Bank of Dave Founder David Fishwick: Lessons for Entrepreneurs from Britain’s Boldest Banker
Born in Nelson, Lancashire, David Fishwick has become one of the region’s most recognisable business figures, proudly championing his local community while making an impact on the national stage.
Known across the UK as the straight-talking founder of Burnley Savings & Loans—popularly dubbed the “Bank of Dave”—he transformed the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash into a mission for fairer, community-first banking.
With no formal qualifications, this leading voice among Finance & Banking speakers grew a £27 minibus profit into a multi-million-pound portfolio spanning banking, property, media, vehicles, and more. His fight for local lending has earned him Sunday Times bestseller status, two BAFTAs, and a Netflix biopic, cementing his place as one of Britain’s most inspiring entrepreneurs.
In this exclusive interview with The Motivational Speakers Agency, David Fishwick discusses the origins of his banking venture, the mindset needed to take on the financial establishment, and practical lessons for entrepreneurs aiming to build sustainable, people-focused businesses.
Q: After the 2008 financial crash, what experiences convinced you there was a need for a community-run bank in Burnley?
David Fishwick: “Well, late 2008, early 2009, my minibus customers were coming along to me, as they had done for years and years, and they wanted finance for the bus.
“I used to fill the forms in, send them off to the local bank, and the banks would then give me the money, and the customer would get the bus. But guess what? That all stopped, and it stopped overnight. The banks just stopped lending to the customers.
“I thought, I haven’t done something wrong, have they got a problem? Have they got a CCJ? And you know what — they’d done nothing wrong. The banks literally stopped giving money out.
“So, I thought, either I stop selling minibuses, which would be a problem — I’m the largest supplier of minibuses in the country — or, if I’m leaving these people, why don’t I lend them the money? They pay me back; they get the bus — we’ll try that.
“So that’s what I did, and you know what — people paid me back. Businesses paid me back. There’s nothing wrong with the Great British public in this country — the problem is the banks.
“So, I thought, well, okay, can I make things bigger? Can I then start lending to other businesses that aren’t related to the minibus business?
“Well, I started lending money to people, they started paying me back, and I thought, this banking malarkey — it’s not that difficult. So that’s why I set off on this challenge, and it proved to be a huge one.”
Q: You’ve taken on one of the most highly regulated industries in the world. What personal qualities and strategies helped you succeed against such powerful opposition?
David Fishwick: “What I learned about creating Bank on Dave is, if you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything. If I can inspire people, that would be wonderful.
“In life, I’ve got a set of rules and four of them are really important. Rule number one is never losing money, and rule number two is never forgetting rule number one.
“But rule number three and four are super important — rule number three is you must never give up, and rule number four, the most important rule of all, is you must never ever give up. Put one foot in front of the other and just keep going.
“When you’re going after a financial institution, you’re up against massive regulators, you’re up against the world’s banking systems, and everybody’s trying to stop you. You must never give up — just keep pushing. There’s always a way, using confidence and self-belief.
“If you haven’t got enough self-belief or enough confidence, then I can help you, I can teach you. I wasn’t born with self-belief and confidence — nobody is — but you learn how to use it, how to gain it. In my talks, I can actually physically teach you confidence and self-belief, and if I can do it, anybody can.”
Q: Having built multiple businesses across very different sectors, how can entrepreneurs move beyond their first venture and achieve long-term, sustainable growth?
David Fishwick: “One of the things I like to talk about in my talks is how people can learn to communicate better. If you can communicate better, you are going to add at least 50 to 100 percent to your net worth. I can teach you how to communicate — I had no skills at all when I started, but I can definitely teach you how to make this happen. Communicating is super important.
“Most people are stuck in a box in a business — they end up doing everything themselves. For instance, if you’re a hairdresser, you’re sweeping up, you’re cleaning up, you’re taking all the phone calls, you’re cutting people’s hair, you’re doing the perms, you’re doing the accounts, you’re doing everything.
“What I like to do is come along and teach people how to step outside the box, look inside, and see where things are maybe going wrong or things can be done better or differently. Then I can help you move on to the second, third, and fourth business rather than being stuck in the first one.
“The faster I can make you redundant in that first business, the quicker I can get you onto the second, third, and fourth, and you become a multi-business company.
“I started with one business and now I’ve got six — I’ve built six multi-million-pound businesses from scratch in all different sectors, from property to media to banking to vehicles to leasing, to acquiring and leasing land.
“And my biggest company is in America — it’s an investment company. I’m self-taught, and that’s the biggest thing I’ve got — so I can teach you to do it in this country or two-and-a-half thousand miles away. The choice is yours.”
This exclusive interview with David Fishwick was conducted by Tabish Ali of The Motivational Speakers Agency.