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Tom Blomfield: How I Created Two Billion-Dollar Fintech Startups
6 segments available
There aren’t a ton of people in the world who can say they founded a billion dollar company. There are far fewer that can say they did it twice. YC Group Partner Tom Blomfield is one of them. Each episode of our series Backstory will introduce you to one of YC’s Group Partners and the path they took to get here. If you aspire to change the world with your startup, Tom's story exemplifies the joys and trials of pursuing these ambitious ideas. Apply to Y Combinator: https://yc.link/Backstory-apply Work at a Startup: https://yc.link/Backstory-jobs Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) - 00:00 - Intro 02:52 - GoCardless 05:07 - Starting Monzo 08:46 - COVID challenges 10:24 - Stepping away from Monzo 13:10 - Joining Y Combinator 13:54 - Outro Directors: Ryan Loughlin Zach Both Director of Photography: Matt Piniol Editors: Hoku Uchiyama Zach Both Ryan Loughlin Additional footage provided @jakewrightnet
Segments Timeline
The Choice to Create
Tom Blomfield discusses the importance of choosing to create rather than merely following societal structures. He reflects on his journey as a founder of two billion-dollar companies, emphasizing the emotional highs and lows of entrepreneurship. Tom highlights the challenges and rewards of building products that impact millions, setting the stage for his story of founding GoCardless and Monzo.
"when you look around you at all of the structures in place like the physical buildings the transportation system the laws and rules for society all of these things were created by people and everyone ..."
Founding GoCardless
In this segment, Tom Blomfield shares the inception of GoCardless, detailing the transition from a bill-splitting app idea to a successful B2B payment platform. He recounts the early struggles of growth and the challenges he faced in understanding the needs of their customers, ultimately leading to a commitment to stick with the company despite initial slow progress.
"law degree I uh I had no idea what to do I got in touch with two guys from Oxford Matt and heroi I went to start a dating website but they convinced me that would be a bad idea and instead we should s..."
Launching Monzo
Tom Blomfield describes the founding of Monzo, driven by the desire to fix the painful banking experience. He emphasizes the importance of launching quickly and iterating based on user feedback, which led to rapid growth and a strong customer base. Tom reflects on the ambitious vision behind Monzo and the challenges faced during its explosive growth, including managing financial crime and system outages.
"the banking space and that's when we started mono the start of 2015 banking was excruciatingly painful it was like this clunky old interface it was really hard to navigate that the people running thes..."
Navigating COVID Challenges
In this segment, Tom discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Monzo, detailing a significant drop in revenue and the challenges of securing funding during a global crisis. He shares the emotional toll of leading a company in such uncertain times and the pressure to keep the business afloat while facing potential shutdown.
"then Co hit and it it all got worse you must stay at home the United States has extended the travel ban on most European countries 18 years of economic growth evaporating in the space of two months a ..."
Stepping Away from Monzo
Tom Blomfield reflects on his decision to step back from Monzo, highlighting the intertwining of his identity with the company. He discusses the importance of prioritizing mental health and the support he received from his team during a challenging transition. Tom expresses gratitude for the continued success of Monzo after his departure.
"really I was at my the end of my tether and I talked to my boy Bo and investors about what I could do I talked about taking a step back and the answer was always the same was yeah yeah yeah absolutely..."
Joining Y Combinator
In this concluding segment, Tom shares his journey back to Y Combinator as a Group Partner. He reflects on the pivotal role YC played in his career and expresses excitement about mentoring the next generation of founders. Tom emphasizes the importance of technological progress and the opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to create impactful businesses.
"as a visiting partner and just this year I got my Visa and then my green card and I got the full group partner job here at YC so it looks like I'm here for the long term now rejoining YC felt like com..."