Be upfront about your curiosity, otherwise it falls apart pretty quickly if you have a deeper conversation :) What you want to focus on is learning about the space and the players, not pitching them a solution.
I tell people that I am interested in the space, and am in listening mode —> and what do they do? Tell me more....etc etc
Get out of the library and start talking to people in that field. It will take some time and have some slow starts, but the only way you learn about an industries inefficiencies and its opportunities is by hitting the pavement.
You’ll need some explanation “story” to help people understand your intentions. I am upfront and say I am interested in their space personally, and I’m looking for business opportunities - but I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know, and therefore I’m in listening mode.
With your example:
Go to the stall owners, and ask if you can talk when they’re not busy. Ask little, listen a lot. Stand there for hours and observe the different stalls. Take notes.
Map out the different players, and ask to talk to them. Eventually you’ll get connected to events that they attend, and they’ll also pass you along to their peers. Ask what conferences they attend and so on.
What is your experience, are people willing to talk for extended time with strangers about their businesses?
They will definitely know ballpark numbers about everything, that they might be willing to share.
Yes, most people are definitely willing to talk, IF you show that you value their time, and give them some context about why you're asking.
Show that you value their time by setting the space upfront, and when you're 10 minutes away, tell them "We have 10 minutes left, and I want to respect your time...". They'll decide to keep rambling or not.
Re: numbers, you can also preface with "I'm not looking to know anything confidential, but since I don't know your industry, as we talk, it would be great to have numbers with some context.
Here is my verbatim intro for learning more about cities+construction:
"Hi! I'm a technologist who left the tech world, and I'm focusing on how I can help cities. Particularly helping cities make better decisions with Data.
To prevent building something that doesn't help cities, I'm listening to key people in your space and understanding the problems they face. I'd really like to get an understanding of your role and the issues you face, particularly around the permitting process, and code compliance.
The conversation is less than an hour, and I can meet you in person, or over the phone. The questions are lightweight, no quizzes here. :)"
In my experience (not the original commenter), people like to talk, especially when the subject is their expertise. Just approach people in a sincere, hearty way.
It is a slow process, but when you're in that "listening mode", you get to hear about their (and their industry's) day-to-day challenges, problems that they encounter, and their current answers to those problems. They might not give you their whole financial records, but the insight you get is far better than what you'd end up with after searching the Internet for an afternoon.
Looks promising. While it may seem obvious, I would spell out what double-blind means, the problem it solves, and how it is used elsewhere. That then sets you up to point out how doctors use these study types, adding credibility.
My Fitbit reports the number of flights climbed - it's the Fitbit 'One' model. Along with my daily 10k steps, I have a flights climbed goal that I track through the website. Maybe it's a different model that doesn't track this?
I wouldn't say that's true. My unfunded wine startup, Swirl it! (http://swirlitapp.com) was covered by TC, and even had a video interview where we came in and swirled w/Colleen Taylor.
Off topic, but that is a really pretty wine app. You ever thought about pairing with wineries later on to get tasting packs out? After all, you have the data to make informed recommendations, so you might as well sell the wine.
Hey, thanks. We're looking at a couple ways to pair with wineries, the tough part being that the small wineries are the best market, except they're the least experimental. Big wineries have people who understand trying out new venues.
Kinda. All coastlines are public-access, but if you own the property up to the coast (say, a cabin on a river), you do not have to grant access across your property. So, you could walk down the river and hang out in front of this cabin, but you can't trespass across private property.
Correct, but if there's a pre-existing easement (right of way) you can't buy the property and then close it off. I mention it in this context because of the agreement the inn had signed to make its parking area available to campers and hikers, which it appears to have reneged on.
In case you wonder why you are getting downvoted: He is asking about a compatible API for 3rd party apps (Reeder, gReader and so on) to be able to connect to newsblur just by changing the API URL.
""Everybody had to comply with this spreadsheet," he said. "Every campus had two border routers, two cores, and two server farm switches. All the vendors had to propose exactly the same solution" based on the average number of servers deployed at each CSU campus. "All of this is based on exactly the same data to all of the vendors. It's exactly the same formula for all of the vendors.""
I tell people that I am interested in the space, and am in listening mode —> and what do they do? Tell me more....etc etc