With technology powering our everyday lives, we sometimes forget that there are still humans behind the technology. One thing that artificial intelligence hasn’t mastered (yet) is understanding the human psyche and what motivates us. For Joel Bruckenstein, it’s the appreciation for in-person interaction, raising up the next generation, and the sense of community that drives the FinTech ecosystem forward. Mr. Bruckenstein cemented his legacy in the financial advisory space ever since he launched the Technology Tools for Today conference 16 years ago. T3, as it’s affectionately called in the industry, is a leading practice management and technology conference for independent and hybrid financial advisors. It’s the go-to conference in WealthTech to learn about the latest innovations in the space. I was lucky enough to sit down with Mr. Bruckenstein recently and understand the man behind the tech.
Shannon Rosic: Tell me about yourself and when you ultimately fell in love with the FinTech space and financial services industry?
Joel Bruckenstein: I actually started out in foreign exchange in 1980. So I’ve been in financial services one way or another since 1980. I became interested in personal financial planning around ‘95. I started my own business in ‘96/’97, which was a small RIA firm. I’ve worked with individuals, and like everybody else who’s here right now visiting at T3, I was looking to buy technology to support my business. I went to a conference which was very much sponsor-driven and I bought some bad tech. I got angry and I thought, “Why isn’t anybody doing impartial reviews of this? Where are the FinTech consumer reports?” So I decided to do it myself.
That’s obviously a very specific incident that got
