Skip to Content
SVB
Silicon Valley Bank
SVB Private
SVB Securities
SVB Capital
Region:
  For a better web experience - please upgrade your browser to Google Chrome  
 
Silicon Valley Bank
Products & Services
Business Banking

Complete your banking transactions with ease and security.

  • Business Checking
  • Business Credit Cards
  • Online Tools & Integration
  • Fraud Prevention
  • Lending
Global Business Solutions

Get customized services to help support your global business.

  • Global Banking Services
  • Global Payments
  • Foreign Exchange Risk Services
Liquidity Solutions

Strategize with our financial experts to help you achieve your business goals.

  • SVB Asset Management
  • Deposits & Investments
Global Fund Banking
Leverage SVB's 30+ years experience in banking top funds.
  • PE Fund Banking
  • VC Fund Banking
Our Expertise
Our Business Expertise
  • Business Stages
  • Startup Banking
  • Venture-Funded
  • Corporate Banking
  • Investors
  • Private Equity
  • Venture Capital
  • Emerging Managers
  • Corporate Venture
Industry Expertise

Our bankers have years of real-world experience to provide guidance across a number of industries.

View All Industries
  • Our Sector Knowledge
  • Cleantech and Sustainability
  • Consumer Internet
  • Enterprise Software
  • Fintech
  • Hardware & Frontier Tech
  • Investors
  • Life Science & Healthcare
  • Premium Wine Banking
Trends & Insights
Trends & Insights

SVB research, blogs and webinars to give your business crucial advantages in decision-making.

Reports Global Fund Banking Outlook Report Healthcare Investments and Exits State of the Markets Report State of the Wine Industry Report Family Office Report View All Reports
Perspectives and Insights Foreign Exchange Advisory Business Growth Market Insights Industry Insights Private Bank Startup Insights View All Insights
SVB Webinars

Register for upcoming live webinars and access recorded webinars to learn about the latest trends for your business and industry.

View Webinars
About Us
SVB Facts

For over 35 years, SVB has helped businesses grow and thrive across the innovation economy

Living Our Values

SVB's values guide our actions, from our approach to supporting small businesses to community engagement to our ESG reporting.

Contact Us

Let SVB experts help your business with the right mix of products, services and strategic advice.

Resources
  • Locations
  • Leadership
  • Newsroom
  • Investor Relations
  • Client Support
  • Careers
  • Success Stories
  • Access to Innovation
Investor News: SVB Financial Group Announces 2022 First Quarter Financial Results Learn more  
PPP
Become a client
Login
SELECT A SERVICE FOR LOGIN
SVB Online Services
SVB Online Services Private Bank Private Banking – Legacy SVB Private Banking – Legacy Boston Private Investments SVB Capital Limited Partners SVB Asset Management Reporting U.S. Bank Pivot Credit Cards Cardholders Administrators Private Bank Elite Card
  • Need help? Client Support
  • Not a client? Apply Now
Search SVB
Products & Services Our Expertise Trends & Insights About Us PPP
Become a client
Login
Products & Services
Business Banking
Business Checking Business Credit Cards Online Tools & Integration Fraud Prevention Lending
Global Business Solutions
Global Banking Services Global Payments Foreign Exchange Risk Services
Liquidity Solutions
SVB Asset Management Deposits & Investments
Global Fund Banking
PE Fund Banking VC Fund Banking
Our Expertise
Our Business Expertise
Business Stages Startup Banking Venture-Funded Corporate Banking Investors Private Equity Venture Capital Emerging Managers Corporate Venture
Industry Expertise
Cleantech and Sustainability Consumer Internet Enterprise Software Fintech Hardware & Frontier Tech Investors Life Science & Healthcare Premium Wine Banking
Trends & Insights
Reports
Global Fund Banking Outlook Report Healthcare Investments and Exits State of the Markets Report State of the Wine Industry Report Family Office Report View All Reports
Perspectives and Insights
Foreign Exchange Advisory Business Growth Market Insights Industry Insights Private Bank Startup Insights View All Insights
SVB Webinars

Register for upcoming live webinars and access recorded webinars to learn about the latest trends for your business and industry.

View Webinars
About Us
SVB Facts
Living Our Values
Contact Us
Resources
Locations Leadership Newsroom Investor Relations Client Support Careers Success Stories Access to Innovation
Select a Service for Login
SVB Online Services Private Bank Private Banking – Legacy SVB Private Banking – Legacy Boston Private Investments SVB Capital Limited Partners SVB Asset Management Reporting U.S. Bank Pivot Credit Cards Cardholders Administrators Private Bank Elite Card
Close
  • Select a Region
    • North America
      • US Main
        Canada (EN)
        Canada (FR)
    • Europe and Middle East
      • Israel (EN)
        United Kingdom
        Denmark
        Germany (DE)
        Germany (EN)
    • Asia
      • China (中文)
        China (EN)
Find anything about our product, search our documentation, and more. Enter a query in the search input above, and results will be displayed as you type.
Searching... Loading content
    Searching... Loading content
    People
    • LIFE SCIENCE & HEALTHCARE

    How the Trek Changes Perspective on Success and Failure

    Silicon Valley Bank
    • August 7, 2017

    How the Trek Changes Perspective on Success and Failure

    Changing perspectives

    April Lovelady has worked for NASA, co-founded a biomedical company and earned a Ph.D in engineering. But while attending SVB Trek 2017, she had an aha moment, one she says that gives her new confidence in taking her next step as an entrepreneur.

