Growing Your Social Capital

Software Engineer Expert:

1. Who they are, what their background is:
1. Kristen, a software engineer graduate from Stevens Institute of Technology.

2. How this person is a “domain expert”:
1. She has vast experiences assisting in building different databases for large technology companies, including Citibank

3. How I found and contacted this person:
1. Kristen is a long time friend of mine.

4. Nature of Exchange: What they did for me, what is the return expectation:
1. Kristen assisted me in tailoring my software program to the specific databases of the insurance companies in order to ease access and implement effectively. In return, she will receive compensation.

5. How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity:
1. Without Kristen, and with only knowing simple coding and understanding of databases, my project idea would completely fail. I need a software engineer in order to successfully build, implement, and tailor my products for different companies.

Computer Science/ Coding Expert:

1. Who they are, what their background is:
1. Cynthia, a computer science graduate from the University of Florida.
2. How this person is a “domain expert”:
1. She has vast experiences assisting in composing coding projects for school, as well as experience working for Goldman Sachs on their robotics and coding team.
3. How I found and contacted this person:
1. Cynthia is a long time friend of mine.
4. Nature of Exchange: What they did for me, what is the return expectation:
1. Cynthia assisted me in coding my project and taking all of my ideas and composing it into a tangible item. She built my system entirely based on certain restrictions and safety measures I requested
5. How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity:
1. Cynthia single handedly built my computer system for me and allowed my project idea to come to life. In exchange, Cynthia will receive a percentage of all company income.

Consulting/Project Management Expert:

1. Who they are, what their background is:
1. Chris, a graduate of Finance from Fairfield University.
2. How this person is a “domain expert”:
1. He has had an internship with KPMG and has vast experience in the consulting industry. He has been on many client calls where he has had to assist in developing the project goals of a certain project and relaying information to developers in order for them to build the system according to the proper requirements.
3. How I found and contacted this person:
1. Chris is someone I met during career fair.
4. Nature of Exchange: What they did for me, what is the return expectation:
1. Chris built client relationships and allowed my product to be used by more clients and reach a larger audience. He was essential in making sure our company was profitable. In return, Chris gets a salary.
5. How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity:
1. Chris was able to develop client relationships and exploit opportunities for our business to grow. Additionally, he was able to convey necessary information to our clients. He is a great notetaker and helps our developers build systems according to the company’s internal structure.

Reflect: This experience requires me to narrow down the types of people I need in order to succeed in my business. It requires me to mentally invest in my “human capital” and brainstorm what I need before fully investing myself and my money into my business idea.  This will definitely affect the way I network in the future because it makes me realize that I need to value networking with individuals that I need for my business, rather than just making casual business connections.