6A - Identifying Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends

Opportunity #1, Economical
     My cousin explained the recent blow up of investing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and how it has changed the way people think about money. Now, these electronic currencies can help make purchases online while keeping them relatively anonymous. Because of this, I think there is an opportunity to educate the world about this fast-growing way of exchanging goods or services. I would start a youtube channel to teach others (especially young people) about this as it will be a significant part of everyday life in within the next 20 years. I think this opportunity may be quite difficult to exploit as our content would have to be different and better than the content already out there. I saw this opportunity because of my natural desire to search for ways to make more money.

Opportunity #2, Economical
     Everyone is wondering about what's the next big stock to invest in or what money markets people should put their money in to watch it grow. According to the presenter at the last student investment club meeting, in the last 50 years, there has proven to be only one consistent money maker and that is the market itself. I believe that there is an opportunity to invest in the market itself (possibly the S&P 500, or the DOW) for long term growth. I think anyone can exploit this truth relatively easily. Also, I believe I saw this opportunity because of my ability to think outside the box and explore things that others may have not.

Opportunity #3,  Regulatory
    All over snapchat and the TV is the recent news of weed legalization spreading throughout the states. Along with the legalization of a widely used comes significant business opportunity. I believe people with enough capital can join and exploit this by setting the foundation for their businesses before the legalization becomes federal. I also believe that this will be a relatively easy regulatory change to exploit as the demand is as wide-spread as alcohol, and yet the legal supply is null. I saw this opportunity because of the word of my friends in desiring easier access to their respective choice of inebriation, whether it be alcohol or marijuana, they wish it was easier and cheaper to come by.

Opportunity #4, Regulatory
   The news is currently talking about the government shutdown and why it's occurring. It is over the building of the wall between the United States and Mexico. I think an opportunity exists along this wall to capitalize on the movement of people towards the border as there will need to be people there to build it. The wall also opens the opportunity of placing restaurants or other places of business near the entry and exit points of the wall wherever they might need them. The wall will change the flow of traffic into and out of the US and therefore will change the locations in which businesses are required. If I were the owner of a chain operation or something of the sort, I would look for opportunities to expand my business to places that will see more activity because of the wall. However, I think this is a relatively difficult thing to exploit as a lot of capital and experience is required to make a move on this. I think I saw this opportunity because of my natural way of thinking about how changes change the things around them as opposed to the change itself.

Identifying Local Opportunities 5A

Source Newspaper: The Palm Beach Post

Opportunity #1:
        Title of Article: FPL Stunned by 2.3M Tax Bill from Puerto Rico
        Article Link: https://global-factiva-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/ha/default.aspx#./!?&_suid=154846148682703364107690035638
        What Happened: After the recent devastation in from a Hurricane, a majority of Puerto Rico was left without power. So, FPL sent some of its resources to help restore power. However, after donating their services, the city of Bayamon sent a 2.3 million dollar tax bill to FPL.
        Problem in Story: The Puerto Rican government said thank you to FPL by taxing them 2.3 million dollars. The response from FPL was basically like, "are you serious?" An opportunity for FPL to help their American community was founded when the hurricane struck, and they acted. However, they were thanked with a massive bill despite the expenses they incurred on their own.
       Who has the problem: FPL is more than capable of paying this 2.3 million bill, despite their unwillingness to do so. This is understandable as the Puerto Rican government was out of line in their billing. Now I would say the problem lies with the Puerto Rican Government as they now either have to revoke the bill or suffer the negative societal consequences of seeing this out for the sake of money.

Opportunity: #2
         Title of Article: FPL Crews Deploy to Puerto Rico to Help Speed Restoration Effects
         Article Link: https://global-factiva-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/ga/default.aspx?imt=2
         What Happened: This story gives more clarity to the story spoken about previously. Puerto Rico suffered a major hurricane that devastated their country, so FPL went out of their way during the holiday season to help restore electricity to the country.
         Problem in Story: Puerto Rico people were left helpless after hurricane and support was delivered through the good will of other Americans.
         Who has the problem: Puerto Rico had a simple need that was severely unsatisfied: electricity. Just as a good business would operate to fulfill that unsatisfied need for the sake of profit, FPL did it for the sake of good will, attempting to be the solution to Puerto Rico's problems.

