When the COVID pandemic hit in 2020, the card collecting industry shifted a number of gears.
With the resurgence in the hobby came technological advances and companies relying on artificial intelligence (AI) to make their new products tick.
LUDEX, Card Boss and Card Ladder are three companies all fueled by their owners’ passion for the sports cards hobby and their desire to invent tools to advance the industry.
The three companies got their start in different directions but all have reached the same end goal. This is the story of how the trio is trying to make it in this cutthroat industry.
LUDEX SCAN = PRICE
After nearly a quarter century working in stock trading, Brian Ludden stumbled upon a change-of-pace career where he could have a shared interest with his son.
At the onset of the pandemic, Ludden was curious how much his trading cards he collected as a kid from about 1980-92 were worth.
He realized there wasn’t a quick and easy way to look up card prices.
“I saw an industry that was really ripe for technology,” Ludden said. “I came from an algorithmic trading background. I had a company at the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange), the Chicago Board of Options Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, and I saw a lot of parallels between how trading went from pen and paper to algorithmic trading. I said, ‘Wow, this could be a huge opportunity. It’s an untapped market, it’s a big market and if I could solve this problem, I think there’s tons of upside.’”
LUDEX, LLC was invented in June 2020. It’s an app that allows collectors to scan
