A Startup Born in a Makeshift Office Shayne Coplan, the 26-year-old founder and CEO of Polymarket, recently shared a story that resonated with entrepreneurs worldwide: his crypto-fueled betting platform began in 2020 with just a laptop perched on a laundry basket in a tiny bathroom office. “2020, running out of money, solo founder, HQ in my makeshift bathroom office. Little did I know Polymarket was going to change the world,” Coplan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
From these humble beginnings, Polymarket grew into a major player in online election betting, capturing global attention in the 2024 US election season by offering users a platform to wager on high-stakes outcomes. Supported by backers like Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin, the platform enabled thousands to participate in real-time betting on the unfolding election drama.
As the 2024 presidential race heated up, Polymarket emerged as a powerful forecasting tool. The platform allowed users to place bets on various election outcomes, a feature that gained attention when its odds for Donald Trump’s victory diverged from mainstream opinion polls that anticipated a close race. “Make no mistake, Polymarket single-handedly called the election before anything else.
The global truth machine is here, powered by the people,” Coplan asserted in a follow-up post. In a historic win, Trump defeated Democratic candidate Kamala Harris following a campaign punctuated by high drama, including two attempts on his life and Harris’s unexpected candidacy after Joe Biden’s withdrawal. Trump’s administration is poised to include prominent figures like Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who contributed $119 million to a pro-Trump group, securing a unique position to influence policy.
