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Good old Monzo times. Sadly, in my opinion the company took on too much investment and was now bound to deliver tech-company returns with a product that fundam
by Nextgrid 4y ago
Good old Monzo times.
Sadly, in my opinion the company took on too much investment and was now bound to deliver tech-company returns with a product that fundamentally isn't compatible with them. This led them to become yet another bullshit "growth & engagement" operation and ultimately killed the appeal of the product, all while competitors such as Starling Bank stepped up their game and delivered a very similar product that is not only profitable but doesn't have those "growth & engagement" vibes because they didn't have the same pressure and could afford to take things slow.
- klelatti 4y agoA bit ironic given Tom literally worked for Starling at the beginning. A bit odd that this doesn’t get a mention.
- blibble 4y agoyeah, as far as I'm aware the only reason Monzo exists is because of a falling out between Tom and the Starling CEO I don't know what really went on, but Starling's side was reported in the UK press: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/starling-bank-boss-anne-boden-how-monzos-tom-blomfield-tried-to-oust-me-306xdc0nl https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/starling-bank-boss-anne-b...
- fumblebee 4y agoSteven Bartlett has a really insightful with Tom Blomfield about this [1], and then also with Starling CEO Anne Boden [2]. While I'm generally not a great fan of his podcast, these two I found to be fascinating. [1] https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/e86-monzo-ceo-on-death-threats-depression-digital-banking/id1291423644?i=1000527067065 https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/e86-monzo-ceo-on-death... [2] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e107-starling-bank-building-a-%241-5-billion-business/id1291423644?i=1000542673404 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e107-starling-bank-bui...
- klelatti 4y agoThanks - I read Anne Borden’s book so will be interesting to hear Tom’s side too.
- dazc 4y agoI found Anne Boden a tad disingenuous, mentioning 'the book' at every opportunity. Tom sounded more genuine, to me.
- klelatti 4y agoBroadly agree but I thought Steven Bartlett was a lot more sympathetic interviewer to Tom vs Anne Boden. Not sure he 'clicked' with Anne to the same extent as Tom.
- hitekker 4y agoWhat defines a "growth & engagement operation"? Is it when the goal is to grow as much as possible, while engaging users without actually meeting users needs or retaining them?
- Nextgrid 4y agoWhen the objective isn't to sell a product/service and make profit on it, but instead to "grow" and increase arbitrary numbers such as user or "engagement" counters to use them to raise more VC money or sell the (non-profitable) business to a bigger sucker.