Monzo CEO On Death Threats, Depression & Digital Banking Wars - Tom Blomfield
Jun 28, 2021
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Tom Blomfield, founder and former CEO of Monzo Bank, shares his gripping journey through the UK’s digital banking landscape. He discusses the intense pressures of entrepreneurship and how anxiety has shadowed his career. Tom dives into the emotional toll of leadership, particularly during crises like COVID-19, and emphasizes the importance of personal well-being. He reflects on the role of customer feedback in shaping Monzo and reveals the unconventional marketing strategies that helped the brand thrive. His candid insights reveal the realities behind success.
Entrepreneurs face unseen struggles and emotional toll beyond success
Innovative approaches challenge traditional norms in disruptive businesses
Integrating startup ethos with traditional principles poses leadership challenges
Balancing company growth with personal well-being requires self-care and resilience
Deep dives
Challenges of Entrepreneurship and Company Management
The podcast episode delves into the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in managing their companies. It highlights instances where mismanagement led to drastic consequences, such as resignations triggering company-wide termination. The emotional toll of such decisions, including anxiety and mental health impacts, is discussed. It emphasizes the unseen struggles and complexities entrepreneurs face, beyond the glitter of success.
Traits of a Disruptive Entrepreneur
The episode explores the journey of a successful entrepreneur who disrupted the banking system with innovative approaches. It showcases the entrepreneur's blend of arrogance, naivety, and self-confidence in challenging traditional norms. The narrative reflects on the risks, uncertainties, and emotional rollercoaster involved in entrepreneurship. It underscores the importance of resilience, determination, and first-principle thinking in navigating the complexities of business.
Navigating Corporate Culture and Decision-Making
The podcast delves into the dynamics of corporate culture and decision-making within growing companies. It sheds light on the challenges of integrating startup ethos with traditional banking principles. The narrative touches on the impact of internal politics, leadership gaps, and the quest for senior leaders amidst rapid growth. It underscores the critical need to address organizational cultural shifts and leadership challenges to sustain a company's trajectory.
Balancing Company Growth and Personal Well-being
The episode delves into the personal toll of managing a rapidly expanding company. It reveals the founder's struggles with work-life balance, sleep deprivation, and mental health challenges during high-pressure situations. The discussion highlights the importance of self-care, emotional resilience, and seeking support in handling the dual demands of company growth and personal well-being.
Escaping the Grip of Anxiety and Stress
The speaker describes a period when anxiety consumed his life, leading to forgetfulness of personal joy and contentment. This anxiety, maxed out at a 10 out of 10, overshadowed all other emotions and led to relationship difficulties. The decision to prioritize personal well-being over professional status, like changing jobs and relationships, brought back feelings of calmness and contentment.
Struggles in Personal Life While Being a CEO
The podcast delves into the challenges of maintaining personal relationships while being a CEO. The speaker reflects on his shortcomings in relationships due to work stress, leading to intolerance and strained interactions with loved ones. Balancing a high-intensity job role with personal connections poses difficulties in being empathetic and present, causing conflicts and eventual breakups.
Work-Life Balance and Personal Growth
The episode also discusses the speaker's journey towards finding happiness and life balance beyond the CEO role. Transitioning from a high-stress environment to a more relaxed lifestyle showcases the importance of personal fulfillment and exploration of diverse interests. Engaging in activities like art, sailing, and investing in startups reflects a shift towards prioritizing intrinsic joy and personal development.
Tom Blomfield, wow what an entrepreneur. This guy has founded multiple multi-million-pound companies, that have become monumental disrupters in the industry. And let’s face it, Monzo, one of the companies Tom founded and led, is the one of the most forward-thinking, innovative, fastest-growing companies there is. Tom was born in Hong Kong and lived with his father and mother. His father was a business-minded civil engineer and his mother was an artist. When Tom was a child, he moved to London to attend grammar school in Amersham, Buckinghamshire then moving on to study Law at Oxford. Whilst studying at Oxford, at the age of 21, he co-founded Boso.com an “eBay for students”. After a few internships with law firms he decided being a lawyer wasn't for him and followed the entrepreneurial journey instead.
In January 2011 Blomfield co-founded the UK-based company GoCardless, an automated payment method that processes Direct Debit payments on behalf of other businesses and organisations. Blomfield stayed in Silicon Valley during his three years at the company, it raised around £35 million of investment and hired 100 people. When GoCardless appointed Hiroki Takeuchi as CEO in 2013, he left (keeping a "very small share" in the £50-100m valued company).
Tom moved to New York to work for dating site Grouper social club as their Head of Growth. Blomfield left Grouper in 2014, and it closed in 2016. Following his departure from Grouper Social Club Blomfield joined Anne Boden’s Starling bank as the CTO. Startling was, at that point one of the first digital banking companies. Tom left the company in early 2015 after reports of disagreements at Starling, telling the Financial Times that "he could not comment under the terms of his departure". Today we learn about what really happened at Starling.
In 2015, he founded challenger bank Monzo, operating with no branches and instead offering accounts online. In its first fundraising round, the company raised "£1 million in 96 seconds”. In April, Blomfield announced he would forgo his salary for one year to help his company during the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, he announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Monzo and taking on the role of president of the company. In January 2021 he announced he was leaving the company permanently.
This conversation today takes us through Tom’s wild entrepreneurial journey expressing the highs and lows of running a business. He also talks about the disagreements at Starling bank and ultimately his reason for starting Monzo in the first place. His stories are unique, and more importantly honest. Unbelievably honest. He tells you the mistakes he made, his deepest insecurities, his biggest challenges and the things he wish he knew. Wow this is a good one.
