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<div type="image" title="Fintech company Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow and colleagues smile in photo" height="853" width="1280" msid="89279688" hostid="261"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Bolt is adopting a permanent four-day workweek after a successful three-month trial.</li><li>Chief People Officer Jennifer Christie explained how the startup made the change.</li></ul>On a sunny morning in August, <keyword id="13038316" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ryan-breslow" source="Orion">Ryan Breslow</keyword> was meditating in the backyard of his Miami home when it hit him. He wanted to implement a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ecommerce-unicorn-bolt-adopts-4-day-week-after-productivity-improved-2022-1">permanent four-day workweek</a> at the company he founded, <keyword id="11898487" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fintech" source="Orion">fintech</keyword> startup Bolt. Breslow, who <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/31/ryanbreslow-bolt/">resigned from his CEO position</a> on Monday and is now the executive chairman, had been reading articles on the burgeoning <a href="https://buildremote.co/four-day-week/4-day-work-week-companies/">workplace trend</a> for months, quietly contemplating it. That summer day, he decided to move on his gut feeling that it might just work. One month later, Bolt launched a three-month pilot program, giving employees and executives a chance to see if the compressed workweek was a fit for them.It was a <a href="https://www.bolt.com/blog/what-bolters-are-saying-about-the-four-day-work-week/">resounding success</a>, according to employee feedback. Breslow implemented it as a permanent policy <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ecommerce-unicorn-bolt-adopts-4-day-week-after-productivity-improved-2022-1">in January</a> for the company's 600 employees. Job applications at the <keyword id="11894549" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="e-commerce" source="Orion">e-commerce</keyword> company have jumped 30% month over month, according to a company spokesperson. "We're never going back," Breslow wrote in a <a href="https://twitter.com/theryanking/status/1478564004356317186?s=20">tweet</a> last month, citing heightened productivity and reported employee wellness. Bolt did not immediately respond to request for comment as to why Breslow stepped down from his CEO post. Bolt, a company that wants to make the checkout process quicker and easier for retailers, is on the cutting edge of what some say is the future of work. Employees are rethinking their work-life balance amid the pandemic and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-ceos-executives-plan-address-the-great-resignation-in-2022-2022-1">the "Great Resignation."</a> The compressed work schedule has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-yang-pandemic-highlights-importance-implementing-4-day-workweek-2020-8">gaining momentum</a> over the <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90501241/my-companys-always-had-4-day-workweeks-heres-why-theyre-more-important-than-ever">past few years</a>, but interest in it seems to have spiked over the past <a href="https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2022-01-31-hutch-begins-six-month-four-day-work-week-trial">few weeks</a>."People feel really proud to work at Bolt," Bolt Chief People Officer Jennifer Christie told Insider. She explained how Bolt executed the change, the challenges leaders faced, and what the team learned from the process.<h2>How Bolt made the switch </h2><div type="image" title="Bolt's chief people officer Jennifer Christie" height="2211" width="2949" msid="89279685" hostid="261"></div>Bolt's <keyword id="11893566" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="leadership" source="Orion">leadership</keyword> team jumped into the deep end of the pool without really knowing how to swim. "It was, 'Let's just learn as we go,'" the chief people officer said. "'Let's test it out.'"The first key decision was whether to let employees choose the day they wanted off or establish one collective day. Breslow and the team went with the latter choice. Christie said, "We thought it would be easier for everyone to really take a step back if everyone took the same day off." Then, employees were informed of the three-month pilot and asked to take stock of their schedules. Workers moved meetings to Monday through Thursday and teams worked to cancel meetings they didn't feel were necessary or turn them into "asynchronous formats" like emails or videos that could be viewed at any time. Employees were also encouraged to speak with their managers if they felt their time was being wasted or spent on things that didn't help them achieve their goals. "We said, 'With those other four days, let's really sprint, let's do focused work, and let's not spend time on things that don't matter,'" said Christie, who's been involved in company conversations about the four-day workweek since October and joined the team officially on January 3.