Assignment 6 Identifying Opportunity in Regulatory and Economic Trends

Regulatory trends
 Cannabis Banking Currency

One regulatory generated opportunity that I am aware of is the need for Banking services for Marijuana distributers. It may even involve a specific currency for persons in the Marijuana industry. Since many states have started to legalize marijuana in different fashions Marijuana stores and distributers have started to open in those states. Unfortunately for them Marijuana is still an illegal drug federally, so they cannot legally use the US banking system to transact business.

I found this opportunity from news and reading. I have seen it in multiple sources over the past couple of years. It is currently a fear of people involved in the Marijuana industry that they may have their funds seized by the federal government or they need to operate in cash. The customer with the Social opportunity would be a Cannabis shop or a grower. It would be difficult to exploit because you either must create an alternative form of currency that is legal. I saw this opportunity because I follow legislation and business on a regular basis and have been watching the industry trying to expand.

Social Media monitoring/ reporting

Another regulatory generated opportunity that I have been contemplating is a service for social media privacy. Currently social media organizations use customer data without permission from people who use their platforms or search engines. Many people feel vulnerable that they don’t know who is using their information and how it is being used. There is talk about making these companies more regulated like media companies and forcing them to be more transparent with what they are doing with customer data. It would be nice to have a service that is designed to track your privacy and alert you of any institution that is using your information without consent or compensation. Much like a credit service like a LifeLock but for data mining.

 I found this opportunity from news and reading. I have watched the senate judiciary hearings with the social media executives testifying on capitol hill. Many people are concerned their data is being used and their privacy is being violated. A likely customer would be any person that uses social media services or search engines and cares about privacy. The opportunity seems to be relatively difficult to exploit because I don’t have the knowledge to design the technology it would require, but I’m sure people in the industry would be able to figure it out.

Economic Trends


Gamers Communication Platform

I would consider a communication platform designed around gamers and gaming. I thought of it myself from watching the shift in our culture and the trends on business news. Currently a lot of people don’t use Facebook and I think there is a market for a site that highlights “gamer status “and is designed to immerse them in all things gaming. Gaming has become an occupation for a small number of people that are good enough. It has taken the stigma of being the person who is living an isolated life to being a type of athlete that can become wealthy form being the best. I believe from watching the trends in on line gambling and ridiculously popular games like fortnite that this industry is growing in popularity. It is at the point where people watch people game rather than watch television shows. The typical customer would be someone who’s life is heavily influenced by gaming where they feel that it is an accomplishment. I think the opportunity would be relatively easy to exploit for a technology company. I believe once up and running with some of the more famous gamers, lower level gamers would flock to it like moths to a light.

 Juul Cases/ Wraps

My second economic trend would be high end Juuls or Juuls cases or wraps. I thought of it by watching trends in our culture and from watching the trends on business news. Juuls are the smoking device that are designed to help people stop smoking cigarettes by smoking electronic cigarettes with flavored nicotine inside. Unfortunately, they are becoming popular with teen agers and are seen as being “in”. With how materialistic urban culture is I thought it would be a market to design a wrap or case for the Juul that is expensive and decorative. It would be like wearing a high-end watch or jewelry while smoking your Juul in a case that is made of platinum with a diamond cut design. more like jewelry or a high-end watch. I think it would be easy to exploit for the right people. I don’t think it would be difficult to engineer or for a jeweler to design.