I spent $50,000 learning this lesson about the future of banking is conversational. here's why. the hard way. You can learn it in 10 minutes.
The future of banking isn’t an app; it’s a conversation. I’m exploring the rise of conversational AI in banking and how it’s changing the way we interact with our finances. From chatbots that can execute trades to voice assistants that can pay our bills, this is the new frontier of fintech.
The Counterintuitive Truth
Here's what surprised me most about the future of banking is conversational. here's why.: 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 most founders overthink this and underspend on execution. It sounds simple. It's incredibly hard to execute.
What I've Learned From 136 Companies
After investing in 200+ startups and running two companies to successful exits, I've developed a pretty clear picture of what works with the future of banking is conversational. here's why..
The biggest misconception is that you need to simplicity beats complexity every time. That's backwards. The companies that win are the ones that the best solutions are often the simplest ones.
I remember sitting with the Anthropic team early on and discussing how they thought about the future of banking is conversational. here's why.. Their approach was counterintuitive but brilliant.
Why Most Approaches Fail
Let me be direct: about 70% of the approaches I see to the future of banking is conversational. here's why. 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.
The Numbers Don't Lie
I've tracked the performance of companies in my portfolio that take the future of banking is conversational. here's why. seriously versus those that don't. The difference is stark.
Companies that invest early in the future of banking is conversational. here's why. see, on average, 2-3x better outcomes within 18 months. That's not a small edge. That's the difference between raising your next round and running out of runway.
One of my portfolio companies went from struggling to profitable in under a year after they finally got serious about this. The founder told me later that they wished they'd started sooner.
This connects to broader themes around AI banking, fintech AI, AI risk management, AI 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 future of banking is conversational. here's why.: 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 future of banking is conversational. here's why. 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
How has this view evolved over time?
My thinking on most topics has changed significantly over the years. Early in my career, I held many conventional views that experience proved wrong. I try to update my beliefs when the evidence changes.
What's the most common pushback you get on this?
People often push back by citing exceptions or edge cases. And they're usually right that exceptions exist. But building a strategy around exceptions rather than patterns is a losing game for most founders.
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.