Arc Blog

In March 2023, the startup community was shaken to its core. The regional banking system - the backbone of Silicon Valley for 4 decades – was in freefall. While the media was primarily focused on covering the billions in frozen deposits that jeopardized millions of tech jobs and stalling innovation, another storm was quietly brewing.

This morning, we launched on Product Hunt. This launch is the culmination of everything we have built over the past two years for our customers. I am proud of the team for their dedication to our mission and incredibly grateful for the customers who have trusted and supported us along the way. 

Managing cash burn and extending runway continue to be a key focus for startups in this tough macroeconomic environment. Today, in an effort to help businesses continue to focus on sustainable growth, we are releasing our partner marketplace to the wider startup community.

We are excited to announce that we have nearly doubled the amount of FDIC insurance available on the Arc platform through our partner banks to $5.25M*—bringing the total available FDIC/SIPC coverage to $5.75M. When combined with the ability to invest in U.S. T-Bills, startups can now effectively protect 100% of their deposits through the Arc platform. But that’s not all. Unlike many other bank deposit sweep programs in the market, Arc’s sweep offering is yield-bearing – paying over 2% APY** on deposits.

Generative AI is all anyone in tech in 2023 can talk about. Empowered with it, teams of just one can produce realistic images and videos, write and review code, and so much more. Given all the hype and controversy surrounding generative AI, and its potential impact on society, individuals are starting to wonder if we have opened pandoras box. While only time will tell, these panelists take their best guesses at what’s to come and what will be left when the hype is gone.

Maximizing the value of a SaaS subscription should be the goal of every startup—especially those with limited budgets. It's relatively straightforward when the team is lean, but duplicate subscriptions can quickly become the norm when a startup scales. This panel shares insights, tips, and strategies to help startups get the most out of their SaaS subscriptions without breaking the bank.

The banking system around the globe is built on trust, when it erodes the whole thing could come tumbling down as it did in ‘08 - 09. This time around it appears to be more localized with the collapse of Signature Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic Bank and most recently PacWest all occurring within weeks of one another. Is this an isolated issue or the start of a global bank contagion? These experts discuss the current state of global banking.
 

We are deeply saddened by the news surrounding First Republic Bank, we want to openly pledge Arc’s support to those impacted by this event. First Republic Bank was an integral part of our community,  propelling the growth of many innovative companies – with a particular emphasis on providing exceptional service to the people and organizations that fuel positive change in our communities. At times like these, we think it’s absolutely mission-critical that businesses step in to make sure those directly impacted – and the banking community as a whole navigate these challenging times.

The Next Play Capital Fellowship Program is an opprtunity for these former athletes to learn about and get exposure to the venture capital space. In this session, Don provides an overview of Arc. He covers the origin story of Arc, he provides an update on the company’s traction since launch, and he highlights what makes Arc’s offering unique in the banking sector. Don wraps up the session by answering questions from the audience.

In the past, treasury management was something that only large companies could justify, as it was slow and time-intensive if done in-house, and expensive if outsourced. 

Fintech changed that by allowing startups of all sizes to quickly spin up treasury management programs to minimize risk and maximize returns.

Silicon Valley Bank played a foundational role in the startup landscape—pioneering both startup banking and venture debt. Their unraveling will have ripple effects throughout the entire ecosystem for weeks to come. Arc stands behind startups affected by the recent events and is offering our support. 

After a year-long scramble of capital raises and cost cutting measures, we’re now heading into what most are calling a protracted recession. Like the last chapter, we’re still navigating uncertain waters, however, unlike the last, the funding tools previously available to founders to navigate that storm are even more limited. Startups are looking for new ways to stretch their cash, many are finding shelter in yield-bearing accounts, but this too may come at a risk, as not all high-yield instruments are created equal.

Today we are unveiling Arc Yield to the world, a new feature available to all Arc Treasury customers. Built on the Arc Treasury platform, customers now can earn secure, market-leading returns on their idle cash, while continuing to benefit from the same cash management essentials they have come to expect from Arc.

Don Muir shares his in-depth perspective on the current banking landscape, the alternatives to traditional banking, and the future of banking during his panel at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. 

We’re excited to share that Arc was ranked one of the most innovative startup funding providers in the US in 2022 by Best Startup California. Each year BSC, ranks the top startup funding providers in the United States based on their track record, leadership team, market share, record of innovation, and ESG rating. Out of nearly 300,000 startups evaluated, Arc was ranked number four.

Arc was named in the top 5 of the 50 Best Startups to work for in San Francisco by Built In. Joining a startup with less than fifty people right now is one of the greatest opportunities for impact, agency, scope, and growth. In fact, the other day, I overheard an Arc Engineer say they shipped more code in 2 months at Arc than in two years at their previous publicly traded company. That same engineer works directly with our Co-Founders daily and is a major culture add, not only to the engineering team but the company overall. Speaking of working at a startup… check out our open roles and the list of the other Best Places to Work.

