Bolt Financial
A checkout company valued at $11B that ousted its controversial CEO still couldn't find product-market fit.
2014 → 2025
$1B
Fintech/E-commerce
USA
IdeaProof AI Failure Score
What Happened: The Timeline
2014
Bolt founded by Ryan Breslow
2022
Raises at $11B valuation despite minimal revenue
2022
CEO controversy, board conflict, Breslow ousted
2024-2025
Massive layoffs, struggles to justify valuation
Root Causes
Bolt built a one-click checkout solution for e-commerce, similar to Fast (which already failed). CEO Ryan Breslow became embroiled in controversy for attacking Y Combinator and Stripe on Twitter. The company raised $1B at an $11B valuation, but revenue reportedly remained under $30M annually. After Breslow was ousted, the company downsized dramatically. Like Fast, Bolt proved that one-click checkout is a feature, not a billion-dollar company.
Sources & References
Could This Failure Have Been Prevented?
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