Identifying Opportunities pt. 2
Opportunity #1
Where I found it: https://floridapolitics.com/archives/317970-vaping-pulled-out-of-tobacco-21-bill-and-put-in-new-bill-both-pass-senate-panel
Why I believe an opportunity might exist: The article describes a new Florida law that is banning, among other things, the sale of vape products to anyone under the age of 21. Vaping, to most teens, might start out as a cool thing to do with friends but it can soon become beyond addictive. Because vaping is highly addictive, those under the age of 21 will need some sort of help to stop vaping in order to live with the effects of this new law. That is why I see the opportunity for more drug rehab centers to open. Parents may be more willing to send their kids to get help now that the law makes it difficult for their kids to access the "fix" to their addiction. Also, with more young people and adults now realizing the harm caused by vaping, many more people may want to get help in quitting.
(I am not oblivious to the fact that vape products will still get into the hands of people under 21, there's no way to stop this.)
The prototypical customer: Most students don't have the money to pay for their own drug rehab treatments so our customers would be concerned parents whose children use and are addicted to vape products.
Is the opportunity easy or difficult to exploit? This opportunity is difficult to exploit for three reasons. One, because young people might not fully understand the dangers of using vape products and may not realize they need help. Two, because young people who are addicted to vape products will find a way to get around this new law potentially by having older friends buy these for them. Three, because parents may not identify the addiction of their children as needing professional help.
Why did you see the opportunity?
Opportunity #2
Where I found it: https://www.wptv.com/news/state/florida-cracks-down-on-texting-and-driving
Why I believe an opportunity might exist: This article talks about a new Florida law banning texting and driving. Police Officers are now "on the lookout" for distracted drivers according to the article. Because of the potential fines and punishments, drivers either need to stop texting and driving or look for cops better to avoid the tickets. I believe there is an opportunity here to sell radar detectors. These alert vehicles of potential police radar traps which will allow drivers the opportunity to put their phone down before they pass police vehicles.
The prototypical customer: Our prototypical customer would be people from Generation Y and Z. We would target those in these demographics who use their phone when driving, who don't want to obey the law but are afraid of getting ticketed.
Is the opportunity easy or difficult to exploit? I see this as a very niche market that would be difficult to exploit. The main reason is that among young people, apps are very popular. One app, Waze, has this idea of marking cops' locations, among other things, in motion already. It allows real people to mark the police cars so it may seem more reliable to potential customers. The secondary reason is that most people agree that texting and driving is bad. Buying a product that indirectly enables said person to do it and not get caught seems bad enough to most that they probably wouldn't spend money on one.
Why did you see the opportunity?
Opportunity #3
Where I found it: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/impact-u-commercial-real-estate-171300312.html
Why I believe an opportunity might exist: I was researching the economic boom we are experiencing in the US right now and I found that commercial development is expanding rapidly. This is clear to us at The University of Florida as we can see how much construction is going on around our campus. With all these new beautiful buildings comes the need for more and more people to clean their interiors. Thus, I believe I found a big opportunity in Gainesville with an almost unlimited work supply. There is a major need for interior cleaning companies from all the new commercial developments in the area due to the upward economic trend.
The prototypical customer: Our target customer would be large apartment complexes, office spaces, and new business stores here in Gainesville who want a clean building.
Is the opportunity easy or difficult to exploit? This opportunity would be easy to exploit because there are so many buildings with all our new construction here in Gainesville that our work is potentially easily accessible. We just have to present ourselves as professionals and we should have plenty of opportunities to get our foot in the door.
Why did you see the opportunity?
Opportunity #4
Where I found it: https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/11/05/is-cognex-sitill-a-growth-stock.aspx
Why I believe an opportunity might exist: In case you missed it, the economy is booming. Also, the minimum wage rate is rising with some wanting to push it to extreme highs. Walmart is paying a $12 minimum wage now and the reason they can afford this is that they are investing in robotic/automation devices that will do the work of humans. As this economic trend continues to rise towards a $15 minimum wage, pushed by many progressive presidential candidates, companies will be forced to further rely on robotic devices and warehouse automation to survive to labor market shift. This is why I see an opportunity in investing in stocks of key automation and robotic companies like Cognex. This is the market of the future and is predicted to grow rapidly over the next decade.
