20A – Growing Your Social Capital

Interview 1:

1) Who they are and what their background is.

The first person I interviewed is successful individual who has started multiple apps.

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

Domain expert

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

One of my buddy's who recently graduated from Boston College connected me with him. I scheduled a time to speak with him through text then we spoke on the phone for a good period of time.

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

We had a great conversation and he was extremely supportive of my idea. The main piece of advice that he gave me was to listen to feedback because the first version of the app that you release is always the worst. The key to making a perfect app for consumers is through trial and error.

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

This is a great person to have in my network because I can reach out to him for advice while developing the app. He offered to mentor me through the process. 

Interview 2:

1) Who they are and what their background is.

The second person I interviewed is Jim and he is a marketing research and intelligence manager at Facebook.

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

Market Expert

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

I was connected with Jim through my cousin. I spoke with Jim through the phone.

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

Jim could only speak for a short period of time because he had a meeting to go to but I explained my idea of icebreakers to him and he really enjoyed it. He said the social networking industry is a perfect industry to get into right now because the whole world is becoming so technology based. In addition he said it is extremely important for me to focus on the user experience of the app. The users have to enjoy using the app before they actually enjoy and understand the service that it is providing.

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

This is a good person to have in my network because they have a lot of knowledge on the industry. If I were to reach any barriers, this would be great person to reach out to for advice.

Interview 3:

1) Who they are and what their background is.

The last person I interviewed is named Alex and he is a HR Business partner for Global sales. 

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

Supplier

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

I met Alex through Jim, the previous person that I interviewed. I spoke with Alex through the phone shortly after talking to Jim.

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

I spoke to Alex for a long time and he gave me some very useful advice. I started off by explaining my idea in detail and he asked many questions about the app and what I am trying to accomplish with it. He said after I get the app started I need to start cold calling concerts and bars and I need to ask them if they would sponsor my app. He said most companies are going to want money in return but that if I call enough people I will be able to find someone that will promote my app for free. It is extremely important to publicize my app and allow other people to discover it. 

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

This is a great person to have in my network because he helped me learn to look at my app from a sales perspective. This helps me understand what I need to do to help people discover my product which is half the battle.

Reflection: 

During this assignment I learned the value of networking especially when you are working developing an app. In addition, I learned that we have so many resources at our fingertips to help us network and meet other people. After networking with these three successful individuals, I am able to look at my product from a different perspective. They provided me with the information I needed to move forward and continue to develop the IceBreakers app.

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You: Hi my name is Matthew Mainzer and I am a first year finance student at the University of Florida. I am talented at technical analysis and trading foreign currency's. My goals and aspirations are to get a job doing tech/software sales which will teach me the skills to start my own business. My goals with this company are to develop the software and perfect it through trial and error.

2) What are you offering to customers? The product that I am selling is an app called Icebreakers. The point of the icebreakers app is to help meet new people in a social setting such as a bar or club. This app allows people to walk into a bar and know who is in the bar, who is single, and even request to meet them before aimlessly walking up to them. This app is for social networking but it is also meant to help people find relationships. 

3) Who are you offering it to? I am offering this service to college students aging between 18 and 23. These students are the ones that are actively going to bars and trying to socialize with other students to help them meet new people. The users of the app can be any gender and they get to choose the gender that they are seeking or you can have the option to view everyone using the app in the bar, male, female, etc.

4) Why do they care? They care about this product because it makes it less risky to walk up to someone you don't know because before hand you will know if they are interested in meeting you, if they are single, and if you share interests or friends. People also want to use this app because of the exhilarating feeling that it provides. People really enjoy making new friends and through this app it is an experience like no other.

5) What are your core competencies? One of my biggest competitors with this product is tinder and Facebook.  What sets me apart from Tinder is the fact that my software is specialized and specific to each bar. The point of this app is to allow you to meet new people that are standing in the same bar as you. The point of tinder is to allow you to meet people that live in the same city as you. On the other hand, Facebook is a more generalized social networking app that doesn't have the same functionality as my app but attempts to bring people together.

