At 19, Markus Villig founded Bolt with a €5,000 family loan, turning a small taxi app into a global mobility platform spanning ride-hailing, scooters, and deliveries – while championing sustainability and lean growth from Estonia to 50+ countries.
Markus Villig launched Bolt (then Taxify), turning it into one of the world’s leading mobility platforms. Born in 1993 on Saaremaa, he grew up in a newly independent Estonia inspired by its tech boom, including his brother Martin’s work at Skype. Frustrated with Tallinn’s unreliable taxis, Markus built an app, recruited drivers face-to-face, and soon left university to run the business full-time alongside Martin and engineer Oliver Leisalu.
From the start, Bolt undercut rivals by charging lower commissions to drivers and offering cheaper rides to passengers. With no big funding, growth came through frugality, word of mouth, and smart market choices – targeting smaller cities in Europe and untapped markets in Africa where global giants weren’t yet present. This strategy caught the eye of China’s DiDi Chuxing in 2017, bringing both capital and credibility.
In 2019, Taxify became Bolt, expanding into electric scooters, food delivery, car sharing, and grocery delivery – aiming to be a one-stop urban mobility app. Villig’s leadership stayed hands-on and grounded; even as CEO, he dives into product details, hires for potential over prestige, and keeps operations lean. His commitment to sustainability led to Europe-wide carbon-neutral rides, greener fleets, and a pledge for full climate neutrality by 2030.
Bolt’s resilience showed during the COVID-19 crisis, when revenue collapsed but Villig avoided layoffs by cutting pay across the company and shifting focus to deliveries. By 2020, the business was growing again, now serving over 100 million customers in 45+ countries.
Recently, Villig has also stepped into Estonia’s growing defence tech scene. Together with fellow founder Ragnar Sass, he launched the Estonian Defence Meetup series to bring startup energy into the sector, raise awareness among investors, and support innovation vital for Europe’s security.
Despite being Europe’s youngest self-made billionaire, Villig lives modestly in Tallinn without a car, embodying Bolt’s vision of greener cities – and proving a small Estonian startup can challenge the world’s biggest players and win.
Rooted in Estonia concept
Markus Villig stands with the skyline of Tallinn behind him – not as a finish line, but as an open horizon. In front of him, the momentum of one of Europe’s fastest-growing tech companies. Eight hundred years of cityscape meet the split-second decisions of ride-hailing algorithms.
Tallinn has always been a place of movement. Villig’s vision updated the vehicle. What once took days now takes minutes. What was once a walled city is now a launchpad. With Bolt, mobility becomes democratic: shared, swift, sustainable.
He doesn’t just navigate streets; he reimagines them. In a city where medieval bricks sit beside glass facades, Villig proves that innovation doesn’t erase history – it accelerates through it. The past gave us towers. The present? Wheels. The future? Still up for the ride.
