https://www.brex.com/journal/last-weeks-announcement/ Why Brex? Empower Products Company Contact sales Sign in Open an account About last week's announcement headshot photo of Pedro Franceschi By Pedro Franceschi * Jun 23, 2022 * 3 min read Last week we told some of our customers that Brex would no longer serve them. We did a poor job explaining this decision, which eroded some of the valuable trust we built over the years. I want to clarify why we made these changes, who's affected by it, and what we've learned over the past week. We made the difficult decision to focus on our core: serving startups and scaled companies. We learned we couldn't serve smaller businesses well at the same time, and focus was the only way to deliver a level of service we're proud of. Who will Brex continue to serve? We didn't clearly communicate who qualifies as a Brex customer moving forward, which created confusion about which companies Brex would still serve. Our products are designed for companies that have or will soon reach some level of scale, and inevitably face challenges such as fast-growing headcount, global workforces or significant cash to manage. Therefore, we feel confident in delivering a best-in-class service to customers who meet any of the following criteria: * Received an equity investment of any amount (accelerator, angel, VC or web3 token); * More than $1 million a year in revenue; * More than 50 employees; * More than $500k in cash; * Tech startups who are on a path to meeting the criteria above, and are referred by an existing customer or partner. Why did we change who Brex can serve? We designed Brex for companies that reach some level of scale, with a white-glove onboarding, implementation, and support experience. Our goal is to give all customers the same service that a large company receives from day one, with things such as a dedicated point of contact, 24x7 global support, and implementation help. It's hard to make the economics of this business model work for companies that don't hit a scale threshold, and many customers asked us why we couldn't keep smaller businesses and charge for a premium service. The answer is more complicated than costs - the needs of smaller businesses are fundamentally different. To serve smaller businesses well, we need a fully automated, one-size-fits-all product experience that doesn't fully exist today. On the other hand, startups and scaled companies need a higher-touch experience with Brex tailored to the individual needs of their organizations. Our decision wasn't driven by financial constraints, but by how many things we can do well at once. Lessons learned Last week's announcement was an incredibly disappointing moment for Brex. I signed off on the email that went out, which lacked the transparency our customers deserved. As someone whose dad was a small business owner, the way we communicated this decision weighed heavily on me. Here are some of the lessons I learned, and some of the things we're changing: 1. Err on the side of transparency, especially when things are hard. We should have explained why we're making these changes, and shared clear criteria of who we will serve moving forward. 2. We should have provided a better migration experience for affected customers. We're now working with partners and customers to make this process easier. 3. Strategy is hard. Focus is harder. We overestimated our ability to serve multiple customers. This made it harder to serve anyone well. 4. Focus allows for a better customer experience. For example, all Brex customers will now receive a dedicated point of contact over the next few months. This wasn't possible before. We set a high bar for ourselves, and we didn't live up to those standards last week. We're approaching this moment with a Growth Mindset, and squeezing every drop of learning from the unfortunate situation we put our customers in. This change had one goal in mind: serving customers better. We hope this becomes evident by our renewed focus, and the meaningful changes we have coming in our product soon. Thanks so much, Pedro Product Overview Business account Credit card Rewards Financial modeling Expense tracking Spend management Bill pay Integrations Brex API Pro access Security Company About Brex Careers Contact Press Blog Resources Help Status Customers Learning Privacy Legal agreement (c)2021 Brex Inc. "Brex" and the Brex logo are registered trademarks. Brex products may not be available to all customers. Terms and conditions apply and are subject to change. Brex Inc. provides the Brex Mastercard(r) Corporate Credit Card, which is issued by Emigrant Bank, Member FDIC or Fifth Third Bank, NA., Member FDIC. See the Brex Platform Agreement for details. Use of the Brex API is subject to the Brex Access Agreement. Brex Treasury LLC is an affiliated SEC-registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC that provides Brex Cash, an account that allows customers to sweep uninvested cash balances into certain money market mutual funds or FDIC-insured bank accounts at Brex's partner banks, such as JPMorgan Chase Bank, Member FDIC and LendingClub Bank, N.A., Member FDIC. Investing in securities products