Author: Allison Brickell
The Nightmare of Navigating Student Loans
What do you picture when you think of college? Maybe you see cavernous lecture halls. Football stadiums packed with fans. Beautifully manicured lawns where students study or play frisbee or make lifelong connections. For many of today’s students, that image includes mountains of debt. In 1980, attending a four-year college full-time cost $10,231 annually. That includes tuition, fees, room and board and is adjusted for inflation. By 2019,…
News Fix: Cannabis Industry Reaches New Highs
By Allison Brickell on April 20, 2022
It’s April 20, which means cannabis enthusiasts around the country are celebrating what Ronald Reagan once called “probably the most dangerous drug in the United States.” Today, that remark seems pretty outdated. A full 37 states have legalized marijuana in some form (medically or recreationally). Eighteen…
Lessons From a New Startup Investor
By Allison Brickell on April 6, 2022
I’ve been working at investment-related companies since 2015. But I’m still pretty new to the investing world. My background is in communication and journalism, not finance. So for the last seven years or so, I’ve been researching the online startup markets and observing my colleagues’ approach to investing.
News Fix: Ukraine Turns to Crypto, NFTs Cool Off and Public Pensions Divest From Russia
By Allison Brickell on March 9, 2022
Since Russia invaded Ukraine two weeks ago, the war has taken over worldwide news headlines. From the atrocities of war to human rights catastrophes, heroic acts by Ukranians and the impact of the war on the global markets, it’s hard to keep up with all of the news.
What Disruptive Startups and Figure Skating Have in Common
By Allison Brickell on February 23, 2022
In the startup world, big ideas have the potential to become big moneymakers. Good ideas — especially if they’re executed well — can change the world. But revolutionary ideas scare people. They often fail because the world isn’t ready for them yet. As startup…
News Fix: Global Crypto Edition
By Allison Brickell on February 2, 2022
It’s been a hectic start of the year for crypto. Now that we’ve made it to the second month of 2022, let’s dive into crypto news updates. Market Update First, a market update. Bitcoin has been on a downward trend…
Two Ways Startups Are Benefiting From the Great Resignation
By Allison Brickell on January 26, 2022
Headlines about the “labor shortage” have become a near daily occurrence. Millions of Americans are quitting their jobs and looking for better offers. But in reality, there isn’t a shortage of people who want to work. It’s just that more people are rejecting the low pay…
Five Steps to Achieve Your Investing Goals in 2022
By Allison Brickell on January 5, 2022
It’s a new year. And that means it’s the perfect time to set goals for 2022. Whatever your investing goals are, now is the right time to define them. Get specific about what you want to accomplish. Whether you prefer to have a five-year plan or…
Customization and the Future of Retail
By Allison Brickell on December 8, 2021
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I traveled to Pennsylvania to visit family. Thanksgiving dinner — filled with plenty of pie, of course — was delicious. And the next day (Black Friday) I took a leisurely stroll through the local Boscov’s. Now, I typically don’t pay too much…
How to Avoid Crypto Scams
By Allison Brickell on November 10, 2021
You’ve heard of Dogecoin. Now get ready for Squid Game. Or rather, don’t get ready for it. Because the Squid Game token is a scam. The token — based on the popular Netflix series Squid Game — experienced a wild…
Look Beyond Big Tech Investments
By Allison Brickell on October 13, 2021
Last Monday, Facebook experienced an outage that lasted for about six hours. Users couldn’t access Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Whatsapp or OculusVR. The effects were felt across the world. Suddenly, everyone who relied on Facebook or WhatsApp for communication was left in a lurch. Even…
3 Qualities to Look for in a Startup Before You Invest
By Allison Brickell on September 15, 2021
If you’re at all new to startup investing, you might feel a little overwhelmed. I know I’ve felt that way. It’s one thing to invest in the stock market. At least there, you’re investing in a public company that has years of financial data…
How Crowdfunders Can Invest Better Than Venture Capitalists
By Allison Brickell on August 25, 2021
Drake Dukes, co-founder of startup data platform Gravity, shared some interesting data recently from his analysis of 992 unicorn founders. Now for our secret sauce… Here is the FounderDNA™ of every unicorn founder (992 analyzed): 53% are Serial Founders 35% are Technical…
Envisioning a Better System for Women’s Health
By Allison Brickell on August 11, 2021
As the senior editor at both KingsCrowd and Early Investing, I do a lot of reading, editing and research on startups. At KingsCrowd, I edit dozens of analyst reports on a regular basis. These reports provide detailed analysis of…