Though it has had plenty of eventful moments on its path to becoming a profitable banking platform valued at $1.6 billion, no episode tells us more about Mercury's DNA and preparedness for the post-crash age. For now, at least, the worst has been avoided.įor Mercury, this five-day spell in March may prove the most consequential of its history. It is not an exaggeration to say that without such decisive action, the tech sector might have undergone a nuclear winter, an epoch of death in which only the indestructible survived. On Sunday, the FDIC declared a "systemic risk exception," allowing the government to backstop uninsured deposits. Friday brought the death knell: the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) stepped in to take control of SVB, no longer imperiled but incapacitated. On Thursday, Akhund woke to a wave of new Mercury sign-ups as worried customers fled the flailing incumbent. The days that followed stayed true to that spirit – at the cost of SVB and the sanity of many in the startup ecosystem. Welcome to the roaring twenties: a decade of pandemonium. This is the age of superbugs and superbubbles, lockdowns and collapses. If the 2020s have one ultimate message, however, it is that we live in the most chaotic timeline. In some more sanguine strand of the multiverse, that is where the story might have ended: SVB raised $2 billion, quelling the panic in its tracks. After all, this was an institution valued at nearly $20 billion earlier this year with $175 billion in deposits – partner to power brokers like Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Kleiner Perkins, Insight Partners, Bain Capital, and more than 2,500 other venture firms. Even the news that SVB was planning to pull together a last-minute $2 billion round of funding, though concerning, didn't feel cataclysmic. He had heard rumblings about trouble at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) for several months, but like the rest of the industry, Akhund believed the forty-year institution was equipped to ride out any turbulence. On Wednesday, March 8, Mercury CEO Immad Akhund was cautiously optimistic. I always note partnerships transparently, only share my genuine opinion, and commit to working with organizations I consider exceptional. You can read about the ethical guidelines I adhere to in the link above. This piece was written as part of The Generalist’s partner program. Mercury has the opportunity, and perhaps responsibility, to become Silicon Valley’s new standard bearer. The demise of Silicon Valley Bank leaves a massive hole – of systemic importance – that must be filled. Tech lost its historic bank of choice in the past few weeks. No one wins if the ecosystem deteriorates. Such dynamism could reward a fast-growing startup, but also introduces considerable peril. Storied institutions are straining under macroeconomic pressures some are buckling beneath them. We are in the midst of what looks like a full-blown banking crisis. The result is a company capable of growing in divergent macroeconomic environments. Better still, the banking platform is able to rely on multiple revenue streams, monetizing through deposits, interchange fees, foreign exchange, and beyond. Mercury has succeeded in that rarest of startup achievements: profitability. By owning that relationship, Mercury is well-positioned to add ancillary products like treasury services, credit, and venture debt. One of Mercury’s edges is that its core offering is a bank account, which acts as a client’s business hub. One investor described the current fintech landscape as a “Game of Thrones.” Mercury is competing against other energetic, innovative businesses, all of which want to be startups’ primary financial platform. He has built a platform designed to solve the pain points he identified as a founder – one that gives time and security to entrepreneurs. CEO Immad Akhund launched Mercury in 2019, but he had been waiting for a better startup bank to emerge since 2013. If you only have a few minutes to spare, here's what investors, operators, and founders should know about Mercury.
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