Wells Fargo & Company, located in the heart of startup country, San Francisco, knows a thing or two about startups.

A new unit within the bank called Startup Services has been tasked with serving early stage companies.

“Early stage companies have different needs than established companies,” Wells Fargo EVP Steve Smith told Bank Innovation. “They may be trying to expand overseas and face foreign exchange challenges, for example, so they outsource that to a bank.”

In the tech industry, perhaps uniquely, a company that started in a garage last year could be a multi-billion dollar company this year. “Tech companies can grow so fast and scale so quickly,” Smith said. As a company grows, its banking needs change. Startup Services is designed to help ease that transition.

Any company that has not yet received venture capital qualifies for Startup Services at Wells Fargo. Once a company has received funding, it transitions into the small business unit, of which Startup Services is a part.

The bank has already launched offices in Austin, Boston and Seattle to serve the startup communities in those cities, and is also preparing to launch a New York office, to be located in the bank’s commercial banking offices in midtown Manhattan. Smith will head up the New York office, though he is located in the Bay Area.

Smith described tech as “the largest-growing sector of the economy in the country,” and yet, tech-savvy bankers can be hard to come by, perhaps because of competition from other industries. Wells Fargo is looking to hire tech-savvy bankers externally, to fill positions such as those the New York office, and is also training people internally. Bankers able to understand the offerings of tech startups are better-suited to anticipate the company’s financial needs.

As for what makes a good banker for the startup set, Smith said, “First of all, be a good listener. Have a natural sense of curiosity, and a keen interest in solving the most basic problems.”

Basic problems can be a big deal for new companies. Smith described early challenges faced by Tesla Motors and BrightSource Energy, both of which began their banking careers with checking accounts from Wells Fargo.

“The complicated stuff comes down the road,” Smith said.

Learn more about what’s next in banking at Bank Innovation 2014 on March 3-4 in Seattle. Request an invitation here.