Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

1. Economic Trend - Computer Science

I believe many businesses will want computer science majors and those who are familiar with coding in languages such as JavaScript or HTML. I first discovered this when at my internship over the summer, as my boss explained to me how they often have to hire out to firms to help run their website, rather than being able to have someone in the company run it and save money. With the way the world is changing, we are constantly having new websites or pieces of technology, whether it be new apps, websites, programming computers, face technology, etc. To be able to code and be familiar with the language is essential for college students from marketing majors to engineers. I myself am a marketing major and currently run a student organization’s website, and I’m trying to learn coding because it will save a lot of time and money, and also make things like posting, adding widgets, and the entire process a lot easier. Engineers often have to program or run simulators on computers, and being able to be familiar with them and understand the process behind them gives them more functionality and the ability to describe what they are trying to depict visually. It’s not particularly to learn, and takes a lot of studying and practice to be able to fully exploit, but when you have it down it instantly puts you ahead of any other competitive when applying for a job. I saw this opportunity because of my own personal experiences and from talking to other students. It first arose when I discovered that one of my friends was a computer science major and pre law, and when I asked about the unique combination he said it was because cyber laws will be evolving and there will be a need to understand the entire process behind them. This sparked the opportunity and I simply applied it to other fields.

2. Regulatory Trend - Medical Marijuana

Almost every year it seems marijuana gets more and more legalized in every state, with it just being found medically legal in Florida very recently. It’s only a matter of time before it is recreational here, and this creates a whole new industry and opportunity for people to capitalize. I found out about this through one of my parent’s friends who does commercial real estate, and they were talking about buying pieces of property and preparing them to both grow marijuana and sell it recreationally. With the trend looking more and more like it will be recreational, there’s no reason it can’t be a booming industry similar to another drug: alcohol. Many stores in California already sell different strands and market it to their customers to get them a variety of different moods and sell them in different products. As it comes to Florida, those who are already to sell and integrate marijuana into their business will be the ones ahead of the curve, and ready to get a lot of business. There’s plenty of customers, especially ranging 18 to mid 20’s, as we see many shows, actors, and other elements of pop culture make weed jokes or incorporate into their shows and play to that audience already. This opportunity would be relatively difficult to exploit however, as there will undoubtedly be a bunch of regulations to deal with and it would take a significant amount of capital to start with. On top of that, there still is a negative perception of marijuana and it would take years for it to be fully ingrained as acceptable in our culture. I first thought of this when I was discussing it with another student during preview; they specifically became an agriculture major so they could become familiar with growing marijuana and the industry as a whole and then planned to move into real estate. The fact that this student was thinking so far ahead and he was so sure of its legalization made me realize just how much of a market it could be.

3. Regulatory Trend - Electric Cars

More and more regulations will be coming out about going green and emitting overall gas usage, and the need to be able to have easily accessible energy will soon arise for many household users. This creates a large opportunity for energy efficient cars, as Elon Musk is already actively trying to lower the price of his famous Tesla, and we see more and more charging stations and electric car parking spots. Everywhere from McDonalds to my mall in Tampa to the Norman Garage has been incorporating these spots, and electric cars are starting to become a bigger reality. However, Tesla simply shouldn’t be able to dominate the market, and a new competitor should arise sooner rather than later. As it becomes easier to use electric cars, all it will take is a cheaper price to market to both young adults a few years removed from college or families looking to cut down on their overall gas expenditures. This would be yet another difficult opportunity to exploit, as the large scale production of electric cars requires a ton of capital and knowledge about the industry. I started thinking about this because of all the parking spaces for electric cars I’ve been seeing, and the recent news about Musk trying to lower his price down for the newest Tesla. He’s still really the only main producer for a fully electric car in that industry, and if we could get another competitor then they would definitely be able to make a large profit and capitalize early.

4. Economic Trend - Need for Hurricane Surge Products

Hurricane seasons is once again upon us, and if last year is a predicament of anything its that there will be a huge need to protect against natural disasters and storm surges. This provides an opportunity to come up with better protection and investment in to products that will protect from storm surges. I found this when I learned that Katrina caused 150 billion dollars in damage and Irma last year caused around 65 billion dollars in damage. A prime example of a need for this product was the Dali Museum built in Tampa, which cost 30 million dollars to build. Clearly the investment is there, but it was worth it because the museum is built to withstand category 5 hurricanes. Cities in South Florida such as Miami or those in Key West would undoubtedly invest in this technology, as they are the most prone to these damages. This would be easy to exploit in the same way that divorce law does: no matter what its going to happen, so we’re going to need it. Hurricanes will always hit Florida, so people will always need to be protected by them. I thought of this opportunity because I’ve grown up in Tampa my whole life and seen just how bad the damage can be. My friend moved here from New Orleans in first grade because of how Katrina destroyed his home town, and I’ve had plenty of others lose money or have their house damaged that live in Miami or Key West.