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When regulators took over Silicon Valley Bank, startups scrambled to make payroll

Here are stories from those impacted by the bank run

Silicon Valley Bank on Hanover Street in Palo Alto on March 14, 2023. Photo by Magali Gauthier.

When Punit Singh Soni founded Suki in 2017, Silicon Valley Bank seemed like the natural place to put his company's money. Many other tech companies were clients, and the bank was viewed in many ways as the "default" for startups to use, Soni said.

"To be honest, when you're an entrepreneur, you don't want to be thinking about banking. You want it to work," he said. "And I think that there are very few places who understand entrepreneurs the way SVB does."

Punit Soni. Courtesy Punit Soni.

Little did he know that roughly five years later, that "default" bank would collapse and be taken over by state and federal regulators. That's been the shocking reality many in the local tech industry have dealt with over the past week, after a bank run prompted the country's 16th largest bank to become insolvent. It was the second largest bank failure in U.S. history.

On Friday, March 10, government regulators stepped in to take control of the bank and told customers that they could get their access on Monday to their deposits up to the $250,000 cap that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures.

What wasn't clear until Sunday, when the FDIC announced that it would guarantee the full amount of all deposits, is what would happen to all the money over the quarter million dollar limit.

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Over the past few years, Suki — an artificial intelligence company based in Redwood City that's created a voice assistant for doctors — has raised roughly $100 million and used Silicon Valley Bank for its main operating account, Soni said. He opted to work with one bank because of the simplicity it provided.

"Who goes through a bank run, ever? Those are the things you read about in books," Soni said.

Soni wasn't the only one left scrambling in the days following the bank's collapse.

On Monday, Wilbur Properties, a real estate and property management company that manages more than 200 Bay Area properties, including tech sites, sent out a letter to its tenants notifying them that all online payments via Silicon Valley Bank were on hold until Wilbur Properties could set up accounts with a new bank. Wilbur Properties was unavailable for comment for this article.

Garry Tan, CEO and president of of Y Combinator — a Mountain View-based accelerator for tech startups that has been used to launch more than 4,000 companies, including Airbnb, DoorDash, Reddit and Instacart — circulated a petition on Twitter the day after the collapse, asking the government to intervene swiftly to save startups whose sole bank accounts, like Suki's, were with SVB.

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In the Y Combinator community, "one-third of startups with exposure to SVB, used the bank as their sole bank account," Tan tweeted. He estimated that more than 10,000 small businesses and startups could be at risk of payroll-related furloughs or shutdown, which would affect more than 100,000 jobs.

"The real victims of the SVB fallout are the depositors: startups (10 to 100 employees) who cannot make payroll, and will have to shut down or furlough next week," he tweeted prior to the FDIC's announcement that it would guarantee the full amount of all deposits. "If these startups wait weeks/months for their deposits, we have destroyed a generation of US startups, at random."

Tan wrote in Y Combinator's petition that these companies wouldn't have the money to pay their employees in the next month.

"Silicon Valley Bank's failure has a real risk of systemic contagion. Its collapse has already instilled fear among founders and management teams to look for safer havens for their remaining cash, which can trigger a bank run on every other smaller bank," he tweeted.

Soni said when the bank collapse first happened, his top priority was to make sure that his company could make payroll on time. As investors started to urge companies to take their money out of the bank in the days leading up to the bank failure, Soni said he felt they were "seeding panic" and that he tried not to overreact, opting to leave Suki's money at Silicon Valley Bank.

The problem was that the panic created a situation in which those who stayed calm and left their money in the bank ended up getting put in a tougher spot, Soni said.

Through a combination of his own funds and money that investors put up, Soni said that the company got a plan in place to make sure employees got paid.

"I can't tell you with a straight face that that was just easy," Soni said. "Those two days were pretty nerve wracking."

Reflecting on the crisis, Soni said that he believes that, while this was a failure of Silicon Valley Bank's executives, he also feels that Silicon Valley leaders failed to keep calm and communicate clearly. Instead, the panic created a situation in which depositors raced to pull out their money, precipitating the collapse.

"I feel this was a classic moment where we should have shown more leadership," Soni said. "First of all, we should trust the government. They will do the right thing."

Soni noted that the government has an incentive to ensure confidence in the banking system. Throughout the last week, he felt it would be a matter of when, not if, Suki would be able to access its funds.

To protect itself in the future, Suki is looking at how to diversify its finances through use of multiple banks, Soni said. But as of Tuesday, its funds remained at Silicon Valley Bank, and Soni said he was considering continuing to use the bank.