Opportunity #3
        Title of Article: FPL buys 10m tract for Solar PLant
        Link to article: https://global-factiva-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/ha/default.aspx#./!?&_suid=154846148682703364107690035638
       What Happened: FPL was unsatisfied with delivering non-renewable energy, so they are making large steps to combat that issue by purchasing the first parts of their new solar plant.
       Problem in story: Non-renewable energy sources exist as one of the biggest hinderances in life today. We always need to burn more and more gas to fuel our world that it is negatively impacting the Earth as a planet.
       Who has the problem: The problem exists today for all people of Earth. FPL is a company, however, in a strong position to do something about it, unlike 99% of society. So, they are taking steps to help us with a worldwide issue.

Opportunity #4
       Title of Article: FAU cancels graduation over threat
       Link to article: https://global-factiva-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/ha/default.aspx#./!?&_suid=1548463456852008233314974988692
       What Happened: A sticky note was found in a women's bathroom on campus that threatened the safety of the people at the upcoming graduation ceremony, so the FAU president was forced to cancel the event.
       Problem in Story: A credible threat was made against the FAU graduation ceremony, so the President of the college was forced to decide on whether or not to cancel the event or to let it run and risk the safety of the people.
       Who has the problem: I believe that the problem was the President's primarily because he was the one who had to make the decision as to whether or not the risk is worth it.

Opportunity #5
       Title of Article: Champion Gender Equality, social decency with action
       Link to article: https://global-factiva-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/ha/default.aspx#./!?&_suid=1548463456852008233314974988692
      What happened: FAU falsely reported numbers to the government to hide the fact that they are simply not a gender equality school.  It showed that women receive almost no scholarship money.
      Problem in story: FAU unethically falsified data to hide another unethical action. This tarnishes the schools reputation; however, they are given an opportunity to remedy the situation after receiving a slap on the wrist from the government.
     Who has the problem: FAU is now working to restore their crappy reputation, despite the expectation of many that they will never do so. This is not the first time FAU has chosen money over principle and it likely wont be the last.       

Forming an Opportunity Belief: A Twist on Opportunity Identification

In-person shopping seems ultimately inferior to online shopping because of inventory capacities.

The need is to have what you want. All people have shared this need to get the things they want in life, it's natural to be driven and motivated, even if it comes to shopping. People are now accessing a broader inventory of things on the internet so that they can more accurately satisfy their respective needs. This human adaptation 100% exists.

For this assignment and ease of completion, I will be interviewing 3 of my 4 roommates on this topic:

1. Interviewee - Tomer Levi
1. Tomer believes that the exact nature of this belief comes down to natural greediness of the individual, stating simply, "people are selfish". He believes that people are aware of this need since "they are still nursing their mothers". Tomer thinks this is an example of an early desire to get what you want where you want it. Tomer believes that people address their need of having things not by acquiring items but by working and studying to make the money to buy those things. Tomer thinks people are satisfied with the online shopping solution to this desire despite the current inaccuracies associated with online clothes shopping. 
2. I learned that this desire is innate to human society and the drive to satisfy it will continue to exist and just change over time. I thought it was surprising that he believes money itself is a form of satisfying a need.
2. Interviewee - Jackson Campbell
1. Jackson thinks that people have always wanted to buy whatever they want from a limitless inventory. He says that hasn't been possible until the internet. Jackson thinks that people have had the need to buy lavish items since medieval times, and that people have always been aware of their need to have better things. But he retracted that statement as he believes we only started wanting better things after we overcame the struggle to survive. Jackson thinks that online shopping is an OK solution to the problem but it's not perfect and has flaws such as delivery times.
2. I agree with what Jackson said and it describes the basis of where this problem came from in my head as well. However, he also reminded me how comfortable our lives actually are relative to how it was thousands of years ago. 
3. Interviewee - Filip G.
1. Filip believes that the desire to have things and get exactly what you want actually comes from how you are raised. He thinks it all depends on the parents and children are sometimes not aware of their greed or selfishness until later in life, if ever. Parents are expected to give everything to children so that they can flourish, but this is sometimes taken too far and people can become spoiled. This is what drove them to create the internet and quick delivery, so that they could have, have, and have! People can now get whatever they want over the internet, from drugs to guns, so yeah the needs are well met.
2. I learned that people can actually buy whatever they want over the internet. It's hard to realize the scope of it until someone reminds you. 

