Empowering Entrepreneurs with a Consultative Banking Model

When it comes to business banking, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t cut it — just ask Endeavor Bank. Since its founding in 2017, Endeavor Bank has redefined what it means to serve the business community, focusing on tailored advice, collaborative solutions, and genuine partnerships.

Led by CEO Dan Yates and a team of seasoned Southern California business experts, the bank thrives on a consultative approach that helps local businesses not only manage their finances but also achieve growth and long-term success.

In this interview, Dan Yates shares the inspiring story behind Endeavor Bank, their unique approach to banking, and valuable insights for entrepreneurs navigating today’s financial challenges.

The Story Behind Endeavor Bank

SBS – Can you share the story behind the founding of Endeavor Bank and what inspired you to create a community-focused banking model?

Dan – Our story began in 2017 with a shared vision. Together with President Steve Sefton and a Board of Directors made up of leading Southern California business experts, I envisioned a bank for businesses where leaders could receive advice from trusted business leaders and gain access to a community dedicated to helping them thrive. They envisioned a place where decisions were made locally, and services were delivered by experienced bankers who act as trusted advisors to San Diego’s large ecosystem of CEOs, all working together to serve the needs of closely held companies.

It was important to our founders that the start-up bank be seeded by 600 local business owner investors, creating a bank owned by the very business community being served. The local business community embraced this consultative business banking model, and Endeavor Bank was born.

Helping Clients Overcome Challenges

SBS – What are some common challenges your clients face, and how does your bank help them navigate these obstacles?

Dan – We provide more than just business banking. We work collaboratively with our clients to build their businesses — brainstorming ideas, finding solutions, and making key introductions in the community. This approach helps businesses grow revenues, increase profits, and capitalize on opportunities. As trusted advisors, business owners feel comfortable sharing their business challenges with us. For some, they don’t have the operational structure needed, but we make introductions that connect them with the right consultants and systems. Others may have complex loan requirements that other banks try to avoid. With our consultative relationships, we understand our clients and their businesses to fairly and wisely assess a loan structure that may work.

Consultative Banking and Business Growth

SBS – In what ways do you believe a consultative approach to banking can impact a business’s growth trajectory?

Dan – At Endeavor Bank, we pride ourselves on being more than a financial institution — we’re also a strategic partner to our clients. We go above and beyond to ensure no client question or issue goes unanswered by leveraging our diverse team, broad shareholder, and client networks.

We provide brainstorming sessions, strategic guidance, and operational counsel to business owners and their teams, demonstrating our commitment to their success. Our approach fosters a culture of trust, collaboration, and mutual growth.

Community Involvement and Contributions

SBS – How important is community involvement to Endeavor Bank, and can you provide examples of how your bank has contributed to local businesses?

Dan – As a community business bank, we partly measure our success by our reinvestment into our community. Each year, we support approximately 25 charitable and nonprofit organizations through sponsorships, donations, and volunteer hours. Our charitable giving program is powered by employee and client suggestions and requests, and it is overseen by our charitable giving committee. We provide several Business Owner Forum events each year, offering actionable education to business owners and networking opportunities.

Our executives take part in business networking, training, and trade organizations.

Trends in Banking and Financing

SBS – What trends are you currently seeing in the banking industry, particularly regarding small business financing and digital banking solutions?

Dan – There is a trend for businesses to move deposits out of banks and into US Treasuries and money market mutual funds. Why? Businesses are seeking to move funds to where they can earn the most interest, but they are not aware of the unintended consequences.

What are the consequences? Since 2022 billions of dollars in deposits have flowed out of the banking industries. That translates into $1 trillion less in funds that all banks (combined) have available with which to make loans. This translates into banks making fewer loans overall since deposits are needed to fund them. Fewer loans adversely impact businesses and the economy. The loans that are made are thus made at higher costs because banks must pay more to attract deposits. As banks pay more for deposits, they pass that higher cost on in the form of higher interest on loans. In the aggregate, this trend adversely impacts banks and borrowers. Of course, individual banks differ, with some banks experiencing a net decline in deposits and others an increase in deposits, but this trend is true of the industry overall.

Regarding digital banking solutions, today, most business clients have migrated to digital banking. We see a decline in physical cash and physical checks and an increase in ACH payments and direct-to-consumer payments using products like Zelle, Venmo, and similar tools.

Supporting Clients in Uncertain Times

SBS – How does Endeavor Bank support clients during times of economic uncertainty, and what resources do you offer?

Dan – Let’s go back to 2020. During these uncertain times, Endeavor Bank ranked in the top five in the nation for extending the most Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan dollars. We ultimately helped over 1,300 local business owners navigate this critical government-backed loan program to offset their business disruptions during the pandemic. Due to our swift service in processing essential loans, many existing clients referred hundreds of other businesses to us for PPP loan assistance.

Then, flash forward to the start of 2023, when several business banks failed. Business depositors everywhere, especially those whose accounts exceeded FDIC insurance limits, were in a panic. The Endeavor Bank team proactively transitioned most of our clients with deposits exceeding $250,000 into a reciprocal deposit placement network to obtain 100% FDIC insurance. Our leadership team proactively communicated about this product to ensure our clients felt more confident by fully insuring their deposits.

