This as-told-to essay is based on conversations with a Silicon Valley Bank employee who wished to remain anonymous to speak freely about their situation. Their identity is known to Insider. The essay has been edited for length and clarity. I'm an associate with several years of experience under my belt, but even so, I can't wrap my head around the enormity of mistakes made by SVB leaders that led to this mess.
The way everything unfolded was very fast — that was the unexpected part. By the middle of the next week, the concern was palpable. The office had an ominous vibe. People were looking at the balance sheet and doing their own math. Everyone was constantly checking the stock price as it dove. SVB started out as a regional bank that struck gold with a really smart business model. But it made the mistake of thinking it was immune to everything that's just inherently risky to any bank. And that's absurd.
If this was a shitty place to work, maybe I wouldn't feel so strongly. But we had a good thing going, which makes this allSure, you could see it was a little bit of tech bubble bullshit to a certain extent — free lunches and cool hiring initiatives were motivating, but sometimes it felt like the company was being run more like a startup than a bank.
who gives a fuck about “the culture” 😂 i swear these business publications and biz schools suck off this illusive concept of “culture”… so tone deaf and useless