<h2>Dealing with challenges </h2>The shift hasn't been without its struggles. Fifteen percent of employees, specifically workers in sales, said they encountered "external-facing challenges" like planning meetings with prospective clients. To deal with this, employees were encouraged to either reschedule meetings to be sometime between Monday and Thursday or take the meeting and adjust their schedule the next week to make up for it. For example, an employee who had to take a one-hour phone call on Friday would tell their manager they were taking one hour off the following Monday. Another challenge was figuring out what to do when federal or company holidays rolled around. At first, the company counted the holiday as the day off for that week. For example, Labor Day, which falls on a Monday, was the day off, with workers working Tuesday through Friday that week. Some workers found this frustrating and confusing, so management walked back their decision, which resulted in multiple three-day weeks. People were surprised they could get their work done on those three days, Christie said. "I think people realized when you really kind of forced yourself to focus on the things that are most important, people even went further," she said. The other challenge is stress. Nearly 40% of the team said they felt more stress Monday through Thursday compared with a five-day schedule, according to company data. Christie said the company was continuing to reduce meetings and unnecessary tasks for employees to combat this. Still, she said, the benefits outweigh the challenges. In a company survey, 94% of employees and 91% of managers said they supported Breslow's decision to permanently adopt the four-day workweek. <h2>Encouraging other companies to consider it</h2>Overwhelmingly, workers are happier with the change. Eighty-four percent of Bolt employees said their work-life balance had improved. The same percentage reported being more productive at work. Since the pilot's launch, at least "a few" Fortune 500 companies have reached out to Bolt's team to learn more about the process of compressing the workweek. It's a sign, she said, that the policy can work for small, medium, and large companies. Christie likened the shift to a four-day workweek to adopting remote work. People thought it was impossible for industries like TV news and finance to go remote, but the majority did. "Before the pandemic, you heard so many companies say, you know, 'I think remote work is great, but, you know, that's only for tech companies and that can't ever work at my company,'" she said. "But behold, the pandemic hit and everyone figured it out." The compressed workweek, Christie said, has been driving job applications higher. Breslow and the executive team have been getting positive feedback from "across generations, across people with families, people without families," she said. "People are saying they are more present at home with their families, being able to do things that are more for their own wellness," she said. "Their friends and contacts on LinkedIn are asking if we're hiring."

A fintech startup saw a 30% spike in job applications after switching to a 4-day workweek. A top exec laid out its blueprint.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The founder and CEO of payment startup Bolt sounded off in a lengthy Twitter thread.</li><li>Breslow called <keyword id="13038315" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="stripe" source="Orion">Stripe</keyword> and <keyword id="11899188" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="y-combinator" source="Orion">Y Combinator</keyword> the "mob bosses" of Silicon Valley, among other claims.</li></ul>The CEO of payments startup Bolt, <keyword id="13038316" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ryan-breslow" source="Orion">Ryan Breslow</keyword>, turned heads on social media when he posted a lengthy Twitter thread comparing his largest competitor, Stripe, and the startup accelerator, Y Combinator to "mob bosses." Breslow's thread details how he founded Bolt and worked to transform the once-struggling payments startup into a decacorn with an $11 billion valuation. He attributed the company's success to perseverance and a strong team. But argued that the first seven years of building the startup were made even harder since YC favored Stripe, an early graduate of the accelerator's program, and pushed it more heavily to investors that it had existing relationships with. Breslow claimed that because YC could promote Stripe to its fellow alumni companies for payments, Bolt was effectively shut out from gaining them as a partner. He also claimed that Stripe and YC co-run Hacker News, a social news website operated by YC.Breslow's Twitter thread attracted thousands of shares and comments, with many praising his bravery for speaking out against what some feel to be a rigged marketplace. However, several of Breslow's claims have been disproven by those responding to his thread. He claimed that ride-hailing company Lyft chose Stripe for its payment processing because they were both YC companies, though