The prototypical customer: The prototypical customer is anyone willing to invest in what potentially could be a massive market. You might have to be half crazy and a half fearless to invest. The economic trends show that this is where massive industries like automobile manufacturing are headed. Amazon is already using this technology on a smaller scale.
Is the opportunity easy or difficult to exploit? It's easy to invest money into companies but it is very risky. I think that this is an easy opportunity to exploit, however, it is a market where one can win big or lose big. Everyone thought Facebook would fail so investors dropped their shares of Facebook stock. Now up from $22 to $210, it seems that was a bad idea. This sector could be the next industry to rapidly expand.
Thank you for reading my post!
Cason
Where I found it: https://floridapolitics.com/archives/317970-vaping-pulled-out-of-tobacco-21-bill-and-put-in-new-bill-both-pass-senate-panel
Why I believe an opportunity might exist: The article describes a new Florida law that is banning, among other things, the sale of vape products to anyone under the age of 21. Vaping, to most teens, might start out as a cool thing to do with friends but it can soon become beyond addictive. Because vaping is highly addictive, those under the age of 21 will need some sort of help to stop vaping in order to live with the effects of this new law. That is why I see the opportunity for more drug rehab centers to open. Parents may be more willing to send their kids to get help now that the law makes it difficult for their kids to access the "fix" to their addiction. Also, with more young people and adults now realizing the harm caused by vaping, many more people may want to get help in quitting.
(I am not oblivious to the fact that vape products will still get into the hands of people under 21, there's no way to stop this.)
The prototypical customer: Most students don't have the money to pay for their own drug rehab treatments so our customers would be concerned parents whose children use and are addicted to vape products.
Is the opportunity easy or difficult to exploit? This opportunity is difficult to exploit for three reasons. One, because young people might not fully understand the dangers of using vape products and may not realize they need help. Two, because young people who are addicted to vape products will find a way to get around this new law potentially by having older friends buy these for them. Three, because parents may not identify the addiction of their children as needing professional help.
Why did you see the opportunity?
- I believe I saw this opportunity because I have had the opportunity to know many people who have been in drug rehab centers and have come out completely changed people for the better. I also have heard how dangerous vaping products are from first-hand witnesses who have been in facilities where vape products are made. Because of this, I not only see how life-changing rehab centers can be for people addicted to various things but, as a person with friends who are completely addicted, how needed they are. I see a solution when many see no hope.
Opportunity #2
Where I found it: https://www.wptv.com/news/state/florida-cracks-down-on-texting-and-driving
Why I believe an opportunity might exist: This article talks about a new Florida law banning texting and driving. Police Officers are now "on the lookout" for distracted drivers according to the article. Because of the potential fines and punishments, drivers either need to stop texting and driving or look for cops better to avoid the tickets. I believe there is an opportunity here to sell radar detectors. These alert vehicles of potential police radar traps which will allow drivers the opportunity to put their phone down before they pass police vehicles.
The prototypical customer: Our prototypical customer would be people from Generation Y and Z. We would target those in these demographics who use their phone when driving, who don't want to obey the law but are afraid of getting ticketed.
Is the opportunity easy or difficult to exploit? I see this as a very niche market that would be difficult to exploit. The main reason is that among young people, apps are very popular. One app, Waze, has this idea of marking cops' locations, among other things, in motion already. It allows real people to mark the police cars so it may seem more reliable to potential customers. The secondary reason is that most people agree that texting and driving is bad. Buying a product that indirectly enables said person to do it and not get caught seems bad enough to most that they probably wouldn't spend money on one.
Why did you see the opportunity?
- I have a friend who uses a radar detector to avoid getting speeding tickets and it works exceptionally well for him. I saw this as a potential way to not only alert drivers of radar detectors but indirectly of cops who could potentially catch them on their phones. Because many people only think of them as devices to avoid speeding tickets, a simple rebranding could boost sales for those who don't want to get "phone usage" tickets. This is why I saw the opportunity.
