Findings emphasize the critical need for proactive banking partners offering greater access to capital, automated tools, and strategic guidance to help SMBs build sustainable growth
NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / October 28, 2026 / Grasshopper, the client-first, full-service digital bank, today released its Beyond Small Benchmark Report, based on a nationwide diagnostic survey of verified small- and medium-sized (SMB) business owners across diverse commercial sectors, revealing that while growth ambitions remain high, persistent financial and operational pressures continue to divert critical time and energy away from scaling their businesses.
The findings underscore the complex headwinds facing entrepreneurs today. Six in 10 small business owners (60%) lose nearly a full workweek every month managing cash flow, with a critical 27% losing 15 or more days. Inflation (30%), access to capital (26%) and consumer spending (18%) rank as the top barriers to growth, while confidence in the banking system remains low, evidenced by an average owner rating of just 5.06 out of 10 for supporting small businesses.
"A 5 rating in banking confidence should be a wake-up call for the industry," said Danielle Kane, SVP and Head of Small Business Banking at Grasshopper. "These findings reinforce that supporting entrepreneurs goes far beyond providing a bank account or access to capital. It's about giving them back critical time and capacity to focus on building their business."
Even under persistent operational pressure, entrepreneurs remain decisively growth-minded. Half of respondents noted they would double their investment in sales and marketing with additional capital, naming marketing and advertising (20%) and hiring and team building (19%) as primary growth drivers. To unlock capacity for these ambitions, owners are prioritizing automation and outsourcing, with marketing and social media (31%) alongside bookkeeping and accounting (29%) ranking as the top functions they want to take off their plates.
Other key findings from the Beyond Small Survey include:
- Support beyond capital matters: Strategic advice and mentorship (17%), marketing exposure (15%), and business discounts (14%) were identified as top value-added benefits by small business owners.
- Early financial guidance remains a gap: Owners most often wished they had greater access to tax planning (19%), business credit and credit lines (17%), and capital or funding (13%) from day one.
- Mindset plays a role in navigating growth: Mindset, perseverance, and resilience (18.7%) topped the list of advice owners wish they had received when starting out.
Together, the findings highlight a clear opportunity for financial institutions to rethink how they show up for small businesses. Rather than serving solely as a source of capital, place to hold deposits, or a means to process transactions, banks can play a more active role in supporting business owners by simplifying financial management, providing essential growth resources, and helping them navigate complex financial decisions with confidence.
"The disconnect between what small businesses need and what traditional banking provides has gone on for too long," Kane added. "Business owners shouldn't have to waste valuable time managing administrative drag or fighting outdated systems. That's why our priority at Grasshopper is removing the operational friction that holds business owners back, delivering intelligent tools and strategic resources that anticipate financial needs, streamline operations, and clear the path for growth."
While overall confidence in traditional banking remains low, Grasshopper is already proving that a better banking model exists. By expanding its digital platform with a comprehensive suite of business banking and lending solutions purpose-built to eliminate operational friction, the bank continues to restore and build trust among small business owners. This is reflected in its recent Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 60, a benchmark that significantly outperforms its business banking peers.
Central to Grasshopper's mission is a commitment to leveraging emerging technology safely and purposefully. As the first U.S. bank to launch a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for AI-driven insights and the first bank listed in Anthropic's MCP directory, Grasshopper is establishing a new benchmark for responsible AI in financial services, delivering award-winning connectivity that automates daily financial workflows and frees up critical capacity for small business owners.
To view the full Beyond Small Survey findings, visit https://grasshopper.bank.
About Grasshopper Bank
With total assets of approximately $1.6 billion, Grasshopper Bank is a client-first, full service digital bank serving the business and innovation economy. Grasshopper Bank replaces the traditional one-size-fits-all approach to banking with a suite of products and services tailored to specific industries and a passionate team of experts with deep expertise in their fields. Grasshopper Bank's banking solutions cover small businesses, startups, fintech-focused Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and commercial API banking platforms, SBA lending, and white-labeled consumer banking. Headquartered in New York, New York, the bank is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and is an Equal Housing/Equal Opportunity Lender. For more information, visit Grasshopper Bank's website at www.grasshopper.bank or follow Grasshopper Bank on LinkedIn or X.
Media Contact
Caliber Corporate Advisers
grasshopper@calibercorporateadvisers.com
SOURCE: Grasshopper
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/banking-and-financial-services/grasshopper-releases-beyond-small-benchmark-report-revealing-high-gr-1243017
