Growing Your Social Capital 20A

Domain Expert:

1. Steven Detwiler, he currently works as a mechanical engineer at the Ft. Meade military base. He graduated from Penn State with a mechanical engineering degree. He had an internship there in high school, all the way through college, until he was offered a job straight out of college.

2. I am filling him as the domain expert because he would be able to help with anything technical, whether it be creating a website, to just producing advertisements on the web. He also would be able to give advice on the creation of the product.

3. He is my cousin, so it was simple just shooting him a text and asking when he is free, and we got together for lunch one day and I was able to complete the interview then.

4. There was no real exchange because we are quite close. We are family, so he was genuinely interested in helping me and hearing my idea.

5. He is very good with computers and everything online and I know having him on the team would be beneficial with everything technology related, and with the bond we share as family, we obviously get along very well and he would be a great addition.

Market Expert:

1. Jay Stelacone, is a patent attorney based out of Arlington, Virginia. He currently works for Oliff Plc. He graduated from Penn State with an aerospace engineering degree. Then went to The University of Nebraska for law school.

2. I am filling him as the market expert because of his ability as a patent attorney to search the market for any competition, and he would also be able to help with patenting the product.

3. He is my father, so it actually difficult to get his interview because of the long hours he works, and then when he comes home, he has deadlines, but it was also as easy as getting him in some of his free time to sit down.

4. There was no exchange because he is my father, and he wants to see me succeed in everything.

5. He is able to patent my product, so nobody else would be able to "think" of the same idea. also part of his job is looking to make sure that no item exists, and he would be able to find products similar to my idea and find the differences so that we can advertise our strengths compared to other companies. At the same time, if you look at his credentials, he is quite brilliant and would be able to help in multiple other fields.

Supplier:

1. Jacob Buhaj, he is a student at the University of Maryland. He has worked at Modell's Sporting Goods for two years now.

2. I am filling him in the supplier role because of his expertise in all sports and outdoor products. His job is to be able to describe these products to customers to suite their needs.

3. He is a friend from high school that I hang out with when i am home from school. It was quite easy connecting him and just casually interviewing him while were hanging out.

4. There was no exchange because we are friends and he said it was no big deal and that I could just ask some question while we hung out.

5. Because of his interest and expertise in such products, he knows what is most important to customers, and also knows how to sell products and communicate with customers as to which are the best.

Reflection: While these people were only friends and family, it was interesting to see how people that actually work in such fields can help to plan, create and sell these products. These friends can also use their connection to help gain more outside ideas from their co workers. This was just the first step in building a network.