Oliver Prill is the CEO at Tide, the award-winning, fast-growing business bank. They’re building modern business banking that gives time back to people who work for themselves, so they can get back to the important task of growing their business without having to deal with the usual stresses of banking. Work.Life recently partnered with Tide, to give all Work.Life members 1 year of free transfers when they sign up. We spoke to Oliver to find out more about Tide and what it can do for your business.
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We’d love to hear more about your background, what were you doing before you joined Tide?
I joined Tide as CEO in July 2018 from online lender Kreditech. Prior to that I spent 20 years in leadership positions in financial services, working across banking and insurance.
What drew you to Tide?
I was attracted to Tide having worked closely with many small business owners over the years, and having been inspired by their energy and passion. Small business is also the sector of financial services that has been neglected the most, they’re massively underserved by traditional banks, and I could see Tide was really addressing this issue.
Tell us about Tide’s vision and where you’re at with it so far.
Our vision is to become the leading business banking challenger. Considering how new we are – Tide was launched in January 2017 – we’re doing very well. We have almost 80,000 members, 1.4% market share, and around 12% of all new business current accounts are now opened with Tide. We’re certainly starting to nip at the heels of the traditional players!
Is modern banking just about apps, or is there much more to it?
There’s so much more to modern banking than just having a great app. The products have to provide customers with the service they require, customer service has to be slick and accessible and the whole proposition has to be safe and secure. It’s also important to recognise that not everyone wants to do their banking via an app, Tide also has a desktop app, which is very valuable to SME customers.
How many employees does Tide have? Do you have any tips for the hiring process?
We have been growing very rapidly and now have 150 employees across offices in London and Sofia, Bulgaria.
I would say that when hiring it’s important to keep your company’s culture (or the culture you would like to build) in mind. The person you’re hiring may be perfectly qualified but if you don’t think they will be a good fit culturally it’s just not going to work.
What’s a typical day at work for Tide’s CEO?
It varies hugely! I can go from pitching to investors, to speaking at conferences, to discussing new Tide features and products with the team, to speaking to our members and responding to interviews like this.
Why should Work.Life members use Tide?
We’re building a banking service that gives time (and money) back to people who work for themselves, meaning they can get back to doing what they love – running their business.
Give us your top piece of advice for anyone looking to start their own or run a business.
Always start with the customer, be relentlessly data driven and agilely adjust as learnings come through.
Thanks for letting us pick your brain today, we thought we’d ask you the quick-fire round we ask all our interviewees…
Morning person or night owl? Night owl
Favourite film: Star Wars (recently really loved Captain Marvel)
Summer or winter? Summer
Sweet or savoury? Savoury
Cats or dogs? Dogs
City break or beach holiday? City Break
Last meal before being jetted off to a desert island? Spare Ribs
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Work.Life is proud to announce Tide as its first business banking partner. Once signing up, all Work.Life members will receive a free first year of transfers. If you’re a Work.Life member and are interested in signing up, please talk to one of our wonderful Membership team who’ll be able to help you claim your exclusive discount!
