxime Lipman is a friend of my father and I asked him to put me in contact with him.
Dylan Samole was the food supplier that everyone from my community knew when I lived in Boca Raton, he was always smiling and friendly and was recruiting interns at Florida Atlantic University (that’s how I met him).
4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation?
To be completely honest, I started every interview by telling them that this is a college project in order to get accurate information as I didn’t want them to feel unwilling to share their experience with me because they were afraid of me entering the market. There is no real return expectation in this case.
5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?
If I ever decide to exploit this idea, I will then ask Glenn to help me to develop the app, I will ask Dylan more accurate information about his sales with Publix and I will probably try to have a Partnership with Maxime.
Finally: Reflect. This experience requires you to do a little 'targeted networking.' How will this experience shape how you participate in any future networking events? Did this experience differ from your networking experiences in the past? How?
I am very familiar with this type of exercises, in fact I have going to professional events with my dad since a very young age. I did not feel uncomfortable asking those questions. I just had to be smarter and not letting them think that I want to enter their existing market in order to get more accurate responses to the questions I needed them to answer. Compared to other interviews we had to do for this class, I had to be way more professional when asking the questions. I was also way more responsive to their answers as I wanted to learn more from them.
Hey Max,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job reaching out to these people. They all seem like they would help your business idea if you needed it. You seemed confident in your interviews and really got the answers you need. It’s best knowing a lot of people, because then you can make connections and help you in search for your career. Overall, nice job.