Tide Founder Departs One Year After Launching SMB Services

About a year after U.K. FinTech Tide officially launched, its CEO and founder is stepping down.

Reports in TechCrunch on Thursday (March 22) said George Bevis will no longer be leading the company he founded nearly three years ago. Reports noted the firm is currently searching for a replacement, though reports noted Bevis plans to remain active at the company.

His departure comes at a time when Tide is focusing on growth after launching in Feb. 2017. The firm currently employs nearly 100 people and is seeking to expand internationally, reports said. The company also recently announced it received approval from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority to operate as an electronic money institution, enabling it to run its own banking infrastructure.

The publication noted, however, that Tide has not applied for a full-fledged banking license.

“I’m a small business-focused guy who’s had the privilege of building an amazing company servicing small businesses,” Bevis told TechCrunch. “Now [that] our own business isn’t small anymore, it’s time for me to think about bringing in someone who knows as much about international scale-ups as I know about U.K. startups. Tide will stay focused on saving small business owners time — in future, all across the world. I’m looking forward to continuing to play a key role, both inside the business and on the board.”

The publication said unnamed sources confirmed Bevis made the decision to initiate the leadership change and has the full support of the company’s board of directors.

Tide launched last year following a $2 million seed funding round. The company focuses on entrepreneurs and small businesses, vowing to save these professionals time by enabling them to open a bank account in only a few minutes. It currently offers a range of enterprise services, including automated bookkeeping, invoice management and payment preparation.

“Business services offered by High Street banks have failed to meet the needs of the modern small business owner,” Bevis said last year when the company launched operations. “With slow sign-up processes, hidden charges and poor customer experience, business banking has been stuck in the dark ages.”

Several months later, Tide announced $14 million in Series A funding.