The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) created chaos for many small business owners. Nearly overnight, the bank was shut down and deposits were seized, leaving thousands of businesses scrambling for cash to fund payroll.
Many small business owners didn’t have access to additional funds and turned to drastic measures in order to be able to pay their people and keep their businesses afloat – from selling products and services at an extreme discount to pulling from their savings and kids’ college funds.
And, all of them lost precious time and energy to try and navigate this financial crisis. That’s because, as Lisa Conn, co-founder and CEO of Gatheround, shared: “The priority order is to get employees paid, number one.”
The small business owners, who worked around the clock and sacrificed to be able to take care of their teams, deserve to be recognized. Today, we’re celebrating these unsung heroes – 15 of the small business owners that quite figuratively and literally put their team on their back when SVB bank shut down due to no fault of their own.
We’d also encourage you to consider supporting them; to reward all for their heroics and to help make whole for some what they lost. And, if there are others that should be on this list (and we know there are!), please let us know! Add them to the comments, tweet at us at @GustoHQ or send us an email at [email protected].
Camp
Who they are: Camp is a mix of two things: It is a toy shop with stores across the United States that also provides playful and interactive experiences for children and their families.
Their SVB story: After the bank initially failed, the CEO and co-founder Ben Kaufman emailed customers with a 40% discount code for all merchandise as a quick measure to help the company fund its operations and survive.
Follow Ben Kaufman on LinkedIn and Twitter.
The Cru
Who they are: The Cru is a startup centered on coaching and helping women advance in their careers.
Their SVB story:
Founder and CEO Tiffany Dufu and her husband pulled money out of their own savings account to cover payroll for their staff. They also put a call out on LinkedIn asking people to contribute to their crowdfunding campaign. By Wednesday March 15, she was thankfully able to get access to The Cru’s funds at SVB.
Follow founder and CEO Tiffany Dufu on LinkedIn.
Dispatch Goods
Who they are: Dispatch Goods is a startup that helps businesses deliver food by using reusable packaging.
Their SVB story: With the Friday news about the bank collapse, CEO Lindsey Hoell — who had all of Dispatch Goods’ money in SVB — had to think fast on how the company could make their Monday payroll. She set out on a mission to ask every bank she could if she could open an account, even driving to banks in person to see who would take her. By her fifth attempt on Monday afternoon, she succeeded.
Follow CEO Lindsey Hoell on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Fry the Coop
Who they are: Fry the Coop is a Chicago-based fried chicken restaurant chain with varying levels of spiciness — from “no heat” to “feel the burn” to “R.I.P.”
Their SVB story: While Fry the Coop did not use SVB, their payroll provider did. Their 227 workers were scheduled to be paid on Friday March 10 when SVB failed. By Sunday March 12, they still hadn’t been paid. That has him considering asking his bank for a bridge loan to cover payroll costs, which Fortana says “is a last resort” as “interest rates on such loans can be costly.”
Follow their owner Joe Fontana on LinkedIn.
Gatheround
Who they are: Gatheround is a team bonding and community engagement platform for people-focused organizations seeking to build relationships and strengthen teams in an era of disconnection and distraction.
Their SVB story: On Friday, March 10, Gatheround co-founder and CEO Lisa Conn woke up to find out that Silicon Valley Bank had collapsed — and that she couldn’t access any of her startup’s funds, all of which were in SVB. At first, she felt panic: She thought she wouldn’t be able to pay her employees on time. And then, relief: Lisa found out her payroll provider was working around the clock to help small businesses and startups impacted by the SVB shutdown make their payroll. Come Monday, Lisa and her team were able to wire their funds and pay her team on time.
Follow co-founder and CEO Lisa Conn on LinkedIn and on Twitter.
LandVest
Who they are: Founded 55 years ago, LandVest is a provider of luxury real estate and timberland properties.
Their SVB story: President Joseph Taggert managed to do a partial money transfer to another existing bank account the day before SVB failed on March 10, which is when they were planning to run payroll. The company also had diligently kept savings and diversified their capital, and were able to pay employees and vendors on time.
Follow their President Joseph Taggert on LinkedIn.
Mercy Housing
Who they are: Mercy Housing is a non-profit that fights with a mission to provide affordable housing for all.
Their SVB story: Mercy Housing was just about to close on a loan from SVB, and then the bank failed. As of right now, the non-profit is once again looking for more financing.
