Kudos for being honest!<p>I have the highest respect for detailing the real reason instead of generic "awesome journey".<p>Moreover, being acquired by SVB sounds way better than average acquihire. You actually can execute your idea, but as part of other company instead of separate entity.
Bummer. This was the one startup I've seen over the last few years on HN that I was actively rooting for.<p>Blame the Fed, I guess? De novo charters aren't being handed out anymore apparently, so you either have to acquire a charter, or be acquired. It's a pity VCs don't have the gumption to play the game, so Standard Treasury ended up going with the latter route.
It's interesting going back and looking at their pitchdeck now: <a href="http://blog.zactownsend.com/standard-treasurys-series-a-pitch-deck" rel="nofollow">http://blog.zactownsend.com/standard-treasurys-series-a-pitc...</a>
As a techie in the banking industry, I have to say I am very disappointed. I wish they had persevered with their initial product and expanded on that instead of trying to become a bank. There is a huge market for banking software -- for skilled sales teams and they certainly proved their mettle judging by their sales success . There are several companies that have done very well by staying focused and selling solutions to the banking sector.
edit - typo
This shows the danger for any financial services business that relies on a third-party platform. Due to the steep costs of compliance, and of dealing with legacy tech of existing banks that are the platform's customers, there is always a good chance that any particular payments platform is going to be acquired by a bank, or by a larger payments company. When that happens, the goals of the new owner will not always be to continue supporting a platform that benefits their competitors.
Hopefully they can structure the deal in such a way that the team remains incentivized both financially and passionately. This actually seems like the right way to do it: find a progressive bank willing and able to let a team come in and modernize some functions. My recollection is that SVB online capabilities were pretty dismal so there's not a whole lot to lose. SVB would be a much more attractive player with better DDA functionality.
The name 'Standard Treasury' is a little bit on the grandiose side to be honest. 'Standard Markdown'? :-) In some culture, people deliberately give their little children rustic/ugly/low-key names in the hopes of being deemed worthless by the devils and thus left alone during the growing up. Not I am saying the name has something to do with the current affair.
I called it four years ago. Financial innovation is dead and money transmission laws are directly to blame.<p><a href="https://thinkcomp.quora.com/In-Fifty-Days-Payments-Innovation-Will-Stop-In-Silicon-Valley" rel="nofollow">https://thinkcomp.quora.com/In-Fifty-Days-Payments-Innovatio...</a>