When a fintech startup receives $14 million of investment, we sit up and take note. We met Tide’s founder, George Bevis, to find out how he is wooing investors with his disruptive new business model.
Tide, a mobile-first banking service has just raised one of the largest Series A investments of any fintech company this year. Investors included Creandum, the Scandinavian fund which has backed Spotify and iZettle.
The fintech startup is unique. It does not have a full banking license, unlike banking business Monzo. Tide also has no interest in getting one either, instead holding money with Barclays and then handling the transactions themselves.
Tide wants to use this new investment to expand. In fact, the startup hopes to double its London team by the end of 2017.
What is their secret to success? We found out.
The Tide CEO told us all
George Bevis, Tide’s founder and CEO, told Compelo: “Investors believe that there is a real opportunity to support and champion small and medium-sized companies in the wake of Brexit. Traditional banks have let down Britain’s smaller firms. They often charge vulnerable companies eye-watering fees and keep them waiting for weeks to open a business account.”
Bevis explained: “We are different. We are providing our members with an instant, transparent business credit facility, which for some was difficult to obtain on the high-street. We are also making it easier for small and medium-sized companies to get the finance they need to grow.”
What makes the startup different?
The fintech space is a difficult one to break into. Tide’s chair, Eileen Burbidge, told Compelo what sets this startup out from the crowd. “Tide is solving a problem which is a pain point for far too many British businesses. Access to financial services on demand has become a basic expectation of businesses, which until now has been unrealised. With Tide, that has all changed.”
Watch this space.
Enjoy reading our interview with the CEO of Tide? Then read more like this here –
“Smart devices aren’t safe”: We spoke to a top security leader and CEO about hackers