Vroom (company)

Vroom is a New York City-based used car retailer and e-commerce company that enables consumers to buy, sell and finance cars online.[2]

Vroom
TypePublic company
NASDAQ: VRM
IndustryE-commerce / Car Dealer
FoundedAugust 2013 (2013-08)
HeadquartersNew York, New York, United States
Key people
Paul Hennessy, CEO
ProductsUsed Cars
Revenue $1.1 Billion(2019)[1]
Number of employees
800
Websitevroom.com

History

The company was founded in August 2013 by Marshall Chesrown, Kevin Westfall and Scott Chesrown as AutoAmerica. In November 2014, Elie Wurtman and Allon Bloch joined as co-founders to transform the company into a technological platform and the company was renamed Vroom. Wurtman served as the company's Executive Chairman and Bloch served as CEO. To date, Vroom has raised over $440 million in Venture Capital and Private Equity.[3] It also has a refurbishment facility in Stafford, Texas[4] and was included on Forbes’ list of the Hottest E-Commerce Startups of 2015.[5] Vroom's current CEO is Paul Hennessy, who was previously the CEO of Priceline.com.[6]

In December 2015, the company acquired Texas Direct Auto, a Houston-based company founded in 2002 that is now owned by Vroom but operates as a separate brand.[7] The combined company is profitable and reached $900 million in revenue in 2015.[8] In February 2018, Vroom closed operations in its Whitestown, Indiana facility and laid off approximately 25% of its staff in the New York City and Stafford, Texas locations.[9] In December 2018, Vroom closed a Series G financing round of $146 million led by AutoNation and began scaling its operations again.[10]

Products

Rather than functioning as a peer-to-peer marketplace, Vroom is an e-commerce service that handles the entire transaction with no haggle pricing.[11][12] The company offers financing from more than 12 banks and delivers cars to customers nationwide.[13][14] All cars that Vroom sells are reconditioned and the company uses proprietary RFID tracking and prioritization software to automate the refurbishment process.[15][16] Vroom provides a seven-day money back guarantee on purchases and a 90-day bumper-to-bumper warranty.[17] Vroom also buys cars from customers, who can receive a cash voucher after submitting photos and information about the car online.[18]

Funding

Vroom has raised $440 million in total funding. Investors include AutoNation, L Catterton, General Catalyst Partners, Allen & Company, T. Rowe Price, John Elway, Steve Berrard (former CEO of Blockbuster and AutoNation), Cascade Investments (the investment holding company of Microsoft founder Bill Gates), Jeffery Boyd (chairman of The Priceline Group), Bob Mylod (former CFO of The Priceline Group), PICO Venture Partners, Elie Wurtman, Allon Bloch, and Dan Gilbert (Owner of Cleveland Cavaliers & Quicken Loans).[19][20]

References
  1. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/vroom-ipo-five-things-to-know-about-the-online-used-car-seller-2020-06-03
  2. Griffith, Erin (16 June 2015). "A used car site backed by John Elway is on track to do $300 million in sales this year". Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  3. "Vroom". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  4. Taylor, Kate (16 June 2015). "Vroom, the Startup That Aims to Be the Zappos of Online Car Buying, Raises $54 Million". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  5. Mac, Ryan (30 December 2015). "The Hottest E-commerce Startups Of 2015". Forbes. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  6. Taylor, Kate (16 June 2015). "Vroom, the Startup That Aims to Be the Zappos of Online Car Buying, Raises $54 Million". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  7. Kolodny, Lora (16 December 2015). "Vroom Raising $95 Million to Acquire Texas Direct Auto". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  8. Mac, Ryan (17 December 2015). "Online Car Startup Vroom Looks To Acquire Leading EBay Car Retailer And Raise $95 Million". Forbes. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  9. "Vroom hits brakes on ambitious plans for central Indiana".
  10. "Vroom nabs $146M from AutoNation, VCs for its used car site". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  11. Korosec, Kristen (16 December 2015). "Online Car Startup Vroom Raises $95 Million And Buys A Competitor". Fortune. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  12. Kessler, Sarah (20 July 2015). "The Used Car Market Meets 2015: No Showroom, No Salesmen, Free Delivery". Fast Company. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  13. Griffith, Erin (16 June 2015). "A used car site backed by John Elway is on track to do $300 million in sales this year". Fortune. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  14. Taylor, Kate (20 July 2015). "Vroom, the Startup That Aims to Be the Zappos of Online Car Buying, Raises $54 Million". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  15. Ha, Anthony (16 December 2015). "Vroom Raises $95M And Acquires Texas Direct Auto In Its Quest To Bring Car-Buying Online". Techcrunch. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  16. Taves, Max (20 July 2015). "Vroom raises $54 million to make buying a used car less horrible". CNET. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  17. Korosec, Kristen (16 December 2015). "Online Car Startup Vroom Raises $95 Million And Buys A Competitor". Fortune. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  18. Griffith, Erin (16 June 2015). "A used car site backed by John Elway is on track to do $300 million in sales this year". Fortune. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  19. Korosec, Kristen (16 December 2015). "Online Car Startup Vroom Raises $95 Million And Buys A Competitor". Fortune. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  20. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/vroom-com
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