Opportunity #3
Where I found it: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/impact-u-commercial-real-estate-171300312.html
Why I believe an opportunity might exist: I was researching the economic boom we are experiencing in the US right now and I found that commercial development is expanding rapidly. This is clear to us at The University of Florida as we can see how much construction is going on around our campus. With all these new beautiful buildings comes the need for more and more people to clean their interiors. Thus, I believe I found a big opportunity in Gainesville with an almost unlimited work supply. There is a major need for interior cleaning companies from all the new commercial developments in the area due to the upward economic trend.
The prototypical customer: Our target customer would be large apartment complexes, office spaces, and new business stores here in Gainesville who want a clean building.
Is the opportunity easy or difficult to exploit? This opportunity would be easy to exploit because there are so many buildings with all our new construction here in Gainesville that our work is potentially easily accessible. We just have to present ourselves as professionals and we should have plenty of opportunities to get our foot in the door.
Why did you see the opportunity?
- For the past four summers, I have worked with a painting company here in Gainesville. During this time, I have gotten to see a lot of cleaning companies in action and how important they are in the business world. My father, who owns a commercial painting company, hires people to clean his offices. I think that this has allowed me to see that there is the potential to make good money in doing this work and that the opportunities are almost endless. The economy may crash causing less commercial development, however, the buildings being built all over will need cleaning forever.
Opportunity #4
Where I found it: https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/11/05/is-cognex-sitill-a-growth-stock.aspx
Why I believe an opportunity might exist: In case you missed it, the economy is booming. Also, the minimum wage rate is rising with some wanting to push it to extreme highs. Walmart is paying a $12 minimum wage now and the reason they can afford this is that they are investing in robotic/automation devices that will do the work of humans. As this economic trend continues to rise towards a $15 minimum wage, pushed by many progressive presidential candidates, companies will be forced to further rely on robotic devices and warehouse automation to survive to labor market shift. This is why I see an opportunity in investing in stocks of key automation and robotic companies like Cognex. This is the market of the future and is predicted to grow rapidly over the next decade.
The prototypical customer: The prototypical customer is anyone willing to invest in what potentially could be a massive market. You might have to be half crazy and a half fearless to invest. The economic trends show that this is where massive industries like automobile manufacturing are headed. Amazon is already using this technology on a smaller scale.
Is the opportunity easy or difficult to exploit? It's easy to invest money into companies but it is very risky. I think that this is an easy opportunity to exploit, however, it is a market where one can win big or lose big. Everyone thought Facebook would fail so investors dropped their shares of Facebook stock. Now up from $22 to $210, it seems that was a bad idea. This sector could be the next industry to rapidly expand.
Why did you see the opportunity?
- My dad told me several days ago that I should be working at Walmart instead of at Mark Bostick Golf Course because Walmart pays $4 more per hour (for minimum wage). This intrigued me as I didn't know how they could afford to pay their employees so much more money. This week my friend sent me a picture of an automated inventory counter operating in a local Gainesville Walmart Supercenter. They are hiring fewer workers and partially switching to robotic machines for certain tasks. This is why they can pay more money to new workers. This is what I saw and I believe as the minimum wage gets higher and higher, which I believe it will, the demand for automated technology in the workplace will be demanded much greater. This is why and how I saw this investment opportunity.
Thank you for reading my post!
Cason
Hello Cason!
ReplyDeleteFirst off, great job on this post!
I absolutely agree with your first opportunity regarding the ban of vape products to individuals under the age of 21. I have always found it odd that we are able to buy tobacco when we are 18 years of age, but not drink until we are 21. Yet both have severe impacts on our health. This could be better for those who have been addicted to nicotine products and to prevent further people from getting addicted, as you stated in your comment.
The rest of your opportunities were great as well, this one was just my favorite! Thank you for sharing.
Caitlyn Torres
Cason,
ReplyDeleteTexting and driving is a huge issue in today’s society, and causes many deaths every year. Even though there is technology continually being introduced so that people can communicate hands-free, people still go on social media apps like Instagram, and get distracted by notifications. Therefore, it is important that law enforcement cracks down on electronic usage while driving, so that more lives can be saved.
Hi Carson,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these articles and great job at being able to spot the potential for different opportunities with each one. The article you shared on the commercial real estate boom definitely stood out to me as well as being a huge economic opportunity. Especially in Gainesville it seems that new commercial real estate development is beginning everyday. I'm sure that field has been very lucrative to those in it in the recent years and hopefully will continue to be. Great post!