I had a very eye-opening conversation with Kevin Malik, CEO of RunBuggy — a nationwide vehicle transportation marketplace. Listen closely to what he says at the 0:25 mark. Full episode with Kevin Malik drops next Friday on the CDG Podcast (cdgpodcast.com) — Subscribe to this channel so you don't miss…
Brett Morgan, CEO of Morgan Auto Group, explains why he has confidence in Toyota despite its stance on EVs
In this episode, I’m speaking with Scot Wingo, Founder & CEO of Spiffy. 01:09 - Scot’s background 04:50 - The hardest business meeting ever 07:05 - Being a serial entrepreneur 15:41 - Trick to hiring technicians 20:08 - Leveraging custom software to drive process efficiency 25:30 - How Spiffy makes…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Cliff Banks, Founder of The Banks Report. 00:00 - Intro 01:38 - Cliff’s background 08:30 - The Fate of Carvana 16:40 - What’s next for the used car dealer? 34:10 - Are new car prices sustainable? 39:36 - Talking public auto stocks 44:25 -…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Alan Haig, President & Founder of Haig Partners, LLC. 00:00 - Intro 01:51 - Alan's background 10:07 - The journey to founding Haig Partners 20:21 - The state of dealership M&A 50:11 - Best & worst brands for consumer experience 59:36 - Will this…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Brad Parker, Founder & CEO of PrivateAuto. 00:00 Intro 01:05 Brad's background 04:55 What inspired Brad to build a P2P marketplace 16:25 Inside PrivateAuto's business 32:05 Why most transactions are still private party 43:10 Wrapping up Follow Brad: https://twitter.com/bradleyaparker https://www.PrivateAuto.com Check out the website…
In this episode, I'm speaking with John Hayes, co-founder and CEO of Ghost Autonomy. 00:00 - Intro 01:12 - John's background 05:19 - What is Ghost? 09:34 - The Levels of Autonomy 23:13 - Ghost's business model 29:13 - OEM adoption & benefits 39:33 - The future of AVs &…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Danielle DiMartino Booth, CEO & Chief Strategist of QI Research. 00:00 Intro 01:20 Danielle's background 08:00 Understanding the Federal Reserve 13:20 Dealing with labor shortages 17:10 How QI Research conducts research and analysis 19:25 What's next for inflation? 29:10 The state of auto lending…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Joel Bassam, President of Easterns Automotive Group. 00:00 - Intro 02:03 - Joel's background 05:15 - Easterns business model 13:06 - Weathering the current market 20:19 - Unit economics & Sourcing 30:37 - CDG's gov't auction story 36:21 - Revenues & Margins 42:28 -…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Brian Beers, President of Prenlyn Automotive Group and Host of Business with Beers. 01:18 - Brian's background 06:48 - Franchise Pros & Cons 11:07 - How Brian sources shops 18:48 - Handling staffing for a group of shops 20:43 - Overhead, Returns, and Tax…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Kelly Stumpe, founder and CEO of The Car Mom. 00:00 - Intro 01:22 - Kelly's background 05:52 - Starting and growing The Car Mom 14:42 - Learning to monetize a media brand 19:07 - Which channel has been the most profitable 27:07 - Kelly's…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Pat Ryan, founder and CEO of CoPilot. 00:00 - Intro 01:13 - Pat's background 10:33 - Family entrepreneurship 14:22 - Building & selling two companies 20:26 - Founding CoPilot 25:47 - How CoPilot makes money 31:05 - Breaking into a competitive market 39:41 -…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Scott Painter, Founder and CEO of Autonomy. 00:00 - Intro 02:03 - Elon's "thought exercise" for Scott 07:47 - Scott's entrepreneurial journey 15:12 - The Softbank Saga 23:06 - Inspiration & The Innovator's Dilemma 30:25 - Building Autonomy 39:46 - The economics of a…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Chad Cunningham, aka WholesaleChad, an exotic car buyer with GiveMeTheVIN. 00:00 - Intro 01:49 - Chad's background 05:48 - How wholesaling works 13:31 - Achieving consistent profitability 17:17 - The "vibe" factor at auctions 23:47 - Becoming a top-performing wholesaler 29:14 - How Chad…
In this episode, I’m speaking with Alex Vetter, co-founder and CEO of Cars.com. 00;00 - Intro 01:25 - Acquiring *the* domain 02:44 - 25th year anniversary 05:13 - Company background 09:08 - Keeping up with the pace of tech 12:03 - Tailwinds & headwinds 13:24 - Where are we headed…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Aharon Horwitz, co-founder and CEO of Fullpath. (00:00) Intro (01:23) Fullpath's story (03:45) What Fullpath does for dealers & consumers (06:20) Leveraging 1st-party data (13:56) Business metrics (16:56) Best/worst marketing strategies (22:20) How AI can help dealers & consumers (33:34) CDG's vision for AI-powered…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at Cox Automotive. (00:00) Intro (00:51) Our unique market environment (04:12) Jonathan's background (08:45) The Great Digitization (11:46) That time CDG bought 50 Chevys at auction (13:40) Are we in a K-shaped recovery? (18:45) Domestic vs International supply constraints (26:00)…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Jake Lebowitz of Raceway Auto Group in New Jersey. We talk about how much he makes as a dealer, his secret method for acquiring 15 car dealerships, the most profitable customers, why he won't touch Ford dealerships, and tricks to get the best car…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Scott Case, co-founder and CEO of Recurrent. (00:00) Intro (00:56) EV battery reports? Recurrent's story (02:37) What happens when your EV's warranty expires (06:15) The truth behind EV battery range (08:52) Scott's take on EV % of market share by 2030 (11:20) How changing…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Chris Coleman, co-founder and Head of Product at WithClutch. (01:10) Chris' background (03:21) Carlypso origin story (07:11) Carvana acquires Carlypso (13:11) Transitioning post-acquisition (18:27) What is Carvana's edge? (24:56) Pros & Cons of working with credit unions (34:42) Founding and growing WithClutch (44:37) Does…
In this episode, I'm speaking with Steve Greenfield, Founder/CEO of Automotive Ventures and author of the book "The Future of Automotive Retail." (0:00) Intro (1:33) What will car-buying look like in 5-10 years? (11:22) Are smaller dealerships at risk of extinction? (14:12) Will auto-makers go direct-to-consumer? (24:22) Investment opportunities in…