The Founding Story of Boom Supersonic: From YCombinator to Breaking the Sound Barrier

The Spark: A Dream Ignited in a Museum

In 2014, Blake Scholl stood beneath the sleek, retired Concorde at a Seattle museum, struck by a question: Why has the world accepted slow flight? A tech entrepreneur with stints at Amazon and Groupon, Scholl saw a problem others deemed impossible—supersonic travel had vanished, leaving the skies stagnant. Concorde’s 2003 retirement had closed an era, but Scholl refused to let speed die.

“If we could fly faster 50 years ago, why not now?” he asked.

Thus, Boom Supersonic was born—not as a luxury for the few, but as a revolution for the many.

Y Combinator: From Garage Vision to Global Ambition

In 2016, Scholl pitched Boom to Y Combinator’s W16 batch with a radical idea: build a

supersonic airliner cheaper than business-class fares. Skeptics scoffed. Aerospace was for

giants like Boeing and Airbus, not startups. But YC’s Paul Graham saw the spark of audacity.

“This,” he said, “is the kind of problem that changes the world.” With YC’s backing, Scholl

assembled a team of aerospace veterans and software engineers, blending Silicon Valley’s

agility with aerospace rigor.

The Grind: Engineering Against the Impossible

Boom’s early days were a battle against physics and doubt. Scholl’s team dissected Concorde’s flaws: fuel-guzzling engines, high fares, and the thunderous sonic boom that banned overland flights. Using modern tools—carbon fiber composites, computational fluid dynamics, and augmented reality—they reimagined supersonic flight.

“We’re not just building a plane,” Scholl insisted. “We’re rebuilding the economics of speed.”

In 2017, Japan Airlines invested 10million, betting on Boom’s vision. By2019,Boom had raised 151 million, but the path was littered with setbacks. Technical delays, regulatory hurdles, and a 2020 pandemic threatened to ground the dream.

Yet Scholl remained undeterred: “If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough.”

XB-1: The Demonstrator That Defied History

In 2020, Boom unveiled the XB-1, a one-third-scale demonstrator nicknamed “Baby Boom.”

Skeptics called it a toy; believers saw a revolution. After 11 meticulous test flights in 2024–2025, XB-1 achieved the impossible: on January 28, 2025, it broke the sound barrier over Mojave, California—the first privately funded supersonic flight in history . At Mach 1.12, XB-1 validated Boom’s tech and silenced critics.

“A small band of engineers,” Scholl declared, “just rewrote the rules.”

Overture: The Future Takes Shape

Today, Boom’s Overture airliner promises to carry 80 passengers at Mach 1.7, slashing New

York to London to 3.5 hours. With 130 orders from United, American Airlines, and Japan

Airlines, Overture isn’t just a plane—it’s a statement. Boom’s Greensboro “Superfactory” willsoon churn out 66 Overtures yearly, each powered by Symphony, a bespoke engine running on 100% sustainable aviation fuel.

The Legacy: A Call to Founders

Boom’s story isn’t just about planes. It’s about refusing to accept the status quo. Scholl’s

journey—from a kid watching Cessnas in Ohio to redefining aviation—proves that even the

loftiest dreams are within reach.

“The world doesn’t need another app,” he urges founders. “It needs people who dare to tackle the impossible. Build something that matters. ”As Overture prepares to take flight, Boom reminds us: progress isn’t linear. It’s forged by grit, vision, and the courage to build what others deem unbuildable. The sky is no longer the limit—it’s just the beginning.

Now, what will you build? 🚀