Lizzy Brahin is an incoming first-year at Harvard College and graduated from Walter Payton College Prep's Class of 2021. Lizzy is from Chicago's New Eastside neighborhood. She plans to study economics and applied math in college and later pursue a career in finance. She began interning at On the Money during her sophomore year to share her passion for financial education. When she was in high school, outside of OTM, she was President of the Junior Economic Club of Chicago for the 2020-2021 school year and Executive Co-Chair of Walter Payton's Economics and Investment Team. In her free time, she enjoys playing piano and competitive chess. 

Have you thought about entrepreneurship? Well, one of the most important steps to building a company is constructing the right team. In fact, according to a study by CBInsights that analyzes the top reasons for startup failure, nearly 23% of failures were attributed to not having the right team (CBInsights 2019).

While FinTech began primarily as highly advanced data analysis tools for investment banking and other institutional investing, it has expanded. Now, over half (64%) of global consumers use FinTech including mobile wallets like Apple Wallet, crowdfunding sites such as GoFundMe, and online banking apps (EY).

18%.That’s the percentage of finance professionals who are women. Over the past 20 years, the number of women in the industry has steadily increased; however, there is still a significant gender gap that needs to be addressed.

“Before the global health crisis hit, 92 percent of company leaders surveyed by McKinsey thought that their business model would not remain viable at the rates of digitization at that time” (Mckinsey 2020). While the pandemic exacerbated these concerns, it has given us new insight into key drivers of success.

People always say to invest your money, but what does that mean? When it comes to the stock market, you can make a portfolio of stocks with the hope of increasing its value. To create a balanced portfolio, there must be diversification: investment in a variety of stocks in order to get “as much exposure to the market,” reducing risk, says Cynthia Plouche, a former portfolio manager.

ATTENTION: America is facing an emergency and YOU may be at risk. Most Americans are financially illiterate — both working and retired individuals are unable to “understand the topic of money.” In fact, 25% of non-retirees have no retirement savings whatsoever, making them unprepared for their financial future (Federal Reserve Bank 2018).

Do you think economics can save the world? Well, the economists at the University of Chicago seem to think so. On November 19th, the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago (BFI) hosted a policy round table where they discussed the implications of economics on a variety of social issues facing the world including poverty, education in third world countries, and gender inequality.