Lyft wasn't in the accelerator's program (Breslow has since added a correction.) He also did not initially acknowledge that WePay, another payment fintech startup, was in the same YC cohort as Stripe, undermining his claim that YC does not back the company's competitors. Other well-known VCs like Sequoia's Shaun MacGuire fired back against Breslow, claiming that the main reason Breslow struggled to find investors was that his metrics were underperforming those of his competitors. And many questioned Breslow's motivation for posting such an inflammatory thread and how it could look to Bolt's investors. Breslow and Y Combinator could not be reached for comment. Are you an insider with insight to share? Contact reporters Madeline Renbarger on Signal (+1-512-968-0540) or email (<a href="mailto:mrenbarger@insider.com">mrenbarger@insider.com</a>), and Callum Burroughs via email (<a href="mailto:cburroughs@insider.com">cburroughs@insider.com</a>)

Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow called Stripe and Y Combinator the 'mob bosses' of Silicon Valley in a Twitter thread that sparked a fiery debate

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Bolt founder Ryan Breslow proposes returning as CEO with a $2 million bonus and $1 million back pay.</li><li>Breslow left Bolt in 2022 due to investor conflicts and has since run wellness marketplace Love.</li></ul>Bolt's founder and ex-CEO wants to return to the driver's seat — and he's asking for a hefty payday to come back.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolt-ceo-calls-stripe-ycombinator-mob-bosses-twitter-silicon-valley-2022-1">Ryan Breslow,</a> who founded <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ryan-breslow-startup-bolt-raising-new-funding-14-billion-valuation-2022-1">e-commerce software startup Bolt</a> a decade ago, proposed a deal to investors this week, The Information and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.newcomer.co/p/bolts-audacious-letter-to-investors">Eric Newcomer </a>reported Tuesday.The terms of the funding round were highly unusual, including a $2 million bonus for returning and $1 million in back pay for the two years he was away from the company, the outlets reported, citing a private equity partner who was involved in the deal. The partner has since said that his firm is no longer involved.Breslow left the company in early 2022 because of conflicts with investors. The 30-year-old entrepreneur's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahemerson/2024/03/11/the-billion-dollar-unraveling-of-ryan-breslow/">career</a> has been marked by controversy, including lawsuits, a fight with an early investor, and a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolt-ceo-calls-stripe-ycombinator-mob-bosses-twitter-silicon-valley-2022-1">public spat</a> with competitor Stripe and Y Combinator.Bolt's interim CEO Justin Grooms wrote in a letter to investors reviewed by The Information that the company was raising $450 million in a Series F round that would value Bolt at over $14 billion. According to Newcomer, Bolt's annualized run-rate revenue was $28 million, and its gross profit was $7 million.The deal comes with several other eyebrow-raising clauses that would further benefit Breslow, reported Newcomer and The Information:<ul><li>Breslow would get an option to sell 10% of his shares and the right to purchase Bolt subsidiaries conscious.org and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/four-day-workweek-company-bolt-productivity-jobs-fridays-weekends-2022-3">fourdayweek.com </a>from the company for $1 at any time. Breslow had <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-bolt-made-change-4-day-work-week-top-exec-2022-1">championed a four-day workweek</a>.</li><li>He would also get a new equity grant that would be "no less than the 90th percentile of CEO equity compensation packages of similar companies in Bolt's industry."</li><li>If Bolt hits a $50 billion valuation in a $100 million or greater fundraise, Breslow would receive an additional stock grant of 5% of the issued and outstanding Bolt shares.</li><li>The company would partner with Love, a wellness marketplace run by Breslow since he was ousted from Bolt.</li><li>Bolt would invest $10 million into The London Fund, a venture capital firm that appears to be one of the main investors in its current funding round. The Information reported Breslow is a director at the fund, which also invested in Love.</li></ul>Bolt's investors were also told that they would need to chip in more money for this funding round. If they fail to do so, Bolt would buy most of them out for one cent a share, a particularly aggressive "pay-to-play" move in the startup world, reported Newcomer.The proposal requires approval from an investor majority, and shareholders have from late Monday to Wednesday to decide, reported The Information.Bolt's prior investors include BlackRock, Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, and Intuit, per PitchBook. Neither Bolt nor Breslow immediately responded to Business Insider's requests for comment, sent outside standard business hours.

