<description>&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;Markus Villig is the Founder and CEO of Bolt, a global mobility platform with more than 200 million lifetime customers in more than 50 countries and 600 cities. Bolt has raised over €1 billion in funding from investors like Sequoia, D1 and G Squared, making Markus the youngest founder of a billion-dollar company in Europe.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;&lt;span style= "text-decoration: underline; font-size: 14pt;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;In Today’s Episode with Markus Villig:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;1. &lt;strong&gt;Starting an $8BN Company:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;How did Markus come up with the idea for Bolt before Uber existed?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;How did Markus find his co-founder? Why did 30 people turn down the chance to co-found Bolt? What are Markus’ biggest tips on finding a co-founder?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;How did Markus use a $5K loan from his parents as the pre-seed round?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;How did Markus get the first riders for Bolt? What worked? What did not work?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;How did Markus get the first driver for Bolt? What worked? What did not work?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;2. &lt;strong&gt;Expanding to be a Global Champion:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;How did Markus expand Bolt to $10M in ARR on just $1M of funding?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;What did the international expansion playbook look like? What worked? What did not work? How has it changed over time?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;What one simple change led to their becoming the leader in Africa?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;What was the best country to launch? What was the worst?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;What is the most profitable country today? What is the least?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;3. &lt;strong&gt;The $8BN Company that no VC Wanted to Fund:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;Why did every large VC in Europe turn down Bolt early on?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;How did a real estate company in the Baltics save Bolt with lifeline funding?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;When did Sequoia come into the mix? Does Sequoia move the needle for your company when they invest?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;How do New York financially driven investors differ to the traditional VC ecosystem?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;What would Markus most like to change about the world of VC?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;4. &lt;strong&gt;The Future: Micromobility, Self-Driving Cars, Uber:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;Will the rise of self-driving cars harm or help companies like Bolt and Uber?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;What is the future for micromobility? Does it cannibalise the core business for Bolt and Uber?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;What is Uber better at Bolt doing? What are Uber worse at than Bolt? How will that change moving forward?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"&gt; &lt;p dir="ltr" role="presentation"&gt;Waymo, buy or short? Why?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

Harry Stebbings

20VC: Bolt; The Most Insane Story in Startups | Turning a $5K Loan into an $8BN Company | Why Every VC Turned Down One of Europe's Biggest Winners | Competing with Uber & The Future of Micromobility and Self-Driving

NOV 13, 202489 MIN
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

20VC: Bolt; The Most Insane Story in Startups | Turning a $5K Loan into an $8BN Company | Why Every VC Turned Down One of Europe's Biggest Winners | Competing with Uber & The Future of Micromobility and Self-Driving

NOV 13, 202489 MIN

Description

Markus Villig is the Founder and CEO of Bolt, a global mobility platform with more than 200 million lifetime customers in more than 50 countries and 600 cities. Bolt has raised over €1 billion in funding from investors like Sequoia, D1 and G Squared, making Markus the youngest founder of a billion-dollar company in Europe.

In Today’s Episode with Markus Villig:

1. Starting an $8BN Company:

  • How did Markus come up with the idea for Bolt before Uber existed?

  • How did Markus find his co-founder? Why did 30 people turn down the chance to co-found Bolt? What are Markus’ biggest tips on finding a co-founder?

  • How did Markus use a $5K loan from his parents as the pre-seed round?

  • How did Markus get the first riders for Bolt? What worked? What did not work?

  • How did Markus get the first driver for Bolt? What worked? What did not work?

2. Expanding to be a Global Champion:

  • How did Markus expand Bolt to $10M in ARR on just $1M of funding?

  • What did the international expansion playbook look like? What worked? What did not work? How has it changed over time?

  • What one simple change led to their becoming the leader in Africa?

  • What was the best country to launch? What was the worst?

  • What is the most profitable country today? What is the least?

3. The $8BN Company that no VC Wanted to Fund:

  • Why did every large VC in Europe turn down Bolt early on?

  • How did a real estate company in the Baltics save Bolt with lifeline funding?

  • When did Sequoia come into the mix? Does Sequoia move the needle for your company when they invest?

  • How do New York financially driven investors differ to the traditional VC ecosystem?

  • What would Markus most like to change about the world of VC?

4. The Future: Micromobility, Self-Driving Cars, Uber:

  • Will the rise of self-driving cars harm or help companies like Bolt and Uber?

  • What is the future for micromobility? Does it cannibalise the core business for Bolt and Uber?

  • What is Uber better at Bolt doing? What are Uber worse at than Bolt? How will that change moving forward?

  • Waymo, buy or short? Why?