| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fintech |
| Founded | January 2014 in San Francisco |
| Founders | Ryan Breslow and Eric Feldman |
| Headquarters | San Francisco |
Area served | North America, Europe |
Key people | Ryan Breslow (Executive Chairman) Maju Kuruvilla (CEO) |
| Products | Bolt CheckoutOS Bolt SSO Commerce Commerce Everywhere |
Number of employees | 735 [citation needed] |
| Website | www |
Bolt Financial Inc. (Bolt) is an American financial technology startup. It provides independent retailers with a one-click checkout platform that integrates checkout, payment, and fraud prevention. It also enables a one-click checkout experience for shoppers across a unified cross-brand network of ecommerce sites. [1] Headquartered in San Francisco, Bolt was founded in 2014.
History
edit2014-2018: Founding, Bolt v.1
editBolt was founded by Stanford University computer science students Ryan Breslow and Eric Feldman in 2014. Amazon held the patent on one-click checkout until 2017; Breslow believed that the checkout options for the rest of the internet were limiting and inefficient. Focused on developing an integrated payment stack that would simplify the checkout experience for consumers and "democratize commerce" by helping independent retailers compete with Amazon, he founded Bolt in his dorm room.[2] [3] Ten people worked on Bolt's middleware in stealth mode for two years, and in mid-2016 the first version of Bolt was launched. [4]
2018-2020: Bolt CheckoutOS, retail network and user growth
editIn 2018, with a staff of 30 -- including engineers recruited from Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Airbnb -- Bolt launched its full checkout experience product. It integrated customer checkout, payment processing, and fraud detection, and partnered with major ecommerce platforms, payment processors, buy-now pay-later and alternate payment method providers. [5] A universal log-in allowed consumers to check out at multiple retail sites with one click. [6] The company subsequently raised $90 million in venture capital. [7]
In the 12 months that followed the introduction of Bolt CheckoutOS, Bolt handled more than $1bn annualized payment volume and completed 1.5 million transactions. [8] Its users doubled from 2.2 million to 4.5 million during the second half of 2020. [9] An additional $125 million was raised in Series C and C1 venture rounds in July 2020.[10]
In November 2020, the company signed a partnership agreement with Authentic Brands Group to provide checkout technology for its portfolio of brands, including Forever 21, Lucky Brand, Brooks Brothers, Aéropostale, Juicy Couture, Nautica, and Sports Illustrated.[11]
2021-present: Bolt SSO Commerce, European expansion, Acquisitions
editIn May 2021, Bolt introduced a single sign-on checkout application, Bolt SSO Commerce, that allowed consumers to simultaneously create Bolt accounts and store accounts or add store accounts to existing Bolt accounts. It also provided shoppers with access to their purchase history and information related to loyalty programs, and allowed retailers to reclaim first-party data. [12]
In October 2021, Bolt raised $393 million in Series D funding, bringing the company's lifetime raise to $608m and its valuation to $6 billion. [1][13]
The company expanded into Europe in November 2021 as the LVMH-owned Benefit Cosmetics announced that it would use Bolt checkout for its UK, France, Germany and US e-commerce sites. [14] The same month, Bolt made its first acquisition with Tipser, a Swedish-based technology company enabling direct checkout on any digital surface.[15]
In April 2022, Bolt acquired the Crypto startup, Wyre Payments Inc., for $1.5 billion. [16]
In January 2022, Bolt's valuation rose to $11bn.[17] That month, Breslow transitioned to executive chairman in February 2022 and Bolt CTO and CPO, Maju Kuruvilla, who previously led Amazon's international shipping and logistics organization, was named CEO. [18][9]
Culture
editBreslow worked with Bolt employees to develop the Conscious Culture Playbook. Replacing a traditional employee handbook, it sets guidelines for employees that combine mindfulness principles with standards for performance and execution.[19] Bolt launched conscious.org in May 2021 to make the Conscious Culture Playbook freely available to other companies and organizations.[20]
In 2021, Bolt adopted a 4-day workweek. [21]In an interview with Fast Company Breslow said: “It’s all about keeping standards of execution high, while still putting the team’s health and well-being first.” [22]
Recognition
editBolt appeared on the Inc. “Best Places to Work” list in 2019 [23]and the Forbes "Fintech 50" in 2020. [5] in 2021, Bolt vas placed at #64 on the Inc. 5000. [24]. It also appeared as a Fast Company Best Workplace for Innovators in 2021.[25]
References
edit- ^ a b "Fintech Startup Bolt Sees Valuation Surge to $6 Billion". Bloomberg.com. 2021-10-12. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ^ Wharton Business. "Why Amazon's '1-Click' Ordering Was a Game Changer". Knowledge@Wharton. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ Pimentel, Benjamin. "This CEO dropped out of Stanford, but secretly started his company in his old dorm. Now, he's raised $90 million to help companies challenge Amazon with better payments technology". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "Bolt launches an Amazon-like checkout experience for the rest of online retail". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
- ^ a b Kauflin, Jeff. "The Future Of Payments: Fintech 50 2021". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "Bolt launches an Amazon-like checkout experience for the rest of online retail". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "Bolt raises $68 million to simplify ecommerce". VentureBeat. 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ Fuscaldo, Donna. "eCommerce Checkout Platform Bolt Raises $68 Million In Funding". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ a b Balogh, Shannen. "One-click checkout startup Bolt nabbed an Amazon exec to lead its tech as it looks to help retailers take on the giant online marketplace". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
- ^ "Bolt Inks $75M Series C1 Funding". vcnewsdaily.com. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "How single-click checkout is underpinning Authentic Brands' revamped retail strategy". Glossy. 2020-11-19. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ Lucas, Peter. "Bolt Financial Launches Single Store Account Creation and Payment for E-Commerce Merchants". Digital Transactions. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "As Bolt Network Grows, Merchants and Consumers See Tangible Benefits". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ^ "Benefit Cosmetics is upping its global DTC checkout experience". Glossy. 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "Bolt makes first acquisition with Tipser, launches 'Remote Checkout'". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ Vigna, Paul (2022-04-07). "WSJ News Exclusive | Crypto Startup Wyre Being Acquired by Payments Company Bolt for $1.5 Billion". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
- ^ Peng, Ilena (January 26, 2022). "Startup Bolt Nearly Doubles Valuation to $11 Billion". Retrieved March 24, 2022.
- ^ "Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow resigns two weeks after securing $11 billion valuation for the fintech startup". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ Lagorio-Chafkin, Christine (2021-11-08). "This Company Has a Public Playbook for Developing Great Company Culture". Inc.com. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ Mehta, Stephanie (2021-05-25). "This fintech startup thinks it can help companies build conscious business cultures". Fast Company. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
- ^ Pasquini, Maria. "U.S. Company Moved to a 4-Day Workweek — and Says Avoiding 'Work Theater' Improved Productivity". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
- ^ Mehta, Stephanie (2022-01-04). "Tech company Bolt is permanently embracing a 4-day workweek". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ staff, Inc (2019-05-16). "The 346 Best Places to Work in 2019". Inc.com. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
{{cite web}}:|first=has generic name (help) - ^ "Bolt". Inc.com. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ Staff, Fast Company (2021-08-04). "Five medium-size companies earn Best Workplaces for Innovators recognition". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-03-24.