E-commerce startup Bolt wants to raise new money under aggressive terms that could make its once-ousted founder rich, reports say

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Bolt is switching to a permanent four-day work week after a successful three-month trial.</li><li>Staff felt more productive and had a better work-life balance when given Fridays off. </li></ul>Ecommerce startup and tech unicorn Bolt is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/4-day-week-pilot-your-company-work-joe-sanok-2021-12?r=US&amp;IR=T">permanently switching </a>to a four-day working week.The decision was made after employees said their productivity and work-life balance improved.The San Francisco-based firm started giving most workers Fridays off in September as part of a three-month trial. Others working in customer-facing or critical roles adapted their shift pattern to provide cover, per <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90710084/tech-company-bolt-is-permanently-embracing-a-4-day-workweek">Fast Company.</a>In a <a href="https://twitter.com/theryanking/status/1478564004356317186?s=20">tweet</a>, CEO Ryan Breslow said that the company was "never going back" after the experiment led to improved productivity, engagement and wellness. Breslow shared the results of a staff poll, answered by 80% of the firm's 550 staff following its conclusion. Overall, 94% said that they wanted to continue the work model, 84% said that their work-life balance had improved, and the same percentage reported productivity improvements.Breslow told Fast Company that the trial also disproved the idea that companies cannot adapt to a four-day week and grow fast. Bolt's headcount has increased by 280 staff to 550 workers, since September. In some cases, these workers were brought in to support the schedule adaptions needed to accommodate the shift.However, a spokesperson told Fast Company that the additions had always been planned as the Bolt expanded its customer base, but that the switch had accelerated hiring. The four-day work week has been promoted not only as an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iceland-government-backed-4-day-work-week-trial?r=US&amp;IR=T">antidote to burnout</a>, but potentially as a means of helping the environment and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/4-day-work-week-companies-productvity-reality-2021-9?r=US&amp;IR=T">generally improving working conditions</a>.Bolt is the latest of a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/four-day-workweek-companies-adopting-longer-weekends-2021-6?r=US&amp;IR=T#unito-will-let-employees-choose-if-they-want-to-work-weekends-instead-of-weekdays-7">handful of companies</a> including Shake Shack, Shopify, Kickstarter, and Unilever to experiment with reduced working hours in recent years. The concept is also gaining traction at a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-progressives-back-bill-4-day-workweek-remote-work-2021-12?r=US&amp;IR=T">political level</a>. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/misconceptions-four-day-work-week-2021-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">Some choose to compress the standard work week into four days, typically giving workers Fridays off</a>. Others, instead cut standard working hours across the week, with no overall reduction in pay. Bolt staff, many of whom work remotely, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ireland-4-day-work-week-trial-common-misconceptions-2021-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">were able to improve their productivity</a> by focusing on reducing meetings and improving communication between teams and managers. The model was also flexible to enable staff to adapt during busy periods.A November <a href="https://www.bolt.com/blog/four-day-workweek-during-the-holidays/">blog</a> post explained some of the changes. It revealed that some teams revert back to a five-day week in the run-up to Black Friday, for example. Employees were also expected to be on call seven days a week over the Thanksgiving weekend. They were given time off afterwards to balance it out, however.

