We had a good discussion on the Bootstrappers Yahoo Groups about possible banks to open an account with for your business. Here is a round-up of the discussion.
The choice of bank for your business matters greatly. Even if you do not yet have institutional or angel funding, our fellow bootstrapper has recommend banking with one of the listed bank’s technology department. They may not lend to you right now, but they will understand your kind of business and may be helpful for advice, referrals to funding sources and contacts overseas and elsewhere. Banks that focus on retail, manufacturing, distribution (i.e. old economy) will not have loan officers that can do this for you. You should also consider the operations capability of your bank depending on your needs, i.e. foreign exchange, branch network etc.
The banks that our Bootstrappers are using for their business needs are as follows and they have some tips on them:
* Traditional route for technology startups:
o Bridge Bank
o Comerica Bank
o Silicon Vally Bank
o Square1Bank
* Bootstrappers often just use regular banks
o Chase
o HSBC
o US Bank
o Wells Fargo
* But the most common answer was actually credit unions. They usually have no fees and better interest rates.
o Keypoint
o Tech CU
o Valley Credit Union
Another point brought up during the discussion is the presence of a number of venture lenders that operate providing working capital and equipment financing to startup companies, again focused on those that have raised venture capital. One lender that was mentioned was Western Technology Investment. There are many others as well.
Contributors
Leonard Greenberg Assistyx
Massimo Paolini MPThree Consulting
Carl Ludwig Ludewig Multimedia
Herman A. White Tech CU
Leslie Murdock Murdock Martell
Hemant Thakkar Trusttone Communications Inc
Rick Kadet
Susan Luschas