William Leonard
Hey everyone! Welcome to the Atlanta Startup Podcast. My name is William Leonard, and I’m your co-host for today. I’m so excited to sit down with the newest Vice President of Startup Banking at Silicon Valley Bank, Jaisa Gooden. While she does work for Silicon Valley Bank, the bank has expanded its reach nationally and has hired Jaisa to build and cultivate relationships with stakeholders in the southeast startup ecosystem. I’m confident that this conversation will be meaningful for founders truly at all stages to better understand what types of companies are most ideal for the services that Silicon Valley Bank provides. You’ll also get a better understanding of Jason’s perspective as an Atlanta native who has grown up here and seen the Atlanta ecosystem blossom. I’m eager for you to hear this episode, so tune in and take notes and enjoy this conversation with Jaisa Gooden of Silicon Valley Bank. Jaisa, welcome to the podcast.
Jaisa Gooden
Thank you so much for having me, William. It’s always great to be able to collaborate with other people I respect in the area.
William Leonard
Awesome. I appreciate that. I’m excited about this conversation. You’re in a new role at Silicon Valley Bank and definitely want to learn more about what you’re doing there and how it’s contributing to the ecosystem here in Atlanta. But first I would love to just give our listeners some context on your background, what you’re working on, what you’re doing at Silicon Valley Bank, and your new role.
Jaisa Gooden
Sure, I would love to do that. My name is Jaisa Gooden. I grew up in Atlanta, lived in New York for the past three years, and went to Howard as well as the University of Hawaii at Manoa so been around the block a little bit, but was always focused on developing the tech and venture capital ecosystem specifically in communities that have been excluded from reaping the benefits of entrepreneurship. That’s been a consistent theme throughout my career. I’m excited to now be in this role with SVB where I’m focused specifically on early-stage founders within the greater Atlanta area. I’m covering Georgia, as well as Alabama, and Mississippi. In addition to that, I’m also working with NOEMIS Ventures, which is a New York-based VC fund focused on FinTech, MLAI, and marketplaces.
William Leonard
Interesting. You grew up here, you went to Howard, lived in New York briefly, and you have several roles that are really exciting. I know you also worked at HBCUvc previously. We’ll definitely dive into that a bit more but I’m sure a lot of our listeners know about Silicon Valley Bank, tell us about your role specifically and what you’re doing day-to-day there at the bank now.
Jaisa Gooden
Sure, that’s a great place to start. With SVB, that name is well known in the major tech hubs, whether it’s SF, New York, LA, or even places like Austin, there’s always been a strong presence with SVB as the bank for early-stage startups. We’ve grown with these companies from the first race through IPO and beyond. Now SVB is focused on markets that have previously been untapped as far as conventional or the usual suspects in the VC and tech ecosystem. We’re really taking the opportunity to make our presence deeper and also more active. That’s the role that I’m playing. We’ve had an office here for years and we’ve got a team that’s been working with the founders that are coming out of it. As you know, the city has boomed as far as the mega-rounds that we’re seeing have with companies like Calendly, Kabbage, and MailChimp, which are now at unicorn status are on their way there. There’s more of a necessity to expand in the city in order to have the type of coverage that makes sense for the growth that we’re seeing in the city. For me, specifically, focusing on early-stage founders, I’m tapping into the network that has previously been the one where we weren’t able to spend as much time because we were focused on those later-stage founders. But what we know about Atlanta is that there’s so much opportunity, whether it be from a cost of living standpoint or just from a founder community standpoint, to have the deeper engagement and interactions and make sure that we have opportunities to understand what challenges founders face, specifically in the Atlanta area, as they’re looking to raise in other cities but still be headquartered in Atlanta or whether they want to raise here, or whether they’re in supply chain and logistics, which is a huge network as far as customers and talent in the Atlanta area, as well as on the FinTech side, and being able to play off of the success that’s been seen in Miami and being able to make Atlanta also a hub for NFT’s crypto in the future of what these sectors look like.
William Leonard
Traditionally, I’ve known SVB to be more so focused on later-stage kind of Series B to IPO-type companies. Now, I feel like a few years ago, there was a shift to focusing on the entire ambit of startups right from early stage to IPO. As you all think about the benefits, the value adds for some of our listeners who may have a high-level understanding of the services and benefits that SVB may provide to its clients, what are some of the services and offerings that you all are presenting to early-stage startups specifically here in Atlanta, potentially?