Ecommerce startup Bolt is switching permanently to a 4-day week after employees said it made them more productive

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Seven self-made <keyword id="11940268" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="billionaires" source="Orion">billionaires</keyword> under the age of 30 were named in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2022/04/05/forbes-36th-annual-worlds-billionaires-list-facts-and-figures-2022/?sh=4f29cfe7e303">Forbes' World's Billionaires List</a> this year.</li><li>Four of these billionaires are Stanford University dropouts.</li></ul>Seven self-made individuals under the age of 30 were named in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2022/04/05/forbes-36th-annual-worlds-billionaires-list-facts-and-figures-2022/?sh=4f29cfe7e303">Forbes' World's Billionaires List</a> this year. And of those seven, <a href="https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/worlds-youngest-billionaires-2022-twelve-under30-make-it-forbes-list">four dropped out</a> of Stanford University.The world's youngest self-made billionaires all built their fortunes by founding startups. All but two individuals are US citizens. They are collectively worth $16.1 billion, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/colehorton/2022/04/05/the-worlds-youngest-billionaires-2022-12-under-age-30/?sh=30e0894ae63b">reported Forbes.</a>Brazilian-born corporate credit-card startup founders Pedro Franceschi, 25, and Henrique Dubugras, 26, are the world's youngest self-made billionaires named in Forbes' list this year. The pair <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/elizahaverstock/2022/01/14/two-friends-who-met-on-twitter-in-high-school-are-latest-under-30-billionaires/#:~:text=Dubugras%20and%20Franceschi%20founded%20Brex,was%20valued%20at%20%241.1%20billion.">founded</a> Brex in 2017 after quitting Stanford eight months into their freshman year. Franceschi and Dubugras are <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/colehorton/2022/04/05/the-worlds-youngest-billionaires-2022-12-under-age-30/?sh=78134eaee63b">worth</a> an estimated $1.5 billion each, per Forbes.Another Stanford dropout, Ryan Breslow, founded payment-software company <a href="https://www.bolt.com/blog-author/ryan-breslow/">Bolt</a> in 2014, when he was a college sophomore, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-11/bolt-s-founder-ryan-breslow-is-worth-billions-and-going-after-the-valley-elite#:~:text=Breslow%2C%20a%20Miami%20native%2C%20co,enable%20payments%20with%20digital%20currency.">per Bloomberg.</a> This is the first time the 27-year-old Miami native, whose net worth is pegged at $2 billion, has been named to the <keyword id="12250401" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="forbes-billionaires-list" source="Orion">Forbes Billionaires List</keyword>.Sensor-tech entrepreneur Austin Russell <a href="https://www.luminartech.com/">founded Luminar</a> when he was an undergrad, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/austin-russell/?sh=497c351a6aa8">according to Forbes.</a> Russell, who is now <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/austin-russell/?sh=497c351a6aa8">worth</a> $1.6 billion, dropped out of Stanford in 2012 after <a href="https://www.forbes.com/austin-russell-youngest-self-made-billionaire-2021/">getting</a> a $100,000 fellowship from PayPal magnate Peter Thiel.Two Stanford alumni also made this year's list of self-made billionaires under 30. Food-delivery app cofounders <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanleytang/">Stanley Tang</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/fangsterr/">Andy Fang</a>, both 29, graduated from the university in 2014, their LinkedIn profiles show. The pair <a href="https://ir.doordash.com/overview/default.aspx">founded</a> DoorDash in 2013. Tang and Fang are worth $1.2 billion and $1.1 billion respectively, per Forbes.Rounding out the list of self-made billionaires under the age of 30 is cryptocurrency tech mogul Gary Wang, who is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhyatt/2022/04/05/the-richest-crypto-and-blockchain-billionaires-in-the-world-2022/?sh=6a4b70c8580d">worth</a> $5.9 billion. The 28-year-old <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-crypto-exchange-valuation-billionaire-bitcoin-ethereum-2022-2">cofounded</a> Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange FTX with fellow billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried in 2019.Stanford University is located in Stanford, California, just a few miles from Palo Alto. The university, which is widely regarded as one of the <a href="http://www.shanghairanking.com/rankings/arwu/2021">most prestigious</a> in the world, accepted less than 4% of 55,471 applicants for the class of 2025, <a href="https://admission.stanford.edu/apply/selection/statistics.html">according to its website.</a> The university's tuition in the most recent academic year <a href="https://financialaid.stanford.edu/undergrad/budget/index.html">cost</a> $57,693.Forbes launched its annual Billionaires List in 1987. This is the magazine's 36th edition of the list. The list famously generated a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kylie-jenner-named-youngest-self-made-billionaire-critics-speak-out-2019-3">wave of controversy</a> when it named Kylie Jenner — of Kardashian family <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-kardashians-made-tv-deals-e-disney-hulu-2020-12">fame and wealth</a> — the world's youngest self-made billionaire in 2019.

