In case you haven’t heard, TopCashback USA is celebrating its 15th birthday this year! Founded by Mike Tomkins and Olly Ragg, the company first launched in the United Kingdom in 2005 before opening its U.S. division in 2011.
We touched base with Mike, Olly and Group CEO Richard Taylor to learn more about how the company got its start in the U.S. and how it’s evolved over the years. Here’s what they had to say:
Where did the original idea for TopCashback come from?
Olly: Before TopCashback, we initially operated comparison websites. They generated commission when somebody clicked through and made a purchase, but one of the challenges with comparison sites was that people would visit, find what they wanted and then leave. There wasn't necessarily a reason for them to remember us or come back.
We wanted to build something which would help our members to save money and have more of a community around it—something people would have a reason to return to regularly.
Cash Back websites already existed in the UK, but the standard model was for them to keep half of the commission they received from retailers and pass the rest on to their members. We wondered whether we could do things differently: give all of that commission back to the member and make our money through other means, such as advertising and retailer promotions.
It was a relatively simple idea, but it gave people a very clear reason to join, return and hopefully recommend us to others. That became the basis for TopCashback and the model we've largely stuck with ever since.
How did the two of you meet, and when did you realize you’d make good business partners?
Mike: Olly and I met while working as computer programmers at a travel company. We got on well, had complementary skills and shared a similar outlook on business, so eventually decided to try building something of our own.
TopCashback was very much launched on a shoestring budget. We did most things ourselves and kept costs as low as possible, which probably helped shape the way we’ve run the business ever since. We’ve always tended to be quite careful with money, focus on what genuinely adds value and grow sustainably rather than spending heavily in pursuit of growth.
We’re not sure there was ever a particular moment when we realized we’d make good business partners—but as we had a similar outlook, we could make decisions really quickly and most importantly, get stuff done really quickly. More than 20 years later, we must have got something right!
TopCashback was very much launched on a shoestring budget. We did most things ourselves and kept costs as low as possible, which probably helped shape the way we’ve run the business ever since.
Why was it important for you to build TopCashback as a company that lives by a “Fair Play” model?
Mike: Fair Play was really part of the business from the beginning. If you're asking people to change the way they shop and trust you to track and pay their Cash Back, that trust is really important. It is also incredibly useful in the day-to-day running of the business. Rather than needing a policy for every eventuality or customer query, Fair Play can be the guide.
We’ve always tried to look at decisions from our members’ and colleagues’ points of view, as well as our own. That doesn’t mean we’ll always get everything right, but it does mean treating people fairly and doing what we believe is right for the long term.
There’s obviously a commercial benefit to having happy, loyal members too, so we’ve always seen doing the right thing and running a successful business as complementary ideas.
What have you learned from working alongside Mike and Olly?
Rich: Having worked with them both for nearly 13 years, the learnings over that time have undoubtedly been huge. I think that by far, the main thing I learned is that there’s a different way in which to compete in business. The fair play culture that runs through the group extends to members, colleagues and businesses as our core principle of how we conduct ourselves. It means we regularly make short-term decisions that no other business I have worked in would’ve made. Over the past 12 years, I’ve seen the long-term benefit for those that work with us.
What do you remember most about launching TopCashback in the U.S. in 2011?
Olly: Probably how quickly the decision was made!
One of our employees, who had only recently joined us from a large money-saving website, mentioned that she was interested in moving to the United States if we could make that happen. We knew we had a brilliant business model (no other competitor across the world passed back all of the Cash Back as we did) and we were keen on expansion and helping even more people save money. So it didn’t take us long to take her up on her offer.
She went on to head up the U.S. launch, and what started as a quick decision became a major part of TopCashback.
We certainly didn't have some huge, carefully crafted international expansion strategy. We saw an opportunity, had someone enthusiastic about making it happen and decided to give it a go. Looking back 15 years later at what the U.S. business has become, we're very glad we did!
We wanted to build something which would help our members to save money and have more of a community around it—something people would have a reason to return to regularly.
How has TopCashback changed since you first joined the company?
Rich: We are much bigger than we were in 2011, and are involved in many more markets globally. We are also a very clear market leader in the UK—and this was far from the case 15 years ago. Time and scale have brought complexity and regulation, but also opportunities that we are more able to seize. However, the core principles on which the company was founded have stood up well to all these changes, and remain as key to us now as when I started working at TopCashback.
What’s one misconception about Cash Back that you’d like to clear up?
Mike: That it is too good to be true!
The basic principle behind Cash Back is actually quite straightforward. Retailers pay companies like TopCashback a commission for sending them a customer. Rather than keeping that commission as profit, our model is to pass it back to the member as Cash Back.
So you're not getting money for nothing—you're receiving the value generated when your purchase is referred to a retailer through TopCashback. Once people understand where the money comes from, Cash Back makes a lot more sense.
How does offering Green Cash Back merchants fit into TopCashback’s broader values as a company?
Olly: We actually ran a survey asking our members if they would be keen on shopping more sustainably and if anything was holding them back. The vast majority wanted to shop more sustainably but didn’t know where to start.
Green Cash Back helps bridge that gap so our members can discover brands and products that may be more sustainable while still giving them the value they expect from TopCashback. We’re not there to tell people how they should spend their money, but we can make it easier and more rewarding for members who want to make those choices.
It fits with our broader philosophy: give people the information, value and choice they need to make the right decisions for themselves, while also doing what’s right for the environment.
What do you see as the biggest opportunity for TopCashback over the next few years?
Rich: I think opportunities and threats can often be two sides of the same coin, and I think the most obvious example of that currently is, of course, AI. Its effect is being felt in almost every aspect of our lives, and this provides a massive opportunity for us as a business. While I am optimistic about our plans and strategies in this regard, I am well aware that navigating any business through such a period of externally-driven change comes with challenges too. Outside of this, having launched in numerous countries in recent years has created an opportunity for continued growth and adoption of our unique approach to Cash Back, which is something I am really excited about.
Despite our rapid growth and expansion over many years, we’ve kept to our core principles of doing business in a fair and transparent way.
What are you most proud of about where TopCashback is right now?
Rich: I would probably come back to the enduring culture that we’ve created as a company. Despite our rapid growth and expansion over many years, we’ve kept to our core principles of doing business in a fair and transparent way. We have built a truly sustainable business in all definitions of that word, from never taking on a single dollar of debt in our 21-year history, through having founders that have reinvested the majority of the business profits back into environmentally-driven initiatives and investments.
What do you hope TopCashback looks like 15 years from now?
Mike: We’re really proud of every aspect of TopCashback right now. So in many ways we wouldn’t want anything to radically change. But if we can help even more people to save money in the future, whilst growing the company in a sustainable way, then that would be perfect.
We don’t have a crystal ball to tell us the future. Technology will undoubtedly change enormously over the next 15 years, as will the way people shop. AI will likely play a major role in that, and there will be opportunities we can't even see today.
But almost certainly people will still gravitate towards a business that puts members first, treats colleagues and people fairly, provides genuinely good value and doesn't lose sight of why it exists.
If we can continue adapting to how people shop while staying true to those principles, we’d be very happy to see where we are when TopCashback USA celebrates its 30th birthday.
by Michelle Harris
Michelle Harris is a Senior Copywriter at TopCashback. When she’s not writing about money-saving tips, she enjoys hiking, cooking and spoiling her cat.
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