PSL Statement on Silicon Valley Bank

Earlier today, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB Financial Holdings) was shuttered by regulators following its insolvency. This has immediate affects on the startup and venture communities, along with their stakeholders and team members, who may find their assets inaccessible until Monday.

We are monitoring the rapidly evolving situation, along with our board, our partners, and our ecosystem, both locally and beyond to share information and make referrals to support services.

Here’s what to do if your company is affected while we await more information:

• Account for your funds and identify how much is below and above the FDIC insured thresholds
• Create or enact your business continuity plan as funds remain inaccessible; Know your exit strategy
• Be prepared to move funds on Monday morning
• Communicate with staff and vendors about payroll delays to avoid service interruptions (Employees: contact your banks for late fee reimbursements and grace periods if needed as pay will likely be delayed into next week at the earliest)
• Look out for communication from your financial and legal counsels and contact them for more information

It still remains to be seen how serious this will be for the overall financial environment, but it’s highly likely this may slow down the speed of venture funding for at least the next quarter. If you are raising right now, please plan for extra time to close and note that due diligence will be increasingly stringent with a heavier focus on viability and commercialization. Operate like you’re bootstrapping for the foreseeable future.

If you are a financial service provider available to support early-stage clients affected, please drop your info and any resources from your firms onto our LinkedIn post or email us at engage@phillystartupleaders.org so that we may share them with our members.

Please contact us at engage@phillystartupleaders.org if you require referrals.