The Financial System Isn’t Working For Entrepreneurs: My $114,000 Banking Nightmare

As a serial entrepreneur on what I call the “Edison route to success” (failure after failure until you breakthrough), I’ve faced countless challenges. But nothing compares to the frustration of dealing with financial institutions that seem designed to work against small business owners. Today, I’m sharing two recent experiences that have cost me over $114,000 in lost funds and wasted time.

Part 1: Chase Bank and the Disappearing $64,000

The Timeline:

• My husband cashed out his life insurance policy (where I’m the beneficiary) to fund my business
• The insurance company direct deposited the funds into our joint Chase account
• He wrote me a check which I deposited into my business account on April 3rd
• Chase put a hold on the funds until April 7th
• The funds were removed from our joint account last night but haven’t appeared in my business account
• My business account is now negative due to bank fees

Where’s My Money?

The question is simple: Where is my $64,000? It’s not in our joint account anymore. It’s not in my business account. But it’s somewhere in Chase’s system, earning them interest while my business suffers.

Banking Then vs. Now

As a former bank teller (1993-1996), I recall how these transactions used to work. If you deposited a check from one account to another at the same bank, the funds would be released overnight. The only exception was if there was suspicion of illegal activity like “smurfing.”

What changed? Banks discovered they could generate significant profits by holding onto your money for days, earning interest on billions in “floating” deposits while customers wait.

Part 2: Morgan Stanley’s $50,000 Software Failure

While dealing with the Chase situation, I was also applying for Morgan Stanley’s innovation fund to secure additional financing for my business. What should have been a straightforward application process turned into a costly nightmare:

• Their buggy application software repeatedly failed to save my information
• I had to submit and resubmit multiple times
• Their support team was unresponsive and unhelpful
• In total, I lost hours of work at my billable rate of $10,000/hour

That’s $50,000 worth of my time wasted due to technical incompetence and poor customer service from one of the world’s largest financial institutions.

The Real Cost to Entrepreneurs

These aren’t just inconveniences. For small business owners and entrepreneurs, these delays and inefficiencies can mean:

• Inability to pay vendors or employees on time
• Lost opportunities due to cash flow constraints
• Accumulating fees and penalties
• Countless hours wasted on administrative tasks rather than growing our businesses

What Can We Do?

I’m launching a #WheresMyMoney campaign to bring attention to these issues. If you’ve experienced similar problems with financial institutions, I invite you to:

1. Share your story on Twitter with the hashtag #WheresMyMoney
2. Tag the financial institution responsible
3. Demand better service and more transparent policies

Financial institutions need to understand that entrepreneurs are the backbone of the economy. We deserve systems that work for us, not against us.

Have you experienced similar issues with banking holds or frustrating financial application processes? Share your experiences! #bigBankCashCows

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