From a tiny Californian bank to a $17bn institution
Banc of California started the story with fewer than a hundred staff and under $1bn in assets. The new chief of institutional banking was tasked with adding deposit aggregation, Visa and Mastercard membership and global payment solutions, services the bank previously lacked.
By targeting niche markets such as the EB-5 immigrant investor programme and specialised mortgage products, the bank built cash flow that funded further acquisitions. Within three years the institution grew from about 60 employees to 2,000, assets rose from $600m to $17bn and its market capitalisation jumped from $60m to $1.7bn, making it the fastest-growing American bank for three consecutive years.
Why the creator economy matters to banking
The executive observed a shift in corporate marketing spend from traditional media to individual creators, influencers and freelancers who earn across multiple platforms, currencies and borders. Existing banks, designed for salaried employees, struggled to price risk and meet compliance requirements for these new income streams.
Estimating a sub-market of $40-60bn within the $400bn creator economy, the leader decided the underserved segment represented a lucrative opportunity. The insight was that trust, built through robust AML, KYC and transaction monitoring, is the key asset for any bank serving such customers.
Building MAKE: a banking platform for the modern earners
After leaving Banc of California, the founder funded a new venture with roughly $5m of personal capital. The stealth project, now called MAKE, offers a banking infrastructure tailored to creators, influencers, freelancers, remote workers and internationally-focused small businesses.
MAKE focuses on the back-office, compliance, risk, treasury and multi-currency transaction monitoring, to ensure legitimacy of funds that flow from platforms worldwide. By solving the unglamorous but essential compliance challenges, the platform aims to earn the trust required for sustainable growth.
What happens next?
The next phase will see MAKE seek external funding once the product proves its market fit. The founder urges established banks to stop merely digitising legacy products and instead redesign services for the evolving ways people earn a living. If successful, MAKE could capture a meaningful share of the creator economy, reshaping how financial services reach the digital workforce.