Big banks cannot compete with Tide, says ex-banker

“I’m not a numbers person”, says former bank employee who turned to Tide for its simplicity

‘’For me, running a business, it’s all about speed. If you can do something for me quickly, it means I can focus my time on running my business elsewhere, especially making stuff.”

A former bank employee who turned her side passion into a viable business says banking doesn’t have to be painful and clunky.

That was her experience when she worked at a large bank bailed out in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash, Angela Kitchen, Director and Founder of Fur the Love of Toys, a clothing and accessories company for pets, said: “In the nicest possible way, I wouldn’t want to open a bank account with them, knowing what the procedure is.”

Angela was a Business Manager in Financial Crime for the bank before founding her company.

Though Angela has fond memories of her time there, calling the bank “a good employer”, she nevertheless now chooses to bank with Tide.

“For me, it was about the account opening process. I didn’t want to send off 16 copies of my passport. It was just aggravation that I didn’t need”, she said.

“It was all online and the bank account, I think, was open within 24 hours or thereabouts”, she added.

Angela has not regretted installing Tide, valuing the service for its speed, simplicity and the time it saves.

Angela ran her business from her personal account before installing Tide because she did not yet know how far her business would develop.

“I didn’t really think about banking then”, she said.
“And then of course, once I started to do a tax return, it was just like, ‘oh my god, kill me now’, because I’m not a numbers person”, she added.

Tide saves her from having to sift through paper receipts for tax returns because of “a really handy” feature by which users can upload photos or screenshots of receipts, with the option of saving it into an account’s expenses.

“Whenever I pay for anything I just take a photo and upload that. And then I haven’t got the aggravation of worrying about where everything is”, she said.

The simplicity of the app also spares Angela the ordeal of waiting on hold for customer service.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had to speak to a person at Tide, which is not a bad thing. Because any problems I’ve had have been solved so easily”, she said.

“You know, there’s one thing I don’t have time for and that’s sitting on phone queues waiting to speak to somebody, waiting for somebody to ring you back, to give you an authentication number,’’she said.

Saving time has saved Angela money. She had to employ an accountant during the first year of her business to file returns but Tide has since simplified the process, allowing her to do so without having to go through “hundreds and hundreds of transactions”.

“My life has just become so much easier now”, she said.

“I’m my own boss”

Ultimately, Tide has allowed Angela to take control of her life by allowing her to enjoy running her own business even though she is “possibly one of the most disorganised people that you could ever meet”.

Fur the Love of Toys, 70 per cent of whose products are handmade by Angela, is a labour of passion. Angela had her first pet aged just 7, a Yorkshire Terrier called Roxy, and has had pets by her side almost without interruption ever since.

Angela started her business for the benefit of her prized pooch, Harley, after realising that the only tug of war toys she could find for him were made of cotton strands.

Cotton strands can separate from the toy and be digested, leading, in extreme cases, to the death of pets.

“Not that I didn’t enjoy my previous job, but it’s a lot more satisfying, I probably would say, than the kind of corporate world I was used to”, she said.

“You’re doing it for yourself, I’m my own boss. Everything that I’m doing is basically for me, and what I want
to do. In the corporate world I found myself being in the situation where you’d say something and perhaps in some instances might get brushed aside or pushed aside a little bit”, she added.

Former colleagues at the bank, which was a “great company to work for”, were split by Angela’s decision.

Leaving the bank meant leaving a substantial salary behind.

“Some people were just like, ‘Are you absolutely crazy? Like, what? Why would you want to do that?’. And other people were like, ‘Wow, that’s amazing. I would love to be able to do that, I would love to have the balls to just get up and do that’”, she said.

Four years on, Angela has no regrets. The feeling of freedom and responsibility more than compensate for the adjustments she has had to make, she said. Running her own business, Angela is entitled neither to statutory sick pay nor annual leave.

“If I’m not well I can’t just find somebody to say I’m going to come in. I still have to process that work and I still have to do those orders. So it is incredibly difficult”, she said.

Rising female business owners in the capital

By Heather Cobb, SVP Member Engagement at Tide

In today’s rapidly changing business world, women are breaking barriers and pursuing their goals with unbridled determination. According to the 2022 Rose Review on female entrepreneurship, a record number of women have started their own businesses, with almost three times as many all-female-led incorporations launched in 2022 compared to 2018. Our latest Women in Business survey* at Tide, where we received nearly 2,000 responses, showed that more than 1 in 5 (21%) of our female members are running SMEs in London. These stats prove women are shattering stereotypes and making their mark in the business world.

Top Motivations

Gone are the days when women settled for a ‘job for life’ – rises in equality, ambition, and longer life expectancy mean women also crave non-traditional work. This means new paths, flexible opportunities, and seeking meaning and purpose. Entrepreneurship, freelancing gigs in different industries – especially in the capital – are some of the options.

According to our survey, London-based women are motivated by five primary reasons: to use specialist skills (23%), to seek autonomy and become their own bosses (22%), to pursue creative business ideas (20%), to follow their passion for a business idea (11%) and to seize the opportunity and “just go for it” (8%).
Another reason is that women also want a better work-life balance with flexible working hours (8%).

Challenges Women in Business are Facing

Starting a business is not without roadblocks: more than half (52%) of female business owners based in London find it either challenging or very challenging to start their own business. The biggest obstacle is the lack of access to finance (41%) and moral support from loved ones (15%). Some women mentioned a struggle with self-confidence (6%).

Top areas where women want support to grow their businesses are marketing, sales and other business growth support (26%), business mentoring, advisory, learning and development (22%) and accountancy and financial planning (16%).

Standing Strong Behind You

At Tide, we’ve welcomed over 100,000** women to our platform, exceeding our 100,000 target almost a year early. But our work doesn’t stop here. By providing further support in business, including networking opportunities, operational advice and recommendation on securing finance, we can help women achieve their goals, make a positive impact on communities, and inspire future generations of female entrepreneurs. So, here’s to all the women who are pursuing their dreams – we’re your unwavering allies through every step of your journey.

*The Tide member survey was conducted between 3 and 7 February 2023, with 1,961 total respondents. **Based on an average sample survey of Tide members.