In this edition of Marketer of the Week, Ignite Visibility spotlights Michelle Draper, Chief Marketing Officer at Silicon Valley Bank.
Silicon Valley Bank
Ignite Visibility applauds the SVB team for offering a new capital program that will finance pre-venture funded startups.
SVB partnered with Clearbanc, the world’s largest e-commerce funding platform, to provide more than $50 million in capital to e-commerce clients and SVB’s Startup Banking software.
As a result of that partnership, eligible companies now have access to Clearbanc’s revenue advances. They can use that capital for growth, ad spend, or inventory.
The offer includes discounted fees. It also comes with a complementary valuation consultation.
Additionally, companies will also have access to SVB Edge. That program offers everything a rising company needs to get up and running, including a checking account, a business debit card, and online banking.
“Clearbanc is a market leader in providing growth and marketing financing for early-stage D2C brands,” says Ashraf Hebela, Head of Startup Banking at Silicon Valley Bank. “By partnering, our joint US clients can accelerate their growth with financing from Clearbanc and banking products and services from SVB. As companies continue to scale, there is a seamless transition from Clearbanc capital to SVB debt.”
That kind of work is nothing new for SVB. The company has assisted innovative companies in high-tech for more than three decades.
Michelle Draper
Michelle Draper describes herself as a “high energy marketing executive with over 20 years of experience developing and leading teams to define and deliver differentiated brand experiences.”
She’s been with SVB for more than 7 years. She’s responsible for the strategy and execution of the company’s global marketing initiatives.
It’s a big responsibility. With more than $23 billion in assets and 34 locations worldwide, SVB is already a reputable brand. Draper has helped strengthen that reputation by focusing on strategy alignment and customer insights. Notable, the company launched its “Make Next Happen Now” campaign under her direction.
But Silicon Valley Bank isn’t Draper’s initial experience in the finance sector. She spent 19 years at Charles Schwab.
As Senior Vice President of Institutional Services Marketing with Schwab, Draper managed the marketing strategy, planning, and execution of the division that serves independent investment advisors, retirement plan sponsors and participants, and other institutional clients.
She oversaw a team of more than 50 marketing professionals and managed a multi-million dollar marketing budget that included advertising, digital marketing, social media, events marketing, and client communications.
Each of the business units Draper worked with focuses on a specific client need:
- Advisor Services – Provides trading, technology, custody, and other services to assist independent investment advisors.
- Retirement Plan Services – Manages retirement plans for employers and more than 1.5 million participants.
- Corporate Brokerage Services – Handles stock plan services, mutual fund clearing, and investment-only sales to employers.
- Retirement Business Services – Serves retirement advisors and manages the Business Trust division of Schwab.
Before that role, Michelle Draper served as VP of Advisor Services Marketing Programs at Schwab for about eight years.
During that time, she led a team of 15 professionals and managed a multi-million dollar marketing budget in an effort to develop acquisition and retention programs for the company’s registered investment advisor (RIA) business.
And before that role, she served as a Director of Investment Services Segment Marketing for seven years.
That’s when Draper handled segment business planning and integrated marketing programs. She also set the strategic direction for cross-functional marketing communications.
Draper, CMO at Silicon Valley Bank, also managed field training and internal communications.
Wrapping It Up
Silicon Valley Bank provides the capital that gives us the Internet as we know it today. It’s the bank for Big Tech.
And with Michelle Draper handling marketing for the bank, the future looks even bigger.
