Young rich lister Domm Holland’s start-up Fast shuts down

Domm Holland earned a reputation for trolling Qantas. His latest billion-dollar venture appears to have fizzled.

Fast chief executive Domm Holland. Picture: Supplied

Fast, the one-time unicorn US one-click checkout start-up led by Australian young rich lister boss and co-founder Domm Holland will shut down, after the company reportedly failed to find a new buyer and ran out of funding.

Mr Holland announced the decision on Wednesday, declaring the company was a ‘trailblazer’ that didn’t “make it all the way to the mountain top”.

Fast, which provided one-click and headless checkout technology to websites, will shutter after reportedly failing to both find a buyer for the business or raise fresh capital from its investors, which include Silicon Valley payments giant Stripe. Forbes reported the company’s revenue for 2021 came in at $US600,000 ($792,278), around one-fiftieth of its nearest rival Bolt.

“After making great strides on our mission of making buying and selling frictionless for everyone, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors,” Mr Holland wrote. “While you’ll no longer see the Fast button at checkout, we are incredibly proud of the team we assembled and our work to democratise commerce through Fast’s one-click checkout experience.”

“Sometimes trailblazers don’t make it all the way to the mountain top. But even in those situations, they pave a way that all others will follow,” he said, but stopped short of providing a reason for the closure.

pic.twitter.com/9WzVUtvdvr

— Fast (@fast) April 5, 2022

Technology news publication The Information reported last month that Fast told potential investors that the company planned to fire more than half its staff, and that the company was looking for a new buyer following unsuccessful attempts to fundraise.

Start-ups fail for many reasons, of which Fast obviously was not immune

But decisions made that lead to this outcome which I take responsibility for

But one thing I am 100% certain that we did right was hire truly incredible people 👇

— domm (@domm) April 5, 2022

The start-up was the brainchild of Mr Holland, who in 2010 trolled airline Qantas by buying the ‘Qant.as’ domain name for $20, redirecting its web traffic to then-rival Virgin Blue. He claimed he then sold the domain for $1.3m.

US broadcaster NPR reported Mr Holland, who skydives regularly and described himself as ‘the world’s fastest CEO’, left Australia after a dispute with the Queensland state government. His former start-up, Tow.com.au, aimed to be the ’Uber of driving’ before becoming embroiled in a multimillion-dollar fight over towing and impounding fees.

With Tow.com.au on the brink of bankruptcy, Mr Holland told the ABC that he planned to sell the personal data including drivers’ licences of more than 21,000 Tow.com.au users.

“A driver’s license detail on the black market is worth $80 and we’re talking tens of thousands of these types of records,” Mr Holland told the ABC in 2018. “It is hugely valuable information for people looking to obtain that kind of detail.”

A Fast spokeswoman was contacted for further comment.

Mr Holland said in his statement that, “Buying online has been forever changed by the incredible team at Fast.

“The dedication, brilliance, and spirit of this remarkable team is unparalleled and will forever be the legacy of Fast.”