A $100M+ Bootstrapped Beast 📈

Author

Finlay Williams
July 21, 2024

2 minute wacky businesses, you can tell your buddies about 🧠

I was deep in a rabbit hole of market research and stumbled upon an article mentioning a business called Kpler. Intrigued, I dug deeper and uncovered a treasure trove of innovation and success, a lesser-known bootstrapped startup generating over $100 million in annual revenue. Possibly not a startup anymore…

Data on a huge scale 🧐

Kpler is a data intelligence company slowly taking control of the commodity trading industry. They organise the chaotic and fragmented raw data from the commodities, gas, power, and maritime markets and then Kpler creates intelligence that helps traders and shipping experts make smarter decisions.

Their platform is renowned for its accuracy and speed, providing insights that are otherwise near impossible to obtain. This data reduces risk for huge companies around the world, including not only private companies but huge institutions like World Trade Organization, OPEC, International Energy Agency, International Maritime Organization and The World Bank. The world frikin’ bank 🤯

Usually, a post from the company’s Instagram goes here, but they don’t have Instagram. Even if they did I think it would be pretty visually boring, so have this funny Tweet instead.

What are the nuggets? 💎

📈 Origin: Founded in 2014 in Brussels, they faced numerous challenges. From tidying chaotic data to convincing industry giants to trust their insights. Their breakthrough came with the launch of their maritime data services, which became a game-changer for the industry.

📈 Pivotal moment: Kpler’s pivotal moment was integrating machine learning into their data aggregation process, drastically improving the accuracy and relevance of their insights. This leap in technology allowed them to scale rapidly and attract a high-profile clientele. Creating one hell of a MOAT.

📈 Why they succeeded: Kpler’s success lies in their relentless pursuit of accuracy and transparency. Kpler is a textbook case study for the power of product. Refine until people struggle to point out flaws. The high-flying clients notice that sh*t.

Figures laid out 💵

📊 Revenue: Surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR).
📊 Team: Over 500 employees globally.
📊 High-profile Clients: NYT, Bloomberg, WTO, The World Bank
📊 Bootstrapped Success: No external funding.
📊 Technological Edge: Advanced machine learning integration.

KPLER team after hitting the $100M ARR milestone

What’s the cherry on top? 🍒

KPLER is the only data inteligence company with access to data from satalelites. This combined with their lack of funding puts them in an extremely nimble position.

My personal thoughts 💭

KPLER is very different from businesses I usually write about, it’s not very fun or wacky, but it is astonishing. They have some of the most valuable data in the world, with zero venture capital onboard. They have the power to manoeuvre, unlike 90% of businesses at their level.

This is one of those “let’s hope they use their power for good” moments.

That’s pretty awesome in my eyes.

See ya tomorrow folks! 👋
Fin

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