NewTech Friday: Tide – Putting small business owners at the forefront

Oliver Prill, CEO of Tide, spoke with Boris Plantier about how his company’s powerful financial platform is helping British SMEs focus on what really matters for their business.

What led to the creation of Tide?

In 2015, Tide founder, George Bevis, noticed two key things: That SMEs waste a lot of time (and money) on banking and admin tasks that don't contribute to the growth of their businesses, and that they are severely underserved by the traditional high street bank. 

With this in mind he decided to do something about it. Tide was born with a clear mission, that still stands today, to save business owners time (and money) on their banking and admin.

Could you present Tide's offer?

Tide is the UK's leading business financial platform, with almost 5% UK market share. The richness of the platform and what we offer to our members is what makes Tide stand out.

With a laser-like focus on SMEs, their challenges and needs, Tide has created a platform with a wider and more highly connected range of products and tools than offered by others on the market. 

The business bank account sits at the center of the platform and is surrounded by tools that help business owners carry out admin tasks without having to repeat processes and by automating as much as possible.

The invoicing tool is a great example of this. Through the Tide app a member can create an invoice (professionally formatted with the business's logo, etc.), send it to their client, set up automated email chases in case the invoice becomes overdue, and be notified by Tide once an invoice is paid, with the invoice assigned to the payment for easy bookkeeping. On top of that, and with the problems late payments cause for cash flow front of mind, Tide members can also set up direct debits for their invoices and can insure themselves against non-payment.

In addition to the product, Tide is dedicated to creating a community of small businesses, bringing members together to support and learn from one another.

What's coming next for Tide?

Last week, Tide announced we will be expanding internationally, with India selected as our first international market. This is a hugely exciting step for us, with India representing one of the biggest SME markets in the world and having a strong entrepreneurial culture. 

Tide's long-term vision is to be the biggest business banking platform globally; however, we will do this steadily. Tide India will begin with a small test product and will be developed throughout 2021, and we still have a lot to accomplish in the UK. We are dedicated to continuing to grow our market share and innovating to support UK SMEs in the best possible way.