Angela Hey, a Portola Valley technology consultant, said that any institution that uses a bank should be wise to the risks.

"People are jolly lucky that the government is bailing people out, as it would be more catastrophic otherwise," Hey said. "There will be ripples from the loss of SVB stock for those who held it.

"It is a lesson for businesses to diversify their holdings, particularly small businesses. Any business, nonprofit, church, school or other institution with more than $250,000 in any bank would do well to split their holdings to ensure they are covered by FDIC insurance if there is a run on their bank," she said. "As we can see, this can happen very quickly and assets can vanish in an instant if even as much as a rumor of bank instability goes viral. A malevolent tweet, blog or video has the power to destabilize trust in a financial institution."

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When regulators took over Silicon Valley Bank, startups scrambled to make payroll

Here are stories from those impacted by the bank run

by Zoe Morgan and Grace Doerfler / Palo Alto Weekly

Uploaded: Fri, Mar 17, 2023, 7:06 am

When Punit Singh Soni founded Suki in 2017, Silicon Valley Bank seemed like the natural place to put his company's money. Many other tech companies were clients, and the bank was viewed in many ways as the "default" for startups to use, Soni said.

"To be honest, when you're an entrepreneur, you don't want to be thinking about banking. You want it to work," he said. "And I think that there are very few places who understand entrepreneurs the way SVB does."

Little did he know that roughly five years later, that "default" bank would collapse and be taken over by state and federal regulators. That's been the shocking reality many in the local tech industry have dealt with over the past week, after a bank run prompted the country's 16th largest bank to become insolvent. It was the second largest bank failure in U.S. history.

On Friday, March 10, government regulators stepped in to take control of the bank and told customers that they could get their access on Monday to their deposits up to the $250,000 cap that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures.

What wasn't clear until Sunday, when the FDIC announced that it would guarantee the full amount of all deposits, is what would happen to all the money over the quarter million dollar limit.

Over the past few years, Suki — an artificial intelligence company based in Redwood City that's created a voice assistant for doctors — has raised roughly $100 million and used Silicon Valley Bank for its main operating account, Soni said. He opted to work with one bank because of the simplicity it provided.

"Who goes through a bank run, ever? Those are the things you read about in books," Soni said.

Soni wasn't the only one left scrambling in the days following the bank's collapse.

On Monday, Wilbur Properties, a real estate and property management company that manages more than 200 Bay Area properties, including tech sites, sent out a letter to its tenants notifying them that all online payments via Silicon Valley Bank were on hold until Wilbur Properties could set up accounts with a new bank. Wilbur Properties was unavailable for comment for this article.

Garry Tan, CEO and president of of Y Combinator — a Mountain View-based accelerator for tech startups that has been used to launch more than 4,000 companies, including Airbnb, DoorDash, Reddit and Instacart — circulated a petition on Twitter the day after the collapse, asking the government to intervene swiftly to save startups whose sole bank accounts, like Suki's, were with SVB.

In the Y Combinator community, "one-third of startups with exposure to SVB, used the bank as their sole bank account," Tan tweeted. He estimated that more than 10,000 small businesses and startups could be at risk of payroll-related furloughs or shutdown, which would affect more than 100,000 jobs.

"The real victims of the SVB fallout are the depositors: startups (10 to 100 employees) who cannot make payroll, and will have to shut down or furlough next week," he tweeted prior to the FDIC's announcement that it would guarantee the full amount of all deposits. "If these startups wait weeks/months for their deposits, we have destroyed a generation of US startups, at random."

Tan wrote in Y Combinator's petition that these companies wouldn't have the money to pay their employees in the next month.

"Silicon Valley Bank's failure has a real risk of systemic contagion. Its collapse has already instilled fear among founders and management teams to look for safer havens for their remaining cash, which can trigger a bank run on every other smaller bank," he tweeted.

Soni said when the bank collapse first happened, his top priority was to make sure that his company could make payroll on time. As investors started to urge companies to take their money out of the bank in the days leading up to the bank failure, Soni said he felt they were "seeding panic" and that he tried not to overreact, opting to leave Suki's money at Silicon Valley Bank.

The problem was that the panic created a situation in which those who stayed calm and left their money in the bank ended up getting put in a tougher spot, Soni said.

Through a combination of his own funds and money that investors put up, Soni said that the company got a plan in place to make sure employees got paid.

