When Zach Martinucci launched Rebel Bread Co. in Denver in 2018, the goal was simple: make small-batch, artisan baked goods using locally sourced ingredients. But as the bakery grew—from a three-person team to 30 employees, supplying cafes, farmers markets, and their own retail counter—so did the complexity of running it.
By 2024, Rebel was expanding operations by 30%, launching a sandwich company to sell to wholesale customers, and experimenting with regional grains from a local mill. Zach’s energy was already spread thin—and his traditional bank was taking more of it than it should.
“It was the one thing lagging in our infrastructure,” he says.
(Relay is a financial technology company and is not a bank. Banking services provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC.)
Outgrowing traditional banking
For years, Zach banked with a traditional institution while using Relay for external savings. But as Rebel scaled, the inefficiencies in his primary bank stood out against the tech-forward tools he used everywhere else—Square for point of sale, Gusto for payroll, Xero for accounting.
“We made the switch because I was at the bank for an hour or two each week,” says Zach. “It was starting to feel like unnecessary time for little things like ‘I want to open a new account’ or ‘I need to move this money around’ or ‘Something is frozen and I have no idea why.’ We went through an entire season of it where it really was impeding day-to-day operations.”
His accounting firm had recommended Relay years earlier, so when traditional banking became more of a burden than a benefit, Zach decided to make it Rebel’s primary platform.
“I was very confident moving to Relay, knowing that when we switched, it would do everything we needed it to do. And it came through on that promise.”
A platform built for speed and control
Zach didn’t just want better banking—he wanted a system that matched his company’s tech-forward approach.
“I really love the tech side of it. It's easy to use and a lot more versatile and customizable than any of the online banking platforms we'd used elsewhere. We're a younger company and I try to have technology solutions for as many things as makes sense. And banking was kind of the last holdout.”
Relay’s integrations with his existing stack made the transition seamless. More importantly, the platform gave Zach clarity over his cash flow that he hadn’t had before.
“Even if the outcome is not what you want it to be, having an understanding of that provides a sense of control and has eliminated a lot of the stress.”
With Relay’s payment data and receipt capture, Zach could quickly pinpoint cash crunches to specific time frames, solve problems faster, and plan proactively—rather than operate on gut feel.
Support that saves time and money
That clarity proved its worth when a payment processor accidentally issued an extra $19,000 to Rebel over the course of 15 duplicate payments.
“I got on the phone with a Relay support person who walked through the entire statement with me and was able to identify which were the correct charges and which weren't and to reconcile it so that I could show our end to the other party involved.”
Instead of overdrafts and penalty fees, Relay stopped the payments and gave Rebel time to fix the issue without financial fallout.
“They saved the day. Having all these extra charges at a traditional bank would have overdrawn our account and caused all kinds of fees or penalties… With Relay, it's nice to know that there are real people there. They'll pick up if we call and are really helpful with support.”
Banking that grows with the business
For Zach, Relay has become more than a convenience—it’s part of his plan for intentional, sustainable growth.
“That's allowed everything else to work and grow the way I want it to. The point of my role is to create a supportive, well-compensated, creative place for people to be bakers. I really love that the work I do and the growth that we see is meant to be intentional and to provide opportunities for other people that really love the work.”
As he launches the sandwich company, there’s no question what banking platform he’ll use.
“Starting this new company, we've just taken all the best parts of Rebel. And Relay’s made the cut. It will be the preferred banking platform of any new concept that we start. We know how to use it. We know what it does really well for us. Any new brand that we come up with would be run on Relay.”
Relay is a financial technology company and is not a bank. Banking services provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC.
