Assignment 20A: Growing Your Social Capital

DOMAIN EXPERT

·       Who are they/Background:

o   Dr. Marlon Ilagan is a gastroenterologist at the Center for Digestive Health in Orlando, Florida.

·       Which Slot:

o   Dr. Ilagan, like I mentioned above, is a GI so he knows a lot about digestive issues including food allergies and sensitivities. He knows about the different food panel tests that are offered in doctors’ offices and in stores.

·       How I Found Him:

o   When I was a freshman in college, I had to start seeing a gastroenterologist and I went to the Center for Digestive Health. He was one of the doctors I had to see for a check-up appointment recently, so I thought that I would be a good time to ask him.

·       Nature of the Exchange:

o   As you can imagine he was very busy, but he was able to humor me and answer my questions. He said that a basic food test might help, but he also brought up that some people have severe allergies to foods that would not be included in my food test panel. He said maybe that this might be better suited for home use, so the consumer might not be overwhelmed and leave the more extensive ones with the GIs.

·       Exploiting the Opportunity:

o   Having a GI in my network will help me figure out what products work where and how I can help make their lives easier. I did not even think of having my food panel test idea available for purchase at stores because I was focusing on a partnership with doctors. A GI would give me more insight to how they deal with food allergies and sensitivities.

MARKET EXPERT

·       Who are they/Background:

o   Jeff Randazzo is a family friend. He family has had many negative experiences with food allergies/sensitivities.

·       Which Slot:

o   Jeff fills the slot as market expert because he fits into one of my target markets. He is a father of 3 young children, all of which have had serious food allergies develop when they were about 7-8 years old.

·       How I Found Him:

o   I was talking about this assignment to my sister and she said that Jeff would be a great person to contact. He had gone through a struggle that most parents go through when discovering that their children have food allergies.

·       Nature of the Exchange:

o   My sister gave me his number and we were able to talk on the phone for a few minutes because he lives in New York. He said it was a good idea because it wasn’t until his third child displayed food allergy symptoms that he knew what to do. He said that having doctors bring it up at pediatrician appointments would be very valuable.

·       Exploiting the Opportunity:

o   I think that it can really help when you talk to people who have experienced a similar issue. You can see what their struggles were, as compared to yours, and take that into consideration when developing a product. No two people go through the same experience; however, it is beneficial to hear from someone else and I can take Jeff’s experiences into consideration and tweak my product accordingly.

INDUSTRY EXPERT

·       Who are they/Background:

o   Dr. Brooke Britton is a pediatrician that works in Orlando, Florida.

·       Which Slot:

o   Dr. Britton would fit into the industry expert slot because I would want pediatricians to bring up my food panel tests at their appointments and start preparing young adults or the parents of young children about food allergies. He would be the one “selling” the idea of taking a food allergy/sensitivity test.

·       How I Found Him:

o   My brother recommended him to me because that was my brother’s pediatrician. He said he might have some time to answer a quick question. 

·       Nature of the Exchange:

o   The conversation was very brief, but he was able to provide me with some comments. He said that it might be very challenging to get many doctors on board because there are so many diseases, issues, vaccinations, etc. that doctors have to touch on and they do not want to overwhelm the patients.

·       Exploiting the Opportunity:

o   It is hard to know all different diseases, vaccinations, and health issues that can affect people. Without speaking with Dr. Britton, I probably would not have known that doctors and patients might become a little overwhelmed with all of this information. However, working with him and other pediatricians would allow me to find a common ground that would be beneficial to me, the doctors, and the patients.

Reflection: This targeted networking assignment was more difficult than the other interviews. It took me a bit of time to talk with the experts, especially the doctors. Because these experts can be very busy, it is helpful to come with a prepared list of questions (you do not know how long they can be free for). But I did appreciate hearing feedback from the other side, not just getting all my feedback from potential consumers. My experience for this assignment was different from other networking experiences because of the time factor. I was only able to achieve a surface level connection because the interviewees knew me because of someone else. It is important, time permitting, that a deeper connection is made by doing little things like shaking someone’s hand or asking how their day went.