Banking for Startups with JP Ferro of Bridge Bank

Ursa Consultants: Beyond the Balance Sheet

It’s Friday night – having just finished your final Zoom call of the week, you hop into an Uber to pick up your friend from their Airbnb, while you check Yelp for a good restaurant to grab dinner downtown. Sounds like a pretty realistic scenario, right?

In that sentence, I mentioned four different startups that we can't imagine life without. But without proper banking and financial services, those companies wouldn’t exist. And that’s exactly what this week’s guest knows all about.

In our most recent episode of Beyond the Balance Sheet, Jace sat down with JP Ferro, VP of Startup Banking at Bridge Bank.

JP started at NetSuite, where he worked directly with portfolio companies to drive value creation. He then moved into venture capital, where he managed startup ecosystem partnerships for Burkland.

These experiences led him to Bridge Bank. Having been active in the startup world for close to a decade, JP knows about the financial side of running an early company. As a Vice President in Bridge Bank’s Startup Banking Group, he supports entrepreneurs and startup founders navigate their journey from inception to success.

Jace and JP talk about the state of startup banking. Since many early-stage companies struggle with getting a credit card, Bridge Bank thought there was a better option for startups to get the credit they need for everyday purchases.

"We created our new offering designed for early-stage startups based upon their deposit balances. So it's not tied to credit history, not to raising an equity round, and not to an individual founder on the personal guarantee side."

Most banks aren’t creative when it comes to financing and helping startups. Bridge Bank decided to provide a solution that gives founders more ability to succeed. Why? JP explains all in this episode.

It was a pleasure to have JP on the podcast. Enjoy!