Stessa Cohen
@stessacohen.bsky.social
Strategic banking industry advisor, analyst, strategy consultant. I support #fintechs #finserv & #FIs everywhere. democracy fan. former: Gartner & banker. now: PivotAssets Newsletter: http://pivotassets.substack.com / pivotassets.co / thirdeyeadvisory.com
My latest: Plantation accounting can tell us a lot about what's happening with AI deployments. h/t @bfworld.bsky.social @lizcovart.bsky.social #earlyamericanhistory open.substack.com/pub/pivotass...
From Employees to Inputs: What Plantation Accounting Tells FIs About AI
As they deploy agentic AI, FI leaders must reinforce the boundaries between human employees and agents. Plantation accounting shows why the drift of humans from employees to input is dangerous.
open.substack.com
Your bank's secret weapon might be those people who try to block your strategic initiatives. My latest 👉🏽 @strategistjim.bsky.social @efiglobal.bsky.social @ open.substack.com/pub/pivotass...
Yes, But - Your Bank's Secret Weapon Hiding in Plain Sight
“Yes But” people can put obstacles in the path of your AI strategy - or they might be your secret weapon hiding in plain sight.
open.substack.com
Heck, @strategistjim.bsky.social @efiglobal.bsky.social & I created a book club and we promote here & elsewhere. www.fintechbookclub.com
Fintech Book Club | Discover Fintech Insights – Join Us
Join the Fintech Book Club for insights on digital banking, fintech innovation, and future trends. Launching January 2026, stay tuned for expert discussions and analyses.
fintechbookclub.com
Joshua J. Friedman@joshuajfriedman.com · 5mo agoAuthor, bookseller, and publisher friends: Please keep posting your positive stories about selling books through Bluesky, and I'll package them up and show them to publishers so that we can get more book publishers and even more authors and book conversation here!
📚 Happy World Book Day! 📚 To celebrate, Fintech Book Club is launching the Fintech Book Library—a curated hub of the books shaping the future of finance (explore it here: lnkd.in/gpTSg5Gt). Your hosts: @stessacohen.bsky.social @strategistjim.bsky.social @efiglobal.bsky.social
AI technologies may be able to do a lot, but they won't help banks like their customers. What do I mean? Read my latest 👉🏽 pivotassets.substack.com/p/ai-wont-ma...
AI Won't Make You Like Your Customers
Before you deploy AI technologies to coach & train your employees to provide better customer service, kindness, turn the question on your bank: Do you like your customers?
pivotassets.substack.com
Bankers: Stop living in the past! Great quote by @strategistjim.bsky.social; go read the whole article by @nickholland.bsky.social 👇🏽
Jim Perry@strategistjim.bsky.social · 8mo ago"Primacy is dead...Too many bankers continue to think about this through the old model — where we can gain a relationship and own it forever." - Jim Perry How to Build Customer Relationships When Checking Accounts No Longer Confer Primacy buff.ly/Gt1RxSn | Nick Holland
You can probably hear an Eagle tribute band any weekend, but if you are in Minneapolis/St. Paul MN this weekend, here's your chance to hear @michaelhattem.bsky.social on the meaning of the American Revolution.
Michael Hattem@michaelhattem.bsky.social · 8mo agoLooking forward to doing a talk tomorrow at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. Minnesota Monthly included the talk in its “Best Bets” of the week for things to do along with an Eagles tribute band. The event is hybrid so you can register to watch it remotely. www.mnhs.org/events/38217...
AI threats financial institutions demand a different, more strategic approach to security: Financial security. My latest with co-author Nir Netzer open.substack.com/pub/pivotass...