To support Mercy Housing, donate to them here. Follow their President and CEO Ismael Guerrero on LinkedIn.
Omsom
Who they are: Omsom is an Asian sauce kit company, proudly started by two sisters who were the children of Vietnamese refugees.
Their SVB story: The sisters and company immediately put out open letterson social media, which explained the existential threat the company faced and encouraged customers to support them. The call to action went viral and customers placed orders for Omsom’s sauces, while vendors gave them extensions on payments.
Follow their co-founders Vanessa Pham and Kim Pham on LinkedIn.
Prisidio
Who they are: Prisidio is a cloud-based vault to securely store, organize, and share your life’s essential documents and information with your family and those you trust.
Their SVB story: The four-time startup founder and CEO Glenn Shimkus had just finished up his usual morning workout routine when his phone began to blow up. His bank SVB was on the brink of collapse. Moments later, his accounts were frozen. Glenn and his colleague were quick to act, contacting their payroll provider about next steps, ready to do whatever it took to get his people paid. With support from his payroll provider and sheer determination (Glenn spent five straight hours re-entering over and over again the wire instructions into the SVB portal), come Wednesday, his people were paid.
Follow founder and CEO Glenn Shimkus on LinkedIn and on Twitter.
Refiberd
Who they are: Refiberd is a startup that uses AI and robotics to recycle textile waste into new clothing.
Their SVB story: Sarika Bajaj, founder and CEO, was at a physical SVB branch on Friday March 10 when unsuccessfully tried to withdraw money. While her team has only three employees (including herself), the possibility of not being able to make payroll and pay her team was a very real concern that day.
Follow their founder + CEO Sarika Bajaj on LinkedIn. Follow their other founder and CTO Tushita Gupta on LinkedIn.
Rocky Ridge Hardware
Who they are: Rocky Ridge Hardware is an Alabama-based community hardware store that sells household products, from grills to power tools to plumbing supplies.
Their SVB story: On Friday March 10, owner Dan Moran received multiple emails and texts from his employees that they hadn’t received their paycheck. At the time, he didn’t know the issue was related to SVB, and decided to send his workers paper checks instead. After finding out that his payroll provider had been using SVB, he decided he’d switch to paying employees by paper check for the short-term.
Follow their owner Dan Moran on LinkedIn.
ShipHero
Who they are: ShipHero is an e-commerce shipping startup that helps over 5,000 eCommerce brands and 3PLs the world over deliver eCommerce every day.
Their SVB story: ShipHero’s payroll provider used SVB, which left CEO Aaron Rubin unable to run payroll for his 600 employees. His company proceeded to manually send paychecks to its lowest-paid warehouse employees.
Follow founder and CEO Aaron Rubin on LinkedIn and on Twitter.
Skift
Who they are: Skift is the “daily homepage” for the travel industry, curating everything from news to events to marketing insights for travel execs.
Their SVB story: When founder and CEO Rafat Ali found out the news about SVB’s shutdown on March 10, he was “a complete mess,” he told Morning Star. He and his team spent the weekend doing everything possible to get access to their funds in their SVB account. As a last resort, Ali planned to use his own personal funds to fund the company payroll the next week. Fortunately, by Monday, Skift was able to get into their bank account and transfer their money.
Follow their founder and CEO Rafat Ali on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Slumberkins
Who they are: Slumberkins is an educational children’s brand that not only sells stuffed animals but also provides books and resources to help children build compassion, emotional regulation, and strong imaginations.
Their SVB story: Before the bank even failed, Slumberkins had already requested a transfer of their money in SVB to another bank account. Once news of SVB’s closure broke, co-founders and co-CEOs Kelly Oriard and Callie Christensen were worried that they might even have to close Slumberkins. As of Monday March 13, they were still awaiting the status of their transaction.
Follow co-founders and co-CEOs Kelly Oriard and Callie Christensen on LinkedIn.
Strongbow Strategies
Who they are: Strongbow Strategies is a New Mexico-based Native consulting firm that primarily serves federal agencies and tribal customers.
Their SVB story: Clara Pratte, the CEO of Strongbow Strategies, had recently moved over to a new payroll provider, which was then impacted by the SVB collapse. She acted quickly to transition to manual pay to get her team paid.
