Nik Storonsky argues a UK listing is irrational because UK-traded shares are less liquid and carry a stamp duty that US trading avoids.
Storonsky says hiring about 55 senior managers through executive recruiters was his biggest mistake, with 49 or 50 later fired.
Storonsky says Revolut should have secured its banking licence before gaining many customers, and that US expansion waits until its UK bank launches first.
Revolut's founder lays out his plan for a global bank
Revolut is built on the bet that technology lets one company become a truly global bank, which legacy banks cannot do. Storonsky pursues it with demanding talent standards, many parallel product bets and an early focus on regulators. The listing plan and the US push follow from that scale ambition, with liquidity, licences and control as the practical constraints.
Takeaways
Revolut keeps only excellent or strong people. Storonsky sets five or six quantified company goals a year, cascaded to individuals, with quarterly reviews on metrics, skills and cultural values. He has more than 40 direct reports and says average people need weekly iteration to hit goals.
Hiring senior managers through recruiters was his biggest mistake. He hired about 55 senior managers through executive recruiters and later fired 49 or 50 of them. He says hiring consultants signals incompetent staff, and for an unfamiliar role he first interviews the whole market to learn the skills.
Get the banking licence before scaling customers. Storonsky says Revolut should have secured its licence earlier, and that engaging regulators directly worked better than hiring a traditional banking CEO. Rules on its UK crypto licence wrongly blocked transfers in 99.9% of cases. He still defends stablecoins as competition to SWIFT.
US fintechs stall by partnering with banks. Storonsky says partnering avoids regulation but slows companies down, and that the US is a credit-driven market. Revolut will build its US brand only after it holds a US bank licence, and the UK bank must launch first. He says winning the US is too early within three years.
Revolut runs more than 20 product bets in parallel. It launched 27 bets in about three years and five or six failed outright. Each takes around ten people one to one and a half years. Winners grow from month one. A credit card rival drew about 100 users because its sales funnel was weak.
A US listing beats London on liquidity and tax. Storonsky calls a UK listing irrational, citing thinner liquidity and a 0.5% tax on UK share trading that US trading lacks. He says Revolut already runs like a public company, and VC investors will eventually want liquidity.
Founder control protects primary fundraising. He says early investors who want to sell at a large discount make raising hard for founders without control. In 2019 a 7bn term sheet was withdrawn after the market fell 10%, the valuation became about 5bn, and the round closed just before COVID.
Targets and predictions
Live in 50 markets in three years, up from 39.
Number one in 19 or 20 of those markets.
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On this episode 2
Show 1
30 to 40m customers, up from around 10m today.
Market share of 30 to 40 percent in the top ten markets, against an average near 10% now.
Banking consolidates into a few global players over five years, and tech lets Revolut build a global bank where legacy banks cannot.