There are 7 self-made billionaires under 30 on Forbes' billionaires list this year, and more than half of them are Stanford dropouts

The store that has everything wants to launch a fintech.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-and-ribbit-launch-fintech-startup-2021-1">Walmart</a> said on Monday afternoon it was starting a fintech "to develop and offer modern, innovative and affordable financial solutions," <a href="https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2021/01/11/walmart-announces-creation-of-new-fintech-startup">according to a release</a>. Details on the venture are vague, outside of the involvement of well-known fintech investor Ribbit Capital - which has backed the likes of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/affirm-ipo-revenue-valuation-stock-should-i-buy-filing-fees-2021-1">Affirm</a>, Robinhood, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coinbase-taps-goldman-sachs-upcoming-ipo-crytpo-exchange-bitcoin-2020-12">Coinbase</a>.Walmart is no stranger to the world of fintech. It already runs a fintech accelerator - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-green-dot-the-bank-behind-uber-and-walmarts-recent-financial-plays-2019-11">TailFin Labs</a> - with banking-as-a-service provider <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-green-dot-the-bank-behind-uber-and-walmarts-recent-financial-plays-2019-11">Green Dot</a>. And while it's unclear what Walmart hopes to do with this unnamed fintech, there is no doubt it's already in a fantastic position to succeed. The retail giant has millions of customers and employees to target with whatever it's offering. With customer acquisition costs often a top-of-mind concern for startups, that gives Walmart's project a massive leg up.<a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/insider-finance">If you're not yet a subscriber, you can sign up here to get your daily dose of the stories dominating banking, business, and big deals.</a>Like the newsletter? Hate the newsletter? Feel free to drop me a line at <a href="mailto:ddefrancesco@businessinsider.com">ddefrancesco@businessinsider.com</a> or on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/dandefrancesco">@DanDeFrancesco</a>. <h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-big-banks-will-announce-bonuses-citi-jpmorgan-goldman-dates-2021-1">Wall Street bonus announcements kick off this week - here's when Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley will divulge the details</a></h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-big-banks-will-announce-bonuses-citi-jpmorgan-goldman-dates-2021-1"><div type="image" title="Rich People" height="3433" width="4578" msid="80233029" hostid="261"></div></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-big-banks-will-announce-bonuses-citi-jpmorgan-goldman-dates-2021-1">The bonuses are coming</a>.It's the most wonderful time of the year <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-big-banks-will-announce-bonuses-citi-jpmorgan-goldman-dates-2021-1">for those in finance</a>. A time when the pain and stress from the long hours put in all year are forgotten thanks to a healthy direct deposit. Year-end compensation will be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-big-banks-will-announce-bonuses-citi-jpmorgan-goldman-dates-2021-1">particularly interesting this time around</a>, as 2020 was such an unusual year. We've got the full rundown on the entire <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-big-banks-will-announce-bonuses-citi-jpmorgan-goldman-dates-2021-1">2021 bonus-announcement season</a>. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-big-banks-will-announce-bonuses-citi-jpmorgan-goldman-dates-2021-1">Click here to read the entire story.</a><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/roblox-direct-listing-morgan-stanley-goldman-sachs-underwriters-fees-advisor-2021-1">Roblox's jilted underwriters may still see a payday. Here's how bankers' fees are shaking out after gaming startup switched from IPO to direct listing.</a></h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/roblox-direct-listing-morgan-stanley-goldman-sachs-underwriters-fees-advisor-2021-1"><div type="image" title="Roblox CEO David Baszucki" height="1998" width="2664" msid="80233033" hostid="261"></div></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/roblox-direct-listing-morgan-stanley-goldman-sachs-underwriters-fees-advisor-2021-1">Roblox</a> - the video-game company your kids probably know more about than you - announced it is going with a direct listing, not a traditional IPO. With no need for underwriters, that changes the role bankers <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/roblox-direct-listing-morgan-stanley-goldman-sachs-underwriters-fees-advisor-2021-1">would traditionally play</a>. Read more