Marcus Vilig, the founder of Bolt, is the youngest self-made billionaire in the European Union. He grew up in Estonia, a small country, and started building websites for local businesses at a young age. Inspired by his brother's work at Skype, Marcus decided to enter the tech startup world and participate in hackathons.
In 2013, Marcus started Bolt, a taxi ordering app. He faced numerous challenges, including signing up drivers and securing initial funding. Despite these hurdles, Bolt launched in Talin, Estonia, in August 2013. The company quickly became the local market leader, handling 50,000 rides per month.
Bolt's initial prototype was rudimentary and Marcus had to rely on small funding rounds from local and unknown investors. He was turned down by every single venture capital fund he pitched, but he didn't give up. Instead, he focused on expanding into obscure markets where others wouldn't dare to tread.
Bolt expanded into Africa, a market ignored by most competitors. Despite having zero experience in Africa, Marcus focused on the economic opportunity and made strategic moves, such as offering locally popular payment methods and partnering with local financing companies to help new drivers get cars.
Today, Bolt serves 100 million customers in 45 countries, with a significant presence in Africa. The company has also entered the micro-mobility space with the launch of scooter sharing and is planning to expand its car rental service, Bolt Drive, across Europe.
Marcus's vision is to build Bolt into one of the largest technology companies in Europe, making transportation more efficient with technology. He believes that the only company that operates with the same strategy as Bolt is Amazon.
1. Marcus Villig, born in 1993 in Estonia, is the founder of Bolt, the fastest-growing transportation company in Europe and Africa.
2. Bolt serves 100 million customers in 45 countries.
3. The company was recently valued by investors at over 8 billion dollars.
4. Despite being the founder of a massive company, Marcus was a teenager who aspired to be a scientist and was not aware of his own success.
5. Marcus started Bolt in 2013 when he was 19 years old, with very limited resources.
6. His brother, Martin, joined as a co-founder later, and they operated on a shoestring budget for several months.
7. Bolt's initial prototype was held together by digital duct tape, and Marcus had to fix the technical debt himself.
8. Marcus was unable to secure venture capital for international expansion, so he got creative with funding strategies.
9. Bolt's frugality and lower overhead compared to Uber allowed it to take smaller commissions from drivers while offering better prices to riders.
10. Bolt expanded into Africa, a market ignored by most competitors, and was able to beat Uber despite being more than 10 times smaller.
11. Bolt entered the micro-mobility space with the launch of scooter sharing in 2018.
12. In 2021, Bolt launched Bolt Drive, a short-term car rental service, which allows users to rent a car with fuel insurance and parking included.
13. Despite the high capital requirements, Marcus believes that the business model for car sharing has merit.
14. Bolt plans to expand Bolt Drive into nine cities across Europe in 2023.
15. Marcus aims to build Bolt into one of the largest technology companies in Europe, comparing its strategy to that of Amazon.