Growing Your Social Capital

Domain Expert:

1. Who they are, what their background is:

• Eddie Cromer, Chief Operating Officer and Chef at Daily Green in Gainesville, FL.

2. How this person is a “domain expert”:

• He spends almost 16 hours a day in the restaurant and has created an inventive menu of satisfying vegan, vegetarian and gluten free meals. 

3. How I found and contacted this person:

• I googled vegan/vegetarian restaurants and looked for more information about the owners. I read a couple articles about Eddie's philosophy and found that it very much aligned with my philosophy. 

4. Nature of Exchange: What they did for me, what is the return expectation:

• The Contact page on the Daily Green website has a place to send an email. I sent an email specifically directed to Eddie asking to connect with him and learn more about his experience in the health-food restaurant industry for the past 7 years. I hope that when I hear back from him we can talk over the phone or in person so that I can learn more about the good and the bad aspects of this type of business and what he wishes he had known before starting the business. 

5. How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity:

• Eddie’s commitment to serving high-quality, fresh food is exactly what I hope to do with Plantiful. A quote from the website says, "Eddie is obsessed with the quality of every dish that leaves the Daily Green kitchen. From the freshness of the ingredients to the presentation on the plate, Eddie carves the perfect middle ground between consistency and creativity." I'm inspired not only by his years of experience, but his dedication to making Gainesville a healthier place. Developing a relationship with him would allow me to determine the pain points for the owners and the customers alike and how I can improve my idea for Plantiful so that it can become a viable business idea. 

Market Expert:

1. Who they are, what their background is:

• Zach Vouga, the co-founder of Plant Power, a vegan burger joint in San Diego, CA.

2. How this person is a “market expert”:

• Vouga played a vital role in helping Plant Power take over the on-campus space at San Diego State University that formerly housed The Den, a quick-service spot run by Denny’s. 

3. How I found and contacted this person:

• I googled 'Vegan Fast Food at Universities' and Zach Vouga/Plant Power were the first thing to pop up in my results. I read a couple articles about the restaurant and decided that he was the best person to contact because SDSU just added Plant Power as a healthy vegan option on their campus in within the last year. 

4. Nature of Exchange: What they did for me, what is the return expectation:

• I found him on LinkedIn, so I sent him a message letting him now how much I appreciate his effort to create more vegan/vegetarian options for college students and how I wish there were more options on campuses around the country, especially here in Florida.  

5. How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity:

• Although realistically I don't think I'll get a response back from him, it would be great if I could ask him about how he markets to college students. He is currently in the space of marketing vegan fast food to college students, which is exactly what I hope to do with Plantiful, so I would love to pick his brain about what he has learned so far from bringing Plant Power to the SDSU campus.

Industry Supplier:

1. Who they are, what their background is:

• Rainbow Produce Wholesale Fruits & Vegetables. 

2. How this person is a “industry supplier”:

• I couldn't identify a specific person, but I found that Rainbow Produce is the closest supplier of fresh produce at affordable prices. They source their fruit and vegetables from local farmers and pass them on to our customers at low prices. This is the major draw for me because sustainability is a huge factor for my business idea. I want to make sure I am using the most sustainable practices for sourcing food. And I really want to support the local farmers near Gainesville. 

3. How I found and contacted this person:

• I simply googled 'Produce Suppliers in Gainesville' and Rainbow Produce was at the top of the results. I went to their website to learn more about them and find their contact information. I went to the Contact Us page on their website to send them a message asking to learn more about how to work with them in the future. 

4. Nature of Exchange: What they did for me, what is the return expectation:

• In my email I explained that I am in a class and have a product idea (and then explained the idea with my pitch). I told them I would need a lot of fresh produce to create fresh, wholesome vegan meals, and that I am very passionate about supporting local farmers in the community. 

5. How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity:

• Before this exchange, I really hadn’t thought about how I would source the food. I jut sort of thought that in a perfect world it would all somehow work out. This really made me realize there are much more logistical aspects to this idea than I had originally thought.

Finally: Reflect.
Finding people who know about my product/idea, or better yet, are experts in the field, proved to be challenging. It wasn't terribly difficult finding people in the health/food industry, however it was surprisingly difficult to find information about these people. Regardless of whether I hear back from them, this exercise gave me an idea for how to go about finding them. The next step is figuring out how to get my idea in front of them. I'm especially excited that I found out about Eddie because he is running a similar business here in Gainesville, and I feel like he could be a great mentor to me in this endeavor. Overall, I feel like I found some great people that will be able to help elevate my idea and even help me bring it to life.