involves risk. Brex Treasury is not a bank, and your Brex Cash account is not a bank account. A list of partner banks is available at https://www.brex.com /legal. Please visit the Deposit Sweep Program Disclosure Statement for important legal disclosures. Brex Treasury is not an investment adviser. Consider your company's investment objectives and relevant risks, charges, and expenses before investing. Review the background of Brex Treasury or its investment professionals on FINRA's BrokerCheck website. Although Brex Treasury does not charge transaction or account fees, money market funds bear expenses and fees. Sending wire transfers is free for Brex Cash customers, but the recipient's financial institution may charge a wire receipt fee. You could lose money by investing in a money market mutual fund. The money market funds offered by Brex Cash are independently managed and are not affiliated with Brex Treasury. Yield is variable, fluctuates and is inclusive of reduced expense fees, as determined solely by the fund manager. See program disclosures and the applicable fund prospectus before investing for details and other information on the fund. Contact us for a copy of the fund prospectus and recent performance data. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. The fund cannot guarantee that it will preserve the value of your investment at $1 per share. An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. The fund's sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the fund and you should not expect that it will do so at any time. After providing at least 60 days' prior written notice to shareholders, the fund's board reserves the right to impose a fee upon the sale of shares or temporarily suspend redemptions if the fund's liquidity falls below certain levels. Uninvested Balances in your Brex Cash Account will initially be combined with Uninvested Balances from other Brex Treasury customers and deposited in a single account at LendingClub Bank, N.A. (the "Clearing Bank"), Member FDIC. Within two business days, funds are transferred to a disbursement account at a Brex Treasury Third-Party Service Provider (the "Settlement Account"), and then swept automatically into omnibus deposit accounts established by Brex Treasury in its name on behalf of Brex Treasury customers at Brex's designated partner banks. Only the first $250,000 in combined deposits at any partner bank will be subject to FDIC coverage. FDIC coverage does not apply to deposits while at the Clearing Bank or any account at an intermediary depositary institution. Deposits that are in the Settlement Account while in the process of being swept to or from a partner bank will be subject to FDIC coverage of up to $250,000 per customer (combined with any other customer deposits at the bank holding the Settlement Account). This is not an offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities, or to open a brokerage account in any jurisdiction where Brex Treasury LLC is not registered. Member of SIPC. Securities in your account protected up to $500,000 (including $250,000 claims for cash). For details and explanatory brochure, please see www.sipc.org. Use of Bill Pay subject to Bill Payment Service Terms and Conditions. Brex does not provide, nor does it guarantee, any third-party product, service, information, or recommendation. Brex may pay third parties and/or be paid by them for customer referrals. Services may be provided by Brex Payments LLC (NMLS #2035354). Why Brex? Empower Products Company Contact sales Sign in Open an account About last week's announcement headshot photo of Pedro Franceschi By Pedro Franceschi Jun 23, 2022, 3 min read Last week we told some of our customers that Brex would no longer serve them. We did a poor job explaining this decision, which eroded some of the valuable trust we built over the years. I want to clarify why we made these changes, who's affected by it, and what we've learned over the past week. We made the difficult decision to focus on our core: serving startups and scaled companies. We learned we couldn't serve smaller businesses well at the same time, and focus was the only way to deliver a level of service we're proud of. Who will Brex continue to serve? We didn't clearly communicate who qualifies as a Brex customer moving forward, which created confusion about which companies Brex would still serve. Our products are designed for companies that have or will soon reach some level of scale, and inevitably face challenges such as fast-growing headcount, global workforces or significant cash to manage. Therefore, we feel confident in delivering a best-in-class service to customers who meet any of the following criteria: * Received an equity investment of any amount (accelerator, angel, VC or web3 token); * More than $1 million a year in revenue; * More than 50 employees; * More than $500k in cash; * Tech startups who are on a path to meeting the criteria above, and are referred by an existing customer or partner. Why did we change who Brex can serve? We designed Brex for companies that reach some level of scale, with a white-glove onboarding, implementation, and support experience. Our