When Automation Created More Jobs: What Experts Misread About the ATM Revolution

Author

Benjamin Friedman
March 03, 2026

Morning beehiivcommunity!

This newsletter turns experience into actionable lessons for your startup. As a growth partner for visionary founders, we sharpen leadership skills and unlock growth potential.

How the Automated Teller Machine Resulted in More Bank Tellers

In the 1970s, experts were sure ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) would kill the bank teller job. If machines handled deposits and withdrawals, they assumed, banks would simply need fewer people.

Instead, cheaper transactions made it profitable for banks to open more branches, serve more customers, and sell more complex products. Between 1970 and 2010, U.S. bank teller jobs almost doubled, even as ATMs spread nationwide. Routine cash handling moved to machines, while humans shifted to advisory work that required trust, assurance, and judgment.

With thoughtful design, history offers one course where the widespread adoption of AI also generates new opportunities for meaningful human work. The next decade will belong to founders bold enough to redesign work around what humans and technology can do together.

You can read the full piece in this week’s blog post. HERE

Go Wide: A Life Less Curated explores how major historical events have shaped today’s world and what they might signal about the future. Do you agree? What else should we dive into? Share your thoughts at [email protected].

Table is Headed to North Carolina…
Triangle Table - Trust, Collaborations, and Solutions

At Table, every seat matters. Since 2019, we’ve shared knowledge and built lasting relationships in a supportive NYC community.

Now, we’re bringing that experience to a new city for the first time.

We rely on a Lean Coffee format where participants propose topics, vote, and dive into focused five‑minute conversations that turn questions and concerns into insights and actionable next steps.

​A lightly facilitated discussion based on attendees' preferences will be followed by networking. This event is co-organized with. Tim Scales. Build Scale Grow will sponsor a light breakfast.

There’s a seat waiting for you at the Table. Join us in Raleigh, NC, on Thursday, March 19, at 9 am. Register HERE.

Expert Tips for Startups

Photos by Emily Friedman

Inside High-Impact CFO-Board Relationships

Last week, three sharp, experienced finance leaders unpacked effective CFO–board relationships. A few takeaways stayed with me:

John McCarthy, a fractional CFO for over 80 VC/PE-backed startups, stressed that CFOs must deeply understand how the business works at an operational level and act as an interpreter between the board’s requests and what is happening on the ground. 

Sruthi Lanka, CFO at Public, reminded us that strategy is execution. A strong CFO translates everything into clear, hard numbers. If the CFO and investors aren’t aligned, use 1:1 conversations and remember that “the board” is not a single, uniform voice.

Dan Rochkind, CFO at Lerer Hippeau, put it bluntly: If you aren’t driving strategy, you risk being seen as a glorified bookkeeper. Successful CFOs align actuals with the budget, report promptly, and communicate transparently to build trust and set the stage for follow-on rounds.

The event was sponsored by. Ramp, the platform for modern finance teams, and Cube, the workflow‑native FP&A platform powering financial intelligence. Carl Eppers kindly supported the event.

Withum’s OASyS [Sponsor]

As a founder, your time is precious.

Withum’s Outsourced Accounting Systems & Services (OASyS) team delivers a stress-free, fully managed finance and accounting solution designed to help organizations scale with confidence. 

Our seasoned experts integrate seamlessly as an extension of your team, handling daily accounting, month-end close, reporting, forecasting, accounting, and CFO level support.

OASyS takes on the responsibilities of an entire accounting department, giving you the visibility, accuracy, and trusted guidance you need to make informed decisions so you can stay focused on what you do best.

Need Some Help?

What if the quietest person in the room is the one who changes the world?

Build Scale Grow provides expert strategies and clear metrics for social impact, EdTech, and health tech startups, with a focus on introverted founders. With five successful M&As in ten years, we’ll help your startup reach its full potential and beyond.

Book a free 30-minute call HERE to see how we can help.