Economic and Regulatory Trends

Opportunity 1: Lack of knowledge cryptocurrency and blockchain technology by general public.

Link: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-ethereum-ripple-bitcoin-cash-eos-stellar-litecoin-cardano-monero-iota-price-analysis-september-14

Companies like Morgan Stanley and other large investment firms have opened up the ability to buy cryptocurrencies. However, many people don't understand the exchanges, the determination of value for a particular coin, or what blockchain technology is. This lack of knowledge can lead people to make uninformed buys that will lose them money in the long term or short term. I am aware of this opportunity because I began trading cryptocurrency over 13 months ago. There was very little information about these coins and the technology that was behind them. It took me months to get a basic understanding of the market exchanges and how to make a wise investment. I think that the prototypical customer would be an employed individual under the age of 40 with saving to invest. Cryptocurrencies are long term investments with high risk and high upside. This being the case, older individuals would not want to make investments in them due to their age. The opportunity is easy to exploit because there is not many individuals with a vast knowledge of the subject.

Opportunity 2: Rising interest rates creating an increasing demand for real estate investment

Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesrealestatecouncil/2018/08/28/short-term-interest-and-mortgage-rates-rising-in-sync-what-this-means-for-real-estate-investors/#6ccff81029d4

The rising short-term interest rates have resulted in a spike in mortgage rates. This is a reflection of the average Americans spending patterns and confidence in the markets. However, rising interest rates create an opportunity for investors to lock in low interest mortgages on investment properties. A likely customer is someone who has a large amount of liquid assets that can be used to make a downpayment on an investment property. It is likely that they would be under the age of 50 as real estate investments are usually long-term assets. I believe that I saw this opportunity because I understand how low interest rates can be utilized for consumers. However, investors don't like low interest rates because they don't yield good returns. I believe this opportunity will be difficult to exploit because the economy is at such a high point. Due to this, many people are making investments and this raise the price of investments like real estate prices.

Opportunity 3: California legislature working to outlaw ban on marijuana deliveries inside of Indian Wells, California.

Link: https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2018/08/23/pot-deliveries-could-allowed-indian-wells/1078519002/

Currently, no delivery trucks are allowed to bring marijuana shipments into Indian Wells, California. Therefore, many users of marijuana haven't been able to take advantage of the fact that recreational marijuana is legal across California. I believe an opportunity to exploit the distribution networks exist here. Currently there are no companies or marijuana dispensaries that can deliver to this area of California which means there is a lack of competition. When this regulatory law changes, companies will have an opportunity to capture a whole new market. I personally don't know a lot about marijuana or the sale of it for recreational use. However, I have family that live in California that always discuss the massive amount of dispensaries and marijuana products that have flooded the marketplace since it was legalized.

Opportunity 4: Ban on harvesting aquarium fish from Hawaii opens door to captive-breeding of fish.

Link: http://www.petage.com/what-hawaiis-void-of-recreational-aquarium-collection-permits-means-for-the-industry/

Due to the exploitation of recreational aquarium collection permits and a failure to comply with The Hawaii Environmental Policy Act, Hawaii has stopped renewing them. There are many species that are native to the vast coral reefs of Hawaii. Therefore, there is a new opportunity to begin captive breeding popular marine fish like yellow tangs and clownfish. I believe that this opportunity exists because I have seen the lack of captive bred fish available in the marine hobby. Due to the small library of knowledge we have on many of these species, very few people in this industry have attempted to breed Hawaiian fish. I have personally noticed the prices of yellow tangs and other species collected from Hawaii begin to rise in the last year. The prototypical customer would be anyone with a large enough tank to support species like yellow tangs.