Jaisa Gooden
That’s a great question. That’s something that I’ve been charged with, as far as developing the strategy of what our presence in Atlanta looks like. I have worked as a VC supporting early-stage founders. I’m really just leveraging those experiences and how we support founders from a portfolio management standpoint and applying it to what we’re doing with SVB. SVB is known for not only having competitive banking products but also on the advisory side, having a team that’s made up of operators, investors, of people who understand what it takes to scale a startup. That’s what differentiates us from other banks in a lot of cases. Founders come to the table looking for that type of value in our partnerships. For me, I’m focused on how do I connect founders, not just to banking products or to capital, but also how do I connect founders to other founders? How do I connect founders to customers? How do I connect founders to talent? Those are the key points of the strategy that I’m developing as far as how we show up in Atlanta and how we create value as a partner for founders in the Atlanta area.
William Leonard
It sounds like it’s more than just a banking relationship that you would get with any other bank that you could work with. You’re getting relationships, doors being open to other founders, investors, talent, things like that. You all are, as you said, being a true value add outside of the capital.
Jaisa Gooden
My vision for Atlanta is really rooted in community. The city is known, whether it be in the music industry or the hair industry, for being a place where people help one another build. I want our portfolio of founders to know one another. I want them to have an understanding of what each other’s needs are and to be able to leverage me as a bridge to be able to connect them to the type of resources that enable scale. That’s my priority, to make sure that all the interactions that I have are based on connection and then are also based on the type of growth-driven outcomes that lead to a company going from being seed stage to being able to go beyond IPO.
William Leonard
You just mentioned some verticals there, Music and FinTech. As you think about SVB’s role here, are there particular industries that are better suited for the banking products and the services that SVB has? Or is it more so a generalist approach where a founder who’s direct to consumer, B2C, B2B2C, and create our economy, any industry can leverage the products that you all have?
Jaisa Gooden
That’s a great question. Our platform is definitely best suited for companies that are tech-enabled and that have a vision for a long-term scale. We’re not turning away founders that don’t necessarily have the VC vision of being able to take on a lot of capital at one time or within a short amount of time and scale through venture capital funding, but we do work really well with the companies that are on that path. We’ve seen the type of outsized outcomes based on our ability to be able to help a company go from raising a seed round to a Series A to a Series C, so we understand what the milestones are in those stages. We want to help a company be able to get from point A to point B, but one of our biggest value propositions is also centered around venture debt. That’s a solution that allows founders to maintain equity. We’re also super supportive of founders that are looking for strategies to be able to maintain ownership in their company, as they continue to scale. Scale is not something that’s always enabled by venture capital and if a founder is looking to scale in a way that allows for them to not take on outside investment, that’s something that we can support specifically if it’s driven by revenue and still generating the type of year over year increases that make the company attractive to beating investors.
William Leonard
I’m very familiar with that product offering and I think that’s one of the most notable widely available offerings that we’ve seen founders adopt through Silicon Valley Bank. That’s an interesting overview there and we’re going to kind of intertwine SVB and this Atlanta startup ecosystem a bit more as you have grown up here, you lived here, you moved back here, and now you’re in this ecosystem-building role in the city of Atlanta. What are you most excited about relative to SVB in Atlanta and just the ecosystem overall here?
Jaisa Gooden
That’s another great question. You’re throwing them out there. For me, what I love about Atlanta’s ecosystem is the fact that there have been so many groups that were thriving here before Atlanta was really recognized for being the tech center that it is today. You have people like Rodney Sampson, people like Joey Womack, and people like David Cummings who have been in the city, laying the foundation and building companies within Atlanta’s ecosystem before anybody was really talking about it. And then now, you’re at this interesting transition or inflection point where you have now this influx of people who are coming from other cities and are now building in Atlanta. Sitting at the intersection of what you essentially call old Atlanta versus new Atlanta, there are a lot of opportunities for new ideas to meet with the history and the depth of experience, and a deep understanding of what Atlanta can do and how Atlanta can differentiate itself from other ecosystems. You have people like me, who have the same roots in the community but also have been able to have other experiences in different cities and bring these people all together to create a new form of the community. That’s what I’m definitely most excited about, being able to help people who are new to Atlanta get acclimated and involved in the ecosystem, and then also be able to give opportunities to people who have been here doing the work who may not necessarily have connections with people who are major players but coming from the outside.
William Leonard
You mentioned there’s an influx of companies moving here, early stage, later stage, IPO, even some of the major tech companies here as well, and all that is really contributing to the growth of what we’re seeing here in Atlanta now. As you think about helping founders at SVB, what is the best way for them to get in touch with you or they’d like to explore some more of the offerings and services that Silicon Valley Bank does have?
