Shaking the banking system by Anne Boden

Banking mogul? A creator of the new bank’s face? A shot of good ideas?

A first-hand account of one woman’s quest to rebuild Britain’s broken banking system?

A computer scientist nerd without finance education but with financial intuition?

A funny lady with the head office in Southampton – a spa office where people dressed in white bath robes strolling between treatments?

That’s not all when we talk about Anne Boden.

Comparing to  the other world bankers Boden is always ready to laugh like a good neighbour who is always ready for a fun or a drink at midnight.

“I think I’m a very different sort of banker”.

 It’s true – you could see dancing in her ads:

“I must admit, if there’s a disco in the office or music somewhere, I’m always first on the dancefloor! Everyone else is looking around, saying, ‘She’s dancing?’”

She is honest that it’s very difficult to admire anyone in banking because they have been repeating the same old thing for the last 300 years.

Check the book here.

When did she start to hate banking industry?

“I was working all night on systems and all the investment bankers were having a good time.

This was the Eighties. People were earning very good money and not working very hard.”

In 2014 Anne Boden decided to found Starling  – taking 48 million pounds from hands-off hedge fund  investor Harald Mc Pike.

In that period she repeated to herself that the cash will disappear and it’s necessary to change the banking history forever.

In fact what is Starling?

This answer is simple – App-based banking.

“I’m a woman. I’m 5ft tall. I’m Welsh. I’m middle-aged.

I’m from a very ordinary background and I’m the sort of person who’ll chat to somebody in the ladies!

Fintech start-ups are all young white guys with goatees – usually with rich parents.

People did think I was crazy, that no one ‘starts a bank’, especially people who looked like me, but I’d reached the stage where I was prepared to fail.

I was 54 and confident enough not to care if somebody said I was stupid.”

Anne’s dream was to create bank without bureaucracy, where opening an account took minutes not days.

A bank where cheques to be deposited with just one photo and the most important without brunches but with 24-hours support.

In the beginning she got a lot of rejections and refusals when Anne Boden tried to sell her vision.

“I’d start each morning in a coffee shop sending emails, “I’m Anne, I’m starting a bank. Will you help me?”

 It took more than eight months to sell her unbelievable story without sugar-coat.

Everyone from her team worked for nothing than she traveled to the Bahamas to meet face to face billionaire Harald McPike who wanted to invest in this challenging bank idea.

She spent three days with McPike on his yacht and she is happy to say that these were “ the most intelligent questions I’d ever been asked about Starling.”

Nowadays Starling has more than 1,8 million customer accounts and a dream team of more than 1000 people, 40% of the senior roles are given to the women.

Her bank has won Best British Bank at the British Bank Awards.

Check the book here.

It is interesting to say that Starling passed through 2020 bigger and stronger than it had been at the beginning.

“Starling is about shaking the traditional banking system up.

About transforming your day-to-day experience of money.

We’re not like any other bank – we’re all about adapting to your life rather than interrupting it.

Banking with us will be fast, efficient, quick, on the mobile.

We’ll fit into a busy lifestyle, provide flexible banking, and do so with detail oriented and precision”.

In her everyday life Anne Boden decided not to cook because she has no interest whatsoever.

It happened not to marry and have no children.

“I think it’s important to focus on what you have rather than what you don’t.

I’ve had a great career.

 I’ve done lots of stuff.

I’m proud of what we’ve built.

I wish I could help more women understand that you don’t have to conform to the stereotype to be happy, to be successful.

But I’ve been extremely lucky.

I had a childhood that was loving and supportive, but with no pressure to be anyone different.” 

An amazing lady with a great story of success, you can find more inspiring women here.