The first time I tried to implement the end of the traditional bank branch? at scale, everything broke. Not metaphorically. Actually broke.
The traditional bank branch has been a cornerstone of our communities for centuries. But is its time finally up? I’m exploring the forces that are driving the decline of the bank branch and what the future of in-person banking looks like in an increasingly digital world.
The Reality Nobody Talks About
Most people approach the end of the traditional bank branch? with assumptions that made sense five years ago. The world has moved on. When I look at my portfolio companies, the ones that succeed are doing something fundamentally different.
The first thing to understand is that your team matters more than your technology. I've seen this play out across dozens of companies. The pattern is unmistakable.
At RemoteTeam, we learned this the hard way. We spent months going down the wrong path before realizing that you should focus on one thing and do it exceptionally well. Once we made the switch, everything changed.
The Counterintuitive Truth
Here's what surprised me most about the end of the traditional bank branch?: the best practitioners do less, not more.
When I was building MovieLaLa, we tried to do everything at once. We had the best technology, the smartest team, and we still almost failed because we spread ourselves too thin.
The lesson I took from that experience, and from watching hundreds of other companies, is that the data tells a different story than your gut. It sounds simple. It's incredibly hard to execute.
Why Most Approaches Fail
Let me be direct: about 70% of the approaches I see to the end of the traditional bank branch? are fundamentally flawed. Not slightly off. Fundamentally flawed.
The root cause is usually one of three things:
- Copying what big companies do without understanding why they do it. What works for Google doesn't work for a 10-person startup.
- Over-engineering the solution when a simple approach would work better. I've seen teams spend six months building something that could have been done in two weeks.
- Ignoring the human element. Technology is the easy part. Getting people to actually use it is where the real challenge lives.
What I Tell Founders
When a founder in my portfolio asks me about the end of the traditional bank branch?, I usually start with three questions:
- What's your timeline? Because the right approach for a company with 6 months of runway is very different from one with 3 years.
- What have you already tried? Most founders have tried something. Understanding what didn't work is often more valuable than knowing what might.
- Who on your team owns this? If the answer is "everyone" or "no one," that's your first problem to solve.
These questions seem simple but they reveal a lot about where a company actually stands.
This connects to broader themes around robo-advisors, AI trading, fintech AI, algorithmic trading that I've been thinking about a lot lately.
Wrapping Up
I've shared a lot here, and I know it can feel overwhelming. But here's the thing about the end of the traditional bank branch?: you don't need to get everything right on day one. You just need to get started and keep improving.
The founders in my portfolio who excel at the end of the traditional bank branch? share one trait: they're relentlessly practical. They don't chase perfection. They chase progress.
That's the mindset I'd encourage you to adopt. Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. And keep pushing forward.
As always, I'm rooting for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all experts agree with this view?
No, and that's fine. The best ideas in business are often contrarian. I share my perspective based on my experience and data, but I encourage you to seek out opposing viewpoints and form your own conclusions.
How can I apply this thinking to my own situation?
Start by identifying the core principle behind the opinion, not the specific example. Then ask yourself: does this principle apply to my context? If yes, test it in a small, low-risk way before going all in.
What experience informs this perspective?
This perspective comes from over a decade of building companies in Silicon Valley, two successful exits (RemoteTeam to Gusto, MovieLaLa to Gfycat), and investing in 200+ startups including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Scale AI. I write about what I've lived.