Today, I’m happy to announce that I’ve joined the Board of Directors of Shift, a company that has spent the last 6 years reimagining the used car experience. Shift is a marketplace that buys and sells cars directly from consumers without all the usual shady tactics that run rampant in the industry. With Shift, buying & selling a used car is simple.
In 1991, when I turned 16, I had my first used car buying experience. My father took me to several different lots where we looked at the almost random assortment of cars in our price range. As it turns out, my father is a surprisingly good negotiator and had no trouble walking away from a bad deal. Unfortunately, that meant we walked off each and every lot we visited that day empty handed.
Fortunately for me, my uncle saved us from having to do another day of traditional used car shopping, and I drove his used Toyota pick-up all through college and grad school. But for millions of people, buying & selling a used car is still too painful, expensive, and complicated.
A Better Way to Buy & Sell Used Cars
When George Arison & Minnie Ingersoll came to visit me to talk about the new company they had started, I was immediately impressed with their excitement for a truly mobile-first approach to buying & selling used cars. Over the years, I’ve been phenomenally impressed with the way the team iterated and expanded on their original vision. In 2017, I had the opportunity to sell a used car on the platform, and it was transformationally better than my previous experiences trading in cars to dealerships or selling the car directly through classified ads.
As a product leader & angel investor, I try to focus on products & companies that are working to reinvent a key customer experience. In 2014, I invested in just six companies; they included Gusto, OpenDoor, and Shift.
For many people, buying and selling a car is one of the largest transactions they make in their financial lives. The system has long been littered with opaque practices, overblown loans, and sleazy sales tactics. Taking the high road, Shift has made transparency their hallmark, listing out any fees, doing away with haggling, and making financing more user-friendly and easier to understand. They even built out a loan term predictor so customers can know for certain what they can afford before they even start shopping.
The company is now slated to go public in the coming weeks, and has grown considerably on the West Coast, aided by its first-class operations and Silicon Valley culture. Customers finally have a way to buy or sell a car for a fair price without leaving their driveway.
Joining the Board of Directors at Shift
I’ve spent my professional life working to build products that truly improve the lives of ordinary people: whether a working mom who uses eBay to earn a little extra income on the side, a young college grad beginning to build their professional reputation, or the up-and-coming eager to start saving & investing.
I felt fortunate to have been one of the original angel investors in Shift. I was delighted when we sold our car through the service. I’m now grateful for the opportunity to join George, Toby, and their team as they make the transition to being a public company.
If you are looking to buy or sell a used car, please get Shift a try. Reach out, and let me know about your experience. We’re excited about the road ahead.
Psychohistory 