Fintech/News/ Monzo founder Tom Blomfield is quitting the digital bank after asking execs for “help” Tom Blomfield firmly closes the door on Monzo, marking the end of an era. By Isabel Woodford 20 January 2021 Tom Blomfield, cofounder, Monzo Tom Blomfield, cofounder, Monzo \Fintech Is Europe now the friendliest place for crypto? By Zosia Wanat and Amy O'Brien 1 July 2022 Fintech/News/ Monzo founder Tom Blomfield is quitting the digital bank after asking execs for “help” Tom Blomfield firmly closes the door on Monzo, marking the end of an era. By Isabel Woodford 20 January 2021 America may have just gained a new president, but London fintech Monzo has lost theirs. Monzo founder-turned-president Tom Blomfield is leaving the UK challenger bank at the end of January, marking the end of an era for a company that he took from a little startup back in 2015 to one of the most valuable fintechs in Europe with 5m users. In an interview with Techcrunch, Monzo’s Blomfield said that he had stopped enjoying his role a long time ago, as the company moved from startup to scaleup and the pandemic added extra strain on his mental state. “I stopped enjoying my role probably about two years ago… as we grew from a scrappy startup that was iterating and building stuff people really love, into a really important UK bank,” he said. “I’m not saying that one is better than the other, just that the things I enjoy in life is working with small groups of passionate people to start and grow stuff from scratch, and create something customers love. “And I think that’s a really valuable skill but also taking on a bank that’s three, four, five million customers and turning it into a ten or twenty million customer bank and getting to profitability and IPOing it, I think those are huge exciting challenges, just honestly not ones that I found that I was interested in or particularly good at.” He also credited Monzo’s team and investors for responding to his call for “help”. The move comes at the end of a rough patch for Monzo, which saw Blomfield step down as CEO last May to take up the newly created title of president. Three months later, the bank announced it had more than doubled its pre-tax losses in the year 2019–2020, with losses growing to £115.4m. The report also flagged concerns about the bank’s future in light of the pandemic: “There are material uncertainties that cast significant doubt upon the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern,” it stated. The company’s results also followed its much-awaited £60m raise but at a £1.25bn valuation — a 40% drop from its previous round. In officially ending his employment at Monzo, Blomfield may be walking away from a sizeable chunk of equity, which past filings show don’t vest fully until October this year. Up to 4m of his shares appear to be unvested, unless there has been a renegotiation since the last articles of agreement were outlined on Companies House. Blomfield had already hinted he was starting to work on new “side projects”, recently posting on Twitter that he was looking for developers. However, he told Techcrunch this was a short-term project and was now looking to “chill out”, as well as working as a volunteer vaccinator to help with the national COVID-19 response. In a statement to Sifted, a Monzo spokesperson said: “Tom is an incredible entrepreneur who, with his cofounders, built Monzo from the ground up with a determination to be transparent, put customers first and make money work for everyone. Monzo is where it is today because of Tom and his vision to transform banking – he leaves us with the foundations and inspiration to win under TS Anil’s leadership. We’ll miss him very much!” The clause regarding Blomfield’s shares in Monzo’s ‘Memorandum and Articles of Association’. 36 months would take him up to October 2021. Related Articles Revolut hits $33bn valuation after giant fundraise from Softbank and Tiger Global By Isabel Woodford Click here to read more European fintech weekly: Uber Money marks a new paradigm & October funding dip By Isabel Woodford Click here to read more Member 2020: The year that shook fintech By Isabel Woodford Click here to read more Europe’s fastest growing startups with female founders By Kitty Knowles Click here to read more Most Read 1 Member \Venture Capital German VCs are the second best paid in Europe 2 \Startup Life Where are Europe’s top digital nomad villages? 3 \Venture Capital New platform enables ‘everyday’ folk to invest in VC 4 \Venture Capital Europe gets its first creator-founded, creator-backed VC 5 \Public & Academic The European Commission has a big new plan for startups. Here’s what you need to know about it 9 Join the conversation Subscribe newest oldest Notify of new follow-up comments new replies to my comments JonWasnt up to the job but happy to milk the publicity. benTom’s admission was somewhat honest. However, as a founder, I was expecting more from him as a leader and his responsibility to his employees and investors. He should stay and steer the ship back in its course and not let a C Suite from old banking destroy his vision. PeteI would agree but we was out of his depth years ago. Easy to criticise other banks and more difficult to execute. Lauren BowdenWhat a refreshingly honest approach from Tom. Completely applaud his lack of bravado. Good luck in your next venture. Paul GGetting his news out early before they go under Ian FThere was a lot of in fighting with a few questionable hires. PaulMonzo has been in decline for a couple of years after failing to innovate beyond a coloured card. Peter McCabeThat and constantly locking people out of their accounts for weeks on end. They are fraudsters! Ric EuteneuerTo be fair, that’s not just Monzo, but Revolut and Bunq as well
Revolut hits $33bn valuation after giant fundraise from Softbank and Tiger Global By Isabel Woodford Click here to read more
European fintech weekly: Uber Money marks a new paradigm & October funding dip By Isabel Woodford Click here to read more