6A - Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Opportunity 1:
Car makers are trying to stray away from having their customers use the in-dashboard applications since it is not economically feasible for neither the client or the car company as explained in The New York Times. Instead, they are trying to integrate a smartphone application that mirrors navigation instructions onto the car's dashboard. This creates an opportunity for future car owners because they won't feel the need to purchase a car that charges extra for navigation on the dashboard. This opportunity is more for younger new car owners because they are the ones most likely to use smartphones and use a navigation application on a smartphone with ease. The opportunity is kind of difficult to exploit because car manufacturers are involved. The application needs to be compatible with these cars' operation systems. I picked this opportunity because it is something that bothered me as well. I did not seem the point of purchasing a navigation system in my car when my phone can do it, but, the screen on my phone is not large enough.

Economic Opportunity 2:
Alibaba is having trouble finding new ways to acquire new customers. In China, the majority of people already have smartphones and are buying products from Alibaba online as explained in The New York Times. Alibaba is trying to branch out to traditional brick-and-mortar stores in China. I think that all people that shop at Alibaba or are familiar with the website will be the customer that will most likely buy from these stores. I believe that it will be tough to exploit because people are now usually straying away from traditional stores. I saw the opportunity because the online Alibaba market has seemed to have matured.

Regulatory Opportunity 1:
India just passed a plan that would allow half a billion poor Indians access to free healthcare as told by The New York Times. This would allow so many poor Indians get the medical attention they need to stay healthy and not fall under India's current average life expectancy of 68. Most poor Indians die of diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria, and tuberculosis. The poor people of India would definitely be the prototypical customer. I believe that the opportunity will be easy to exploit since it is something that will be offered to a large group of people for free. I picked this opportunity because it was shocking to me seeing that such a technologically-advanced country is having trouble keeping its poor citizens healthy.

Regulatory Opportunity 2:
Car brands BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen have discovered that some of their executives were involved in monkey experiments related to diesel emissions. Since the discovery, the car companies have moved away from these executives. This is the opportunity to show the public that these car brands do not support animal experiments. The current and prospective customers of these companies are the prototypical customers. I believe that this is opportunity is relatively easy to exploit because is only involves good public relations for these companies. I picked this opportunity because I am a fan of these brands, against animal testing, and am interested in how to make them look better to the public.