By Paula Pant
Nick wants to set up an investment account for his nephew to contribute annually, creating a nest egg for college since the parents are already opening a 529. He’s unsure whether a standard brokerage account, IRA or other options work best when you’re not the parent.
Diana asks whether she needs TIPS in her portfolio […]
By Paula Pant
Behavioral economist Etinosa Agbonlahor joins us to discuss “money scripts” — the unconscious beliefs we inherit or develop about finances.
Agbonlahor, CEO of Decision Alpha and former Director of Behavioral Science Research at Fidelity Investments, is the author of “How to Talk to Your Parents About Money.”
She studied financial management at Cornell University and […]
Written By Paula Pant
We cover five pillars: Financial psychology, Increasing your income, Investing, Real estate, and Entrepreneurship. It’s double-ii FiiRE.
Today, we’re diving into Pillar Five: Entrepreneurship.
Pillar V | Entrepreneurship
Earlier this month, we covered the first four pillars in this newsletter.
But it wasn’t until Friday that we published our long-awaited interview with the Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship at Wharton Business School.
We’ve been planning this […]
Written By Paula Pant
We cover five pillars: Financial psychology, Increasing your income, Investing, Real estate, and Entrepreneurship. It’s double-ii FIIRE.
Today, we’re diving into Pillar Four: Real Estate.
Pillar IV | Real Estate
Whew. Welp. Where do I begin?
Over the last five years, home prices nationwide have grown at an annualized rate of 8.67 percent, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
If […]
Written By Paula Pant
We cover five pillars: Financial psychology, Increasing your income, Investing, Real estate, and Entrepreneurship. It’s double-ii FIIRE.
Today, we’re diving into Pillar Three: Investing.
Pillar III | Investing
This letter “I” could very well be called the letter T right now — tariffs, trade war, and turbulence.
Tariff increases went into effect earlier this month, and the markets treated it like old news. […]
By Paula Pant
Arielle’s head is spinning from the seemingly contradictory advice she hears about the best investments to hedge against inflation and a possible recession. What’s she missing?
Dave is curious about private investments after listening to a recent First Friday episode. What are they, and should he consider them for his portfolio?
Abbey is stoked about the raise she negotiated for her first job out of school. But she’s worried about liability risk related to her new position. How does she protect herself?
Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these three questions in today’s episode.
Written By Paula Pant
We cover five pillars: Financial psychology, Increasing your income, Investing, Real estate, and Entrepreneurship. It’s double-ii FiiRE.
Today, we’re diving into pillar two: increasing your income.
Pillar II | Increasing Your Income
Imagine this: You’ve been spending weeks, maybe months, looking for a new job.
You’ve updated your LinkedIn. You’ve refreshed your resume.
You’ve contacted every professional in a related industry that […]
Written By Paula Pant
We cover five pillars: financial psychology, increasing your income, investing, real estate, and entrepreneurship. It’s double-ii FiiRE.
Today, I’m diving deep into the first pillar: financial psychology.
Pillar I | Financial Psychology
Most of us have one of three attitudes towards money: we’re anxious, we’re avoidant, or we’re obsessed.
Those of us who are anxious can sometimes express that in the form of frugality, which […]
By Paula Pant
Picture this: you’re 26 years old, fresh out of Wharton, and you decide to start a business with two friends. You spend years building a digital marketing firm that eventually works with Dollar Shave Club and Madison Reed. You bootstrap the entire thing without taking a dime of venture capital funding.
That’s exactly what one Wharton graduate did — and her story represents the reality of entrepreneurship that most people never hear about.
Lori Rosenkopf, a management professor at Wharton Business School and head of Venture Labs, joins us to shatter the biggest myths about starting a business. The Mark Zuckerberg college dropout story? It’s not just rare — it’s misleading.
Research shows that the most successful entrepreneurs, those in the top 0.1 percent of venture-backed firms, average late 30s to early 40s when they start their companies. Many continue launching businesses into their 50s and 60s.
Your age and corporate experience isn’t holding you back from entrepreneurship — it’s actually giving you an advantage.
Rosenkopf breaks down seven different types of entrepreneurs, from disruptors who overturn entire industries to bootstrappers who build profitable businesses using their own resources. You’ll hear about a founder who disrupted the hair color industry in her 50s with Madison Reed, and a banker who built an entire financial services division inside Square.
We cover the rise of direct-to-consumer brands in 2013, why 80 percent of entrepreneurs are bootstrappers, and how artificial intelligence is creating new opportunities for people to start businesses without massive upfront investments.
Rosenkopf explains her “six Rs” of entrepreneurial thinking: reason, recombination, relationships, resources, resilience, and results. She argues that most people already think entrepreneurially without realizing it — even parents who optimize their family routines are solving problems through innovation.
We explore the world of “intrapreneurs” — people who build new businesses within established companies — and discuss acquisition entrepreneurship, where people buy existing small businesses instead of starting from scratch.
Whether you want to start a side hustle, position yourself for a promotion, or eventually launch your own company, Rosenkopf’s framework shows multiple paths to creating value through innovation.
By Paula Pant
Paul is worried the private equity investment he’s about to make could be a scam. How can he do his due diligence and stay protected when there’s a shortage of reliable information?
Rob is questioning the purpose of a bond allocation in his eight-figure investment portfolio. Is he on to something, or is there a legitimate case to add them?
Dan can retire in a few years, but he’s itching to do it now. Would buying a business be the key to unlocking an earlier exit from his W2?
Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these three questions in today’s episode.
Enjoy!
