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It\u2019s a question rooted in surprise headlines that has now become one of 2023\u2019s favorite conversation starters for finance executives inside the tech realm: \u201cWhere were you when you heard the news about Silicon Valley Bank [SVB]?\u201d

For Tipalti CFO Sarah Spoja, the query instantly summons memories of being seated between two of Tipalti\u2019s financing partners: JP Morgan and Hercules Capital, Inc.

Or perhaps we should say two of its "future" financing partners. Spoja, along with Tipalti\u2019s attorneys, had gathered in a conference room with prospective partners to finalize the terms of a deal designed to secure a $150 million debt-raise for the growing business.

Looking back, Spoja tells us that the date of the gathering will forever be etched in her mind: Thursday, March 9, 2023. Within the next 24 hours, Silicon Valley Bank would be closed by the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) would be named its \u201creceiver.\u201d The public would receive no advance notice of the bank's closing.

Still, the escalating challenges at SBV were no secret, and as Spoja met that Thursday in March with Tipalti\u2019s prospective investors, SVB (which had been solvent only 24 hours earlier) would be broke within hours as depositors rushed to withdraw their funds.

Thus, the terms of Tipalti\u2019s debt-raise were not the only business that Spoja was seeking to finalize as she took a seat at the table. Besides securing the $150 million in debt, Spoja and her treasurer were simultaneously tracking the removal of Tipalti funds from SVB in real time.

\u201cFor finance people, the thought was \u2018Okay, I need to protect my company, so I need to do X, Y and Z before wire transfers are cut off,'" she recalls. "But at the same time, in the backs of our heads, we were all thinking, 'I really hope that this isn\u2019t going where it looks like it's going.'\u201d

Meanwhile, the terms finalized on Thursday, March 9, ultimately sealed a $150 million debt deal that would be announced by Tipalti in early that May. Why hadn't either of the prospective financing partners experienced cold feet in light of the escalating developments at SVB? Spoja tells us that \u201ctougher diligence conversations\u201d had already taken place to help to placate concerns about a changing economic climate. What\u2019s more, she says, a \u201cmutual trust\u201d had been established that had allowed the deal to not to get stalled.   

Still, you can\u2019t help but hear the winds that were howling outside the doors of Tipalti\u2019s March 9 meeting.

Says Spoja: \u201cIt was a moment that a finance professional would always remember, particularly if they were in tech\u2014because we all generally have a story.\u201d

There's little doubt, though, that Spoja\u2019s story is better than most. \u2013Jack Sweeney