Jaisa Gooden
That’s a great question. I want everybody to reach out to me directly. I’m going to go ahead and drop my email because I’m just that type of person, jgooden@svb.com. Reach out to me there, we can set up a time to speak to understand what you’re looking for in a banking partner, what your vision is for your company, and where we’re aligned. I’m also looking to have SVB show up through some of the major activations that are already happening in Atlanta. Being able to be in the room when founders are presenting and when there are conversations happening between city stakeholders and tech leadership. That’s another way to engage, to keep your ear out, and stay connected with me through Twitter and LinkedIn, so that way when I’m showing up somewhere, we can be in the same room together because that’s my favorite way to interact. William knows we pop out when the city is having something cool going on and we find ways to vibe with the people who we’ve known for a long time. We also get in the mix with people who are just getting started in the city. That’s something that I’m big on and that’s something that I encourage anyone who wants to learn more about how we can work together.
William Leonard
I love that. That’s so true because we can go into an event or in a room where there are venture veterans, startup veterans, and then you also have people who are at the pre-seed stage or even the idea stage just wanting to get into the ecosystem and everybody’s so welcoming with open arms. It’s not a closed-off ecosystem where you have the Series B plus founders hanging out in one corner. Everybody’s intertwined together, everybody’s mixing, mixing and mingling, sharing advice, exchanging numbers, and really almost like paying it forward in a sense. That’s what I think about Atlanta and how the ecosystem has grown so quickly and so robustly because there’s a true sense of community here. I spoke with the founder who moved here from San Francisco in 2021 and she was saying Atlanta is just a big community, everybody here is welcoming you with open arms, connecting you with somebody if they can be directly helpful. I think that’s kind of the aura of the city right now. I hope it continues to be that way, as the city expands, and more people move here. I’m curious as to where companies can be where you all will work with. You’re here in Atlanta, a lot of our listeners are dispersed throughout the region, in the southeast Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida, can startups there work with Silicon Valley Bank here in Atlanta, too? Or is it more so exclusive to Atlanta startups?
Jaisa Gooden
For my specific coverage, I’m covering Georgia, so that’s Atlanta, as well as the state of Georgia, and also Alabama and Mississippi. For my specific coverage, it’s companies that are pre-Series A in those three states. Now SVB at large, we have teams that work with companies in all these cities, they fall into a specific region. It may not necessarily be the one that my team specifically owns but if there’s interest and you’re not in one of those regions that I mentioned, you can still reach out to me and I can figure out the best contact for you to work with. We work collectively at the southeast level so if it’s not in my arena, I can figure out how to connect you with the person to who you should be talking.
William Leonard
Cool. I love that because our listeners are really scattered throughout the region, even throughout the country, as well. I’m sure there’ll be some interest on that front there as well. Transitioning here, but I know you also have another role that you are in with numerous ventures. Can you talk to us about that and some of the companies that you all are supporting and the types of companies that you all look to support? And NOEMIS as well.
Jaisa Gooden
That’s a great question. NOEMIS, we are focused on supporting companies, as I mentioned, in FinTech, MLAI, and then also marketplaces. We invest at the seed level where we will lead but we also invest in follow on rounds at the Series A level. Our average check size is roughly 500k, we say between 200k and 500k for check sizes, but we’ve done a good portion of our deals at that 500k check size. What we’re looking for, in particular, what I like to look for are companies that have momentum, have good product-market fit, have a strong leadership positioning, and founder market fit. Ideally, either one really strong competitive hire or advisor that has strong alignment with a business model in the industry that the company is looking to execute. I’m also really big on the customer sales side having either a very solid sense of community, a really impressive waiting list for a user base that shows the type of scale that says there’s a lot of opportunities, and then also being able to show traction if it’s a B2B model with either letter of intent or some type of paid pilot or onboarding customer that shows that customers are interested in purchasing whatever it is that you’re building.
William Leonard
Do you all have a geographical focus on the companies as well?
Jaisa Gooden
We’re pretty agnostic but because we’re primarily East Coast-based between New York and Atlanta, a lot of the deal flow that we see comes from those regions, but we are open to opportunities around the country.
William Leonard
Awesome. I know NOEMIS has made some solid investments here as of late, as I’ve seen, and congrats on that role as well. That’s incredible that you’re truly boots on the ground in the ecosystem, day in and day out. Really exciting. What are you most excited about looking ahead for 2022 relative to SVB and some of the initiatives and maybe community-building events that you all are going to put on or planning throughout the year right now?
