Where to keep startup cash after a raise

After a raise, a lot of cash sits in one place, and founders increasingly ask whether that is wise. This guide walks through the general considerations founders weigh — it is not investment or treasury advice, and it makes no promises about safety or protection. For decisions about your own company, talk to a qualified adviser.

With that said, here are the practical questions worth thinking through.

Why founders spread cash across providers

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in 2023 made a lot of founders rethink keeping an entire raise in one place. The lesson many took away was operational as much as anything: if all your money sits with a single provider and access to it is interrupted, you may struggle to make payroll while the situation resolves.

Spreading cash across more than one provider is one way founders reduce that single point of failure. It is a general consideration, not a guarantee of anything — what is right for your company depends on your circumstances and is worth discussing with an adviser.

Operating account versus the rest

A common way to think about it is to separate the money you spend from the money you are holding.

• The operating account holds enough for near-term needs — payroll, suppliers, day-to-day costs — and is the one your team works from.
• The rest of the raise sits elsewhere, drawn down into the operating account as needed.

How much belongs in each is a judgement call. The aim is to keep the working account practical to run while not concentrating the entire round in a single place.

The operating-account and multi-provider mix

A simple structure many founders use is one primary operating account plus at least one other provider holding the remainder. That keeps day-to-day operations in one familiar place while avoiding having everything in a single account.

The trade-off is overhead: every extra account is another login, another set of details and another statement to reconcile. The right number is usually the smallest one that addresses the concentration you are worried about — not as many accounts as possible.

Splitting a raise without a reconciliation mess

Spreading cash only helps if you can still see the whole picture. A few habits keep it manageable:

• Give each account a clear purpose so you always know why money is where it is.
• Keep transfers between accounts deliberate and labelled, rather than frequent and ad hoc.
• Make sure your accountant has visibility of every account from the start.
• Reconcile on a regular schedule so balances across providers always add up to what you expect.

Done carefully, a multi-provider setup stays clean. Done carelessly, it becomes a monthly puzzle.

How Altery fits

Altery can serve as an operating account or as one of the providers in a wider setup, holding multiple currencies and giving you the access controls and categorised statements to keep reconciliation tidy across accounts. Altery is an electronic money institution, not a bank, and how you structure your company's cash is a decision for you and your advisers.

Frequently asked questions