Nik Storonsky, Co-founder and CEO of Revolut, discusses the tech company's meteoric rise with a $45BN valuation and ambitions for an IPO. He reveals what’s needed for Revolut to hit a staggering $100BN valuation and why no challenger bank has yet conquered the US market. Nik shares the lessons learned from hiring mistakes and the importance of maintaining rapid execution as the company scales. He also addresses the intricacies of brand marketing and regulatory hurdles in U.S. banking and his vision for Revolut's future in Europe.
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insights INSIGHT
Brand Marketing Matters
Nik Storonsky now believes in brand marketing, though it's hard to measure.
He suggests incorporating it when affordable, citing airport jet bridges as an example.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Early Licensing
Secure banking licenses before acquiring a large customer base.
Regulators are more thorough with established companies, making the process longer.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Direct Regulator Interaction
Nik Storonsky initially avoided direct interaction with regulators, relying on experienced banking CEOs.
He now believes speaking directly and transparently with regulators is more effective.
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Nik Storonsky is the Co-Founder and CEO of Revolut, one of the fastest-growing companies in the world with a $45BN valuation and 50M customers around the world. In July 2024, Revolut posted a whopping $2.2BN in revenue with $545M in pre-tax profit in 2023. To date, Nik has raised $1.8BN for the company from the likes of Index, Balderton, Ribbit, DST and TCV.
In Today's Show with Nik Storonsky We Discuss:
1. When & Where Will Revolut IPO:
What does Revolut need to do or change before they are ready to go public?
When would Nik like for Revolut to go public?
When they do go public, where would Nik list? Would it be in London?
How does Nik respond to claims that he has moved to Dubai for tax reasons?
2. What Revolut Needs to Achieve to Hit $100BN:
Why has no challenger bank won the US market yet?
What will Revolut do differently to allow them to win the US market?
What market share will Revolut have in Europe in 3 years time?
What line of the business that does not exist today, will be the biggest in 5 years time?
3. How to Build an Execution Machine:
Why does Nik believe the biggest mistake he made was hiring senior managers?
What have been Nik's biggest lessons on how to hire for roles you have never hired for before? What works? What does not?
How does Nik retain insane velocity of execution at scale?
How does Nik bucket people into three different buckets? What does each bucket mean for the type of work they do and the expectations placed on them?
4. How Revolut Tests New Products:
How does Revolut use a portfolio approach to test new product ideas?
How are teams for new ideas structured? What roles do they have?
How much time and resources are they given?
What is the tracking process to determine the success of new products?
What % of new products do succeed and progress to the core app?
Which product did Nik think would be massive but turned out to be a flop?
What did Nik not expect to be massive and turned out to be mega hit?
5. The UK and Europe: Are We F******:
The Chancellor has said we will have no growth in the UK for the next 3 years. How does it feel for Nik to grow Revolut in this environment?
If Nik could advise Keir Starmer on how to turn the UK around, what would he say?
Why does Nik believe the US has created so many more $100BN companies?
Why does Nik believe that work/life imbalance is the secret to success and happiness?
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch 