Beyond Busy

Anne is the founder of Starling Bank, one of the UK’s challenger banks that serves its customers online rather than via high street branches. Anne studied computer science, and worked her way up through the banking industry before founding Starling. 'I came to the conclusion that banking was broken.'After working at traditional banks like RBS, Lloyds and the Bank of Switzerland, Anne found the industry to be too inward-focused, and largely untouched by consumer tech. Although Starling is a tech-forward company, Anne is quick to point out that customers still get 24/7 phone support, and describes how many struggle with money, and what she sees as Starling’s role in helping people better manage their finances. 'The only thing that was different was the colour of the carpets.' After speaking with lots of banks following her work with AIB in Ireland, Anne started talking to tech firms instead, and came to the conclusion that if she started from scratch, she could build something with a new way of relating to cus