Bolt seeks new funds on aggressive terms

The founder and former CEO of Bolt wants to get back in the driver’s seat — and he’s demanding a handsome price for it.

The terms of the funding round were highly unusual, including a $2 million return bonus and $1 million in back pay for two years he was away from the company, the media reported, citing a private equity partner involved in the deal. The partner later said his firm was no longer involved.

Breslow left the company in early 2022 amid conflicts with investors. The 30-year-old entrepreneur’s career has been marked by controversy, including lawsuits, a fight with an early investor and a public spat 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 is raising $450 million in a Series F funding round that would value Bolt at more than $14 billion. Bolt’s annual revenue was $28 million and gross profit was $7 million, according to Newcomer.

The deal contains several other surprising clauses that could benefit Breslow even more, Newcomer and The Information report:

Breslow would have a put option on 10% of his shares and the right to buy Bolt subsidiaries aware.org and fourdayweek.com from the company at any time for $1. Breslow was an advocate for the four-day workweek.
He would also receive 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.”
If Bolt reaches a valuation of $50 billion through a capital raise of $100 million or more, Breslow will receive an additional stock grant equal to 5% of Bolt’s issued and outstanding shares.
The company would partner with Love, the wellness marketplace that Breslow ran after he was forced out of his job at Bolt.
Bolt would invest $10 million in The London Fund, a venture capital firm that appears to be one of the lead investors in the current funding round. The Information reported that Breslow is a director of the fund, which also invested in Love.

Bolt investors were also told they would have to put more money into this round of funding. If they fail to do so, Bolt will buy out most of them for one cent a share, a particularly aggressive pay-to-play move in the startup world, Newcomer reports.

According to The Information, the proposal requires the consent of a majority of investors, and shareholders have from late Monday evening to Wednesday to make a decision.

According to PitchBook, Bolt’s previous investors include BlackRock, Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund and Intuit.

Neither Bolt nor Breslow immediately responded to Business Insider’s request for comment, sent outside standard business hours.