In 2022, the expense manager Brex declared that it was seen in the market as “less suited to meeting the needs of smaller customers,” an announcement that sent shockwaves through the startup community.
Given this effect, Brex He clarified that by smaller clients he meant small and medium-sized businesses and unfunded startups. But the impact was seen as a surprising turnaround, considering the company had started life as a credit card company. for startups. The announcement came about two months after Brex announced a “big push into software” and that it was putting greater emphasis on moving upmarket to serve larger enterprise customers.
Then in March, Silicon Valley Bank imploded.
Brex was one of the bidders for the bank's early-stage and growth-stage portfolios, which was known for providing a host of financial services to the startup community. Ultimately, First Citizens Bank took over the deal and service, but some of those former customers rejected the idea of working with such a large bank and opted to move their accounts to fintechs like Brex, Mercury and Arc. While Brex declined to share details on how many former SVB customers in total have migrated their accounts, it did say it opened 4,000 new accounts and received $2 billion in deposits in the first week alone after SVB closed.
That influx of new customers led Brex to rethink its priorities and strategy.
The company has tapped Jason Mok, former operating partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and 16+ year veteran of Silicon Valley Bank, as its new head of startups. In his new role, which he assumed in April, Mok will help founders navigate the current macroeconomic environment and recent banking crises, as well as the promises of disruptive technologies like generative AI.
Brex Co-Founder and Co-CEO Henrique Dubugras commented that “Founders and startups have always been at the center of Brex.”
He added: “The community needs our support more than ever given the broader macro and the collapse of SVB. When it came to hiring someone to lead our startup organization, it was crucial to find someone who shared Brex's pride and passion for startups; “Jason fits the bill.”
At a16z, Mok managed the company's seed fund. And at SVB, he served as managing director and sector head of consumer Internet. Interestingly, Mok's father also worked at SVB in the early 1990s, in a similar role to Mok.
“So I grew up around SVB,” Mok recalls. “I just grew up around Silicon Valley Bank, founders and entrepreneurs, scaling with startups and venture capital.”
While at the organization, Mok said he worked across the entire cycle, from startup to growth, business, warehouse facilities and loans.
"I learned a lot. SVB was the best place to get an ‘MBA’ for anything related to technology, finance, startups and venture capital,” she said.
In 2020, Mok was hired by a16z to serve as an operating partner to oversee corporate development before overseeing the company. seed fund strategy. He left the firm in September 2022, he said, to focus on family before being recruited by Brex this spring to help lead its renewed focus on startups.
Admitting that he was “heartbroken” by what happened at SVB, Mok said he was drawn to the opportunity to help the startup community in a new position.
“SVB was a stalwart that enabled much of what is today the technology and innovation ecosystem. It was amazing to see so many different people and companies come out of the woodwork to really pitch in to shore up the innovation system,” Mok said. “Specifically, it was amazing to see Brex step up the way he did.”
Image credits: Jason Mok / Brex
In his new role, Mok said he will help guide the post-SVB opportunity for Brex and how the company is “thinking about delivering for startups going forward.”
“Brex is the only non-banking alternative that offers a complete financial suite, including banking, bill pay and credit cards,” he said. “I joined with the intention of adding additional leadership strategy and reaffirming Brex's commitment to delivering for startups. Over time, we've expanded to serve enterprises, but startups and founders are at the core of what we do and we want to make sure we continue to iterate, evolve and grow with founders as they move beyond startup. ”.
Part of that, Mok said, will include discussing with founders what they need in terms of products so they can "scale faster and iterate better."
The company also wants to be more physically present, organizing events in various cities such as San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, for the startup community and offering more “Brex ambassadors” who can serve as the face of the brand it founded, the operators and Venture capitalists can come to you for advice, perspectives and connections with other founders.
“I will oversee all of that and really our go-to-market function,” Mok said.
It will also help with the additional buildout of Brex's merchant accounts, as well as "further optimization and improvement" of the company's onboarding process.
Brex said it also appointed Nadav Lidor as the company's leader for banking products targeting startups. Lidor, who heads Brex's Israel office, will focus on Brex merchant accounts: FDIC-insured cash management accounts through partner banks and a suite of money movement tools through ACH, transfers and checks.
In late May, Brex shared that two of its products, Empower, its expense management platform, and Brex Business Accounts, “each achieved $100 million in ARR,” or annual recurring revenue.
The company added that since launching Empower last year, Brex has signed with companies such as Coinbase, Indeed, SeatGeek, Lemonade and DoorDash, among others. It also said its merchant accounts, which it describes as cash management accounts with a suite of tools to move money through ACH, wires and checks, had seen “rapid growth due to ease of use and up to $6 million in coverages.” FDIC insurance. ”
Brex also recently announced that it intended to go global.
