Why Stifel partnered with Ramp to provide a flexible corporate card to their venture clients

Helping startup founders scale with industry-leading finance tools

Stifel is a trusted name in banking, with its wealth management and investment banking firm dating back to 1890. As part of its commitment to continuous evolution and growth, Stifel launched its Venture Banking arm in 2018, responding to growing market demand and aiming to become the go-to partner for early- to late-stage technology companies. Stifel’s venture practice specializes in venture debt financing, treasury management, and capital raising strategies, empowering tech startups to thrive. To provide their venture clients with a top-notch corporate card offering, Stifel partnered with Ramp.

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Jim D’Elisa, Managing Director of Treasury Management at Stifel, was keenly aware of Ramp’s offering having worked with several customers in the Venture Banking space that utilized Ramp. The Venture team saw the need for a commercial card solution tailored specifically for early-stage founders. Ramp’s underwriting requirements, software, and intuitive design enable startup teams to move fast as they scale. “We saw how Ramp’s product resonated with startup founders and decided to embrace it and become part of the fintech credit card evolution,” Jim shared.

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What began as a loose referral relationship quickly evolved into a strong partnership, with Ramp’s corporate card and expense management solutions becoming a core part of the Stifel Startup Bundle, a package of financial solutions and tools that Stifel recommends to all of their startup customers. “As an innovative, leading, and customer-centric company, Ramp was exactly who we wanted to partner with to serve the early-stage market. It was a natural fit,” Jim explained. Feedback from founders has been overwhelmingly positive—they found a trusted venture banking partner in Stifel and modern, flexible card offerings in Ramp. Founders especially appreciate Ramp’s ease of use and features like virtual cards, automatic receipt capture and matching, and comprehensive visibility into company spending.

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Through their partnership and co-hosted networking events, Stifel and Ramp strive to support their founders with the best product offerings and foster a deeper community among their customers.