1/ This screenshot is floating around and I know the back story.
How did a Groupon PM go on to build a supersonic airplane company?
Here is the little-known and tremendously inspiring story of how @bscholl started @boomaero (and my very small part in it)
👇
How did a Groupon PM go on to build a supersonic airplane company?
Here is the little-known and tremendously inspiring story of how @bscholl started @boomaero (and my very small part in it)
👇
2/ How Blake started Boom is one of the most inspiring founder journeys I know.
It’s proof of what’s possible if you:
a) Think from first principles
b) Find something you believe in so much that you'd be proud to try - even if you might fail (a Blake quote)
It’s proof of what’s possible if you:
a) Think from first principles
b) Find something you believe in so much that you'd be proud to try - even if you might fail (a Blake quote)
3/ I’ve known Blake since I was 13.
He ran an ISP in high school and gave me my first job writing a JavaScript menu for a website gig he had.
Look at this high school photo and tell me that doesn't scream future founder?
He ran an ISP in high school and gave me my first job writing a JavaScript menu for a website gig he had.
Look at this high school photo and tell me that doesn't scream future founder?
4/ Fast forward:
Blake was a rising star at early Amazon (he was around engineer 200). Had he stayed, he’d likely be a top exec today.
Instead, he left to be the first employee at a hot startup. It failed.
Then he started his own company. That failed too.
Blake was a rising star at early Amazon (he was around engineer 200). Had he stayed, he’d likely be a top exec today.
Instead, he left to be the first employee at a hot startup. It failed.
Then he started his own company. That failed too.
5/ Eventually, his company was acqui-hired by Groupon.
He was absolutely miserable.
After years of trying -- and failing -- at startups, it was clearly weighing on him.
He was absolutely miserable.
After years of trying -- and failing -- at startups, it was clearly weighing on him.
6/ I saw Blake regularly back then.
Flying had been one of his passions since he was 19. He’d rent small planes and fly out of Palo Alto. I lived nearby so we’d hang.
But when we talked startups, he was disillusioned.
(That's not me next to him. That's his daughter.)
Flying had been one of his passions since he was 19. He’d rent small planes and fly out of Palo Alto. I lived nearby so we’d hang.
But when we talked startups, he was disillusioned.
(That's not me next to him. That's his daughter.)
7/ One day, we talked about aero-related ideas
He mentioned that years earlier, while waiting at an airport, he’d asked himself:
Why do people not like flying commercial?
Why are planes so slow?
But he dismissed it-he didn’t even know how a plane flew.
Who was he to fix it?
He mentioned that years earlier, while waiting at an airport, he’d asked himself:
Why do people not like flying commercial?
Why are planes so slow?
But he dismissed it-he didn’t even know how a plane flew.
Who was he to fix it?
8/ Finally, he couldn’t take working on coupons anymore.
He quit.
He couldn't not think about planes. So he decided to learn how a plane works from first principles.
He quit.
He couldn't not think about planes. So he decided to learn how a plane works from first principles.
9/ His then-wife asked him to take no more than a year to figure out a startup idea.
So he got textbooks. Re-taught himself calculus, fluid dynamics, and physics.
He built a spreadsheet model of how a plane flies and how an airline business works to test his understanding.
So he got textbooks. Re-taught himself calculus, fluid dynamics, and physics.
He built a spreadsheet model of how a plane flies and how an airline business works to test his understanding.
10/ Strangely, according to his spreadsheet model, we should be flying supersonic.
And airlines would actually make more money doing it.
But no one was trying to build supersonic planes...
And airlines would actually make more money doing it.
But no one was trying to build supersonic planes...
11/ Could someone with no aeronautical engineering training have figured out something the trillion-dollar aviation industry overlooked?
Probably not, he thought. There must be a bug in the model.
He contacted a Stanford aero professor to help find the bug in his spreadsheet.
Probably not, he thought. There must be a bug in the model.
He contacted a Stanford aero professor to help find the bug in his spreadsheet.
12/ After 45 minutes of digging in to the model, the professor said:
"The calculations are correct. Actually, they’re too conservative. You could do even better."
Blake walked out thinking:
“Either I have no courage, or I have to start a supersonic airplane company.”
"The calculations are correct. Actually, they’re too conservative. You could do even better."
