Nikolay Storonsky prides himself on straight answers. “Ninety-five per cent of founders, they will bullshit you. I’m not going to do it,” says the co-founder and chief executive of Revolut, which offers app-based financial services. The matter-of-fact 33-year-old is talking about work-life balance. He has little time for it.
“I can’t see how work-life balance will help you to build a start-up,” he says. “You are competing with bigger players, with better funded start-ups; you’re competing for customers, you don’t have resources. So how are you going to win this game?”
There is no doubt that he is building one of the UK’s most promising and fast-growing young businesses, with brand recognition to match: all 59 Team GB athletes at the Winter Olympics in South Korea have been given pre-paid Revolut Visa cards.