Growing My Social Capital

1) Who they are and what their background is.

My business is the world of fitness. I interviewed one of my good friends Devin Goodkin, who recently earned a certification in Fitness Training. He is a huge advocate for weight lifting, eating healthy, and living a healthy life style. My product and him go hand in hand, where he can sue my water bottle for this personal belongings at the gym, and still live his passion through weight lifting as well. 

The second person I interviewed was my other good friend Kenzie Conol. She is another gym fanatic and goes to UF with me. She is currently taking classes in health and nutrition. 

The third person I interviewed coincidentally was Kenzie's sister, Savannah Conol. Savannah actually works for a protein company and of course, enjoys the gym just like her sister does.

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

Devin is an expert on the market, since he not only is taking classes in health education, but also trains people at the gym and on their diet. He also is a huge water bottle and protein user. So he would definitely use my water bottle, since it keeps everything together and can also be used as a weight. 

Kenzie is a domain expert, since she values the gym so highly and is someone who is strongly engaged in the activity of fitness and.. using water bottles and protein shakes. 

Savannah is my supplier of the industry, since her company also distributes water bottles, protein shakes, and is well known in the state of Florida. Her company is called Lenny and Larry's! 

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

I actually first met Devin at the gym back at home. At the gym, he really helped everyone with weights and how to properly do certain exercises correctly, without too much strain on joints and muscles. I stay in contact with him since he is a really good friend of mine and we both like to workout together. 

I met Kenzie during my freshman year of college and I met her sister recently. 

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

Devin spoke to his gym junkies at his university in St. Louis and got a lot of friends interested in my product. The return expectation is just to get Devin's name out there as a certified trainer. 

There was no favor to return to Savannah and Kenzie. 

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

Keeping Devin in my network, keeps future customers close and in reach, since Devin is a good friend of mine and is strongly dedicated and passionate for fitness. He also keeps friends with similar interests very close to him as well. 

Keeping both Kenzie and Savannah in my network will keep my supplier and my future users of my product near me and on good terms. 

Reflect: This network experience was a personal one, only because I am a part of the fitness world as well, so my friends are also strongly connected. This experience differs from experiences in the past because this field is something I created and chose, while other experiences of interviewing were assignments I had to complete.