Jaisa Gooden
This is why I’ve been spending In a good amount of time about Render(ATL), that’s something that I feel really good about based on the conversations that I’ve had with the founder, Justin, and understanding his mission, vision, and what he’s looking to create as far as being a platform for connecting where my passions lie at the intersection of entertainment, technology, and investment. Really having a place where all of these people are in the room together in the type of city event that attracts people from other regions, but at its core is really constructed in a way that gives Atlanta talent, tech talent, as well as Atlanta founders the opportunity to showcase the work that they’re doing and to be able to highlight the innovations that they’re developing. I think something like that being homegrown in the city really excites me because it sets a precedent for sponsors and for VCs to know that there’s something that they’re missing out on in the city. The amount of momentum behind Render right now gets me really excited and of course, they have the festival music component, which I have always loved. I’m a big concertgoer so I’m excited.
William Leonard
I was gonna say for some of our listeners who may not be as familiar with Render(ATL), what is the program? How do you see it shaping the Atlanta ecosystem here?
Jaisa Gooden
That’s a good question. It’s the premier conference for engineering, Web3, tech, and founders who are at the intersection of those spaces. You have a lot of senior as well as junior engineering leadership that comes into the space to learn from one another. It’s very technical in the content, as well as in the outcomes as far as being able to meet a CTO and being able to pitch a business that’s driven by heavy technical concepts. And then also with Render(ATL), they’re really focused on being a platform for recruiting. Having these major tech companies that are now creating a stronger presence in Atlanta have an opportunity to be able to connect with the engineers, the developers, and the UX/UI designers that are based in the city all in one place.
William Leonard
Render(ATL) is such an interesting and truly community-advancing initiative that is happening here in the city, and excited for some of the initiatives and programming that they’re going to have later this year.
Jaisa Gooden
What I also love about it is that the face of the attendee in the community looks different from what most other engineering or technical conferences look like. It just gives a whole new perception. We always talk about representation. It’s a whole new image of what a tech conference looks like, particularly around engineering. I really enjoy that. It shows the next generation that engineers can be cool kids, too.
William Leonard
I love that engineers can be cool kids. And I think, on that note, this was a truly fantastic conversation for our listeners who are startup founders at the early stage here in the city and in the region, as well to understand the value that working with Silicon Valley Bank can bring to their startup, and equally some of the network initiatives and network effects that they can get from doing business with you. Also really excited about you being here in this new role, really planting a flag here in this ecosystem to help grow, that’s it’s simple as that just to help grow the ecosystem in a plethora of ways, most notably through banking services, which is utterly important to a startup’s lifecycle. Really appreciate you joining me, Jaisa. Looking forward to seeing you around at some events here in the city. Again, if anybody’s interested in learning more about Silicon Valley Bank, please reach out to Jaisa via LinkedIn or Twitter. She also dropped her email earlier in the episode. Jaisa, with that, really appreciate having you on.
Jaisa Gooden
Thank you so much. I’d also like to throw out there that on Fridays, I do what is essentially an open house for all techies and creatives to co-work together at Juiceheads ATL. it’s in the Lindbergh, Buckhead area and every Friday from 12:00 to 7:00, we co-work there, we vibe, and we exchange resources. If anyone is looking for a new place to be able to meet new entrepreneurs and other leaders in the city, please come hang out with us.
William Leonard
Awesome. I love it. Thanks, Jaisa. Take care.
Jaisa Gooden
Thanks, William. Talk to you soon.
Lisa
We’re thrilled to have you as an Atlanta Startup Podcast listener to help you get the most out of the experience. Let me invite you to three insider opportunities from our host Valor Ventures. First, want to be a guest on this amazing show. Reach out to our booking team at atlantastartuppodcast.com. Click on booking, It’s a no-brainer from there. Are you raising a seed round? Valor definitely wants to hear from you. Share your startup story at valor.vc/pitch. Are you a woman or minority-led startup valor sister program? The Startup Runway Foundation gives away grants to promising startups led by underrepresented founders. The mission of the Startup Runway Foundation is connecting underrepresented founders to their first investors. Startup runway finalists have raised over $40 million. See if you qualify for one of these amazing grants at startuprunway.org. You can also sign up for our next showcase for free there. Let me let you go today with a shout-out to Startup Runway presenting sponsor Cox Enterprises and to our founding partners, American Family Institute, Truist, Georgia Power, Avanta Ventures, and Innovators Legal. These great organizations make Startup Runway possible. Thanks for listening today and see you back next week.
