Bank updates

Building the first AI-native private bank.

I am using this page as a running archive for update emails, hypotheses, and public Notion docs. It is mostly for people I add to the update list later, so they can see the trail instead of only the latest email.

Status

Testing advice-first wedge

AI-native private bank, advice first

Market

Pre-IPO HENRYs

High earners with concentrated private-company equity

Current focus

Finding the hook

Bring advisor CAC from $2K to a few hundred dollars

Working definition

HENRY means high earner, not rich yet.

HENRYs are households earning $500K+ with roughly $250K-$2M in investable assets. They have enough income and complexity to need real planning, but not enough liquid wealth to get high-quality private banking from JPMorgan, Goldman, or a traditional RIA built around $5M+ relationships.

$500K+ household income

$250K-$2M investable assets

Underserved by private banking

Current working hypotheses

Things I am trying to prove, kill, or rewrite.

The thesis has narrowed to an AI-native private bank with advice as the wedge. The live question is whether a sharp enough hook can make customer acquisition work.

Notion pages

Working docs.

I will add public Notion pages here when they are useful to share: thesis, personas, interview notes, market maps, and open questions. Some will stay messy.

Core thesis

AI-Native Bank 2026 WIP

The messy working doc: hypotheses, notes, research direction, and open questions.

ResearchComing soon

Personas

Placeholder for the public personas doc once it is ready.

ResearchComing soon

Competitors

Placeholder for the public competitor map once it is ready.

Update archive

Previous emails.

Short summaries are visible by default. Click into an update to read the full email.

Resources

Useful source material.

Report

Goldman Sachs Retirement Survey

Source for the long-term financial goals statistic referenced in the April update.

Building the first AI-native private bank.

HENRY means high earner, not rich yet.

Things I am trying to prove, kill, or rewrite.

The wedge is advice, not a banking product

AI makes the financial advisor viable at HENRY AUM

Pre-IPO HENRYs are the cleanest first ICP

The value add is convenience, not financial literacy

Neither pure advice nor pure banking pays

Find the hook that brings advisor CAC down 5x-10x

Can mass-affluent advice->bank fund itself?

Working docs.

Previous emails.

Dan's April 2026 Update | AI-Native Private Bank: Focused on Financial Advice

Dan's March 2026 Update - I'm Starting a Bank

Useful source material.

HENRY means high earner, not rich yet.

Things I am trying to prove, kill, or rewrite.

01Testing->No verdict yetThe wedge is advice, not a banking productThe entry is upstream of banking. Start where the decisions happen, not where the accounts sit.

The wedge is advice, not a banking product

02Testing->No verdict yetAI makes the financial advisor viable at HENRY AUMThe wedge depends on AI changing advisor capacity, not merely making a nicer planning interface.

AI makes the financial advisor viable at HENRY AUM

03Testing->No verdict yetPre-IPO HENRYs are the cleanest first ICPThe first ICP should have an obvious clock, a high dollar-weighted benefit, and current-provider mismatch.

Pre-IPO HENRYs are the cleanest first ICP

04Investigating->No verdict yetThe value add is convenience, not financial literacyThe promise is not education. It is execution for financially literate people whose time and attention are scarce.

The value add is convenience, not financial literacy

05Investigating->No verdict yetNeither pure advice nor pure banking paysThe model has to combine advice as the wedge with banking economics as the revenue engine.

Neither pure advice nor pure banking pays

06OPEN!No verdict yet. Actively hunting.Find the hook that brings advisor CAC down 5x-10xThis is the load-bearing May question: the company only works if acquisition cost drops from advisor-market levels to consumer-product levels.

Find the hook that brings advisor CAC down 5x-10x

07OPEN?No verdict yetCan mass-affluent advice->bank fund itself?The business model depends on whether advice can become primary-financial-relationship behavior quickly enough.

Can mass-affluent advice->bank fund itself?

Working docs.

Previous emails.

Dan's April 2026 Update | AI-Native Private Bank: Focused on Financial Advice

Dan's March 2026 Update - I'm Starting a Bank

Useful source material.