Arc believes premium software startups deserve a premium non-dilutive fundraising option. While constricting market conditions have forced current incumbents – many of whom served a broad group of businesses rather than a focused few – out of the space, we’ve remained unwavering in this belief and designed smarter financing to better meet the needs of today’s software startups. 

Spencer Chemtob, Mayfield Fellows Class of 2022, had plenty of options when looking for a place to call home for the summer. See why he choose to work at an early-stage startup and some key learnings from his time as Arc's first product intern. 

Arc launches the Startup Growth Stories Podcast – a medium for founders & executives to share their unique stories scaling high-growth companies.

Over the past 6 months, we’ve gone from a “flat-line” interest rate environment hovering around 0%, to 1.5%-1.75%. Today, rates have been raised by 75bps—the biggest increase since 1994. Over the same period of time, we’ve seen late-stage startup valuations plummet while overall cost of capital has climbed.

Are the two related? The short answer is that climbing interest rates are directly affecting the cost of capital and indirectly affecting startup valuations. 

Think of Arc as founder-friendly capital. We pay you upfront for your future sales, which means we’re betting on your success and we’re with you over the long-term. We believe in you.

Arc’s $20M Series A was led by Left Lane Capital. Other investors include NFX, Y Combinator, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Torch Capital, Atalaya, Bain Capital Ventures, Soma, Alumni Ventures, and Dreamers VC, as well as the founders of Wayflyer, Plaid, Column, Chargebee, Vouch, and Jeeves. Arc will use the funding to expand its treasury and software products, invest in its engineering, product, and go-to-market teams, and fuel the next phase of its growth.

At Arc, we’ve put culture at the center of how we build the business. Culture is always a work in progress, and while there’s always room to improve, we’ve learned a lot along the way. Below I’ve outlined some of the takeaways we’ve had around defining company values, creating an inclusive culture, and how those efforts have helped us create a stronger team.

There’s no denying it – building during a downturn is hard. Teams need to focus intensely, ruthlessly execute, and make opportunistic bets. To survive, startups must focus on their north star goals, pursue sustainable growth strategies, and continue to put their people and customers first.

Arc Analytics, an in-house analytics tool enables founders to benchmark top expense categories to identify and cut areas of overspend, while testing capital deployment strategies to improve their business fundamentals. The tool, built with API-driven solutions combined with machine learning and other data enrichment layers, combines the capabilities of traditional financial reporting tools with a best-in-class user experience.

The Default Alive Coalition is a joint venture between tech companies and VCs to help startups extend their runway and sustain their growth through a challenging macro environment. Launched in partnership with Fondo, Workato, Forecastr, Spekit and several other tech companies, the default alive coalition is a direct response to the warning bells sounded by venture capital firms across Silicon Valley. Together, we’re providing discounts to capital and the key services startups need to operationalize their success.

Arc launches Treasury, a comprehensive cash management account for high-growth startups. The technology, built on Stripe's leading payments infrastructure, combines the flexibility of an API-driven solution with the native functionality of a consumer app. With Arc Treasury Startups get access to the essential financial tools and services they need to effectively store, manage, and deploy their capital without sacrificing speed.

Arc, the full-service finance platform for software startups, launches Runway by Arc to help founders weather a volatile macro environment. As VCs and boards are encouraging already funded startups to shore up additional capital and rein in burn to extend runway until deal flow returns, Runway utilizes Arc’s proprietary ML-enriched underwriting algorithm to analyze net cash burn and cash on hand. Within 24 hours, founders are provided flexible, low-cost capital with zero dilution or debt, enabling continued operations and financial stability during volatility.

Arc was founded on the idea that premium startups deserve a premium funding alternative. In the past, founders were left with two options: hit the brakes on growth to extend runway OR raise fresh equity capital and put the pedal to the floor. Founders were forced to choose between accelerating growth and diluting existing employees, investors, and founders.

Wall Street has long been a hub of financial innovation. Silicon Valley attracts many of the brightest teams focused on pursuing technological breakthroughs. Unfortunately, even the most promising startups fly under the radar of Wall Street’s financial institutions.

After spending nearly two decades in underwriting as Head of Underwriting at Brex, Chief Credit Officer at Brex Venture Debt, tech lending at Silicon Valley Bank, syndicated lending at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and card lending at American Express, Eric McFarland is joining ARC as our Chief Credit Officer. 

At Arc, our engineering team stands on the shoulders of giants. As a company, we set out to modernize the financing experience for founders and business owners through API integrations and a seamless user experience.

Think of Arc as founder-friendly capital. We pay you upfront for your future sales, which means we’re betting on your success and we’re with you over the long-term. We believe in you.

Why are founders forced to choose between giving up ownership & board seats or tripping debt covenants in order to grow? Why does it take weeks to months of founders’ time and energy to raise capital? Why is fundraising for tech startups not… tech enabled?