Thomas Vles is a serial entrepreneur with a background in e-commerce and startups. He first gained international attention in 2013 with Poopy Cat, a company built around sustainable disposable cardboard litter boxes and modular cat products. In 2015, to mark the UK launch, he cycled from Amsterdam to London with his two cats in a cargo bike, a stunt that drew media attention around the world.
After selling Poopy Cat in 2017, he started investing in and advising startups through BlueBottle Ventures. He later spent a year as Managing Director of the Dutch Startup Association, before moving into fintech in 2021 as CEO of Tellow. From 2023 onwards, he served as Chief Revenue Officer at Shine, formerly known as Ageras.
Since May 2024, he has been building GoDutch. It is not a traditional bank, but a fintech platform that aims to make business banking fairer by sharing part of its income with entrepreneurs, while also taking away much of the administrative hassle.
Thomas first studied Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Amsterdam, before switching to Psychology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where he completed two master’s degrees. He is 41 years old, lives in Amsterdam, is married, and has two children.
***
Leaders in Finance is made possible by the support of EY, Mogelijk Vastgoedfinancieringen, and Lepaya. More information about our partners is available at our partner page.
***
Books mentioned in this episode:
The Daily Stoic, Ryan Holiday
***
The conversations from Leaders in Finance are transcribed to make the podcast accessible to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as to those who prefer reading over listening: Thomas Vles (transcriptie)
***
Follow Leaders in Finance on LinkedIn.
***
Want to stay up to date with Leaders in Finance? Subscribe to the newsletter.
***
Questions, suggestions, or feedback? We would love to hear from you! You can reach us via email at [email protected]
***
Previous guests on the Leaders in Finance podcast include: Klaas Knot (President DNB), Frank Elderson (Executive Board, ECB), Roland Boekhout (CEO ASN Bank), Gerrit Zalm (former Minister of Finance and former CEO of ABN AMRO), Ingrid de Swart (member of the Executive Board, a.s.r.), Pinar Abay (Management Board ING, Head of Retail Banking), Robert Swaak (CEO ABN AMRO), Marcel Zuidam (CEO NN Bank), Saul van Beurden (CEO Consumer, Small & Business Banking, Wells Fargo), David Knibbe (CEO NN Group), Janine Vos (Executive Board, Rabobank), Nadine Klokke (CEO Knab), Maarten Edixhoven (CEO Van Lanschot Kempen), Jeroen Rijpkema (CEO Triodos Bank), Nout Wellink (former President DNB), Onno Ruding (former minister of finance), Yoram Schwarz (CEO Movir), Laura van Geest (Executive Board, AFM), Katja Kok (CEO Van Lanschot CH), Ali Niknam (CEO bunq), Nick Bortot (CEO BUX), Petri Hofsté (supervisory board member, including at Rabobank and Achmea), Peter Paul de Vries (CEO Value8), Barbara Baarsma (CEO Rabo Carbon Bank), Jan van Rutte (C supervisory board member, including at Rabobank and Achmea), Marguerite Soeteman-Reijne (Chair Aon Holdings), Lidwin van Velden (CEO Nederlandse Waterschapsbank), Jan-Willem van der Schoot (CEO Mastercard NL), Joanne Kellermann (Chair PFZW), Steven Maijoor (former Chair ESMA), Radboud Vlaar (CEO Finch Capital), Jos Baeten (CEO a.s.r.), Karin van Baardwijk (CEO Robeco), Annette Mosman (CEO APG).
