In
late December 2017, Anthony Noto slipped into a San Francisco law firm’s office for a confidential meeting. At the time, he was Twitter’s chief operating officer and looking to level-up to become CEO of San Francisco’s SoFi, a fast-growing student loan startup. Noto was there to pitch the company’s board of directors in the wake of its founder, Mike Cagney, resigning in disgrace after having a relationship with an employee.
The West Point graduate and former Goldman Sachs banker launched into a PowerPoint laying out his plan for SoFi, including what he would do in his first 45, 60, 90 and 180 days. The tech startup, he argued, should act like a bank, offer a supermarket of financial services and help customers “from high school graduation to [the] grave.” Success, he said, meant growing SoFi’s market value to more than $20 billion.
Noto also came with baggage: Earlier that year, shareholders had accused him and Twitter CEO Dick Costolo of concealing a decline in the company’s daily active users, one of management’s primary engagement metrics. The lawsuit was later settled for $810 million, with Twitter, Noto and Costolo denying wrongdoing.
