⚡ How This Founder Built Two Billion-Dollar Fintechs

👋 Hey Dealifters!

You know the saying: lightning doesn’t strike twice.
Well… someone forgot to tell Tom Blomfield.

Because this dude didn’t just build one billion-dollar fintech.
He built two. And then? He became a YC partner to help others do the same. 🐐

Here’s how Tom went from coding teen → Oxford law student → fintech founder → serial unicorn builder — and what you can take from his wild ride. 💼💡

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👦 From Code to Courtrooms

Tom’s journey kicks off in Hong Kong, where he was born — but he grew up in the UK, coding from a young age and already thinking like a builder.

Despite his love for tech, he took a left turn and studied Law at Oxford from 2003 to 2007. But you know how it goes… once a founder, always a founder.

While still in college, Tom co-founded Boso.com, basically an “eBay for students.” It expanded to 50+ universities but couldn’t lock down serious funding. So, the team sold it to a Canadian firm that morphed it into Auctomatic — a tool for eBay power sellers.

Not bad for a college side hustle. 💻📦

🏦 Unicorn #1: GoCardless

After a stint in the legal world, Tom reunited with his Oxford buds — Hiroki Takeuchi and Matt Robinson — in 2010. They were itching to start something new.

First attempt: GroupPay, a tool to split group payments.
But they quickly realized: the real friction was pulling money from bank accounts.

💡 Boom — new idea: direct debit for the internet.

In 2011, they launched GoCardless, went through Y Combinator, and raised millions. Tom left in 2013 for reasons never fully disclosed… but the company kept scaling.

📈 In 2022, GoCardless was valued at $2.1 billion.
That’s Unicorn #1. 🦄

🏦 Unicorn #2: Monzo

Next move? In 2014, Tom joined a then-fledgling startup called Starling Bank as CTO. But… big clash. He didn’t see eye to eye with CEO Anne Boden and left with several colleagues just months later.

What did they do?

They built Monzo. 🔥

Originally called Mondo, it exploded right out the gate.
👥 In 2016, it raised £1 million in 96 seconds via crowdfunding.
💳 Product: a sleek prepaid debit card and app with real-time spend tracking and zero FX fees abroad.

Gen Z and millennials ate it up.
By 2018:

• ✅ 1M users

• ✅ Full UK banking license

• ✅ Valuation: £1B = Unicorn #2 🦄🦄

By 2019, Monzo had 4M+ customers, and it looked unstoppable. But COVID hit hard — and so did the pressure.

In May 2020, Tom stepped down as CEO, then as President.
Reason? Burnout. And he was honest about it.

🧠 Full Circle: From Founder to Fund Whisperer

A decade after his YC debut, Tom returned to the fam:

➡️ 2021: Visiting Partner at YC
➡️ 2023: Full Partner

Now he’s on the other side of the table, helping early-stage founders find the next great fintech idea.

💡 What Can You Learn from Tom?

One word: focus.

Tom stayed in the same category — fintech — and just kept executing.
Over and over and over.
First it was payments. Then digital banking. Now? Funding the next wave.

Til next time,
— Deal Lift 🚀💸

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