In 2022,, the expense manager Brex declared that in the market it was seen «less suitable to meet the needs of smaller customers”, an announcement that caused a stir in the startup community.
Given this effect, Brex He clarified that by smaller clients he meant small and medium-sized businesses and unfunded startups. But the impact was seen as a surprising turnaround, considering the company had started life as a credit card company. for startups. The announcement came about two months after Brex would announce a "big push towards software” and that it was putting greater emphasis on moving upmarket to serve larger enterprise customers.
Then in March, Silicon Valley Bank imploded.
Brex was one of the bidders for the bank's early-stage and growth-stage portfolios, which was known for providing a host of financial services to the startup community. Ultimately, First Citizens Bank took over the deal and service, but some of those former customers rejected the idea of working with such a large bank and opted to move their accounts to fintechs like Brex, Mercury and Arc. While Brex declined to share details on how many former SVB customers in total have migrated their accounts, it did say that opened 4,000 new accounts and received $2 billion in deposits alone in the first week after SVB closed.
That influx of new customers led Brex to rethink its priorities and strategy.
The company has tapped Jason Mok, former operating partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and 16+ year veteran of Silicon Valley Bank, as its new head of startups. In his new position, which he assumed in April, Mok will help founders navigate the current macroeconomic environment and recent banking crises, as well as the promises of disruptive technologies like generative AI.
Brex co-founder and co-CEO Henrique Dubugras commented that “Founders and startups have always been at the center of Brex.”
He added: “The community needs our support more than ever given the broader macro and the collapse of SVB. When it came to hiring someone to lead our startup organization, it was crucial to find someone who shared Brex's pride and passion for startups; “Jason fits the bill.”
At a16z, Mok managed the company's seed fund. And at SVB, he served as managing director and sector head of consumer Internet. Interestingly, Mok's father also worked at SVB in the early 1990s, in a similar role to Mok.
“So I grew up around SVB,” Mok recalls. “I just grew up around Silicon Valley Bank, founders and entrepreneurs, scaling with startups and venture capital.”
While at the organization, Mok said he worked across the entire cycle, from startup to growth, business, warehouse facilities and loans.
"I learned a lot. SVB was the best place to get an ‘MBA’ for anything related to technology, finance, startups and venture capital,” she said.
In 2020, Mok was hired by a16z to serve as an operating partner to oversee corporate development before overseeing the company. seed fund strategy. He left the firm in September 2022, he said, to focus on family before being recruited by Brex this spring to help lead its renewed focus on startups.
Admitting that he was “heartbroken” by what happened at SVB, Mok said he was drawn to the opportunity to help the startup community in a new position.
“SVB He was a stalwart who enabled much of what is currently the technology and innovation ecosystem. It was amazing to see so many different people and companies come out of the woodwork to really pitch in to shore up the innovation system,” Mok said. “Specifically, it was amazing to see Brex step up the way he did.”
Image credits: Jason Mok / Brex
In his new role, Mok said he will help guide the post-SVB opportunity for Brex and how the company is “thinking about delivering for startups going forward.”
“Brex is the only non-banking alternative that offers a complete financial suite, including banking, bill pay and credit cards,” he said. “I joined with the intention of adding additional leadership strategy and reaffirming Brex's commitment to delivering for startups. Over time, we've expanded to serve enterprises, but startups and founders are at the core of what we do and we want to make sure we continue to iterate, evolve and grow with founders as they move beyond startup. ”.
Part of that, Mok said, will include discussing with founders what they need in terms of products so they can "scale faster and iterate better."
The company also wants to be more physically present, organizing events in various cities such as San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, for the startup community and offering more “Brex ambassadors” who can serve as the face of the brand it founded, the Operators and venture capitalists can turn to you for advice, perspectives, and connections with other founders.
“I will oversee all of that and really our go-to-market function,” Mok said.
It will also help with the additional buildout of Brex's merchant accounts, as well as "further optimization and improvement" of the company's onboarding process.
Brex said it also appointed Nadav Lidor as the company's leader for banking products targeting startups. Lidor, who heads Brex's Israel office, will focus on Brex merchant accounts: FDIC-insured cash management accounts through partner banks and a suite of money movement tools through ACH, transfers and checks.
At the end of May, Brex shared that two of its products, Empower, its expense management platform and Brex business accounts, “each achieved $100 million in ARR”, or annual recurring revenue.
The company added that since launching Empower last year, Brex has signed with companies such as Coinbase, Indeed, SeatGeek, Lemonade and DoorDash, among others. It also said its merchant accounts, which it describes as cash management accounts with a suite of tools to move money through ACH, wires and checks, had seen “rapid growth due to ease of use and up to $6 million in coverages.” FDIC insurance. ”
Brex also recently announced that it intended to go global.
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