AI Threats Demand that Financial Institutions Pursue National Security Grade Protection
As threats grow more sophisticated, move in real-time & at high speed across institutions, FIs must take a new strategic approach for national-security-grade protection across lines-of-business.
open.substack.com
How do you vacation? @jperlow.bsky.social on Jamaica, closed resorts, and economic development - and more. techbroiler.net/no-time-to-l.... @clagett.bsky.social @psbdc.bsky.social @strategistjim.bsky.social
No Time to Leave pt.1
I'm a Palace Resorts member and can stay at any Palace property in Mexico or the Dominican Republic. After Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica in late October 2025, 157,000 buildings were damaged, and an...
techbroiler.net
Somebody at MSFT doesn't know how many people read & watch & listen to @hcrichardson.bsky.social, @jbf1755.bsky.social @bfworld.bsky.social @timothysnyder.bsky.social and many others. on a daily basis. History matters more now than ever. 🤦🏽♀️
Joanne Freeman@jbf1755.bsky.social · 8mo agoThey think historians are just fact-farmers. Good luck.
Entered lawfully 50 years ago. Served 8 years in U.S. military. Removed without a hearing before rushed to Jamaica. How will his 6 citizen kids & grandkids vote now? If DHS won’t follow the law or basic civility, maybe they will respond to naked political interests? Disgusting.
Kelly@broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 8mo agoGodfrey Wade had been in the US for 50 years. Served for 8 of them. Had a pending appeal and a last minute plea from a congressmen and the regime deported him anyways: www.11alive.com/article/news...
Bankers, fintechs: Are you preparing for ongoing volatility with your vendor providers? @ivospigel.bsky.social @nickholland.bsky.social @psbdc.bsky.social @clagett.bsky.social
António@akwyz.com · 8mo agoAn Estonian Gov IT agency is testing European alternatives to US software vendors, while still shifting many civil servants to a centrally managed cloud by Microsoft. Although there are no plans to eliminate Microsoft or other US providers, the government aims to be prepared if it becomes necessary.
Understanding our past and the legacy of slavery in the US means going to slave dwellings, spending time in them (the author slept in many around the US) and talking to each other. An important episode of @bfworld.bsky.social and a really good book by Joseph McGill.
Ben Franklin's World@bfworld.bsky.social · 8mo agoWhat can we learn by sleeping in a slave dwelling? 🛏️ In Ep. 386, Joseph McGill shares how spending the night where enslaved people once lived helps us honor their lives—and confront the legacy of slavery. 🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/386 #SlaveDwellingProject #VastEarlyAmerica #History
financial services marketing is broken. Find out why and how financial institutions can fix it 👉🏽 open.substack.com/pub/pivotass...
Financial Services Marketing is Broken
In conversation with Jay Mandel, I learned that improving marketing has more to do with technology, product development and listening to customers than you might think.
open.substack.com
The term “law enforcement” should not be used by media, except perhaps in quotations. It has sadly become an Orwellian term that is used to magically sanctify violence. Language matters. Be specific. Describe individuals with names and ranks. Say exactly what they did. Don’t repeat fascist hocum.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
Fintech doesn't mean you can take time to read, reflect & discuss the ideas of the best & brightest in fintech, banking and payments. Join us! fintechbookclub.com
Fintech Book Club | Discover Fintech Insights – Join Us
Join the Fintech Book Club for insights on digital banking, fintech innovation, and future trends. Launching January 2026, stay tuned for expert discussions and analyses.
fintechbookclub.com
Jim Perry@strategistjim.bsky.social · 9mo agoIn an industry that moves fast, it helps to slow down and read. The Fintech Book Club’s new site is live → fintechbookclub.com cc: @stessacohen.bsky.social @efiglobal.bsky.social
"Somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly..." #MLKDay www.instagram.com/reel/DTiK9MF...
Hip Hop Caucus on Instagram: "Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King Jr. Thank you for speaking knowledge and truth into us all with words that we still hold close to us daily. Who's throwing somethin...
119K likes, 1,312 comments - hiphopcaucus on January 15, 2026: "Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King Jr. Thank you for speaking knowledge and truth into us all with words that we still hold close to u...
instagram.com
Is your bank AI curious and anxious to get to AI deployments? I talked with Jason Lowe about how FIs of all sizes can get there. pivotassets.substack.com/p/take-your-...
The Big Bear bald eagles prepare their nest for the season: www.youtube.com/live/B4-L2nf...
