Assignment 20A - Growing Your Social Capital

Domain Expert:
                  I recently got into contact with Stacey Sachs, the vice president of marketing at BACtrack, which is the industry leading company in standard alcohol breathalyzers. What makes her a domain expert is that she is in charge of gaining awareness and making sure her marketing strategies translate to sales for the business. This would most likely be my role in the business idea that I am proposing, I would not be the one making the product or designing it, but in charge of making sure my breathalyzer sells, and the right audience hears about it.
                 My first step was to figure out who was the biggest breathalyzer company and then from there, see who I could get in contact with from that company. Her name was listed on the contacts page of the company website and i initially sent a brief email to her stating who I was and what advice she can give me, but as the due date started to roll around and with no response, I just decided to call the number that was listed under her name. I did reach her and she briefly explained what her role was in the company and told me she was very supportive of my idea and impressed with the initiatives I took to reach out to bigger companies, and the advice she gave me was simple, make sure that this is something you are absolutely passionate about, and that you feel is innovative and realistic enough to sell to a large amount of people.

Market Expert:
                     My friend Brett, from back home is my age and also is a freshmen but at FGCU. I emailed his dad, Will Delucca,  because I realized that he was a perfect fit for my target market, and thus, represents a major piece of my market of parents with college aged kids with a car. I had always remembered him as someone who could be at times strict but like most parents, he cared most about his children, in this case, his only son, and would do anything to make sure he was safe.
                    I explained to him the reason for reaching out, and asked him if he thought he would buy a product like this one and what changes he would make to the business idea if he had any. He responded quickly, and said that he would indeed buy a product like this for his son if it was available and that he does worry a little bit about Brett having his car at Florida Gulf Coast and making sure he is always safe and responsible when it comes to going out and driving, but he said he was also confident in that he raised a smart and responsible young man and does not feel Brett would ever drink and drive. But he also mentioned that some kids may object to this being placed on their car and that sometimes parents just need to trust their kids. By having assurance that my target segment would buy this product as well as a better understanding of the thought process a parent has when considering how much control you should have over your kids life and when to give them independence helped me grip a better understanding of the mindset of my target audience.

Industry Supplier:
                    While looking to find suppliers to a business or firm that sells breathalyzers, I came across something I found very interesting. With recent state law changes that now allow recreational marijuana, there is a rush to develop and sell breathalyzers that can detect marijuana, which can also hinder a persons ability to drive and put peoples lives at risk.
                   I got in contact with media spokesperson Scott Ledingham of Cannabix Technologies, a company developing breathalyzers for THC,  to try and find out more about the development process and the plan to to sell to other firms. There were not many details he was allowed to share with me but he said  they were going to launch the product by the end of the year. Once I explained that I was doing this for my Entrepreneurship class, he was willing to hear my business plan and encouraged me to continue doing research and to try and get in contact with some of the manufacturers of standard alcohol breathalyzers to talk more about my idea. I was grateful for his help and the information he provided allowed me to realize how competitive this industry was, to my surprise, and to figure out what my next steps should be.

Reflection:
                  This experience was like nothing I have ever done before.  Actually calling and emailing people that worked in this industry and were willing to help me was very encouraging. For future events, I need to remember to be prepared with what I want to say and what message I want to get across, and I should have more of my business idea more thoroughly thought out or progressed more before I continue with more target networking. I have never networked before when it comes to a professional business idea, it was an entirely new experience for me and it felt like a great starting point to improve on.