#230: Eytan Bensoussan, Co-Founder & CEO of NorthOne, a Digital Business Bank Built for America and Trusted by Over 190,000 Businesses

Eytan deeply believes that the success of the small business sector is one of the most important causes of our time. It has the potential to reduce income inequality, empower immigrants, and provide disproportionate leadership opportunities for female and minority businesspeople. Creating a banking service that is as modern as these companies is why Eytan started NorthOne.

Prior to NorthOne, Eytan was a Sr. Engagement Manager for McKinsey & Company. He served many wonderful clients in Financial Services industry, usually on the topic of digital customer experience and financial inclusion. Prior to that, he earned his JD/MBA from McGill University and was called to the New York Bar in 2010.

Some of the Topics Covered Eytan Bensoussan in this Episode

• What NorthOne does and why Eytan decided to start it
• Why Eytan dove in full-time to NorthOne
• The first things Eytan did to start NorthOne and what he learned from a hundred customer interviews in the early days
• How Eytan decided on which potential customers to talk with
• How Eytan chose what the initial version of NorthOne
• Funding NorthOne in the early days and Eytan going a year without a salary
• What kept Eytan going through the low point in his business
• How Eytan got customers early on for NorthOne
• The hoops you have to go through to start a business bank
• The unscaleable things Eytan did early on to get exposure to businesses
• How Eytan convinced people to join his team in the early days
• Where NorthOne was at when they raised their Series A and how Eytan approached fundraising at that point
• How COVID impacted NorthOne
• How Eytan came up with the business model for NorthOne
• Why NorthOne waived their fees for all their customers in badly hit states and industries during COVID
• Eytan's favorite book

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