about what Roblox's switch <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/roblox-direct-listing-morgan-stanley-goldman-sachs-underwriters-fees-advisor-2021-1">means for Wall Street</a>. <h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/checkout-startup-bolt-hires-former-amazon-exec-cto-fintech-2021-1">One-click checkout startup Bolt nabs an Amazon exec to lead its tech</a></h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/checkout-startup-bolt-hires-former-amazon-exec-cto-fintech-2021-1"><div type="image" title="Ryan Breslow Bolt" height="877" width="1170" msid="80233036" hostid="261"></div></a>E-commerce continues to boom, leaving many merchants to consider how to make their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/checkout-startup-bolt-hires-former-amazon-exec-cto-fintech-2021-1">checkout</a> as seamless as possible. Enter <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/checkout-startup-bolt-hires-former-amazon-exec-cto-fintech-2021-1">Bolt</a>, a fintech aimed at smoothing that process. The startup recently hired <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/checkout-startup-bolt-hires-former-amazon-exec-cto-fintech-2021-1">Maju Kuruvilla</a>, a former Amazon exec, to be its first CTO. Kuruvilla and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/checkout-startup-bolt-hires-former-amazon-exec-cto-fintech-2021-1">Ryan Breslow</a>, Bolt's cofounder and CEO, discuss the hire. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/checkout-startup-bolt-hires-former-amazon-exec-cto-fintech-2021-1">Read more here</a>. <h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/charles-schwab-will-pause-political-donations-through-2021-2021-1">Charles Schwab, whose founder and chairman is a major GOP donor, will pause political contributions through the rest of the year</a></h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/charles-schwab-will-pause-political-donations-through-2021-2021-1"><div type="image" title="Charles Schwab, the founder and chairman of Charles Schwab." height="2196" width="2929" msid="80233040" hostid="261"></div></a>In the wake of last week's events in Washington, D.C., some financial firms are putting a pause on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/charles-schwab-will-pause-political-donations-through-2021-2021-1">political donations</a>. Here's the latest on what <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/charles-schwab-will-pause-political-donations-through-2021-2021-1">Charles Schwab</a> plans to do in that space. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/charles-schwab-will-pause-political-donations-through-2021-2021-1">Read more here</a>. <h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/red-cedar-new-quant-hedge-fund-alexander-chernyy-alternative-data-2021-1">How this new hedge fund led by a former WorldQuant and Jefferies executive is uncovering new datasets to avoid the pain that hit quants in 2020</a></h2><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/red-cedar-new-quant-hedge-fund-alexander-chernyy-alternative-data-2021-1"><div type="image" title="wealth management and tech wall street 2030 4x3" height="900" width="1200" msid="80233043" hostid="261"></div></a></h2>A former WorldQuant exec (Alexander Chernyy) and Jefferies trader (Christopher Dean) have started a new <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/red-cedar-new-quant-hedge-fund-alexander-chernyy-alternative-data-2021-1">quant hedge fund</a>. Get the full inside scoop on the launch. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/red-cedar-new-quant-hedge-fund-alexander-chernyy-alternative-data-2021-1">See more here</a>. Odd lots:<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/kkr-buys-into-producer-ryan-tedders-music-catalog-11610364781?mod=hp_lista_pos2">KKR Buys Into Producer Ryan Tedder's Music Catalog (WSJ)</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intercontinental-exchanges-digital-asset-marketplace-bakkt-public-via-spac-2021-1">Intercontinental Exchange's digital asset marketplace Bakkt to go public via SPAC (BI)</a><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/5046b90a-6e92-4760-9330-7e967cc85c01">Ex-Credit Suisse chief Tidjane Thiam to launch blank cheque vehicle (FT)</a>

Wall Street bonus season handbook  -  What happens to Roblox's jilted bankers - Walmart launching a fintech

