Opportunity #1 (economic trends) National gas price plans to keep increasing.
(a) Where did you find it? As a daily driver, I've been noticing the rising price of gas myself for a long time. This article explains the yearly average cost of gas price and how it's increasing. https://gasprices.aaa.com/national-gas-price-average-holds-steady-ahead-of-labor-day-weekend/
(b) What leads you to believe that this information suggests an opportunity might exist? I'm pairing this information with my own personal experience. Now that it takes roughly $5 more to fill up my car's gas tank, I'm more choosy on where I purchase my gas from. If I can help it, I go to a gas station that has the lowest advertised price or if there isn't one considerably lower nearby, I go to the gas station that has something else to offer. Since lowering the gas price isn't doable everywhere, I think the unmet need in this situation is a service that can offset the increased price. Similarly to when Wawa has their "$1 any size drink" promotion. The promotion used to work on me, but it doesn't work on everyone. It needs to be more varied or on a rotation to catch someone's attention.
(c) Who do you think is most likely to be the customer with the opportunity? Someone who drives enough to stop at a gas station frequently and is probably on a stricter budget.
(d) Is the opportunity relatively easy or relatively difficult to exploit, and why do you think so? I think focusing on a promotional service rather than adjusting the actual gas price is a relatively easy way to exploit this opportunity. When gas prices rise, drivers tend to feel helpless because no matter what, they still need gas to go about their daily tasks. By offering a service or product to accompany the gas purchase, not only will it bring in new customers, it creates the opportunity to gain returning customers who will become familiar with the establishment. That way if the price of gas were to decrease elsewhere, customers might still prefer to keep going back to what they are familiar with.
Why did you see the opportunity? I think I saw this opportunity because it isn't unique. I'm building on an already established promotion technique used by popular gas stations, but I am combining it with my own personal experience. When I stopped drinking diet soda, I no longer found Wawa's drink promotion as appealing. This might be the case for a large number of potential customers. If Wawa, or another gas station, were to use a rotation of frequently changing promotions of a variety of products, they could continue to catch the attention of other drivers.
Opportunity #2 (economic trends) Housing shortage is creating a seller's market.
(a) Where did you find it? I've always been interested in real estate and with my brother moving next year, I've been keeping a watchful eye on listing prices in nearby areas. I've noticed a trend of increasing prices in my area. I've also been hearing on the news about the housing shortage driving the cost of houses up and this article explains about how that is impacting housing market all over the nation. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/12/the-housing-shortage-may-be-turning-warning-of-a-price-bubble.html
(b) What leads you to believe that this information suggests an opportunity might exist? Similarly to the first opportunity, I am pairing the information with my own personal experience of looking for places to rent. I've been browsing Zillow.com for years, usually out for fun, but sometimes for actual house hunting when someone I know is looking to move. I've noticed several things over the years: prices are going up and options are getting lean. Zillow is the leader in convenience, but sometimes the information isn't updated fast enough and the price estimates can be way off. Quickly finding a house that meets a renter's requirements is the unmet need in this situation.
(c) Who do you think is most likely to be the customer with the opportunity? Someone who is currently looking for a house and is frustrated with the available search options, but doesn't want to pay for a realtor.
(d) Is the opportunity relatively easy or relatively difficult to exploit, and why do you think so? Time is of the essence when looking for a place to rent. It can be very frustrating spending hours looking at a place only to find out it's already been taken or there is a long wait list. The opportunity I see in this situation could easily be exploited with a notification system that let's you know when something has become available that fits your needs. It could be in the form of a mobile app or a website. It would take in account the area you are looking to live, the features you deem most important, and what the price range you have set. If what the information you entered wasn't feasible, it would tell you which factors need to be readjusted. This would create a more realistic expectation of what is obtainable for the renter.
Why did you see the opportunity? I saw this opportunity because I have spent many hours looking at real estate in different areas and at different price ranges. When a listing has been updated in a few days or even weeks, it can mislead potential renters into wasting their time.
Opportunity #3 (regulatory changes) FDA puts Juul Pods on notice for underage use.
(a) Where did you find it? The popularity of Juul Pods can be seen all over social media and on the news. I personally know several people who use vape pens. I recently heard on the news of the FDA targeting Juul Labs for underage usage. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/health/juul-fda-vaping-ecigarettes.html
(b) What leads you to believe that this information suggests an opportunity might exist? I think the unmet need in this situation is a realistic way to enforce the law and keep Juul Pods out of a teen's possession. We know teen smoking is on the rise because of these devices and their easy access to them. If it continues on the way it is, we are going to see future generations with an increase in smoking-related illnesses.
(c) Who do you think is most likely to be the customer with the opportunity? Stores that sell vape pens.
(d) Is the opportunity relatively easy or relatively difficult to exploit, and why do you think so? I think the reason why this has even become an issue is because it's so hard to control. Vapes are easier than cigarettes to get a hold of because teens only need to worry about illegally buying the device once, compared to the higher frequency of repurchasing cigarettes. Though difficult, the only thing I could think of that could exploit this opportunity would be to place a higher tax on e-liquid that contains nicotine. Raising the price might put it out of a teen's budget.
Why did you see the opportunity? I saw this opportunity from personally visiting vape shops and seeing how inexpensive it is compared to smoking cigarettes.
Opportunity #4 (regulatory changes) Affordable Clean Energy rule will allow individual states to set regulations over their coal plants.
(a) Where did you find it? I've heard about this on the news. It's a big deal as it has the potential to create an everlasting negative environmental impact. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/how-trump-is-changing-science-environment/
(b) What leads you to believe that this information suggests an opportunity might exist? I believe urgency and common sense is what shows there might be an opportunity here. The unmet need in this situation would be the concern for the protection of the environment. Ambiguous and bias regulations from each state could create an environmental disaster. It doesn't matter if California would uphold strict regulations if West Virginia is going to do enough damage for both states. Something needs to be done to create a unified interest in protecting the environment if we hope for future generations to be able to breathe clean air.
(c) Who do you think is most likely to be the customer with the opportunity? Someone who cares about breathable air, drinkable water, and is a registered voter.
(d) Is the opportunity relatively easy or relatively difficult to exploit, and why do you think so? I would like to think the opportunity would be easy to exploit, but that's obviously not the case considering what we had in place before is literally what we need now. So unfortunately, until more people care and vote in lawmakers that also care, this is going to be a challenge.
Why did you see the opportunity? I saw this opportunity because I love being outdoors. My favorite thing to do is to take my dog on a walk at the beach every Saturday. I appreciate nature and care that I can dip more toes in the water without having to worry about contracting an illness. It's sad to think that may not always be the case if we continue dismantling regulations that are in place to keep our environment protected.
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