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Brandon Aversano – Founder of Alloy Market [https://thealloymarket.com/] In some of the darkest times come the brightest moments. Brandon Aversano is the founder of Alloy Market, a Newtown, Pennsylvania-based fintech startup launched in 2023 to bring more transparency, trust, and simplicity to the gold and fine jewelry resale market. Alloy Market buys gold jewelry and other precious metals directly from consumers online, offering a tech-enabled alternative to the traditional “Cash for Gold” or pawn shop experience. The idea came from a deeply personal moment. While undergoing cancer treatment at age 30, Aversano brought jewelry he had inherited from his grandmother to Philadelphia’s historic Jeweler’s Row, hoping to sell it to help cover mounting medical bills. Instead, he had what he described as “an absolutely horrific experience,” marked by lowball offers and little clarity into how prices were being set. That experience became the foundation for Alloy Market. The company’s model gives customers a free evaluation kit, insured shipping, and an offer based on weight, gold content, and current market prices. Alloy uses X-ray fluorescence technology, certified scales, and real-time pricing data to analyze each item and provide a more transparent process. Now, Alloy Market has launched a new model where sellers get paid upfront and also keep a share of the resale upside, something rarely seen in this category. The goal is to give consumers immediate liquidity while allowing them to participate in the additional value their jewelry may create on the resale market. The timing is significant. Resale prices for fine jewelry are reportedly up about 17% year over year, with high-value pieces seeing roughly 22% growth on resale platforms. Gold has surged more than 200% since 2020, and demand is especially strong for high-purity gold pieces and everyday “wearable assets,” rather than only ultra-luxury jewelry. Mid-tier jewelry in the $500 to $2,000 range is now driving much of the resale volume, while pieces with intrinsic material value, including gold, pearls, and certified stones, are outperforming trend-based jewelry. Before founding Alloy Market, Aversano worked in management consulting, strategy at JetBlue, and financial services at JPMorgan Chase, where he oversaw a major co-branded credit card portfolio, including the Amazon Prime card. Since launching, Alloy has raised approximately $3 million from partners including 11 Tribes, Hustle Fund, and Ben Franklin Technology Partners. At its core, Alloy Market is built around a simple idea: customers deserve honesty, transparency, and respect when selling valuable personal items. As Aversano puts it, “We just try to be as honest and transparent as possible. I think that goes a really, really long way with customers.” Brandon can speak to why more consumers are liquidating jewelry right now, what is happening in the gold and estate resale market, the shift from pawn shops to digital resale platforms, and why more people are moving from “buy and keep forever” to “buy, wear, and eventually liquidate.” Alloy Market [https://dotellpublicity-com.rmailroute.net/x/d?c=50922690&l=ae5b84dc-ad1c-451e-89b4-2fcefcaa75d2&r=60a62eab-7d76-4320-b337-61a501a730da], just launched a model where sellers get paid upfront and keep a share of the resale upside, something we haven’t seen before in this category. Cindy Cohn – Executive Director of Electronic Frontier Foundation [https://www.eff.org/] The AI doesn’t know when it’s lying to you and when it’s not. Cindy Cohn is the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. From 2000-2015 she served as EFF’s Legal Director as well as its General Counsel. Ms. Cohn first became involved with EFF in 1993, when EFF asked her to serve as the outside lead attorney in Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the U.S. export restrictions on cryptography. Ms. Cohn has been named to TheNonProfitTimes 2020 Power & Influence TOP 50 list, honoring 2020’s movers and shakers. In 2018, Forbes included Ms. Cohn as one of America’s Top 50 Women in Tech. The National Law Journal named Ms. Cohn one of 100 most influential lawyers in America in 2013, noting: “[I]f Big Brother is watching, he better look out for Cindy Cohn.” She was also named in 2006 for “rushing to the barricades wherever freedom and civil liberties are at stake online.” In 2007 the National Law Journal named her one of the 50 most influential women lawyers in America. In 2010 the Intellectual Property Section of the State Bar of California awarded her its Intellectual Property Vanguard Award and in 2012 the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists awarded her the James Madison Freedom of Information Award. Ms. Cohn is the author of the professional memoir, called Privacy’s Defender published by MIT Press in March, 2026. As part of promoting the book, she appeared on The Daily.
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