Target Young With Modern UI

Doug DeMuro shares his experience building Cars & Bids, a modern car auction platform competing with established players like Bring a Trailer. His strategy focused on modernizing the car auction experience and targeting a specific demographic.

Key Points:

• Platform Differentiation Strategy:

  • Focus on modern era cars (1980s and up)
  • Built a contemporary website interface
  • Target younger, millennial audience
  • Positioned as alternative to traditional auction sites

• Market Entry Insights:

  • Identified user dissatisfaction with existing platforms
  • Long listing wait times on competitor sites
  • WordPress blog limitations of competitors
  • Functionality issues affecting buyers and sellers

• Business Growth:

  • Launched in June 2020
  • Received 1,000 submissions on first day
  • Profitable from early stages
  • Sold majority stake to Chernin Group for around $40 million

• Revenue Model:

  • Sellers list for free
  • Buyers pay 4.5% fee
  • Added revenue streams:
    • Shipping services
    • Car inspection services
    • Content revenue from YouTube integration

• Competition Perspective:

  • Bring a Trailer sold to Hearst for estimated hundreds of millions
  • Multiple failed auction site attempts by others
  • Key differentiator was bringing existing audience
  • Market continues growing with internet car sales trend

• Future Outlook:

  • Expanding into traditional collector car market
  • Recently listed first Lamborghini Countach
  • Potential for significant growth ($500M+ exit discussed)
  • Market shifting towards online auction platforms