20A

I’ve contacted a family friend who has worked on developing apps. I would consider them to be a domain expert as they have created multiple apps before. My brother gave me their phone number and I called them. They told me that they could get me into contact with their colleagues to ask questions about app development and the various components of coding apps. Although initially, I was under the assumption that app development was a rather simple thing, the programmer I spoke with described to me the true intricacies of making an app. In order to effectively develop a working app, a team is usually required in order to make sure all design and functionality aspects of the app are good to go.

The second person I came into contact with is a small grocery store owner in Montreal, Quebec. The mission of their store is to provide ecologically conscious and organic products to consumers, boycotting large corporate food markets that are not as strict with ingredient standards. The owner described to me that a large percentage of consumers at his store tend to be younger - middle-aged people who are likewise aware of the array of bad ingredients in today’s supermarkets. The owner felt that my app could be of importance to this same consumer market, considering not everybody has a health-conscious grocery store in their neighborhood.

The third and final person I spoke with was a product manager in corporate at my place of employment, Fresh Market. Although she is not a direct supplier in the industry, She described me to the process of how Fresh Market chooses and filters their products from suppliers. In addition to their strict rules towards organic products and fewer chemical products, Fresh Market will work with local farmers and produce owners who supply the products to Fresh Market. After explaining to the manager my app idea, she thought that it would be a great way for consumers to be more conscious of what ingredients and chemicals are in the products they buy, and might get more people to start consuming local products in order to see where these things actually come from.

This experience forced me to “put myself out there”. I believe this was a positive experience as it forced me to get into contact with people in my prospective field. This experience was different from previous networking experiences because I have a tighter grasp on what my idea is and what it takes to make it come to fruition. Since I’ve done extensive research on this idea I was more confident with networking with experts.