From $20K to $35M: A Startup Founder's Bank Adventure

A young founder opened a business account at Chase bank early in his startup journey. As his company raised multiple funding rounds (from $1M to $24M), he interacted with a bank manager, Alex, who repeatedly called to 'check in' on his account, leaving him bewildered. Eventually, the founder moved the company's funds to Silicon Valley Bank and closed the Chase account. A year later, he was recognized at a Chase branch in LA as the founder of HashiCorp, revealing that local Chase employees knew about his company's massive account activity and used it as an internal training case. Even more shockingly, his previously unclosed Chase account revealed fraud, requiring him to withdraw a $1M cashier's check to close it, a process filled with unexpected challenges. This story highlights the naivete of startup founders concerning banking and the inner workings of large banks.