As a boutique video production agency, 20/20 Visual Media has been telling stories with engaging custom marketing content for clients in a wide range of industries since 2011.

In doing so, the people at the Philadelphia-based company are more than directors, producers, and videographers — they’re artists who understand that every great story has plot points, significant moments that change a narrative’s arc.

For 20/20 Visual Media, one plot point in its own success story occurred in 2021, when it turned to Firstrust Bank as its banking partner.

“The biggest difference from our previous banking relationships is now we know the names of the people we’re banking with,” said Rob Czyzewicz, who co-founded 20/20 Visual Media with his classmate from Temple University, Patrick Rosenbaum. “For a while, we had been working with large national banks, and we really weren’t getting the type of attention and forming the relationships we were looking for from people who were going to help us grow our business.”

May is Small Business Month, a time to celebrate small businesses like 20/20 Visual Media and how they form the backbone of the U.S. economy and are the unsung heroes of the American Dream.

A manifestation of Czyzewicz’s and Rosenbaum’s American Dream, 20/20 Visual Media creates commercial video productions that build brand recognition and generate impactful results for clients. It’s been one of the 100 fastest-growing privately held companies in Philadelphia for the last six years, and Firstrust Bank has been a support for much of that growth.

“Patrick and I started the company because we were two pals who wanted to make videos; building a business was secondary,” said Czyzewicz. “Back then, I think we were A+ video producers and maybe C+ businesspeople. As you grow, though, the conversation shifts to: How do you get a good support system around you? How do you do accounting and payroll? Who’s a good mentor?”

Czyzewicz and Rosenbaum found all of that in Firstrust Bank.

“During the pandemic, before we were even clients, Firstrust was offering local businesses — any businesses, not just their clients — critical info about PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loans and liquidating capital at an incredibly difficult time,” said Czyzewicz. “That was an above-and-beyond moment for me. Patrick and I thought, if Firstrust was putting out this much effort for companies that don’t bank there, imagine how much they’re taking care of the ones that do.”

Czyzewicz and Rosenbaum saw that Firstrust would have every resource that they could possibly need to help grow their business.

“It made a lot of sense for us to move our assets from a place that looked at us like we were a number to a place that looked at us like we were people,” Czyzewicz said about choosing Firstrust as 20/20 Visual Media’s banking partner.

“We pride ourselves on relationships, and that goes beyond the films we’re creating,” said Ed Seiders, Director of Business Development at 20/20 Visual Media. “Many of our clients have become friends outside the realm of work. Firstrust has a similar mentality about building relationships — for them, it’s holistic and about more than just business.”

Learn more about how Firstrust Bank has been able to help thousands of businesses write their own success stories.