A couple of others I can think of:
- Crypto-boom of 2016ish: GPUs/mining rigs
- LLM/AI hype nowish: User generated data
- 90’s dotcom bubble: Server space
LLM/AI: also GPUs.
Whenever I played Roller Coaster Tycoon I would jack up the price of umbrellas right before it rained.
Free soda stands. Pay toilets. No exit.
Ah the Hotel Crapifornia
During a pandemic, sell toilet paper.
There was a whole week during lockdowns where I had to just use the shower after taking a shit because everyone was completely out of toilet paper due to panic buying and hoarding. It’s one of the many reasons I have a bidet now.
When in Vegas sell light bulbs.
It’s always GPUs. Crypto boom? GPUs. AI boom? GPUs. PC gaming boom? GPUs. GPUs are so difficult to program effectively that we still probably haven’t discovered things they’re capable of doing yet. The next major breakthrough in tech, whatever it is, will cause a massive explosion in GPU demand.
When a housing crash is imminent, it’s the self storage businesses that thrive.
During a pandemic, sell sanitizer and toilet paper?
But most those guys were pretty much seen as assholes, so I don’t know if this good advice or not.
The toilet paper thing was mostly a result of mass hysteria, not an actual issue of supply and demand. There were some supply issues in Australia IIRC, but most countries would absolutely not have had any toilet paper shortages if people hadn’t all panic-bought far more than they needed
Why assholes? Because the toilet paper?
Assholes are only that if they price gauge during people’s time of need.
Definitely all those Udemy / Coursera / Whatever paid courses for “Data Science”, “AI” and whatever else is popular recently.
