6A - Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

2-in-1 Washer Dryer (Economic)

Before I left for class this morning, I put a load of laundry in the washer. I asked if my roommate would move over my laundry for me but we both failed to remind each other. When I got home my clothes smelt like mildew and I had to wash them all over again. In this every progressive era, I thought of the opportunity to have a washer that also dried your clothes right after washing them automatically. This eliminates the stress of realizing that you may have forgotten your wet clothes in the washer for too long and now they smell a little funky. A great customer for this idea would be the ever-so-busy mom that is always moving trying to make the kids lunches, clean the house, and go to soccer practice. We all have forgotten are clothes before and this 2-in-1 product would be great! I saw this opportunity because I am one of those people that always forgets about their clothes in the washer. This opportunity eliminates timely steps in the washing/drying cycle. I do think this opportunity could be easily exploited, the only issue is developing the machine first.

Interior Windshield Cleaner (Economic)

I was in my car and noticed that the inside of my windshield had fogged up. My AC in my car currently has a mind of its own and when it decides to not work, it ruins my whole driving experience. Especially at night, I find it extremely hard to defrost the inside windshield. Not only that, but that fog then leaves a foggy residue/film. This posed the opportunity to create a spray liquid that could prevent or decrease the likelihood of inner-windshield fog. Like windshield fluid, that is used to prevent streaky windows and remove bugs, this interior fluid will put a fog preventing coat over the inner-windshield. This will decrease the potential of car accidents that were caused by a driver trying to clean their interior window while trying to safely operate a moving vehicle. I think this opportunity would be very easy to exploit because there are already solutions that make car windows free of debrief and streak-free.

Dress Code (Regulatory)

I was on Instagram and I came across a video of a young girl stating her issues with the current school system’s dress code. We girls all remember the fingertip length rule and that shoulders were inappropriate. I know I am not the only person that has issues with the current dress code. My belief is that dress code standards should be revised and altered to reflect today’s fashion trends, but still be in reason to what is deemed respectful, appropriate, and modest. I saw this opportunity because I can relate to the struggle of purchasing trendy yet modest clothing that lets me express myself without “exposing” (shoulder rule) myself inappropriately. As a college student, I don’t have a dress code. I can wear a workout tank top in class and no one tell me that it is inappropriate. I get it though. Shorts should not be up your butt and be deemed appropriate. Not all dress code rules should be altered; however, an update is overdue. This opportunity will be slightly hard to exploit because there will be numerous trial and error regulations for students. I saw this opportunity because I keep seeing article and article of girls being sent home for dress code violations because they are on the bustier side and teachers scold them for not “covering up.”

Statewide Hurricane Supply Regulations (Regulatory)

So I was at Target and I noticed that during the wait for Hurricane Irma and I saw that there was a limitation for how many water cases a person could purchase. Going to different stores in search of these necessary supplies were not regulated like they were at Target. I like that there was a limitation as to how many water cases a person could buy because of the high demand supplies were at the time being and the little amount of time everyone had to plan. This opportunity would benefit those who were left without water due to people over supplying themselves. This would be very easy to exploit because if stores are already able to enforce certain restrictions on customers, there should be no problem making it a statewide affair when necessary.