Successes
Creating Success Stories in The Automotive Industry
Chrome Data
Founded in a small garage in Corvallis, Oregon, in 1986, Chrome Data was started by co-founders Mark Boyd, Jim Adkisson and Celas Hug, who left perfectly good paying jobs to chase the dream of starting a software company. Through ups, downs and a hard-knocks education in business, Chrome Data grew from a kernel of an idea into a multi-million dollar enterprise largely because of the strength of the product-market fit. The company took the idea of automotive information from a book, into the computer age. Now owned by Dealertrack Technologies, Chrome Data is used by over 17,000 dealerships worldwide. Recently sold in 2019 to Thoma Bravo for 1.4 Billion.
Dealix
The most successful provider of third party sales lead to auto dealers, Dealix powered the online quote platforms for Yahoo! Autos, AOL Autos and MSN Autos. Dealix also operated UsedCars.com, one of the fastest growing auto shopping sites. Mark’s involvement with the company began early, when the company’s headcount numbered four. But the company needed investment to grow. Mark helped raise funding, facilitated deals and helped the company build a solid management team. Four years later in 2005, the company sold at a premium to Cobalt. Then in 2010 Cobalt sold to ADP Dealer Services, now an independent company called CDK Global.
Cargigi
Cargigi was focused on helping dealerships market their inventory on top classified websites like Craigslist to reach the automotive consumer on their terms. One of the company founders, Mark helped grow the company, expanded dealer relationships and landed strategic partnerships with two eBay companies: Kijiji and Gumtree; popular classified websites in the Canada and U.K. markets. With the release of the white label ADAM Inventory Management Tool, co-founder Tony Hoang spearheaded the technology as Cargigi continued to innovate, found new ways to solve dealer problems on the leading edge of automotive technology, and were eventually acquired by Ebay Motors in 2016.
Lotlinx
Offering the auto industry’s first then-level direct-linking AI platform, LotLinx connects consumers searching for vehicle inventory online directly to dealership websites, delivering a much higher ROI than other online options. From the early stages of the company, Mark immediately embraced the company’s value proposition and capable management team and helped connect LotLinx to one of the top public auto dealer groups in the U.S. This innovative company continues to grow at a rapid rate and is considered to be one of the hottest new AI technology companies in the automotive industry.