Starling Bank: Building a $1.5 Billion Business Against The Odds: Anne Boden
Anne Boden, founder and CEO of Starling Bank, shares her journey from humble beginnings and a 30-year corporate career to launching a multi-billion dollar fintech. She discusses overcoming stereotypes, navigating a dramatic co-founder fallout, and her unique approach to leadership, resilience, and fundraising.
Deep Dive Analysis
13 Topic Outline
Introduction to Anne Boden and Starling Bank's Origins
Humble Beginnings and Early Academic Drive
Extensive Corporate Banking Career Spanning Three Decades
Decision to Leave Corporate Life and Start a Bank at 54
Initial Struggles and Prejudices Faced While Fundraising
Forming the First Starling Team and Fallout with Tom Blomfield
Rebuilding Starling Bank from Scratch After Team Departure
Securing Pivotal £48 Million Investment from a Family Office
Lessons Learned About Fundraising and Venture Capital
Personal Responsibility and Emotional Toll of Running a Bank
Coping Mechanisms and Cultivating Happiness Amidst Pressure
Reflections on Personal Life, Relationships, and Societal Expectations
Future Plans for Starling Bank and Influencing Society
4 Key Concepts
Under-promising and Over-delivering
A business strategy where a company consistently exceeds expectations set for its performance or products. Anne notes that Starling tends to do this because she, as a woman from the corporate world, was not used to overselling ideas, leading to consistent over-delivery and surprising people.
Venture Capital Funding Bias
The tendency for venture capitalists to invest in businesses and founders that fit a specific, often stereotypical, profile (e.g., young, white men from Silicon Valley). Anne highlights that only 1% of VC funding goes to women founders and that VCs often look for carbon copies of past successes, making it hard for truly innovative or diverse ideas to get investment.
Personal Responsibility in Entrepreneurship
The deep sense of accountability an entrepreneur feels for every aspect of their business, from hiring decisions to overall success or failure. Anne explains that as an entrepreneur, anything that goes wrong is her responsibility, and this burden grows as more people depend on the business.
Cultivating Happiness
A learned approach to mental well-being, focusing on actively seeking out and appreciating positive aspects of life rather than dwelling on negatives. Anne's father taught her this, emphasizing counting blessings and taking energy from what's going right to manage stress and maintain a positive outlook.
7 Questions Answered
She felt ashamed of the traditional banking industry, which hadn't embraced technology and was looking backward. She believed someone needed to change it and decided to start a bank that would be fair to customers and built with new technology.
Many investors told her it was impossible because she had never been an entrepreneur or a bank CEO before, and she didn't fit the typical profile of a young, male tech founder from Silicon Valley.
She found herself alone in the office but was determined to restart. She re-hired a new team, focusing on more qualified and appropriate people, and used the public humiliation as a driving force to ensure Starling's success.
She advises entrepreneurs to take the money when it's offered, as most businesses fail due to lack of funding, not valuation issues. She also cautions that venture capitalists often invest in founders who fit a specific mold, making it harder for diverse entrepreneurs.
She relies on lessons from her father about cultivating happiness, counting blessings, and focusing on positive aspects. She also reads extensively, including self-help books, to understand and manage challenges.
She admits to not having work-life balance, as her job is all-consuming, and she finds immense satisfaction in it. She also acknowledges the difficulty of finding a partner who understands her career-driven life and the societal expectations placed on women regarding marriage and children.
She aims for Starling to be listed publicly in a few years and to fundamentally change financial services forever. She also wants to use Starling's platform to advocate for fairness and equality in society.
14 Actionable Insights
1. Cultivate Gratitude and Optimism
Adopt a default perspective of counting your blessings and viewing challenges positively, as this acts as a powerful mental defense mechanism against unmet expectations and unhappiness. This approach, learned from her father, helps manage stress and maintain excitement.
2. Leverage Existing Expertise
When starting a new venture, build upon your deep knowledge in a specific field rather than pursuing an unrelated passion where you lack expertise. Anne realized her banking knowledge was far more valuable than her limited understanding of fashion.
3. Don’t Let Others Limit Aspirations
Ignore those who tell you to temper your ambitions, as their limitations do not define your potential. Anne’s determination to ‘get on’ was fueled by a boss who tried to lower her aspirations.
4. Prioritize Securing Funding
Focus on obtaining necessary investment rather than getting hung up on ideal investor profiles or initial valuations, especially when funding is scarce. Many businesses fail due to lack of funding, not poor ideas, so take the money when it’s offered.
5. Embrace Diverse Personalities
Recognize that different personalities working together can create great businesses, rather than assuming they will lead to clashes. Anne believes her differences with her co-founder could have been a strength.
6. Over-Deliver, Under-Promise
Consistently exceed expectations without making excessive promises, as this builds trust and surprises people positively. Anne notes that Starling has consistently over-delivered, a trait she attributes to her tendency to underplay success.
7. Act Quickly on New Ventures
Once you’ve decided to pursue a new business idea, move swiftly to establish the proposition and foundations. Anne left her corporate job and began working on Starling’s proposition within weeks.
8. Seek Help and Learn Continuously
When faced with questions or challenges you can’t answer, actively ask for help from industry contacts and past colleagues. Anne also emphasizes reading hundreds of books, including self-help and strategy, to continuously learn.
9. Reframe Setbacks as Opportunities
View significant blows or team departures not as crushing defeats, but as chances to rebuild, rethink, and reduce immediate responsibilities. After losing her team and funding, Anne saw it as an opportunity to take her time and find a new investor and team.
10. Focus on Your Own Story
When public narratives or disputes arise, concentrate on telling your accurate account rather than engaging in a back-and-forth to correct every detail. Anne chose to write her book to share her side of the story, acknowledging others have different perspectives.
11. Be Selective with Mentors
Exercise caution when seeking advice, as many people, including those in the venture capital world, may offer bad or irrelevant guidance without having run a business themselves. Question the expertise of those offering advice.
12. Unlearn Old Assumptions
Be prepared to discard previously held beliefs and knowledge, as the world constantly evolves and what was once true may no longer be relevant. Anne learned that many of her ‘100% certain’ assumptions were wrong.
13. Physically Clear the Old
Symbolically and practically remove remnants of past failures or departures to create a fresh start for a new team and vision. After her team left, a friend cleared out the office, symbolizing a new beginning.
14. Accept Full Personal Responsibility
Understand that as an entrepreneur, every decision and outcome, from hiring to mistakes, ultimately falls under your personal responsibility. This burden grows as more people depend on the business.
6 Key Quotes
I was getting up every morning thinking somebody has to do something about this banking industry. I was sort of ashamed to be a banker.
Anne Boden
First of all, people don't start banks. And a five foot tall Welsh woman definitely doesn't start a bank.
Anne Boden
Nothing was going to stop Starling's succeeding after that happened.
Anne Boden
As a woman, you can't be bitter. You can't show that bitterness.
Anne Boden
Take the money. ... The vast majority of people can't pick where the investment's coming from. ... If somebody offers you the money, you've got to take it because it comes around so, so rarely.
Anne Boden
The world is very unfair in lots of different ways. And it's not just fair between countries. There's very, very, you know, different people have different experiences with this life.
Anne Boden