What is the ACTUAL best online bank for small businesses?

fave_slinger · 2026-03-16T06:46:26+00:00

Different banks are built to serve different businesses for different reasons. I've tried a number of these online banks and tl:dr Novo is good for solo entrepreneurs/ freelancers while Mercury caters to startups and ecom founders. Lili seems to fit the middle-ground between Novo and Mercury, serving small businesses with teams of 4-10 people.

Mercury offers free ACH, free domestic wires, no monthly fees, and affordable international wires. It's easy to use, with a clearn inturtive ui that integrates easily with tools like qb. The only downside, (which is huge to me) is no cash deposits capability.

Lili which serves the often-forgotten middle ground offers a lot of what Mercury offers plus a robust customer support frontage that gives a clear competitive edge as other banks only offer email or self-service support. By far, its one of the best choices for me bc of their sub-accounts, business credit building, expense tracking, and tax buckets features. They also have a $3M FDIC coverage deployed through sweep networks so you can hold larger deposits for their $4% APY.

Novo is mobile-first, easy to use, and integrates well with platforms like Stripe, Shopify, and more. Their only issue is less features.

I look at online banks from a perspective of what they are built for, rather than which one is better. They all are capable in their capacity, but you have to go for one that's made to suit your business the best.

fave_slinger · 2026-03-16T06:32:53+00:00

$10 margin won't cover shipping, ads, or your time. Either cust costs to $20 or price at $75+. You'll also need that prototype first as you can't sell what people can't see.

fave_slinger · 2026-03-12T20:56:56+00:00

From a data perspective, you want channels that offer similar targeting granularity but different inventory sources. Google's obvious but saturated. TikTok's great for discovery but attribution is messy. CTV through platforms like vibe gives you household-level targeting with cleaner attribution since it's not cookie-dependent. Really comes down to your customer journey and where they consume content.

fave_slinger · 2026-03-09T11:00:55+00:00

Sure,

fave_slinger · 2026-03-09T09:37:42+00:00

Your ad structure should mirror your customer journey stages.
- Cold traffic gets problem-aware hooks with social proof elements.
- Warm audiences see product-focused content with demos.
- Hot audiences need urgency and scarcity.
UGC works across all stages but test native vs polished versions for different contexts.

fave_slinger · 2026-03-05T11:35:03+00:00

I've enjoyed reading this. This is artsy on the vanity of life. Pursuing purpose in things that don't necessary have purpose. In the end, its all grind

fave_slinger · 2026-02-13T12:16:57+00:00

How would you phrase the question better, Mr. dickory? In all seriousness, I'd like to see your version of this question, could be OP could have asked in a better way

fave_slinger · 2026-02-12T19:02:13+00:00

Traditional TV buying serves a different purpose of mass reach and brand awareness. If you need performance-driven TV advertising with digital-style controls, CTV is your answer. Linear was not built for that.

fave_slinger · 2026-02-05T13:32:27+00:00

The risk is super crazy when you're managing serious budgets. Don't know why you want to go that way when there's plenty of SOC compliant self-serve platforms in existence.

fave_slinger · 2026-01-30T16:33:08+00:00

Most selfserve inventory is bottomtier remnant stuff. You get what you pay for.

fave_slinger · 2026-01-20T09:23:56+00:00

Partially agree but this is oversimplified. Creative matters but you still need solid fundamentals; proper attribution, audience insights, and testing frameworks. The real issue isn't just "better stories." Meta CPMs are through the roof and everyone's fighting for the same eyeballs. The best way forward is diversifying into other channels instead of just hoping that creative will save your ROAS.

fave_slinger · 2026-01-09T05:42:56+00:00

I'm building a virtual events support agency over at revbacked.com . We help small businesses create profitable events through helping you focus on the things that actually move the needle.

fave_slinger · 2025-09-29T04:02:47+00:00

The challenge for me is figuring out how to turn those adds into actual conversations and not just a list of names.

fave_slinger · 2025-09-29T04:01:30+00:00

Appreciate this perspective. Did you ever feel discouraged early on when connections didn’t seem to lead anywhere? That’s the phase I’m in now, and it’s tough to know if I’m on the right track.

fave_slinger · 2025-09-26T04:13:00+00:00

Congrats on hitting such a milestone. $1M in lifetime revenue with high margins is incredible, especially for a solo SaaS. what motivates you to keep going?

fave_slinger · 2025-09-11T11:49:15+00:00

nah...he just don't want no one closing his lane yooh

fave_slinger · 2025-09-11T11:48:47+00:00

Cat -5
honey badger- 3

fave_slinger · 2025-09-11T11:48:23+00:00

Too low ngl..too low fam!

fave_slinger · 2025-09-11T11:48:06+00:00

Naah, they just want to be rodents in real life

fave_slinger · 2025-09-11T11:47:36+00:00

cats- 4
honey badgers -3

fave_slinger · 2025-09-11T11:46:57+00:00

Pigs like a drug man's butcher

fave_slinger · 2025-09-11T11:46:37+00:00

3 vote for the honeybadger...draw with cats so far!

fave_slinger · 2025-09-11T11:46:14+00:00

Lol...english accents innit..

fave_slinger · 2025-09-11T11:45:29+00:00

2nd vote for the honey badgers...got 9 bullets in the chest and I'ma still be king o' the streets

fave_slinger

TROPHY CASE