Mike Saraswat is Co-Founder and CEO of Stoa, a UK fintech revolutionising cash management by offering consumers and SMEs upfront rewards on their deposits instead of traditional interest.

Mike built and led Ekstasy, a London creative advertising agency, where he drove brand and customer growth for unicorn-status fintechs including Starling Bank, SumUp, and Klarna, as well as global brands like Amazon, Samsung, and Oracle.

Mike holds an MSc in Media and Communications Regulation and Policy from the London School of Economics and believes founders have a duty to create solutions that give people choice, not more debt.

With 17+ years in brand building, go-to-market strategy, and scaling ventures, Mike co-founded Stoa after recognising that over 614 billion pounds in UK savings sat idle in low-yield or non-interest-bearing accounts.

Stoa launched out of stealth in November 2025, secured a $2.4M pre-seed round led by Bespokeist Partners and Ingenii Capital, and is now live in the UK with plans to expand into the US SME market.