First, id like to start off by saying that I think this company has a lot of potential but that there are definitely some roadblocks that I am going to face along the way. I think that the idea is there but that marketing is going to be a huge factor with this product. There needs to be people using the product at every bar for it to actively work. Overall, I think all of the five factors above tie together quite well but implementation is going to be very important with this product. Although Tinder and Facebook are my main competitors, I believe that the Icebreakers app is one of a kind and is very different than their apps.

Feedback Memo:

I found my feedback to be extremely helpful and I used it to help develop my idea napkin. The first point of feedback that I used was the idea that I need to put an emphasis on the experience that my app provides for users. As I mentioned above, the app is fun for users because of the exhilarating feeling that provides when you meet someone new. Next, I specified my competitors and how the app can be used for more than just social networking. The app can be used to help people find relationships. 

17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2

Reflection:
In my new elevator pitch I changed a few things based on my peer reviews. One of the biggest worries that I received from my peers is the idea that most people go out with their friends. Furthermore, to solve this problem I added a group mode where you can join the app and create groups to meet other groups. This feedback was extremely useful and was an idea that had not yet crossed my head. This comes to show the importance of peer reviews. In addition, compared to my first elevator pitch I was more specific about where the guests meet as well as some of the information they can view before sending a request or after receiving a request.

18A – Create a Customer Avatar

Below is a picture of Phil. Phil is a junior at the university of Florida who is majoring in finance. Phil is extremely interested in soccer and fishing. He actually plays on the club soccer team at UF. To get to and from practice, Phil drives his Chevy Silverado which his dad gave to him when he was just a young boy. Phil is not a fan of watching tv. Instead in his free time he enjoys socializing with his friends, going out to the bars to meet new people, or going fishing on the east coast. Phil is not a fan of going out to drink, he is more a fan of going out to meet new people which has been successful for him. 

What do you have in common with the customer avatar? If you have anything in common with the avatar, do you think that is a coincidence? Why?

Compared to the Phil, the avatar I created above, I see a few aspects of our character that we have in common. We both enjoy soccer and fishing. In addition, we both like going out and socializing with our friends as well as going out to meet new people. I think the few things we have in common are a coincidence because I created the avatar. Phil does match the target audience because he is interested in meeting new people and enjoys being in a social setting.

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

My Human Capital:

1. Motivated: I am always itching to be better and get a lot done during the day.

2. Hardworking: I am always working hard which is good because I get a lot done.

3. Leader: I always show leadership by working to help other people be better and trying to help out others.

4. Quick learner: When. I am introduced to a new subject I usually pick it up fairly quick because I am focused on learning. 

5. Respectful: I am a good person to work with because I am respectful of others. 

 Conclusion:

15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Interview 1: 
The first person that I interviewed said that she would only use the app if it was easy to use. She said it would be no fun going out and trying to use a app that is not easy to use. In addition to being easy to use, she said it would be important for the app to have a quick reaction time. The point of going out is to spend time with your friends and try to meet new people in the process. If the app did not have a quick reaction time then it would mean that she has to check her phone a bunch to see if anyone paired up with her which is no fun.

Interview 2: 
The second person I interviewed said that security would be one of the main things that she would worry about when using the Icebreakers app. She explained that if the app is not safe, then she would not be willing to take the risk. She says that as much as she wants to meet new people, the app needs to delete all possibilities for breach of security. In addition to security she wants to make sure that the people that she is meeting are actually who they say they are.

Interview 3: 

The last person I interviewed said that they would want to make sure the users of the app are good people that aren't going to attempt to cause any problems. In addition, he said that he would worry about people making fake accounts that would say they are someone that they are not so that they would get more matches. There would need to be a functionality in the app that confirms someones identity so that they are not making fake accounts.

Conclusion:

After evaluating all of these interviews I was able to see different perspectives on the icebreakers app which was extremely helpful. These interviews confirmed that one of the main priorities for developing this software should be security. If the app is not safe to use then nobody is going to use it and it is going to create a lot of liability on my part. With that being said, I am going to look into adding identity verification and possibly a way to run a background  check. In addition to security it is also important to make the app easy to use so the people using the app don't have to watch their phone for long to get a match.