20A - Growing Your Social Capital

1) Domain Expert

• The domain expert I contacted was the owner of a small sports equipment company for the recreational softball league where I live. He has experience in business, but mostly owned this small business the majority of his time as an entrepreneur.
• This individual fills this spot of domain expert because he is doing exactly the thing I wish to be doing with my product. 
• I found this person because I was involved in softball over the years at this particular league and contacted them by e-mail. 
• I showed him my elevator pitch and shared some ideas, and he gave helpful feedback in return.
• Including this new person and perspective in my career will help ensure success in my product and ideas.

2) Market Expert

• The market expert I contacted was the owner of a small sports drink / water bottle company my high school used for the football team. She has experience in business, and is a young entrepreneur taking over. 
• This individual fills this spot of market expert because she is targeting the same exact market I am targeting, and is experienced in this field. 
• I found this person through contacting my high school and sending emails. 
• I sent her my elevator pitch and she reviewed and critiqued it. 
• Including this new person and perspective in my career and product will help in the success of my product, and also contributes new ideas. 

3) Important Supplier

• The important supplier I contacted was  the owner of a small sports equipment company for the recreational softball league where I live. He has experience in business, but mostly owned this small business the majority of his time as an entrepreneur.
• This individual fills this spot of domain expert because he is doing exactly the thing I wish to be doing with my product. 
• I found this person because I was involved in softball over the years at this particular league and contacted them by e-mail. 
• I showed him my elevator pitch and shared some ideas, and he gave helpful feedback in return.
• Including this new person and perspective in my career will help ensure success in my product and ideas.

4) Reflection:
This experience was great in he development of my product and was a great exercise for future projects. In the future, I will continue to use the contact via email, because it seems to be the easiest format during this time.

19A - Idea Napkin No. 2

Me:
I am Julia Herrmann, a 20-year-old college student at the University of Florida. I have had a variety of jobs in the food industry, and have acquired experience and skills from dealing with people on a daily basis. I have gained skills on the main concepts of customer service, teamwork, organization, and punctuality. My aspirations include being successful and financially comfortable, as well as doing something I enjoy as a career. If I were to start my business in which I was able to invent a football safety helmet to prevent concussions, I would contribute a lot of time and effort in my life to it. This is because I feel that it's an important innovation to introduce to the world of sports.

What I am offering to customers?:
I am offering to customers the idea of safety and comfortability within a somewhat unsafe, yet popular sport realm. I am offering ease to mind of parents with children involved in the sport, as well as the players themselves. I am offering a way for players to keep engaging in the sport they enjoy without having to worry about getting a concussion from it. The product is silicon padding to be placed on the outside of helmets to help with shock resistance when they bump helmets.

Who am I offering it to?:
I am offering this product to anybody involved in sports, it doesn't just have to be football. But, any sport in which an individual is at risk for bumping helmets or slamming helmets an help with a shock resistant technology. Mostly, this targets players, coaches, sports organizations and parents.

Why do they care?:
Customers will care about my product because the issue of concussions is a very wide-spread and well known problem. Not to mention, the effects of concussions can be deadly, and many people care about their health. Also, many people who are responsible for others (coaches, parents, etc.) will care because they're responsible for the health of these individuals as well.

What are my core competencies?
What I have that others don't have is the shock resistance technology. Many helmet brands and providers have 'safety' helmets that don't prevent the issues caused by concussions. My product is different because it takes an even bigger step in preventing this problem.

These elements definitely fit together, and aim towards helping my business in the long run if I can exercise the importance of each of these different aspects. The only aspect of my business concept that would be weak is the fact that its not exactly 100% shock proof or 100% concussion proof because there are other ways in which people can acquire concussions in sports, other than banging their heads together. But, the reason my product is better than the others is because it takes a bigger step towards that 100% proof.

18A - Create a Customer Avatar

This is Drake. He is a football player for the North High Knights. He drives a blue Honda Civic. (because it matches his teams colors)

Drake is about 20 years old. He plays football for his college. He has had 3 concussions in his lifetime.