I now believe this opportunity can be executed on better than current internet retailers do. 

No, because it went from 100% to 100%.

I think customer feedback should be significantly considered in creating and adapting, as they are the most important aspect of keeping your business going. However, it is also important to not lose sight of the long run and what you believe will truly satisfy the customers.

Entrepreneurship Story

Entrepreneurship story:

One memory of entrepreneurship that I have is when my baseball team needed money to travel to an out of state tournament. A few of my friends and I decided to cook a bunch of deserts and have a bake sale. We advertised in the newspaper about where we were gonna be and when, and we sold out and made over 300$. Even though this wasn't enough to pay for the trip, we were just happy to have worked together and made money from hard work, but in our own way.

I want to learn the basic aspects of entrepreneurship from this class as well as garner information from our professor that I can apply to my own life. I have heard many good things about this professor, so I am eager to see what he can tell me about entrepreneurship that can possibly lead me in that direction.

Bug List

BUG LIST

Griffin Goldstein

1. Gainesville roads seem inefficient and unnecessarily dangerous
1. Why: Poorly qualified planners or limiting regulation on road placement
2. My room is way hotter than my other roommates' rooms
1. Poor housing design (incompatible to proper air flow), low quality air conditioner purchased by leasing company, unqualified AC workers put in improperly
3. My window faces another house and I don't get much sunlight
1. waited too long to choose housing location, poor housing design
4. My fan makes a noise as it bangs from side to side
1. low quality fan purchased by leasing company
5. walmart optical resets inventory making me unable to use my warranty on my current glasses because they are no longer in the inventory
1. poor management
6. the gainesville water isn't great and requires filtering
1. natural limitations
7. knock off companies make it hard to find well-priced, real items
1. while I enjoy the ability and the right to easily start a business, it opens the door to  counterfeit businesses
8. delivery is so expensive
1. gas prices, taxes, and tips
9. the leasing manager is our neighbor and she will instantly call on us if we try to throw a party
1. poor research into potential issues of my housing choice
10. my PlayStation can't connect to my secure wifi
1. sony poorly developed playstation's wifi capabilities
11. my shower rod that holds up my curtain hangs at a weird angle
1. cheap parts, I haven't reported it to be fixed
12. walmart customer service
1. poor hiring qualifications, poor hiring management, poor promotion management
13. I cant have my dog here in Gainesville
1. my dog lives with my grandma and I could not take her away from her
14. I cannot legally purchase alcohol
1. lack of voter participation
15. I don't feel comfortable in extremely large crowds
1. not enough exposure as a kid
16. Ive been never in the habit to read and every time I try I fall out of it
1. I wasn't raised to read books, I played sports
17. regret: this bugs me everyday 
1. natural for regretting things you have or haven't done
18. The dishwasher doesn't dry
1. they could easily add a drying aspect to our dishwasher but instead we have a low quality one
19. I can't wash too many clothes at once
1. low quality items purchased by leasing company
20. my freezer needs to be closed hard
1. low quality items purchased by leasing company

Difficulties: I found this somewhat difficult; however, I tend to take note of the inefficiencies in life.

Test Post

tryna make bank? came to right place