20- Growing Social Capital

1. Angela was a lecturer who has two children herself. She would be the market expert because she has a background in business and parenting. I found her because she was my lecturer who I wasn't close with, but I had her email. I asked her some questions about she feels about customizable masks and how she thinks this would affect the population of children as we still don't know how long this pandemic might take. She has many connections and knows how to advertise and market masks especially because she is also part of the customer niche I want to sell to. I feel that she could definitely help me with marketing strategies and advice on how to move forward with the business.

2. Sebastian is a mutual friend who has a degree in management. He would be able to fill the supply role to package and sell the product throughout the U.S. I met him through a group me and reached out to him there. He could help me by finding manufacturers and distributors for my masks. He will also be able to find where I can buy my supplies to build my masks at a better price and with quality. He was very helpful when answering these questions and told me I should look at buying supplies in bulk.

3. Alyna is a young student studying psychology and childhood development. She would be the domain expert because she has the most knowledge in the field of children, and she would be able to give me tips on what kinds of designs to use and how make those masks more comfortable for kids. I found her through mutual friends on campus and was able to reach out when I got her contact. She answered some of my questions on she thinks children would react to colorful and fun masks and she gave me positive feedback. I think she is a great connection for any future information I may need to discover about children and what their interests are to pick out the best masks.
I think this was a great experience because creating new relationships can help you find the right team of people to work with. While expanding your social capital, you also gain a lot of knowledge and trust between new people. I have done this type of contacting before, but more for a business and not myself. It was nice to get feedback from others and expand the connections on campus.