Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Opportunity #1: Online pharmacy service in India

1) Opportunity Belief: The emergence of demand for online pharmacy services in India presents an opportunity for entrepreneurs to enter this market in its infancy.

                2) Analysis:

a) Source: Nick Paul Taylor, Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society, https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2018/9/asia-regulatory-roundup-india-shares-draft-legisl. Accessed 12 September 2018.

b) I believe this opportunity is likely to exist because an online pharmacy, as recently permitted under these regulatory changes, would provide easier access to potentially life-saving pharmaceutical drugs for the people of India.

c) The prototypical customer for this opportunity would be a user of prescription drugs in India. Additionally, the technology used to create an online pharmacy could potentially be licensed to existing brick-and-mortar pharmacies.

d) This opportunity would be relatively difficult to exploit because I am not located in India, nor am I familiar with the pharmaceutical market of that country.

3) “Why?” – As a millennial, I have seen many industries be revolutionized by the emergence of online markets. Although this progress has yet to meaningfully affect the pharmaceutical industry, this could certainly change within the next few years, providing a potentially profitable opportunity for entrepreneurs.

Regulatory Opportunity #1: Operation of a for-profit college

1) Opportunity Belief: Relaxed regulations on the operation of for-profit colleges presents an opportunity for entrepreneurs to enter the business of higher education for profit.

                2) Analysis:

a) Source: Cass R. Sunstein, Bloomberg News, https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-09-04/trump-s-record-on-regulations-is-routine-not-radical, https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-09-04/trump-s-record-on-regulations-is-routine-not-radical.

b) I believe this opportunity is likely to exist because a for-profit college may be better equipped to provide more innovative and/or cost-effective education than traditional institutions.

c) The prototypical customer for this opportunity would be a current or prospective college student who is unsatisfied with the existing provision of education or cost thereof.

d) This opportunity would be relatively easy to exploit because for-profit colleges already exist, providing a framework upon which entrepreneurs could innovate in order to build a better quality and more cost-effective institution.

3) “Why?” – Although I have previously been doubtful about the quality and legitimacy of for-profit colleges, I chose to view this information from the perspective of an entrepreneur, allowing me to see an opportunity in a market toward which I had previously been skeptical. Additionally, despite the clearly politically-charged nature of this article, I was able to identify a potential opportunity in some of the evidence briefly presented in support of the author’s arguments against President Trump.

Economic Opportunity #2: Technology capable of tracking the movement of drugs in China

1) Opportunity Belief: The need to combat the illegal distribution of prescription drugs in China has created a demand for technology that can track the movement of these drugs, presenting an opportunity for entrepreneurs to develop and sell such technology.

                2) Analysis:

a) Source:  Nick Paul Taylor, Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society, https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2018/8/asia-regulatory-roundup-china-seeks-feedback-on-p. Accessed 12 September 2018.

b) I believe this opportunity is likely to exist because the ability to track the movement of prescription drugs would provide solutions to the unmet needs of prescription drug providers, pharmaceutical providers, law enforcement, and legitimate customers of prescription drugs.

c) The prototypical customers for this opportunity would be the manufacturers and distributors of prescription drugs in China.

d) This opportunity would be relatively difficult to exploit because, similar to Opportunity #1, I am not from China, nor am I familiar with the problems associated with the illegitimate movement of prescription drugs in that country.

3) “Why?” – I was born and raised near Huntington, West Virginia – commonly considered “Ground Zero of the opioid epidemic” in the United States. As such, I deeply understand how technology that could track the illegitimate movement of dangerous prescription drugs could deliver profound and widespread benefits to communities that may otherwise fall into a similar opioid crisis.

Regulatory Opportunity #2: Wearable technology capable of detecting medical abnormalities

1) Opportunity Belief: It is likely that an unmet needs exists for wearable technology capable of detecting medical abnormalities in individuals with risk factors affecting their health.

                2) Analysis:

a) Source: Ana Mulero, Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society, https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2018/9/apple-sets-the-stage-for-fda-regulation-on-two-typ. Accessed 13 September 2018.

b) I believe this opportunity is likely to exist because such technology would provide potentially life-saving information to individuals with certain medical conditions.

c) The prototypical customer for this opportunity is a personal with a medical condition where immediate detection of diagnostic abnormalities would be beneficial or potentially life-saving.

d) This opportunity would be relatively difficult to exploit because development of such technology may be costly, and the corresponding price of these devices may be prohibitively expensive for health insurance providers.

3) “Why?” – This appears to be an emerging market, which may present the ideal time for a keen entrepreneur to enter into a potentially profitable venture in the early stages of an opportunity’s existence. My experience in this class so far has taught me that identifying opportunities before others presents a greater possibility of profiting from the venture. Additionally, this opportunity belief may involve a need rather than a want (interviews with prototypical customers, as we’ve conducted in previous exercises, would verify whether or not this is the case).