1/6: One of the biggest innovations in Banking came with the invention and deployment of ATM machines. The technology is just over 50 years old and now over 10 billion transactions happen through ATMs each year in the US.
2/6: Many of these transactions are incremental (due to low friction) but what’s clear is that ATM machines have replaced the need for 250K+ “equivalent full-time employees” in the US Banking system.
3/6: But, there’s likely another wave of “technology replacing people” in the Banking ecosystem. For instance, it’s amazing how many people still use Banks for simple transactions like depositing checks, taking out cash, or opening basic checking/savings accounts.
4/6: The pandemic is accelerating consumer adoption of technologies like mobile deposits and online bill presentment/payment. And younger generations are more comfortable than older generations opening accounts or applying for loans without any face-to-face interaction.
5/6: The Banking sector employs 1.95MM people today, so while there will be additional hiring into technology roles to integrate and roll out new technologies, it wouldn’t be surprising if the sector lost another 250K+ “equivalent full-time employees” in this next wave.
6/6: Survey to the #fintech community. In the next 10 years, the Banking ecosystem (including fintech) will employ:
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1/28: VCs hear thousands of pitches in their careers but only say “yes” a few dozen times. Getting their attention in the initial pitch meeting is important because you won’t get a second meeting without the first going well. Here are 10 tips to help your pitch game:
2/28: Tip 1: Research the firm and the people you’re meeting with. You have the internet at your disposal so use it to learn everything you can. Learn about the firm, the investments they’ve made, their big successes, recent financings, etc.
3/28: Some investors have blogs or write about their companies or are active on Twitter. Some have been panelists at conferences or have made TV appearances and videos might be freely available. Internalize what they like to invest in and who they are.
1/19: I wish the 50-year old me could go back and give some “tough love” advice to the younger me. I’m not sure I would have listened, but maybe someone out there in the #startup ecosystem will.
Here are 8 pieces of hard earned wisdom that might serve you well:
2/19: Lesson 1: Don’t optimize for autonomy. When you’re in the first third of your career, what matters most is learning as much as possible as quickly as possible through direct experiences. It will set the foundation for a 40+ year career.
3/19: Too many 22-year olds want to optimize for fun or for mission. The advice I’d give is to optimize for learning. Reporting to an experienced operator and working with a talented team allows you to learn from others rather than teaching yourself.
1/11: I was in a Board meeting not too long ago where the CEO and one of the company’s Board members obviously weren’t seeing eye to eye. It was awkward and avoidable if each person realized how they were behaving. The situation reminded me of a well-known parable:
2/11: A man in a hot air balloon is lost. He sees a man on the ground and reduces height to speak to him. "Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?" "You’re in a hot air balloon thirty feet above this field," comes the reply.
3/11: "You must a Board member," says the balloonist. "I am," says the man, "How did you know?" "Well," says the balloonist, "Everything you told me is technically correct, but it doesn’t help me at all."
1/X: I was in a Board meeting not too long ago where the CEO and one of the company’s Board members obviously weren’t seeing eye to eye. It was awkward and avoidable if each person realized how they were behaving. The situation reminded me of a well-known parable:
2/X: A man in a hot air balloon is lost. He sees a man on the ground and reduces height to speak to him. "Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?" "You’re in a hot air balloon thirty feet above this field," comes the reply.
3/X: "You must a Board member," says the balloonist. "I am," says the man, "How did you know?" "Well," says the balloonist, "Everything you told me is technically correct, but it doesn’t help me at all."
1/14: I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in the #startup world, if it doesn’t feel like you’re constantly running then your business is probably about to die. The same is true at highly successful bigger companies. Let’s start with an analogy:
2/14: Every morning in Africa, an antelope wakes up and knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Those same mornings, a lion wakes up and knows it must outrun the slowest antelope or it will starve to death.
3/14: In the wild, staying still results in death by starvation or death by becoming dinner du jour. In the business world, death comes from being a “lazy lion” or a “slow antelope”.
1/30: There’s a supply/demand imbalance in the startup world (too much capital/not enough great companies). This means it’s a great time to be a Founder if you have an epic idea, but how do you know if your idea is any good? I asked some amazing VCs and here’s their advice:
2/30: Put a prototype in users' hands. When you try to take it away from them, do they kick and scream and tell you to get lost? If so, you've got a good idea. If not, keep iterating. (@Mark_Goldberg)
3/30: Can you can describe it in 30 seconds or less to a tech-illiterate relative at Thanksgiving? Great ideas are simple, but non-obvious. (@Mark_Goldberg)