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Bolt is a San Francisco-based startup that helps businesses set up easy-to-use payment systems, similar to Amazon's.</li><li>In fact, the company, which has raised $90 million, is looking to challenge Amazon by targeting businesses that offer customized products and services.</li><li>The founder, Ryan Breslow, dropped out of Stanford, but lived on campus secretly while launching his startup.</li><li>An analyst says Bolt offers a compelling product, but it faces an uphill challenge against a giant like Amazon.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary">Click here for more BI Prime stories.</a></li></ul>Ryan Breslow was a Stanford sophomore when he decided to embrace one of the university's famed traditions: he dropped out to launch his own company.Well, he didn't totally give up the perks of Stanford life when he quit school five years ago. Breslow says that he continued to live secretly live in his old dorm room and even ate free meals on campus as he was starting Bolt, a payments startup that's looking to challenge Amazon.Bolt on Tuesday said it has raised an additional $68 million in funding, its biggest round to date which pushes its total equity investment tally up to $90 million. The round was led by Activant Capital and Tribe Capital. The San Francisco-based company, which was co-founded by Eric Feldman, currently has more than 125 employees.<h2>Challenging Amazon</h2>Bolt's technology offers businesses a way to set up streamlined, faster payments system with easy-to-use check out process and features to guard against fraud. In other words - something similar to the systems that online retail giant Amazon uses.In fact, "Amazon is a huge inspiration for us," Breslaw told Business Insider. "The problem is that if you're not Amazon, you wouldn't have the engineers to build this optimal buying experience for your shoppers...we're building that for everyone else. We envision a world in 10 years where everybody can have their own Amazon."Bolt's technology is geared to companies with their own e-commerce sites, especially businesses that seeks to offer more custom products, such as furniture, mattresses or eyewear, he said. Shopping for such products are not always ideal on Amazon, he added. "Amazon is going to win when it comes to commodity products," Breslaw said. But for businesses selling brand, non-generic products, Bolt offers a way to "level the playing field," he said,"We're creating that easy experience wherever you shop," he said. "Because it is leveling the playing field, it is a challenge to Amazon in a way."<h2>Uphill challenge</h2>Analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies Inc. said Bolt aims to help retail businesses that typically struggle with clunky payment systems."Retail brands all have their own checkout procedures and too often people never complete the transaction if the procedure is complicated or they have to re-enter their data and payment method each time they buy something," he told Business Insider.Many retailers "have been envious of Amazon's one click checkout procedure and have longed for something like Bolt that would simplify the process and make it easier to check out when buying a product or service," he added."It appears that Bolt could give them this kind of one click service and should be of interest to many retailers in the future," Bajarin said. But he also compared Bolt to other startups seeking to taking on Amazon.It "will be an uphill battle," he said. "Amazon's global reach and logistical excellence makes it tough to compete against them and make any headway unless they are in a highly vertical segment that meets the needs of a very specific audience."<h2>Dropping out</h2>Breslaw became familiar with the need for easy-to-use payment systems early. As a middle schooler, he said he helped businesses set up their websites and "ended up being good at it." That exposed him to the need for easy-to-use payment systems."I was fascinated with payments and how money was handled," he said.That interest continued after he entered Stanford. In 2014, he decided to drop to start his company. "I decided I was ultimately more passionate about that than school," he said.But Breslaw still continued to live in his old dorm room for a quarter. He even got to eat free meals at a student dining hall because he became good friends with the chef "who didn't know I had dropped out."He was able to stay on campus with the help of his former roommates, although he had to make sure not to be caught, he said."When the cleaners came, I made sure I wasn't there," he said.Got a tip about Bolt or another tech company? Contact this reporter via email at bpimentel@businessinsider.com, message him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/troywolv/">@benpimentel</a>. You can also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-tip-business-insider-securely-guide-signal-securedrop-2017-6">contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop</a>.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/40-big-tech-predictions-for-2019?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=amazon&amp;itm_campaign=40-big-tech-predictions-for-2019"></a>

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.

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