E86: Monzo CEO On Death Threats, Depression & Digital Banking Wars: Tom Blomfield

Digital banking war! :joy:

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Thanks @Ryan

Blisteringly honest. Really fascinating interview, with insights into what those big Monzo issues looked like on the inside.

NB it may be my browser, but the interview starts an hour in (and the eye-opening stuff is in that first hour).

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I’m only part-way through, great interview so far. The thing that I don’t get is when he says he resigned from Starling and Anne responded by firing the entire management team!? That just doesn’t make sense - surely there’s more to that story :thinking:

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That’s what I don’t get either. Surely it’s not uncommon for a start-up at the time to do this, especially when the founder had put so much already on the line to try and get it up and running .

According to this, they wanted Anne to take responsibility for all of Starling’s debts at that point.

If anything, Blomfield’s interview has made me respect and admire Anne’s resilience a lot more when you look at what the team she did hire have achieved and the success Starling has turned out to be. In 3 years since full launch, Anne and her team have taken Starling from an unknown start-up into one of the most switched to banks in the country and not just that, they’re profitable too. That to me shows her acumen and she’s set Starling up for a long and successful future.

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Certainly two passionate, yet very different pioneers in Fintech.

The interview reads like Tom Blomfield has explored it and now moved on, whilst Anne Boden is in for the long haul.

Easy to see why a long business relationship wasn’t on the cards.

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He hasn’t read the book so it’s hard for him to respond properly. I don’t think we’ll ever know what actually happened 🤷

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I have listened to the interview and I think it’s very interesting i think he didn’t the right thing leaving monzo due to mental health. I believe Tom and Anne separating to go them separate ways was a good idea as there different people and have different ways of running fin tech banks. I don’t think we will ever have the whole truth that happened in the early days of starling but I wish them both well on future endeavours. I think Anne seems to be long term but Tom is short term with projects.

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Are you related to Anne?

I’m not sure Anne firing two teams is that big a deal. The second group she fired went on to create Monzo which might need a tax payer bailout within the next 12 months.

Seems to me she made the right decision.

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Do you honestly believe this or just typing it to fit in?

Read their own financial report.

They’re also saying they will be profitable in 2022. How?

So, the latter.

Thought so.

Are you an investor in Monzo by any chance? 💁

Nope.

(must be 8 chars)

I think you’re under the mistaken impression this is a pro starling forum when I’m the only person here who has ever been pro starling.

Starling probably gets criticised more here than the Monzo forum!

I certainly do not fit in here or any fintech forum and I’d be worried if I did :joy:

It 100% is a pro-Starling forum. There’s no mistaken impression about it! The pro-Starling and anti-Monzo stance is probably part of the reason it’s like a ghost town now.

I mean look at that post further up, its so fawning it seems like a parody.

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Look again, most threads here about starling are criticising them.

Is it really surprising there is praise for starling. They’re more successful than Monzo. Just stating reality doesn’t make you pro starling. Do you expect us to say Monzo is a great success when it clearly isn’t and praise them when they continuously make bad decisions 🤷

I can only comment on the regulars on this forum. I can’t judge one off posters but once again I don’t see harm in praise for a company doing well.

I just posted an article criticising Starling on this very forum. Hasn’t had much of a response mind.

It’s a bit strange to criticise people on said other forum for making things ‘Monzo v Starling’ but do the same on here? :thinking:

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Praise for doing well and criticism for doing badly is what’s to be expected.

Trying to suck a fart out of Anne’s arse is weird.

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This is the only thread that’s even close to negative.

edit

I missed the one from @Rexx as I just looked at the Starling tag.