- Domain expert
- Who they are/their background: Justin, a recent graduate of UF and part-time BiteSquad employee.
- How this person is a domain expert: He is a driver for BiteSquad.
- How I found and contacted them: I used to swim with him on the club team here at UF before he moved to Tampa.
- Nature of our exchange: I explained my idea of having a standalone store that offered delivery items and he was interested in the concept. He thought it was a good idea because often times working as a third-party driver for different restaurants he has to wait long periods of time for food to be prepared before he can deliver it and customers get upset with him even though it's out of his control.
- How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity: He would be a possible future employee of this opportunity. He is also currently applying to graduate school for social work, so he was also interested in becoming part of the staff that would offer customers emotional support or additional assistance.
- Market expert
- Who they are/their background: Elyse, a former triathlete and mother to 4 young children.
- How this person is a market expert: She has a newborn baby and is unable to get around town easily with all of the kids.
- How I found and contacted them: I work as a lifeguard at the pools she used to train at and I reached out to her on one of the few days she's able to come for a swim.
- Nature of our exchange: I explained my idea of a delivery service that also offered emotional support staff. While she didn't really see herself utilizing the delivery stuff for items because her husband is able to pick things up at the store and run errands, she did say she would be interested in the customer service option if it meant having a babysitter for a few hours or someone who could help her around the house.
- How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity: She is a possible customer for this opportunity. I know that there are plenty of other people in a similar situation, so there is definitely a market that exists.
- Important supplier
- Who they are/their background: "Chef Dev", the general manager of Kabab House in Gainesville.
- How this person is an important supplier: Kabab House utilizes BiteSquad and DoorDash to deliver their food for customers who order online.
- How I found and contacted them: I live next door to the restaurant, so I walked in as soon as they opened before they got busy.
- Nature of our exchange: I explained to him my idea that wouldn't necessarily be in competition with his restaurant, but it would change up the industry. However, he does have extra space that he was thinking of making a second location, but would be interested in investing towards my idea for the standalone site needed to store delivery items.
- How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity: He would provide a physical work space for the opportunity to get started.
It was difficult to not only identify people that would be relevant to network with, but also get in contact with them quickly enough to get feedback on my ideas. This experience will definitely help me in the future because now I'm more comfortable addressing different people and putting myself out there. As I've mentioned before, I'm a pre-health major with a foreign language background, so this kind of networking was new to me since I've never had to pitch a product or think about market possibilities before.
I like your creativity with finding nice networking routes! Sometimes it is hard to reach out about business and entrepreneurial related activities without a hard grasp on what you want, but it's all about taking one step at a time! I think it's great that you'd like the "drivers" to be able to offer support as well, but how exactly would you aim to train and license these people?
ReplyDeleteI think the people you asked advice from meet the qualifications perfectly. I found the feedback from the swimmer and mother most insightful; how she would just appreciate help and other forms of customer service. I think this overall eludes to the idea that you could build your brand and business around many forms of customer service to reach more customers.
ReplyDeleteI also found difficulty finding relevant people to interview for the assignment. You did a good job of finding people with relevant opinions. The resource of the Kabab House is a great start for local restaurants. The idea is a very good one, but you compete in a very competitive marketplace. Delivery food is already being taken over by silicon valley.
ReplyDeleteHey Imelda,
ReplyDeleteI wonder what feedback you would have received from a convenience store manager or someone who is involved in large-scale ordering of products. They may have fit well into the market expert category and given you some insight on what to expect when trying to keep products supplied to your "hub" or stand alone location. In the future a local business who supplies similar products could tell you what supplies are on time most often or who offers the best wholesale price. You could do the same for them.