Who are we?
Stoa was founded by Mike Saraswat and Sam Goodenough, two co-founders a decade apart on the millennial spectrum but united by the same values: money should work harder for the people who earn it, whether they are consumers or businesses.
Both saw the same problem. The government and banks leave consumers, startups and small businesses with almost no meaningful options for their cash balances. A recent Barclays report in the Financial Times found British savers hold more than £614 billion in excess cash. Globally, dormant cash remains a $50tn+ problem. That frustration, seeing so much wasted potential, is what sparked Stoa.
We believe our relationship with money is broken. There are countless tools to help us spend and borrow, but almost none to help us save better. Stoa exists to change that.
The Founders
Mike studied MSc in Media Regulation and Policy at the London School of Economics back in 2006 (yes, he’s the “older” one). After a short stint on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, he built a creative advertising agency in London. He led brand and customer growth campaigns for technology companies including Starling Bank, SumUp, Klarna, Amazon, Oracle, Samsung and SES Satellites.
Sam studied Computer Engineering at King’s College London and went on to build deep expertise in blockchain technology and financial services. He has worked on previous tech startups and also has experience in operations management at Vodafone.
Together, they share a conviction:
What We’re Building
Stoa promises to delight customers with financial products that are as useful as they are refreshing. We are starting with:
Stoa Pots, where customers get free perks when they save.
Saving Score, the world’s first savings behaviour tracker and global data index to sit alongside the credit score.
If you ever want to grab a coffee with Sam and Mike, drop them an email at mike@stoa.money and sam@stoa.money.
Follow their journey as they grow Stoa into a cornerstone global brand, starting from the UK and soon expanding across the US.
