20VC: Revolut Founder Nik Storonsky on When and Where Revolut Will IPO & What Revolut Need to Do to Hit $100BN Valuation
Dec 4, 2024
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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.
Nik Storonsky emphasizes the importance of KPI-based leadership to ensure alignment and accountability across Revolut's teams for rapid growth.
He reflects on the challenges of navigating regulatory frameworks, advocating for acquiring banking licenses before customer base establishment to avoid scrutiny.
Deep dives
The Competitive Landscape of Financial Products
The episode discusses the challenges faced by UK financial products in competing with their US counterparts, highlighting issues of liquidity and cost. It emphasizes that the UK offerings are generally less liquid and carry additional duties, making them more expensive and less rational for customers. The speaker expresses a preference for listing products in the US, indicating a belief in the superiority of the US financial landscape unless a better product emerges from the UK. This perspective reflects a keen observation of market dynamics and prioritization of competitive advantages.
Revolut's Growth and Operational Strategies
Nick Staronsky, founder and CEO of Revolut, shares insights on the company's rapid expansion, targeting a user base of 50 million and aiming for $2.2 billion in revenue. He explains the importance of KPI-based leadership, detailing how specific goals are set and cascaded down to teams and individuals, ensuring alignment across the organization. The management style focuses on direct accountability and performance reviews, allowing for the selection of high-performing employees who can work independently towards their objectives. This rigorous performance management fosters a culture of excellence within the company.
Challenges in Regulatory Compliance and Market Entry
Staronsky provides valuable lessons learned from navigating regulatory frameworks, particularly the complexities associated with obtaining banking licenses in new markets. He shares that acquiring licenses before customer acquisition is preferable, as regulators tend to scrutinize established customer bases more rigorously. Additionally, the conversation reveals his growth as a leader, adapting his approach based on past experiences with regulatory bodies and recognizing the importance of clear communication about Revolut's innovative operations. His reflections showcase a proactive stance towards governance, even amidst regulatory challenges.
Innovative Approaches to Product Development
The discussion touches on Revolut's strategy for product development, highlighting an approach that favors testing numerous initial concepts or 'bets' simultaneously. Out of 27 launched products in recent years, only a handful have outperformed, but those that have shown promise are nurtured for expansion. The CEO illustrates the need for simplicity in the user interface despite a diverse product offering, maintaining that an effective arrangement can enhance user experience. Moreover, Staronsky emphasizes his belief in continual evaluation and learning from product performance metrics to optimize Revolut's offerings.
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?
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