goal is to give all customers the same service that a large company receives from day one, with things such as a dedicated point of contact, 24x7 global support, and implementation help. It's hard to make the economics of this business model work for companies that don't hit a scale threshold, and many customers asked us why we couldn't keep smaller businesses and charge for a premium service. The answer is more complicated than costs - the needs of smaller businesses are fundamentally different. To serve smaller businesses well, we need a fully automated, one-size-fits-all product experience that doesn't fully exist today. On the other hand, startups and scaled companies need a higher-touch experience with Brex tailored to the individual needs of their organizations. Our decision wasn't driven by financial constraints, but by how many things we can do well at once. Lessons learned Last week's announcement was an incredibly disappointing moment for Brex. I signed off on the email that went out, which lacked the transparency our customers deserved. As someone whose dad was a small business owner, the way we communicated this decision weighed heavily on me. Here are some of the lessons I learned, and some of the things we're changing: 1. Err on the side of transparency, especially when things are hard. We should have explained why we're making these changes, and shared clear criteria of who we will serve moving forward. 2. We should have provided a better migration experience for affected customers. We're now working with partners and customers to make this process easier. 3. Strategy is hard. Focus is harder. We overestimated our ability to serve multiple customers. This made it harder to serve anyone well. 4. Focus allows for a better customer experience. For example, all Brex customers will now receive a dedicated point of contact over the next few months. This wasn't possible before. We set a high bar for ourselves, and we didn't live up to those standards last week. We're approaching this moment with a Growth Mindset, and squeezing every drop of learning from the unfortunate situation we put our customers in. This change had one goal in mind: serving customers better. We hope this becomes evident by our renewed focus, and the meaningful changes we have coming in our product soon. Thanks so much, Pedro Product Overview Business account Credit card Rewards Financial modeling Expense tracking Spend management Bill pay Integrations Brex API Pro access Security Company About Brex Careers Contact Press Blog Resources Help Status Customers Learning Privacy Legal agreement (c)2021 Brex Inc. "Brex" and the Brex logo are registered trademarks. Brex products may not be available to all customers. Terms and conditions apply and are subject to change. Brex Inc. provides the Brex Mastercard(r) Corporate Credit Card, which is issued by Emigrant Bank, Member FDIC or Fifth Third Bank, NA., Member FDIC. See the Brex Platform Agreement for details. Use of the Brex API is subject to the Brex Access Agreement. Brex Treasury LLC is an affiliated SEC-registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC that provides Brex Cash, an account that allows customers to sweep uninvested cash balances into certain money market mutual funds or FDIC-insured bank accounts at Brex's partner banks, such as JPMorgan Chase Bank, Member FDIC and LendingClub Bank, N.A., Member FDIC. Investing in securities products involves risk. Brex Treasury is not a bank, and your Brex Cash account is not a bank account. A list of partner banks is available at https://www.brex.com /legal. Please visit the Deposit Sweep Program Disclosure Statement for important legal disclosures. Brex Treasury is not an investment adviser. Consider your company's investment objectives and relevant risks, charges, and expenses before investing. Review the background of Brex Treasury or its investment professionals on FINRA's BrokerCheck website. Although Brex Treasury does not charge transaction or account fees, money market funds bear expenses and fees. Sending wire transfers is free for Brex Cash customers, but the recipient's financial institution may charge a wire receipt fee. You could lose money by investing in a money market mutual fund. The money market funds offered by Brex Cash are independently managed and are not affiliated with Brex Treasury. Yield is variable, fluctuates and is inclusive of reduced expense fees, as determined solely by the fund manager. See program disclosures and the applicable fund prospectus before investing for details and other information on the fund. Contact us for a copy of the fund prospectus and recent performance data. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. The fund cannot guarantee that it will preserve the value of your investment at $1 per share. An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. The fund's sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the fund and you should not expect that it will do so at any time. After providing at least 60 days' prior written notice to shareholders, the fund's board reserves the right to impose a fee upon the sale of shares or temporarily suspend redemptions if the fund's liquidity falls below certain levels. Uninvested Balances in your Brex Cash Account will initially be combined with Uninvested Balances from other Brex Treasury customers and deposited in a single account at LendingClub Bank, N.A. (the "Clearing Bank"), Member FDIC. Within two business days, funds are transferred to a disbursement account at a Brex Treasury Third-Party Service Provider (the "Settlement Account"), and then swept automatically into omnibus deposit accounts established by Brex Treasury in its name on behalf of Brex Treasury customers at Brex's designated partner banks. Only the first $250,000 in combined deposits at any partner bank will be subject to FDIC coverage. FDIC coverage does not apply to deposits while at the Clearing Bank or any account at an intermediary depositary institution. Deposits that are in the Settlement Account while in the process of being swept to or from a partner bank will be subject to FDIC coverage of up to $250,000 per customer (combined with any other customer deposits at the bank holding the Settlement Account). This is not an offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities, or to open a brokerage account in any jurisdiction where Brex Treasury LLC is not registered. Member of SIPC. Securities in your account protected up to $500,000 (including $250,000 claims for cash). For details and explanatory brochure, please see www.sipc.org. Use of Bill Pay subject to Bill Payment Service Terms and Conditions. Brex does not provide, nor does it guarantee, any third-party product, service, information, or recommendation. Brex may pay third parties and/or be paid by them for customer referrals. Services may be provided by Brex Payments LLC (NMLS #2035354). Why Brex? Empower Products Company Contact sales Sign in Open an account About last week's announcement headshot photo of Pedro Franceschi By Pedro Franceschi Jun 23, 2022, 3 min read Last week we told some of our customers that Brex would no longer serve them. We did a poor job explaining this decision, which eroded some of the valuable trust we built over the years. I want to clarify why we made these changes, who's affected by it, and what we've learned over the past week. We made the difficult decision to focus on our core: serving startups and scaled companies. We learned we couldn't serve smaller businesses well at the same time, and focus was the only way to deliver a level of service we're proud of. Who will Brex continue to serve? We didn't clearly communicate who qualifies as a Brex customer moving forward, which created confusion about which companies Brex would still serve. Our products are designed for companies that have or will soon reach some level of scale, and inevitably face challenges such as fast-growing headcount, global workforces or significant cash to manage. Therefore, we feel confident in delivering a best-in-class service to customers who meet any of the following criteria: * Received an equity investment of any amount (accelerator, angel, VC or web3 token); * More than $1 million a year in revenue; * More than 50 employees; * More than $500k in cash; * Tech startups who are on a path to meeting the criteria above, and are referred by an existing customer or partner. Why did we change who Brex can serve? We designed Brex for companies that reach some level of scale, with a white-glove onboarding, implementation, and support experience. Our goal is to give all customers the same service that a large company receives from day one, with things such as a dedicated point of contact, 24x7 global support, and implementation help. It's hard to make the economics of this business model work for companies that don't hit a scale threshold, and many customers asked us why we couldn't keep smaller businesses and charge for a premium service. The answer is more complicated than costs - the needs of smaller businesses are fundamentally different. To serve smaller businesses well, we need a fully automated, one-size-fits-all product experience that doesn't fully exist today. On the other hand, startups and scaled companies need a higher-touch experience with Brex tailored to the individual needs of their organizations. Our decision wasn't driven by financial constraints, but by how many things we can do well at once. Lessons learned Last week's announcement was an incredibly disappointing moment for Brex. I signed off on the email that went out, which lacked the transparency our customers deserved. As someone whose dad was a small business owner, the way we communicated this decision weighed heavily on me. Here are some of the lessons I learned, and some of the things we're changing: 1. Err on the side of transparency, especially when things are hard. We should have explained why we're making these changes, and shared clear criteria of who we will serve moving forward. 2. We should have provided a better migration experience for affected customers. We're now working with partners and customers to make this process easier. 