Big Bear Bald Eagle Live Nest - Cam 1
YouTube video by FOBBV CAM
youtube.com
What do early American coffee shops have to do with banking? It's where banking was done. Branches didn't exist 250 years ago.... @psbdc.bsky.social @clagett.bsky.social @lizlum.bsky.social @ledaglyptis.bsky.social @strategistjim.bsky.social @alexisrjimenez.bsky.social @michaelhattem.bsky.social
Ben Franklin's World@bfworld.bsky.social · 10mo ago☕ Think tea was the drink of choice in colonial America? Think again. Our latest episode reveals why coffee — not tea — became the go-to beverage for early Americans (and no, it wasn’t just about the Boston Tea Party). 🎧 www.benfranklinsworld.com/429 #VastEarlyAmerica #BostonTeaParty #Coffee
Friends and followers, please help the family who was impacted by today’s fire in Bellefonte. Everyone made it out safely, but the loss was devastating. The fire consumed the home and everything inside, including their belongings and keepsakes. Donate and share widely: gofund.me/38c74f763
Donate to Rebuilding After the Fire: The Hockenberry’s, organized by Emily Hockenberry
On December 26, 2025, a house fire destroyed the home of my father-in-l… Emily Hockenberry needs your support for Rebuilding After the Fire: The Hockenberry’s
gofund.me
☕☕☕ Plan to listen to this episode while drinking my New England roasted but imported coffee from Ethiopia, Guatemala, etc.!
Ben Franklin's World@bfworld.bsky.social · 10mo ago☕ Think tea was the drink of choice in colonial America? Think again. Our latest episode reveals why coffee — not tea — became the go-to beverage for early Americans (and no, it wasn’t just about the Boston Tea Party). 🎧 www.benfranklinsworld.com/429 #VastEarlyAmerica #BostonTeaParty #Coffee
I went to Vermont and found the connection between cash payments and digital identity. And bought some magnificent, locally made cheese. open.substack.com/pub/pivotass...
Trust, Digital Identity and Cheese
Cash purchases are increasingly niche. Digital identity can support trust in those transactions. Doing so creates opportunities for FIs to motivate small businesses to move away from cash.
open.substack.com
The Wampanoag grew corn on Cape Cod during the Little Ice Age. How? Generations of seed science! In Ep. 426, Michael Wise reveals how Native food systems were dynamic, scientific, and deliberate. 🎧 benfranklinsworld.com/426
#bankers: Gen Z is smarter than you think. www.instagram.com/reel/DRffEHZ...
Oliver Otcasek on Instagram: "How to go to prison (now without violence!) The Internet has an orange Lambo problem. #tiktokfinance #scamtok #getrichquick #turofail #fartcoin #supercarbros #phillyhum...
Getting caught up in scams, financial mishaps, and business blunders can land you in prison without any physical harm. Learn from the real-life examples of people who have made costly mistakes and avo...
instagram.com
@ivospigel.bsky.social, Nick Holland & I have created an exciting new fintech event. FinVino! 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 www.linkedin.com/posts/stessa...
A couple of years ago, I approached Ivo Spigel, who I met through the twitter tech community & met in person through my colleague Ivan Maglic, about an idea I had for a fintech conference. A… | St...
A couple of years ago, I approached Ivo Spigel, who I met through the twitter tech community & met in person through my colleague Ivan Maglic, about an idea I had for a fintech conference. A gathering...
linkedin.com
If you have any interest in the American Revolutionary War, listen to this @bfworld.bsky.social episode with @michaelhattem.bsky.social & then buy his book(s). Both will help you understand the US today. @psbdc.bsky.social @strategistjim.bsky.social
Ben Franklin's World@bfworld.bsky.social · 11mo agoAfter the Revolution, Americans didn’t just celebrate independence—they shaped its story. 🧠📖 Join Michael Hattem and explore how memory, myth, and meaning made 1776 a cornerstone of national identity. #MemoryStudies #VastEarlyAmerica #History #AmericanRevolution #Revolution250