    Like many of us, April tends to measure her world in terms of successes and failures. But after gaining insight from a stellar list of founders and VCs during The Trek, she’s come to realize that may not be the best measuring stick.

    "The Trek changed my perception of success and failure," she says.

    April, who now is pursuing postdoctoral studies at Texas A&M, has a day job: she co-founded Voyager Biomedical and serves as Chief Technology Officer. Voyager has developed an implantable vascular access device to improve dialysis.

    "Be optimized for learning"

    SVB works with universities from around the world to select top students for a four-day immersion program on entrepreneurship every January. On the second of the 2017 program, Sequoia Capital partner Jess Lee spoke with April and two dozen other Trek participants. Four words from Jess, a Googler-turned-founder who in 2016 joined Sequoia as its first senior female investor, left a strong impression: "Be optimized for learning."

    As April puts it, Jess’s message gave her new insight: "When you’re optimized for learning, you’re not necessarily focused on success and failure, you’re focused on whether you learn or you don’t learn. That’s a completely different way of looking at the startup experience…. How you handle [the ups and downs] is going to be very important in terms of continuing on with your business."

    How to build trusted networks

    The goal of SVB Trek is to help aspiring entrepreneurs expand their networks and increase their probability of success. A big part of that, April says, is learning how to effectively communicate and tell your story. She laughed when someone called her "a friendly" engineer.

    "I think sometimes as engineers we tend to be introverts. But we really do have to come out of that shell," she says. Through Trek, she saw first-hand how important building business relationships is, from nurturing relationships among co-founders to VCs to company advisors. "You can have some of the most brilliant minds, but if they lack interpersonal skills, then you have a company that’s not going to make it."

    April says SVB Trek is unique among her experiences. The well-known VCs and founders connected with the SVB Trek class, able to translate their knowledge in a language that "those of us who are coming up behind them can understand."

    She adds, "It’s great to be among people who have been where I currently am, and who have survived it, and who are thriving. I would come back and do this again and again."

    For more information on SVB Trek, click here.



    Life Science & Healthcare Startup Growth

    Related Insights

    • Raising Capital SaaS investment, valuation, VC activity: Top trends for 2022 Emma Eschweiler May 25, 2022
    • Venture Capital Insights LatAm emerging as a global leader in fintech Andy Tsao
    • Life Science & Healthcare First quarter healthcare industry trends worth tracking Jonathan Norris May 2, 2022
    • Life Science & Healthcare Healthcare industry sectors: An overview of 2021 Jonathan Norris March 7, 2022
    • Life Science & Healthcare The Advantage of Oz: Offshore Tax Rebates for LSHC R&D in Australia Anton Xavier and Mike Watson
    • Life Science & Healthcare Five Healthcare & Life Science Industry Trends for Startup Founders Ben Johnson
    • How We Help Clients
    • Trends & Insights
    • About Us
    • Contact & Support
    Subscribe to newsletters
    Sign up now
    United States
    How We Help Clients
    • Starting Up
    • Venture-Funded
    • Corporate Banking
    • Investors
    • Private Banking & Wealth Advisory
    • Industries We Serve
    Trends & Insights
    • SVB Signature Research
    • SVB Perspectives
    • Success Stories
    • Startup Insights
    About Us
    • Careers
    • Living Our Values
    • Newsroom
    • Investor Relations
    • Leadership
    Contact & Support
    • Locations
    • Client Service & Support
    • Vendor Information
    • Contact
    • Fraud Prevention
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy
    • Cookies
    • Help for Homeowners
    • Corporate Governance
    • Equal Credit Opportunity Act Disclosures
    • FDIC
    • Manage Email Preferences
    • LIBOR Transition
    © 2022 SVB Financial Group. All rights reserved. Silicon Valley Bank is a member of the FDIC and the Federal Reserve System. Silicon Valley Bank is the California bank subsidiary of SVB Financial Group (Nasdaq: SIVB). SVB, SVB FINANCIAL GROUP, SILICON VALLEY BANK, and the chevron device are trademarks of SVB Financial Group, used under license.
    You are now leaving Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)
    You will be directed to a different website or mobile app that has its own terms of use, visitor agreement, security and privacy policies. SVB is not responsible for (and does not provide) any products, services or content at the third party site or app, except for products and services that carry the SVB name.
    I understand, let's proceed Stay on SVB.com