3. Strategy is hard. Focus is harder. We overestimated our ability to serve multiple customers. This made it harder to serve anyone well. 4. Focus allows for a better customer experience. For example, all Brex customers will now receive a dedicated point of contact over the next few months. This wasn't possible before. We set a high bar for ourselves, and we didn't live up to those standards last week. We're approaching this moment with a Growth Mindset, and squeezing every drop of learning from the unfortunate situation we put our customers in. This change had one goal in mind: serving customers better. We hope this becomes evident by our renewed focus, and the meaningful changes we have coming in our product soon. Thanks so much, Pedro Product Overview Business account Credit card Rewards Financial modeling Expense tracking Spend management Bill pay Integrations Brex API Pro access Security Company About Brex Careers Contact Press Blog Resources Help Status Customers Learning Privacy Legal agreement (c)2021 Brex Inc. "Brex" and the Brex logo are registered trademarks. Brex products may not be available to all customers. Terms and conditions apply and are subject to change. Brex Inc. provides the Brex Mastercard(r) Corporate Credit Card, which is issued by Emigrant Bank, Member FDIC or Fifth Third Bank, NA., Member FDIC. See the Brex Platform Agreement for details. Use of the Brex API is subject to the Brex Access Agreement. Brex Treasury LLC is an affiliated SEC-registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC that provides Brex Cash, an account that allows customers to sweep uninvested cash balances into certain money market mutual funds or FDIC-insured bank accounts at Brex's partner banks, such as JPMorgan Chase Bank, Member FDIC and LendingClub Bank, N.A., Member FDIC. Investing in securities products involves risk. Brex Treasury is not a bank, and your Brex Cash account is not a bank account. A list of partner banks is available at https://www.brex.com /legal. Please visit the Deposit Sweep Program Disclosure Statement for important legal disclosures. Brex Treasury is not an investment adviser. Consider your company's investment objectives and relevant risks, charges, and expenses before investing. Review the background of Brex Treasury or its investment professionals on FINRA's BrokerCheck website. Although Brex Treasury does not charge transaction or account fees, money market funds bear expenses and fees. Sending wire transfers is free for Brex Cash customers, but the recipient's financial institution may charge a wire receipt fee. You could lose money by investing in a money market mutual fund. The money market funds offered by Brex Cash are independently managed and are not affiliated with Brex Treasury. Yield is variable, fluctuates and is inclusive of reduced expense fees, as determined solely by the fund manager. See program disclosures and the applicable fund prospectus before investing for details and other information on the fund. Contact us for a copy of the fund prospectus and recent performance data. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. The fund cannot guarantee that it will preserve the value of your investment at $1 per share. An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. The fund's sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the fund and you should not expect that it will do so at any time. After providing at least 60 days' prior written notice to shareholders, the fund's board reserves the right to impose a fee upon the sale of shares or temporarily suspend redemptions if the fund's liquidity falls below certain levels. Uninvested Balances in your Brex Cash Account will initially be combined with Uninvested Balances from other Brex Treasury customers and deposited in a single account at LendingClub Bank, N.A. (the "Clearing Bank"), Member FDIC. Within two business days, funds are transferred to a disbursement account at a Brex Treasury Third-Party Service Provider (the "Settlement Account"), and then swept automatically into omnibus deposit accounts established by Brex Treasury in its name on behalf of Brex Treasury customers at Brex's designated partner banks. Only the first $250,000 in combined deposits at any partner bank will be subject to FDIC coverage. FDIC coverage does not apply to deposits while at the Clearing Bank or any account at an intermediary depositary institution. Deposits that are in the Settlement Account while in the process of being swept to or from a partner bank will be subject to FDIC coverage of up to $250,000 per customer (combined with any other customer deposits at the bank holding the Settlement Account). This is not an offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities, or to open a brokerage account in any jurisdiction where Brex Treasury LLC is not registered. Member of SIPC. Securities in your account protected up to $500,000 (including $250,000 claims for cash). For details and explanatory brochure, please see www.sipc.org. Use of Bill Pay subject to Bill Payment Service Terms and Conditions. Brex does not provide, nor does it guarantee, any third-party product, service, information, or recommendation. Brex may pay third parties and/or be paid by them for customer referrals. Services may be provided by Brex Payments LLC (NMLS #2035354).