"I can't tell you with a straight face that that was just easy," Soni said. "Those two days were pretty nerve wracking."

Reflecting on the crisis, Soni said that he believes that, while this was a failure of Silicon Valley Bank's executives, he also feels that Silicon Valley leaders failed to keep calm and communicate clearly. Instead, the panic created a situation in which depositors raced to pull out their money, precipitating the collapse.

"I feel this was a classic moment where we should have shown more leadership," Soni said. "First of all, we should trust the government. They will do the right thing."

Soni noted that the government has an incentive to ensure confidence in the banking system. Throughout the last week, he felt it would be a matter of when, not if, Suki would be able to access its funds.

To protect itself in the future, Suki is looking at how to diversify its finances through use of multiple banks, Soni said. But as of Tuesday, its funds remained at Silicon Valley Bank, and Soni said he was considering continuing to use the bank.

Angela Hey, a Portola Valley technology consultant, said that any institution that uses a bank should be wise to the risks.

"People are jolly lucky that the government is bailing people out, as it would be more catastrophic otherwise," Hey said. "There will be ripples from the loss of SVB stock for those who held it.

"It is a lesson for businesses to diversify their holdings, particularly small businesses. Any business, nonprofit, church, school or other institution with more than $250,000 in any bank would do well to split their holdings to ensure they are covered by FDIC insurance if there is a run on their bank," she said. "As we can see, this can happen very quickly and assets can vanish in an instant if even as much as a rumor of bank instability goes viral. A malevolent tweet, blog or video has the power to destabilize trust in a financial institution."

Comments

Native to the BAY
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Mar 17, 2023 at 9:35 am
Native to the BAY, Old Palo Alto
Registered user
on Mar 17, 2023 at 9:35 am

Another reason it would benefit Palo Alto having a Winco grocery here.


PST
Registered user
South of Midtown
on Mar 17, 2023 at 2:52 pm
PST, South of Midtown
Registered user
on Mar 17, 2023 at 2:52 pm

While I agree and see the need for this rescue I cannot help but note our government isn’t doing enough for children who are poor and hungry, the millions who are uninsured or under insured, climate change, etc. Meanwhile the leaders of this bank make millions of dollars while lobbying against regulations that might have prevented this debacle. I hope they broke insider trading or other laws and are prosecuted to the max. Oil companies make massive profits and we sell millions of dollars of weapons all over the world that do nothing for peace or prosperity. Our country can and should do better. It’s not just banks that need a rescue seems to me.


Native to the BAY
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Mar 19, 2023 at 12:38 am
Native to the BAY, Old Palo Alto
Registered user
on Mar 19, 2023 at 12:38 am

Think what a premier grocery store like Winco might do 2 enhance the morale/local economy here. No membership dues & accept most forms of payment. Yes. While so many richer folk “shop” from the comfort of a personal at home work space/computer, a majority could help out the local economy by supporting more fresh produce & veggies. Unlike PA’s Piazza or MP’s

Winco (nearest one now is East Oaktown). This could be a win win win. Invite RWC, EPA, MV, Palo families to come shop in person good ven a plethora of good foods, including healthy edible selections.

Tons a vacant lots in PA to do such good, promising work.

Can’t stomach those who stick Nose up at “big” box while gleefully purchasing from massive warehouse data driven robotic shopping. Out of sight out of mind? Not. Big box shopping from the small box of a screen and a CC.

Leave the last Cent to a former by-gone era. As local BA wealthy stopped big box, colossal big tech warehouses moved in,this reality is indeed is hypocrisy. Just because a Big Box is not visible does not follow those who shop online getting their items from massive mechanism out of a landscape sight line. Boycotting economic retail opportunities like inviting a Winco Foods, is like cutting a nose in spite for f the face. Winco all the way home! Or any other like FoodMax. Put it in locale for best practices. W: Does Dreggars really bottle thier own spring water?

Boise ID has a fabulous Winco. In fact, many from here are escaping there for lower, associated costs 4 famines — not just data sets. Economically rich boomers love thier Boise
Winco.


Banes
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Mar 20, 2023 at 2:20 pm
Banes, Old Palo Alto
Registered user
on Mar 20, 2023 at 2:20 pm

Dude, Why don’t YOU start a Winco?
At least there would be some (ever expiring) product collateral, unlike SVB making loans on over-inflated stock values. This is not unlike the Mortgage Meltdown, product (stock value) is inflated, loans & vc money never adjusted.


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