What do I have in common with my customer avatar?

I am also 20 years old, in college, and I care about the well-being of those affected by a concussion at some time in their life. Drake is my ideal consumer to an extent, because he is just the person who needs my product. What we have in common is a coincidence to an extent, but not entirely.

17A - Elevator Pitch No. 2

This is my elevator pitch, same as last time. 

Reflection from last Elevator Pitch:

I received relatively positive feedback on my last elevator pitch. Those who reviewed my pitch noticed that I included statistics in my pitch, and enjoyed that because it really helped back my point in my pitch and the importance of my product. The only feedback I didn't realize I would get was based off my constructive criticism. I don't realize that I move around a lot in my videos, and I wasn't aware that it was distracting either. I tried better this time, but I think that the reason I do it is because I am not super comfortable making these videos and having to talk for 90 seconds straight. But, I do appreciate the critique because it will improve future pitch videos. 

16A - What's Your Secret Sauce?

Ways I Think I Have Human Capital That is Truly Unique

• I have great interpersonal skills, and I am great at holding conversation. This is a valuable skill, especially when making sales and attempting to bring in clients into purchasing a new product. 
• I am good with dealing with people, it is important to have compassion for others and the ability to communicate to the highest ability. 
• I have exceptional organization skills. This is a very important quality, especially when being an entrepreneur. 
• I have great work ethic, whether in the workplace or even in school work when I begin something I make sure to see it through. I especially see this being a great quality when coming to business. 
• I am very good with time management. I like to plan out my days and leave time room for any activity in particular that I need to complete. 
• Within the creative realm, I would say I have a strong suit. I am constantly coming up with new ideas and try to make it feasible in everyday life. 

Interviews Reflection

• Through my interviews, I talked to a past teacher, an old friend, my aunt, my boyfriend, and my dad. What I learned through the interviews are that they actually agree with me! I was told that although I can get overwhelmed at times, I always see everything through until the end. I was also told that even though I can get anxious or panicky when facing big struggles, I manage to pull through in the end and produce great work. I am apparently the most organized among my friends, they call me the 'mom friend.' I take pride in that because that means they think that I am always there for everyone and I take care of m friends and family. I also talked to my sister, and she mentioned how great I am with kids (her kids) and the challenges that come along with that as well. I am able to keep them on task when doing there homework and I exhibit the qualities of a leader in that way. 

15A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Segment: Football players, coaches, parents/families

Interview #1
Joseph said that the main part of his purchasing helmets/safety guards is the price, and effectiveness of them. He wants to make sure that he is getting his money's worth, and he cares about his general safety when using the product. Joseph wishes there was a way to attach safety guards to existing helmets, this way he can save money on an entire new helmet. The most likely place that he will purchase this sort of safety guard is through his football organization, or a sporting goods store. The main post-purchase aspect for him is the overall effectiveness.

Interview #2
Mary says that the main part of her purchasing helmets/safety guards is the quality, and accessibility of the products. She has two boys who play football and is most interested and focused on the safety aspect, and how long these will last for her kids football careers. Mary is a busy lady, so she is very much likely to purchase the safety equipment online. She mostly is concerned with the longevity of the lifespan of the equipment, and that she would love if it were possible to stick to their already existing helmets that they love.

Interview #3
Martin really wants what is best for his football team that he coaches. When he purchases safety equipment he always cares about the price, as he is only allotted a certain amount of money to spend on it. He is only allowed to purchase new equipment every few years so he is also focused on how long the equipment will last. He is most likely to purchase from a sporting goods store partnered with his football association, because that is where he will get the best deal. He feels like his post-purchase evaluation will be the lifespan of the safety equipment.

Conclusion:
Based on the interviews I conducted, these consumers value both price and lasting ability of the products they purchase. They want the best price, for the best quality and longest lasting equipment. People care a lot about the safety aspect, as well as overall convenience.