Revolut Ltd.

Nikolay Storonsky founded Revolut in July 2015 after becoming frustrated with the foreign exchange fees charged by traditional banks. Storonsky, a former derivatives trader at Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers, launched Revolut with a simple proposition: a prepaid card that offered interbank exchange rates with no markup. The product launched at a London fintech event. Three thousand people signed up in the first day.

Revolut was rejected from Y Combinator. Storonsky responded by growing the user base through aggressive referral schemes and word of mouth among the expat and frequent traveller communities in London. The product was genuinely useful for anyone travelling internationally — saving 3-5% on every foreign transaction compared to traditional banks. By 2017, Revolut had two million users without a significant marketing budget.

A 2018 Wired investigation described Revolut's internal culture as one of the most intense in British tech — with employees expected to work unpaid trial periods, an obsession with metrics over wellbeing, and a leadership style described as confrontational. Storonsky disputed many of the claims but acknowledged that Revolut's early culture had been built for speed over sustainability. The controversy prompted changes to HR practices but did not slow growth.

Revolut raised funding at a $33 billion valuation in July 2021 — making it the most valuable private technology company in the United Kingdom. Simultaneously, Revolut's application for a UK banking licence was stalled at the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority, with regulators reportedly concerned about corporate governance and financial controls. The banking licence, applied for in 2021, was not granted until 2024.

Revolut finally received its UK banking licence in July 2024 — three years after applying. The licence allowed Revolut to offer insured deposits and loans in the UK, transforming it from a payments app into a full bank. A secondary share sale in 2024 valued the company at $45 billion, making it one of the most valuable private companies in Europe. Storonsky, who had been rejected by Y Combinator nine years earlier, was worth approximately $9 billion.