Growing My Social Capital

Mr. Roberts

1) My expert is an engineer. Although he currently works at the company I am during my internship at, he has had interest in the past in building recreational robots. Therefore, he is the perfect expert to go to when I have questions about the reality of creating my product and the cost and feasibility of it. 

2) He is a domain expert who will advise me on the construction of my product...a robot. 

3) As stated above, this person works at the company I am interning with and I stopped by his office for a chat about robotic engineering. 

4) He gave me some of his time out of his day and informed me on the feasibility of my product. 

5) In order for my product to become a reality, it needs to be built and created. Therefore I need someone to do the engineering work.

Tracy

1) She is a sales associate at a local pet store that sells puppy pads and pooper scoopers.

2) Market expert; she is in the same business as I want to be in - the assistance of cleaning up puppy messes. 

3) I actually went to the local puppy store that I bought my own puppy's puppy pads from and spoke with her while she was working.

4) She gave me some time out of her day and assisted me with providing information on the puppy clean up market. I then bought more puppy pads from her.  

5) In order to make my product successful, I need to know what other products are out there that could be my competitors. She provided me with this information. 

Petsmart Manager

1) She is a manager at petsmart and has been working in the pet industry for 6 years. 

2) She is a supplier and is a head manager at the store that I would be ideally selling my product to so that they can then sell it to customers.

3) I called the petsmart closest to my house and asked to speak with the manager. She gave me a call back at a time that was convenient for her and then we spoke about the pet supplies supply market.

4) She took time out of her day to call me back which was a very kind gesture in return I gave her a promise that if my product became a reality I would good petsmart top selling rights. 

5) My product will be have to be sold by a pet store that has already established credibility. Petsmart is a very credible pet store that many people trust. 

Refection: I think this exercise showed me that many people are willing to share with you information that find them selves an expert at knowing. Therefore, I will not be as timid to approach people to ask them questions. This experienced differed because I was talking to professionals that were already successful in their fields so it gave me a lot of insight. 

Idea Napkin No. 2

1. You. I am someone that wants to make things in life easier and more efficient for others. I have had experience working with people and hearing about their frustrations with different products and processes and I think I am good at listening and solving problems. I think this business will help make life easier and more successful for myself and for others. (My feedback said that my product would make their lives easier)

2. What are you offering to customers? I am offering the customers an easier way to clean up puppy messes so that they can spend time with their puppy instead of always cleaning up after them. I think that if people don't have to clean the messes, they will get less mad at their puppies too and then have a better bond with their owners. (My feedback said that customers would buy my product.)

3. Who are you offering it to? I am offering this product to younger pet owners that like to find new technology to help make easier but also have a love for animals. This person will probably have a busies social/work life and will need to puppy clean up robot to help raise the puppy.

4. Why do they care? People will pay for my product because it will prevent them from having to touch yucky puppy messes and will save time because the robot will be more efficient in clean up than a human. 

5. What are your core competencies? My product is unique because is new and modern and up and coming and no one has done anything like it before. It's a need that a lot of people have and that hasn't been looked at to solve yet. 

ANALYSIS: I think that these elements fit together perfectly because they hit everyone point that a product needs to have to be successful and sell in a market. I think the only weak aspect will actually be the creation on the product and to make sure it doesn't have too many defects. I also think I will need to figure out a way to make the product useful after a puppy is potty trained and no longer makes messes. (A new piece of information I received is that my product mostly applies to dog owners only, and not cat owners. This is because cats clean up after themselves. It could cause me to not be as profitable.)

Feedback memo:  

My feedback said that my product would make their lives easier.

My feedback said that customers would buy my product.

A new piece of information I received is that my product mostly applies to dog owners only, and not cat owners. This is because cats clean up after themselves. It could cause me to not be as profitable.

My feedback said that this product could apply to my customers lives.

My feedback proved that my product was targeted at the right audience. 

My Customer's Avatar

My ideal customer prototype is  a young family or couple who are looking to add a furry baby to their family. They are excited to get a new pet but at also very naive and uninformed on how to take care of the animal properly and efficiently. That's why they would need the puppy clean up robot in their house. This customer could have children and are now ready to give their kids a pet. They could also be a young couple that isn't ready for kids but wants a puppy to start their new lives together. They are middle class people with decent jobs and environmentally efficient cars. They like to make quick and easy decisions that save them time and resources in the long run.


Personally, I have a lot in common with my customers because my needs were the reason I came up with this idea. My boyfriend and I got a puppy and didn't realize how hard of work it was to take care of the puppy....especially clean up after it. If my puppy clean up robot existed, my boyfriend and I would definitely be the ideal customers to buy it. 

Elevator Pitch No. 2

1) The pitch.

2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch.

Something important that stood out to me from my feedback for my last pitch was that they liked my tone and persona when giving the pitch. However, I feel like it would've been helpful to get my point across if I had used better examples of my product and applying it to everyday life.

3) What did you change, based on the feedback?

After reflecting on my last pitch and reading the feedback from it, for the my second pitch I decided to include a brief example of my product. This way viewers could get a better idea of how my product could be directly used and applied to their average lives. 

My Secret Sauce

1) Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique.

1. I always try to find the good in people, and pull the positives about any situation.
2. I moved around a bit so I know what it's like to be the new kid - taught me how to make friends and be a friend for someone else. 
3. I'd like to think I'm a good friend who's always there for people when then need me.
4. I try to be friendly and kind to everyone around me because I like to get to know people and the lives they are living.
5. People have told me that I'm a good public speaker and writer - which is a good skill to have I guess. 

2) Interview the five people who know you the best.

Interview 1: My first interview was with my mom. She said that some things that make me different are my ability to speak in front of large groups. As stated above, she is one of the people that has always told me I am a good writer and speaker and has encouraged me to pursue these skills. 

Interview 2: My second interview was with my dad. He said that my human capital that makes me different from others is my ability to know when to speak and when to listen. He said I am a very good listener to him, and the others that I have a relations with and to always make people feel important.

Interview 3: My third interview was with my sister. She said my human capital is my work ethic. She said that I always try to be great instead of good, and am always trying to get ahead for the next step in life. She said that I am really driven to achieve success in my life, which is an important characteristic to have. 

Interview 4: My fourth interview was with my best friend, Olivia. Olivia said that something that makes me different is that I always try to find the positive outlook in the situation. She also said that I also try to find new solutions to problems and conflicts with people to make sure each side of the story is heard and thought about. 

Interview 5: My last interview was with my boyfriend. He said that my human capital includes my perseverance and my healthy competitiveness. He said that whenever a challenge or adversity is set in front of me, I always find a way to overcome it and prove people wrong. 

To interview people that knew me best, my interviews took place over the phone because I'm living in a new city this summer where I don't really know anyone. Therefore, I was not able to record them. 

3) Reflect on the differences.

When reflecting on how I see myself and how others see me in return, I feel like the views are very similar. I think I am an open book and let people get to know me as a person and thats why people know me like I know myself in some ways. It was nice to hear about some of the characteristics that the most important people in my life said about me. I'm glad that people see me the way I see me. 

Portmanwho? - PUPSIE

Portmanteau.

WORD: pupsie

DEFINITION: combination of "puppy" and "bestie". It's what you call your puppy that is ultimately your best friend because you hate people or are bad at making human friends so all you have is your dog which becomes your pupsie.

USE:
My pupsie's name is Max.
Snap chat post - me and my pupsie just chillin' this weekend.
Do you have a pupsie?
I don't like people so I'm so glad I have a pupsie.
Puppies over human bestie for life!

REACTION: At first people started looking at me funny and were like "what are you saying?" My boyfriend made fun of me for being so obsessed with my dog that I made up a word for our relationship. Once I told people the definition and that it originated from my lack of human friends and interaction, they found it quite humorous. A couple of friends snap chatted me back with pictures of their dogs calling them pupsies, so I guess it caught on in a comedic manner.

I like my word. & my pupsie.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2 - Alternative & Post-Purchase Evaluation

Interview 1: When speaking with Brett and analyzing his thought process when it comes to considering other options for this opportunity, a few key elements were taken into consideration. This included cost and effectiveness. He said that he would be willing to pay for the extra experience or learning materials that he needed in order to prepare himself for the professional world. However, he said this depended not eh quality of the outside resources, and if cost of these resources were in his budget.

https://soundcloud.com/user-329268085/brett-gramacy?in=user-329268085/sets/figuring-out-buyer-behavior-no-2

Interview 2: Michelle spoke a lot about outside opportunity, not associated with the university, that could help her as an alternative to this program. Many businesses offer tutoring to learn more in-depth about the skill that they are studying. These resources have also proven to be very effective when it comes to having a successful testing experience or class grade.

https://soundcloud.com/user-329268085/michelle-thompson?in=user-329268085/sets/figuring-out-buyer-behavior-no-2

Interview 3: After hearing from Noah, I realized that what matters most to my customers is the easy access to the product balanced with the cost and quality of the service they are purchasing. He spoke about how any purchase is worth while if it is improving your ability to learn, perform or be prepared for your professional life after college.

https://soundcloud.com/user-329268085/noah-mcnally?in=user-329268085/sets/figuring-out-buyer-behavior-no-2

SUMMARY/CONCLUSION: After my interviews, I've realized that there are alternative to my opportunity, however they can be expensive and not all of them are the highest level of quality necessary to reach success. I think that in the end, my customers will find a way, no matter what the cost, to make sure they are prepared and successful when it comes to entering the "real world" after college. They aren't going to let the broad classes and minimal resources of UF's online classes stop them from being as successful as they can be in life.