Growing My Circle

Nick Brunk: Auquculture Expert, Focus on Algae Research

Nicholas Brunk is a UCLA graduate in aquaculture who lives in Miami, Florida and is a neighbor of mine. I recently donated a complete marine tank setup to his research to aid in his production of algae. I gave him my elevator pitch, and he immediately asked me what my plan was to bring it to life. So I told him that I was considering the fact that producing cheap education isn’t cheap, and that the best way to teach is to show, not tell. So we started brainstorming what kinds of projects would make this plan viable, and through the conversation an idea evolved: a full sustainable technology research firm. The core business would be sustainable solutions, but the differentiation would be the integration of an educational outlet which would not only help grow the STEM pipeline which would feed employees and innovation, but would also allow for a diverse array of employees. Most firms that Brunk has worked with employ people for core operations and outsource most nonessential tasks such as IT and marketing. Even though I approached him as a favor to help me with my idea, he said he is looking for a project he can get behind and is interested in seeing how this idea pans out in the UF Business Idea competition. He is willing to work with me on it, and should the plan be successful, would be willing to develop the business alongside me. His connections and expertise are an invaluable resource to me.

Itai Beaudoin de Roca:

Itai is a director of the Tangency Foundation, the organization I work with. He has handled much of the outreach and marketing for the organization, and is familiar with using google trends and adwords to target the very market I am going after. I approached him asking him how he thought I should prepare a plan to do consumer outreach as to the specific forms of the projects that consumers would be interested in learning though, and how I could go about building a reputation. His advice was clear and concise: Focus on development, and then humanize that development. If my product is something that will truly offer a solution to a problem, then humanizing it will be the key to capturing the image we need and the market share we desire.

Doron Zilbershtein:

My father is a Doctoral Professor overseeing PhD. candidates on their final stretch towards their dissertations. his focus is on business psychology, but he has a background in naval architecture. As a professor he is consistently looking at resources to provide for his students, as well as aiding in the creation of those resources if not developing them himself. While he does not create resources for my target segment, he is familiar with the general process behind creating educational materials, and when I asked him about how to go about developing my ida further, he suggested the radial approach. tarting with the core, work outwards. So create the scaffolding of the course, and with that I can start planning what to do with it afterwards. 

Reflection:

Combining the advice I got from the three people I interviewed, I am left with a direction and a plan of attack. I think once I flesh out the plan some more I will reach out to people a couple of degrees of separation more disjunct.