Markus Villig (born December 17, 1993) is an Estonian billionaire entrepreneur and founder and CEO of global shared mobility company Bolt Technology OÜ.[1] As of 2019, he is Europe's youngest founder of a billion dollar company (unicorn). Following Bolt's fundraise in late 2021 which saw the company reach an $8.4 billion valuation,[2] Markus became Europe's youngest self-made billionaire aged 27.[3]
Biography
After finishing high school in Tallinn in the spring 2013, Markus began working on the initial development of Bolt. With a €5,000 loan from his family, he was able to create the first prototype of the app while personally recruiting drivers on the streets of Tallinn.[4]
In September 2013 he enrolled at the University of Tartu to study computer science. However, he left at the end of his first semester to work on the company full time.[1][5]
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.[6] Additionally, in 2018, he was honored as EY's Estonian Entrepreneur of the Year at the World Entrepreneur of the Year Business Forum.[7]
References
- Adam Santariano. A Scrappy Start-Up Tests Uber The Toronto Star, May 12, 2019, retrieved March 18, 2025^
- Bolt raises $709M at an $8.4B valuation to expand its transportation and food delivery super app 11 January 2022^
- Europe's Youngest Billionaire