This post originally appeared on Tech In Chicago. Visit Tech In Chicago to listen to more interviews with Chicago’s top startup founders and venture capitalists.
Kayne Grau is a Co-Founder and CEO of DRIVIN, a startup changing the way used-car dealers source their used-car inventory. Before founding DRIVIN, Kayne was the CTO at Cars.com.
Using proprietary technology and actionable local market data, DRIVIN sells, sources, acquires and delivers used-car inventory for used-car dealer partners across the country. DRIVIN helps dealers understand what’s selling locally and how to price effectively. DRIVIN has raised $17.5 million from investors including Brad Keywell, Eric Lefkofsky, Mitch Golub, and Columbus Nova Technology Partners.
- How inefficient the used car market is
- The origins of DRIVIN
- How Lightbank companies are started up
- How involved Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell are after coming up with an idea
- What makes Eric and Brad's new startups repeatedly successful
- Why DRIVIN went the B2B instead of B2C route
- How they got their first customer
- The best way to buy/sell used car as an individual
- What can Chicago tech improve on?
- Impact of self driving cars on used car business
Selected Links From The Episode:
- Eric Lefkofsky, Co-Founder of Groupon, Uptake & Lightbank
- Brad Keywell, Co-Founder of Groupon, Uptake & Lightbank
- Justin Mahlik, Co-Founder & COO of DRIVIN
- Cars.com
- Autotrader.com
- Kelly Blue Book
- Shift
- Cleversafe
- Signal
- Braintree
- Uptake
- Tempus
- Howard Tullman, CEO of 1871
Favorite Books:
- The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C. Maxwell
- Lincoln On Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times Kindle Edition by Donald T. Phillips
About Tech In Chicago
Tech In Chicago takes you inside the Chicago tech world. Each week Colin Keeley is joined by Chicago’s top founders and investors to talk about the amazing companies being built right here. If you want to learn more about Tech In Chicago, head to TechInChicago.co
I would love to hear your thoughts on the show and any guests I should have on. Please reach out @TechInChicago. You can also find me @ColinKeeley.
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