1.  The first person I contacted was named Richard Stein. He is a 3D printing expert who works for 3D Printing Expert, Inc. He is a domain expert because he focuses on using the CAD design program to make prototypes for customers. To contact Richard I simply went to the company's website, called their number and asked if I could speak with someone who creates designs for their prototypes. They transferred me to Richard, and I explained that I am a UF student and asked him if I could ask a few questions about the 3D printing process. I explained my business idea and asked questions about the 3D printing machines themselves such as which they would prefer for my idea, how long they typically last, what kind of maintenance they need, etc. He kindly answered all of my questions and seemed glad to be able to help. He even told me I could stop by their location in Florida to check out some of their equipment and see how it works. In his opinion my idea was definitely possible, and he recommended looking into an appointment-based scheduling system. Richard was very knowledgable in this area and I believe that having included him in my network will help me learn a lot of the necessary information I need to operate this type of business.

2.  The second person I was able to get in contact with is a market expert named Jason Kildridge, a marketing associate at Shapeways.com, a website that does something similar to what I envision for my establishment. On this site, one can design, buy, sell, or participate in an online community related to 3D printing. I could not find a phone number for this company so I had to do this by e-mail. I had to e-mail a couple times before they gave me an e-mail of someone in the marketing department. I told him I'm a student, etc. and asked some questions about what their main demographic tends to be and what part of their business seems to attract the most people. He told me that their main customers who make and order custom designs on their site is mostly between 20 and 35 years old whereas the people who buy 3D printed items that are posted for sale varies greatly and is not really concentrated in any distinct age group. He was very helpful and provided some resources and research tools that I can use to find more information that may help me successfully target my prospective market.

3.  The last person I contacted was Tim Alvarado. He is a salesperson from NatureWorks LLC, a company that sells bioplastics and other materials that can be used for 3D printing. I was able to reach him at the number 952-742-0400. I asked about pricing of materials, what materials are the most popular, which are the most environmentally-friendly, and how much volume of sales they tend to do with their customers. He seemed pretty busy when I called, so he asked if he could take my e-mail and send over all the information once he got a chance. I waited, hoping he didn't just say that to get me off the phone, but he actually e-mailed me back answering all the questions I asked and providing me with an Excel file showing all the different materials they have, the regular prices, bulk prices, etc. He was very helpful and let me know that I could contact him if I had any further questions or concerns about which materials would be best for my situation.


This networking experience was definitely different than networking I've done in the past. Usually networking seems like such a pain, especially since I'm pretty introverted, but finding people online and contacting them over the phone and through e-mail was surprisingly effective. I thought it would be harder to have a genuine connection with someone with these forms of communication compared to face-to-face communication, but I was able to get very genuine help and advice from these people, and they all made it clear that I could contact them in the future. I often find myself hating on the negative aspects of social media and other online platforms that cause people to value likes, retweets, and followers more than things that actually contribute value, but at the end of the day the Internet is a very powerful tool, and using it has allowed an introverted person like myself to establish a network with very little stress.