Monzo co-founder Jonas Templestein departs after nine years
Monzo co-founder and former chief technology officer (CTO) Jonas Templestein has announced his intention to leave the UK challenger after almost nine years.
Jonas Templestein leaves Monzo (Image: LinkedIn)
The announcement was made through the bank’s website last week, in which Templestein shared a letter he had sent to his co-workers about his departure.
In the post, he addresses his pride in Monzo’s development since launching in 2015, as well as the community and technology that has enabled its rise.
“After nine incredible years at Monzo (half my adult life!), it’s time for me to move on,” his statement reads. “This moment feels right.”
Templestein has been on parental leave since February, with Matej Pfajfar taking over as CTO.
In thanking the challenger’s customers, Templestein describes them as “the most passionate, supportive and critical (in a good way!) group I could ever have hoped for”.
No ‘easy’ route
In his parting letter, Templestein says that the company has “performed best when facing an existential threat“.
“You must not allow success to lead to complacency,” his statement reads. “Standing still was never an option, as we knew we would simply run out of money before long.”
He pinpoints 2020 as a particularly difficult year for the challenger, in light of the global Covid-19 pandemic and the restricted appetite of investors for new-age digital banks.
“A funding round had just fallen apart due to the pandemic, we were losing a lot of money, hadn’t shipped a successful feature in a long while and were struggling with a series of incidents,” Templestein recounts.
“Regulators were (rightfully!) concerned about our business model. Many of our stakeholders, and even myself, at times, believed it would be best for our customers and staff if we took the ‘easy’ route and sold the company.”
However, with the installation of a new management team, the fortunes soon turned for Monzo, when it raised $500 million at a $4.5 billion valuation in 2021.
It was during this same year that Monzo’s other co-founder, Tom Blomfield, exited the business, saying at the time he was “doing too much and not enjoying it”.
As for Templestein, his decision to step away appears to be driven by the desire to spend more time with his family.
“I’ve been on parental leave and really enjoyed spending more time with my family, getting back into coding,” he says.
“We’re about to put down roots in the beautiful Cotswolds, and I feel incredibly lucky that I can be there and spend so much time with my family during that transition.”
Alphabet and potential IPO
As anyone in the industry will agree, founding and establishing a challenger bank isn’t without its hurdles. As outlined in Templestein’s departing letter, funding appears to have been, at one time, the most prominent barrier to Monzo’s early pursuit of widespread commercial success.
Templestein is departing Monzo at a pivotal point in its business development. The challenger notably hired Conor Walsh, former head of global product at Square’s mobile payment service Cash App, in October to lead its push into the US market as regional CEO.
It followed up on this a month later by bringing in Phoebe Chibuzo Hugh, founder and former CEO of digital insurance start-up Brolly, to guide its entry into the insurance industry – a rare move from a challenger like Monzo.
The departure also comes with the company on the verge of a potential billion-dollar stock market flotation.
Reports began circulating back in October that the bank is looking to raise £300 million in fresh funds through a share sale, which if executed, would place it nicely on track to execute an initial public offering (IPO).
In November, Sky News reported that Alphabet, the parent company behind Google, was in talks to purchase the stake, in a deal that would make Monzo the highest-valued digital bank in the UK.
When and where the IPO will take place, or if Alphabet will go through with the purchase, has all yet to be confirmed.
