The case for slow communications

Theodora Lau is a speaker, writer, and advisor working to improve consumer financial wellbeing and health. Lau is the founder of Unconventional Ventures, through which she cultivates an ecosystem of financial institutions, startups, entrepreneurs, and VCs to meet consumer needs. She is an outspoken advocate for greater gender and racial diversity in startup leadership, hosts a podcast on longevity and fintech, publishes a monthly column on FinTech Futures, and is a contributing writer and expert source for various global media outlets. 

In the wake of the bank run on Silicon Valley Bank and its subsequent receivership, Lau noticed on social media that there was “a whole boatload of banking experts and regulatory experts that just came out from nowhere.” She suspects that many of these accounts were bots or bad actors inciting further panic. 

“People keep saying that there were all these warning signs, but put that aside,” Lau said. “I think social media plays a huge role in the outcome of not just Silicon Valley Bank, but also for the rest of them.” Some accounts that Lau saw even insinuated that the big banks were going to fail by the end of the weekend, further sowing chaos online.

Founders took a long time to raise funds, Lau noted, which helps explain some of the panic that drove the run on SVB. “I wish people would have done a bit better and thought twice before tweeting anything more,” she said. First Republic’s woes, Lau contends, were in no small part a result of investor panic, which made the bank’s troubles become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Even quote-tweeting to fact-check a post still drives engagement with false claims, making for a double-bind online. 

Lau also said that it’s understandable why startup founders were so exposed financially; they have few resources, forcing them to move quickly when the perceived need arises. 

The tech community should “think before we speak,” Lau said, arguing that it’s easy to find a bad actor, but that the tech space shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Banks may have faced preventable exposures, but people rely on those same institutions for payroll, pensions, and other very personal needs. “It’s a chain effect,” she concluded.