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‘You don’t expect your bank to fail’: Lingumi founder on SVB chaos – UKTN Podcast

UKTN Podcast Lingumi
Image credit: Lingumi / UKTN

Last week, the tech startup ecosystem narrowly missed disaster after HSBC acquired Silicon Valley Bank’s UK division in an eleventh-hour deal. For startup founders who held most or all of their capital with the specialist lender, it was a nerve-wracking 48 hours. One of those startup founders is Toby Mather, the CEO of edtech company Lingumi. In a special episode of the UKTN Podcast, Mather shares his first-hand account of the weekend that rocked UK tech.

“As a startup, you are taking a lot of risks. As an entrepreneur, you’re taking a lot of risks,” the Lingumi CEO tells the UKTN Podcast. “You expect to fail yourself in many many ways.

“You don’t expect your bank to fail.”

The edtech startup, founded by Mather and Adit Trivedi in 2016, held most of its funds with SVB UK. Like thousands of other startups, Lingumi worried whether it would be able to pay staff and invoices....