Markus Villig
Markus Villig at Web Summit 2018
Born (1993-12-17) December 17, 1993
TitleFounder and CEO of Bolt

Markus Villig (born 1993) is an Estonian billionaire entrepreneur and founder and CEO of global mobility company Bolt Technology OÜ.

Biography

After finishing high school in Tallinn in the spring 2013, Markus began working on the first iteration of Bolt after receiving a €5,000 loan from his family. This allowed him to build the first prototype of the app while he recruited drivers personally on the streets of Tallinn.[1]

In September 2013 he enrolled at the University of Tartu to study Computer Science, however left at the end of his first semester to work on the company full-time.

Today Bolt has grown into a global mobility company with over 100 million customers across 45 countries and five products — ride-hailing, micromobility rental, food and grocery delivery (via the Bolt Food app), and car-sharing.

In January 2022 Bolt was valued at $8.4 billion after raising $709 million in new funding led by Sequoia Capital and Fidelity Investments. [2] The valuation made Markus the youngest self-made billionaire in Europe.[3]

Markus has received numerous accolades in recognition of his achievements as an entrepreneur. In 2016 he was featured as the youngest CEO in the Forbes 30 under 30 list in the Baltics and also received the presidential award for the Best Young Entrepreneur in Estonia.[4] In 2018 he was named EY’s Estonian Entrepreneur of the Year at the World Entrepreneur of the Year Business Forum[5] and Estonian national newspaper Äripaev also named him Entrepreneur of the Year in 2022.[6]

In November 2022, Markus was made a Partner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Estonia, which recognises individuals who support the country’s foreign policy interests, for his contribution in supporting Ukraine following its invasion by Russia.[7]

Markus is an active early-stage angel investor and has invested in companies including Yaga, a platform for buying and selling second-hand fashion goods, and KOOS, a stakeholder incentivisation platform. He continues to live and work in Tallinn.

References

  1. ↑ McKeever, Vicky (21 October 2019). "How a college dropout became Europe's youngest founder of a billion-dollar company". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  2. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (2022-01-11). "Bolt raises $709M at an $8.4B valuation to expand its transportation and food delivery super app". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  3. ↑ "Rikaste TOP: Markus Villig kihutas Boltiga miljardäriks". Äripäev (in Estonian). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  4. ↑ "Markus Villig (CEO & Founder at Taxify) on growth, raising capital and sharing economy". Startup Grind. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  5. ↑ "Taxify asutajad püüavad Monacos Maailma Aasta Ettevõtja tiitlit". Digigeenius. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  6. ↑ "Äripäev valis aasta ettevõtjaks Markus Villigu". Äripäev (in Estonian). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  7. ↑ "Foreign Minister awards Crosses of Merit for contributions to Estonian statehood and foreign policy | Välisministeerium". www.vm.ee. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
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