Even outside extraordinary events, we always act as strategic advisors to help our clients identify and evaluate resources they may need. These resources are often something we can provide. However, if we can’t, we make customized introductions to other business providers who can.

Technology’s Role in Banking

SBS – What role does technology play in your banking services, and how do you see it evolving in the future

Dan – Endeavor Bank has invested significant resources in technology platforms to provide superior client experiences. Connected to our advanced technology are personal relationships provided by our growing team of banking experts.

AI-driven solutions and trusted third-party API ecosystems for enhanced customer satisfaction, efficiencies, and predictive financial management tools are on the roadmap for 2025 and beyond. Endeavor Bank is continuously innovating and exploring opportunities to create a more personalized digital banking experience for our clients.

Risk Management for Small Businesses

SBS – How do you approach risk management, especially when it comes to lending to small businesses?

Dan – Our risk-management strategy reflects our philosophy. We endeavor to know our clients, their businesses, and their industries. We prioritize building strong relationships with clients. Our relationship managers spend time at our clients’ places of business, attend their industry events, and educate themselves on local and regional business trends.

To deliver a cutting-edge, best-in-class banking experience, we drew inspiration from when community banks were standard. As a community-based business bank, we know our community and its business leaders well, and we dedicate the time needed to deeply understand the unique risks posed by each loan and client.

Building Long-Term Client Relationships

SBS – What strategies do you implement to foster long-term relationships with your clients?

Dan – We help clients thrive with our consultative culture. Our relationship managers are motivated to customize each client relationship and accommodate unique circumstances, even to the point of designing tailored financial offerings when necessary and appropriate. Our leadership and staff collaborate regularly, discussing ideas, issues, goals, and opportunities that contribute to us continuously improving our client experience.

Additionally, we host Business Owner Forum events throughout the year featuring expert panel discussions on critical business topics. What’s more, our Confidential Advisory Board sessions are designed for business owners to present their challenges and receive valuable advice and insights from our panel of industry leaders.

Incorporating Client Feedback

SBS – How do you incorporate feedback from your clients to improve your services and offerings?

Dan – We seek to understand our clients’ business and their teams’ needs. Quarterly meetings allow us to explore challenges and opportunities with our clients. These internal meetings allow our team to identify and communicate ideas for enhancing our own services and objectives. Goals and accountability are formally reviewed weekly.

In 2023, Endeavor Bank expanded beyond our offices in downtown San Diego and Carlsbad, California, by opening an office in La Mesa to better support our San Diego East County clients. In 2024, we further extended our reach, starting a Northern Division office to support clients in Los Angeles and California’s Inland Empire.

Common Financial Pitfalls to Avoid

SBS – What are some financial pitfalls you see business owners commonly make, and how can they avoid them?

Dan – We know firsthand that business owners can be hesitant to share their challenges with their banker, fearing it will adversely affect their relationship or their prospects of securing loans or lines of credit. In a consultative banking relationship, it’s the opposite. Their banker should be among the first people business owners turn to in times of challenge. At Endeavor Bank, we want our clients to succeed and for their businesses to grow. Our objective is to build and maintain long-term client relationships. This motivates our team to provide advice, financial tools, and introductions to support our clients and their success.

Other financial pitfalls:

• Lack of financial planning, such as a failure to create budgets or forecasts.
• Excessive debt — overleveraging the business.
• Inadequate or poor record keeping and/or financial statements can cause an unclear picture of how the business is doing. This impacts the ability to get financing.
• Over-expansion — growing too quickly and outstripping financial resources and employee/management skill sets.
• Mixing personal and business expenses, which increases audit risk.
• Over-reliance on single revenue streams or a handful of large clients — lack of diversification can hurt if you lose the client or the client has undue leverage over the business where they can squeeze margins.
• Postponing critical technology investments.

Promoting Financial Education for Entrepreneurs

SBS – Can you discuss the significance of financial education for entrepreneurs and how Endeavor Bank promotes this?

Dan – We strive to be true partners in our clients’ financial success. We use several strategies to achieve this partnership. We arrange quarterly meetings with clients to address current and future business challenges and opportunities. We host several complimentary expert panel events each year, where experts provide actionable advice on tackling common and emerging business concerns. These events also serve as excellent networking opportunities.

Many of our clients are also shareholders of our bank and benefit from exclusive shareholder events offering networking opportunities with other local business owners. We also offer advisory board sessions for clients facing daunting challenges, where a panel of experts helps devise a path forward in a confidential session.

Staff members are committed to educating future entrepreneurs through volunteer activities with Junior Achievement BizTown, school and university presentations, and more.

Choosing the Right Banking Partner

SBS – What advice would you give to entrepreneurs when choosing a banking partner for their business?

Dan – Choose a banker and bank willing to spend time with you and show a genuine interest in helping grow your business. Inquire about how they maintain and grow client relationships. Ask them to speak with their existing clients to get their perspective. It is also vital that you verify the financial stability of the bank. Use resources like BauerFinancial, which rates banks based on financial stability.