6A- Identifying Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends

Opportunity #1: Economic
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/032216/are-we-baby-boomer-retirement-crisis.asp
I believe an opportunity exists here because there are over 76 million baby boomers out there and so many of them have little to no retirement savings which is causing a crisis. What led me to this was actually a conversation I had with my uncle who is a baby boomer where he was talking about how many of his friends have not saved enough and he was trying to find some ways to help them out so I decided to look this up specifically to get some more info about it. The customers for this opportunity would be baby boomers and also just people in general who are struggling to save up for their retirement or just beginning to do so. I believe there is an opportunity that exists here because it involves such a large amount of customers who are all struggling with the same problem. This opportunity may also not be as hard to exploit just because it is such a common unmet need among so many people, however, it does include factors such as the stock market which is very difficult to control or predict sometimes.

I saw the opportunity just because I was already aware of the problem after discussing it with my uncle and getting personal info and feedback from him about it. I also know a lot about social security benefits because I used to receive some from and my grandparents do and I know that there is less and less in the pot every year for social security.
Opportunity #2: Economic
https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/gx/en/insights/industry-trends/2018-oil-gas.html
I believe there is an opportunity that exists here because oil and gas is one of the key necessities all consumers need. As research has shown, the price of oil is rebounding to up to 70$ a barrel. Increased US exports has caused the activity levels of oil and gas to go up and supply is very limited. Many people have been sticking to the belief that supply is easy to bring up and demand will flatten out but that just isn't the case. The customers with this opportunity is essentially any US citizen since oil and gas are vital to everyday needs and operations for the most part. This opportunity is relatively easy to exploit just because these resources are so universally needed by everyone and is one of the backbones to our market.

I saw this opportunity because I understand how important gas and oil are to the economy and I also have followed the decrease in supply for them over recent time which has caused a lot of chatter and potential problems to US citizens.
Opportunity #3: Regulatory
https://www.businessinsider.com/plastic-bans-around-the-world-2019-4
I definitely believe that there is an opportunity here because eco friendly products are popping up every day now and in todays world if innovation is linked right to products that help the environment especially with climate change being such a big deal recently. Plastic bags are one of the leading products of pollution and are used by so many people everyday so the fact that they are being banned means there will have to be better and more eco-friendly things to take its place which is why I believe there is a lot of opportunity in this. The customer for this opportunity is US shoppers of any kind whether it be at the grocery store or the mall. Also the manufactures of the bags have a problem since they are the ones who make money off of them as well as the store and company owners who now have to find a new product to give to their customers. This opportunity is relatively easier to exploit because plastic bags are so widely used not just in this country but around the world.

I believe I specifically saw this opportunity because of my background of living in the Florida Keys for most of my life. Everything there is about keeping our oceans clean and protecting our environment because everything we do revolves around it especially our economy so we try to be as eco friendly as we can.
Opportunity #4: Regulatory
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/09/11/donald-trump-wants-to-ban-flavored-vapes-discourage-young-people-from-e-cigarettes/2284270001/
This is kind of a different opportunity than others at least in my opinion because e-cigarettes were kind of like the opportunity previously as it was the alternative to smoking tobacco but now they are causing harm as well especially to young kids and they are getting banned. I still believe there is an opportunity here though just because in the market of young kids and teens, they are always looking for something to create a trend with. The source of all this comes right from our very own backyards since so many kids our age are using vapes and e-cigarettes. Lately however, more and more incidents and evidence of extreme harm to kids caused by these e-cigarettes have been coming up. The customers to this opportunity would be the young teens and kids who abuse these e-cigarettes as well as actual smokers who use them in efforts to quit smoking. The actual companies such as JUUL who sell these vapes have a big problem now as this is a market potentially worth up to 20 billion dollars. This is a relatively easy opportunity to exploit just because it is such a large market that literally runs off of peoples addictions however, because of its negative effects and the harm it has been causing it will always have that negative view towards it for awhile as well.

I saw this as an opportunity just because I see it everyday with my friends and how everyone seems to use them and I am always thinking about how it will change and I am always seeing more and more e-cigarettes come out all the time.