Blake walked out thinking:
“Either I have no courage, or I have to start a supersonic airplane company.”
13/ Not long after, Blake emailed me to catch up.
We met on a Saturday morning at Facebook, where he walked me through the math and his vision.
For the first time in years, my friend—who had been so beaten down—lit up.
We met on a Saturday morning at Facebook, where he walked me through the math and his vision.
For the first time in years, my friend—who had been so beaten down—lit up.
14/ The numbers were clear. The math checked out.
But he wasn’t the bold and confident childhood friend I knew. He was apprehensive and timid.
I realized: He didn’t need my opinion.
He needed someone to believe in him again.
But he wasn’t the bold and confident childhood friend I knew. He was apprehensive and timid.
I realized: He didn’t need my opinion.
He needed someone to believe in him again.
15/ So I told him: You should do it. (Even though I thought he was crazy and it probably wouldn't work).
And said that if anyone could pull it off, it was him. (Which I firmly believed and continue to believe).
And said that if anyone could pull it off, it was him. (Which I firmly believed and continue to believe).
https://x.com/bscholl/status/1884373176282669516
16/ Blake took half of what he’d saved from Groupon and funded Boom.
He got 10 people working out of his basement before raising outside capital.
He got 10 people working out of his basement before raising outside capital.
17/ When he went to raise, the first person to say yes was @collision.
I invested too. I emailed every good investor I knew. Most weren’t interested.
One of the few who responded? @sama, who later joined the board before starting OpenAI.
I invested too. I emailed every good investor I knew. Most weren’t interested.
One of the few who responded? @sama, who later joined the board before starting OpenAI.
18/ Blake raised $770K in that first round.
A tiny fraction of what it would take to build an airliner.
But enough to start.
Since then, Blake and Boom have raised $700M.
A tiny fraction of what it would take to build an airliner.
But enough to start.
Since then, Blake and Boom have raised $700M.
19/ Investors include @sama, @patrickc, @collision, @paulg (his largest investment ever), @reidhoffman, @bvp, @ycombinator, Alex Gerko, @jgebbia, @mikemoritz, and more.
These investors deserve tremendous credit for not letting the company die many times over the years.
These investors deserve tremendous credit for not letting the company die many times over the years.
20/ On January 28, 2025, Boom made history:
XB-1 became the first independently developed supersonic plane ever built.
The 50 people who built XB-1 did what multi-billion dollar aviation giants wouldn’t.
XB-1 became the first independently developed supersonic plane ever built.
The 50 people who built XB-1 did what multi-billion dollar aviation giants wouldn’t.
https://x.com/boomaero/status/1884320653840392587
21/ Boom now has nearly $25B+ in pre-orders from United, American, JAL, and others.
Enough to sustain production for five years.
Commercial supersonic flight is coming back.
Enough to sustain production for five years.
Commercial supersonic flight is coming back.
https://x.com/boomaero/status/1400406948546220036
22/ There are so many untold stories:
- 8 AM whiskey meetings with industry moguls
- Letters of intent landing the night before Demo Day
- Convincing the world’s top supersonic engineers to join him
- 8 AM whiskey meetings with industry moguls
- Letters of intent landing the night before Demo Day
- Convincing the world’s top supersonic engineers to join him
23/ But to me, the most incredible part:
The core insight and pitch is unchanged.
The math was always clear. The spreadsheets always made sense.
Blake called his shot. And he was right.
The core insight and pitch is unchanged.
The math was always clear. The spreadsheets always made sense.
Blake called his shot. And he was right.
24/ The second most incredible part?
He knew he’d probably fail.
Most startups do.
But he tried anyway.
And because @bscholl dared to try, humans will fly supersonic again.
He knew he’d probably fail.
Most startups do.
But he tried anyway.
And because @bscholl dared to try, humans will fly supersonic again.
25/ Thank you @bscholl and everyone at @boomaero for bringing back supersonic flight.
Thank you for inspiring so many future founders, even those stuck in PM jobs at boring tech companies.
Thank you for inspiring us all to believe that we too can just do stuff.
Thank you for inspiring so many future founders, even those stuck in PM jobs at boring tech companies.
Thank you for inspiring us all to believe that we too can just do stuff.
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