Seed Changed Business Banking
My primary problem with business banking was the slow ins and outs. I consider ins and outs all the pending transfers, pending checks, and bill payments. As any young company, we sometimes slack on our cash flow analysis, and this is when the ins and outs always hurt. If you forget about one expense and spend that allocated money, the bank blames you with a fee. But shouldn't the bank just innovate and make it all real time? Seed is disrupting this outdated banking fee model, and provides me the most real-time banking balance in business banking I can find. Also, let’s not forget traditional business banking has some of the worst design and experience out of any banking category. Did your bank ever spend months marketing an online redesign to only find out it's really just a new "skin" to the the old technology? Mine did on several occasions. These bad expectations is what always put me on the hunt for a new solution. Seed is where my hunt ended.
How I Know Seed
I was introduced to Seed’s cofounder, Ryan Hildebrand, by email randomly one day. Ryan and I soon met for a discovery session, and he was able to learn my pain points to help drive the product roadmap. At this point, Seed was already about 1.5 years old, and had raised a successful investment round after Y Combinator. Ryan and I kept in touch briefly, and he eventually presented at 1 Million Cups Portland (where I volunteer as an organizer). After some sneak peaks here and there, I finally got my beta invite in late December 2016.
Mobile Only Business Banking… Oh No!
When I heard Seed was mobile only, I was super scared. How could I be a productive business owner doing all my banking from my phone? Fast forward three weeks after joining, and I was hooked. I stayed up late playing with the Seed app, and sent feedback on a regular basis. The team was really getting to know me by now. I was the guy finding bugs, and sharing strong feedback about the design and experience. It was so much fun!
PS. I’ve seen Seed’s potential future desktop UI/UX, and it’s swell.
Your Data Moves Fast on Seed
On the Seed app, you can see your posted, pending, and available balances. Pending includes your sent checks, transfers, and other Seed activities. This means your available balance is theoretically more accurate than any traditional bank. Simple calls this your, “safe to spend,” balance. Seed has plans to make balances even more accurate, or potentially fully real time. For those unfamiliar with Simple, it's essentially the consumer version of Seed, and where the Seed founders came from. Simple is also from Portland, and sold to BBVA Compass two years ago.
An Extension to the Product Team
Seed support is truly an extension to the product team. As technology entrepreneurs, we regularly hear, “know your users!” I can confidently say Seed knows me, and we’ve barely met. This is all because the support team listens closely to its users. They aren’t messing around. I once made a suggestion to Seed, during the beta, and it was implemented days later. [mt-gallery id="3004" type="" size="4" margin="10" out_margin="10"]
Goodbye Payroll Software?
I’m not saying you can cancel your payroll software yet. But in my business, we don’t need payroll software anymore. With Seed, I can send ACH transfers to team members, and the money is usually fully moved in 24 hours. It’s possible to send both ACH electronic transfers, or mail an ol’ school check through the mail.
(FYI: Like Simple, Seed does not provide paper checks to customers.)
The Best Feature
It's the Seed team. I've been a power user of Simple since its beta, and so my digital banking perception is a lot different than an average user. With this in mind, I was able to adapt and understand Seed’s features quickly. In other words, Seed's features are not new to me. It’s simply a better application in business banking. The Seed team truly cares about me and my business. They’re an extension to ShiloRune.
How Seed Changed My Business
First and foremost, I’m no longer logging into clunky online banking software that makes me cringe. Just the thought of having to login at my old bank accelerated procrastination. Regardless of design and experience, Seed has most changed my business through its commitment to providing outstanding customer support. The Seed team is so deeply integrated and collaborative that issues get triaged at lightning speeds. Gone are the days of boring corporate policy responses! Seed gets right to the point in communications, and doesn't waste my time. And I believe this is because they're truly an extension to ShiloRune.
Thank you Seed. I look forward to working together for years to come.
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