Domm Holland shuts down Fast after burning through $165million in venture capital

An Australian entrepreneur has burned through more than $165 million in venture capital funds only for his business to collapse.

Domm Holland shut down his one-click checkout software company Fast after failing to secure any more money to keep going.

The Brisbane native moved to Silicon Valley and booted up the company in 2019, but its product failed to catch on with American businesses. 

‘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,’ he said.

Australian entrepreneur Domm Holland announced on Twitter on Wednesday that his company Fast would be closing

A statement was shared to Fast’s Twitter page on the behalf of Domm Holland, the e-commerce company’s Aussie CEO

‘While you’ll no longer see the Fast button at checkout, we are incredibly proud of the team we assembled and our work to democratize 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.’

Mr Holland said he was grateful to the investors and staff at Fast and took responsibility for the company’s failure.

Mr Holland said he was grateful to the investors and team at Fast and took responsibility for the company’s failure

‘Start-ups fail for many reasons, of which Fast obviously was not immune,’ he wrote in a tweet.

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

‘One thing I am 100 per cent certain that we did right was hire truly incredible people.

‘So if you have a chance to hire someone from Fast, do so because they are the most phenomenal people I have and you will have had the pleasure of working with.’ 

According to Crunchbase, Fast – based in San Francisco – received US$124.5 million (AU$165 million) since it was founded in 2019.

Fast was Mr Holland’s second business venture after he launched Tow – dubbed the ‘Uber of towing’ – in Brisbane in 2014

The company sold ‘one-click checkout’ software to e-commerce companies that Mr Holland said was inspired by his grandmother-in-law’s struggle with online shopping.

Fast was backed by many major American investors, including Stripe, Index Ventures, and Addition Capital. 

Fast was Mr Holland’s second business venture after he launched Tow – dubbed the ‘Uber of towing’ – in Brisbane in 2014.

Tow looked to be heading in the right direction after signing a contract with Queensland Police but was liquidated in 2018. 

Fast faced a lawsuit last month by a former employee who claimed ‘sex discrimination was routine and gaslighting was a common tactic used to manage women’.