money.co.uk Background & History
Everything you need to know about how money.co.uk started & where it's heading.
2000:
Chris Morling, then working at Oracle and consulting on technology systems for banks (including a then pioneering WAP service for Barclays), set out to develop financelink.co.uk – one of the first money directories on the web.
At the outset, Chris was purely focused on using the site to further his career by acquiring new coding skills. He built the first site in its entirety and initially funded the business using a selection of credit cards.
Early 2001:
It very quickly became apparent that the emerging area of affiliate marketing represented a significant business opportunity; Chris decided to leave Oracle and work on the business full time.
He launched a refreshed version of the site and negotiated commercial agreements with financial services companies to deliver revenue.
Soon after, financelink.co.uk turned its first profit. Dot Zinc Limited was born.
2001-2003:
Over the next two years Chris continued to develop, run and market the site single handedly – looking after everything from site coding to commercial agreements to marketing.
2003:
The comparison market was changing and Chris was keen to move to a true comparison model. However, appreciating that he could not do so alone, he resolved to put the business on a more traditional footing – by beginning to assemble a talented team around him.
By the end of the year, the team had launched aboutyourmoney.co.uk, a comparison site focusing on a few product areas.
2004:
Mike Bradley, a hugely experienced commercial manager, joined the team tasked with improving the number and breadth of commercial agreements across the site.
2005:
Dot Zinc headquarters were established in Cirencester, Gloucestershire; in addition to a satellite office in central London.
2004-2007:
During this period aboutyourmoney.co.uk underwent two complete redesigns.
It was further developed to allow comparison of a more expansive range of financial products, and editorial (including money saving guides) was introduced to the site to enhance the user experience.
2008:
In Feb 2008, aboutyourmoney.co.uk moved to a “whole of market” model, comparing every available financial product within the areas listed on the site.
In May 2008, Dot Zinc bought the domain money.co.uk; shortly after aboutyourmoney.co.uk became money.co.uk.
2009:
A new comparison engine was launched to each of money.co.uk's comparison tables, allowing users powerful ways to search, manipulate and compare financial products.
New product lines continue to be added.
2010:
In the summer of 2010, money.co.uk was enhanced with the addition of a range of interactive and community features. They include 50 interactive ‘How to’ Guides (step by step action plans to help users achieve personal finance objectives) user-generated Tips, Q&A features and Discussion forums.
