It is who you know

Domain expert
Alex F. Strategic Digital Engagement Expert
Alex is a long time friend and colleague that has helped grow many organizations and build out new business units. We met in 2004 and have worked to together at 2 different companies. He is an experienced developer and has vast experience in building enterprise level web products.

Aligning with him brings expert advice with technology and business architecture. Long term, if the new venture succeeds then he is a prime candidate to bring on either as a partner or board adviser.

Market expert
Julee B. Product Owner
She is user experience expert that manages groups of developers to build web campaigns and applications for fortune 1000 companies. I met her at the local technology meetups that happen every other month. These networking event have led to many new friends or associates that are all hungry to grow.

Julee has access to many freelancers and has great experience that spans multiple industries so she can potentially help frame the core engagements in the product. Her time is very limited but she would be a great adviser on the board.

Supplier
Shane B. Musician
Shane is my brother and has been playing music on or off for more than 10 years. He also has a sales background and understands the nightlife scene very well.

He has a boots on the ground perspective that is important for the product I am creating and is very interested in becoming a brand ambassador that will also help him book more gigs.

Reflection
As long as I keep reaching out to new people and earnestly taking their feedback then I think the business will succeed. It does pull me out of my comfort zone and some feedback is delivered very bluntly but I think most people want to see their friends or associates succeed. Some of the attendees of the meetups seem to be very guarded and view the events as competitive but most others are looking to learn so I sit near them. Much more rewarding when you actually speak and listen.