Identifying Opportunities in Regulatory and Economic Trends

Regulatory Trends

1)      Vaping Regulations

Source: https://news.wfsu.org/post/after-federal-moves-e-cigarettes-some-florida-lawmakers-eye-enforcement

Congress recently increased the age of tobacco/nicotine product purchases to 21 and have also reduced the number of available flavors on the market to further deter purchases from minors. An opportunity may exist in this regulation to produce a nicotine-free or very low nicotine content device that helps people to wean off vaping. A prototypical customer would be a young adult who had developed a vaping habit and has a desire to quit based on the ever-increasing body of evidence showing its harmful effects. However, this opportunity would be somewhat hard to exploit due to the number of regulatory hoops to jump through in order to put a vaping-related product on the market.

2)      Plastic Straw Ban

Source: https://mycbs4.com/news/local/gainesville-plastic-straw-ban-goes-into-effect-on-january-1

Alachua County placed a ban on plastic straws on January 1^st of this year. Since paper straws are not necessarily as effective as plastic ones, an opportunity may exist to create a reusable form of straw such as a metal one in order to satisfy the customer that is used to plastic straws. The prototypical customer can vary greatly in this instance because nearly everyone uses straws frequently, which is why this opportunity may be much easier to exploit.

Economic Trends

1)      Increasing Real Estate Investment

Source: https://azbigmedia.com/lifestyle/home-and-design/top-8-housing-trends-thatll-dominate-2020/

Investment in real estate is expected to increase due to new technology that increases management capabilities and lower vacancy rates. An opportunity may exist in this trend to capitalize on the growing market in managerial technology, so something like an app that allows easy communication between property owners, managers and residents would be appealing. The prototypical customer could range from anyone who owns/manages real estate to tenants/residents, and would therefore make this opportunity relatively easy to exploit assuming little difficulty in app development.

2)      Decreasing Oil Prices

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/06/05/major-economic-trends-all-downbeat/#4f47da713fe6

Oil prices dramatically decreased beginning last April and are expected to decrease further into 2020. This may bring more attention to the issue of climate change and the urgency to increase renewable energy consumption, so an opportunity may exist in development of renewable energy. The prototypical customer is likely someone who is environmentally cautious, but exploiting this opportunity may be more difficult in that start-up renewable energy implies a huge initial investment.

I drew on a lot of personal experience in my own formulation of these potential opportunities. Vaping is a massive issue among young adults my age, and the plastic straw man took effect in Alachua County. Additionally, my uncle is a real estate appraiser in Tampa and I have had the chance to talk to him briefly about real estate investment trends.