The importance of reputation and relationships in venture funding
It is not just innovation that creates and delivers growth but trust, people and relationships, a key point that this Bloomberg article makes, highlighting the importance of strategy and strategic communications advisers.
Innovation and growth are not just about what you know and want to build and realise, but who you know.
Take Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) as an example. While it 'became the second-biggest failure in US history' in March/April 2023, it has become stronger under new ownership.
SVB has been the banker of Silicon Valley, and many start-ups have sourced venture funding from the valley. SVB was and still is very proud of its relationships with investors. While its reputation was damaged after the bank run of 2023, the bank has been doing a great job repairing its reputation, especially after its First Citizens Bank bought US business and its UK operations by HSBC.
Of course, when it did collapse, many firms moved quickly to either recruit their staff or create similar offerings. Both of these strategies failed because, as it turned out, you couldn't buy the relationships that existed between people in such a tight community.
Equally, SVB was and still is a bank that offers support over a long-term period. Its financiers know that bets on its clients might not come book for some time, something that traditional banks would hesitate at.
In essence, while for quite some time, it has been the tech and new business model and start-up founders that have caught our attention, in essence, the real enablers of disruptors have been the bankers who have understood the pitch for finance. It is these people whose superpowers are their strategic vision, relationship, stakeholder management, and understanding of trust and reputation that have delivered the solutions that we enjoy and the investment return that some of us benefit from.
Reputations are, after all, what help drive innovation.
