While Josh Holstein was building a team and securing further funding for CellARide, he struck a deal with Torrance, Calif.-based Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., the North American subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. The result last summer was the go-ahead to run CarInfoToGo through a 90-day paid pilot program in 12 strategic dealerships centered around Baltimore, Md., in the automaker’s central Atlantic region.
Holstein said interest from Toyota for the pilot, which ended Dec. 1, grew from another pilot deal CellARide had secured in June as an approved vendor for a General Motors Co. pilot retail program.
“That was a phenomenal designation for us. At the same time that we were doing that, Toyota got wind of it, that we were an up-and-coming company that has a product that they believe can be beneficial today and into the future,” Holstein said. “I met with six different executives at the headquarters, and they immediately saw value in it. A domino effect started happening. You see General Motors stick their neck out there, and then Toyota kind of one-upped it in a way.”
The Toyota pilot netted CellARide approximately $25,000 in 2014 revenue, pushing the startup over the $100,000 mark last year.
“We blew it out of the water,” said Holstein, adding the pilot corroborated data from other markets based solely on lot implementation on 80 to 90 percent of inventory at nine of the 12 dealerships. “Those are huge numbers. My hope is, and what we’re having conversations with Toyota about right now, is that we can model that across all the regions that Toyota has.”
CellARide is finalizing a deal to integrate the Ridetag window sticker concept into vehicles on display at central Atlantic region events, such as fairs, sports stadiums and shopping malls to facilitate similar interactions between shoppers and dealers. Holstein said the master service agreement runs April 1 through the end of the year, and it could be implemented as early as April 10 during opening day of baseball season at Baltimore’s Camden Yards. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Holstein said the company has proved a high rate of utilization when CarInfoToGo is implemented across multiple channels beyond the lot, such as dealer websites, and digital and print advertising.
The latter channel has proven successful in Ohio, as well as the Chicago market, where a majority of the 20 dealers using CarInfoToGo are located.
“We recently had a dealership implement a print campaign in their local newspaper in Ohio with the help of our account manager, Chad Carleton,” Holstein said via email. “They told Chad they saw a 90 percent response rate to their follow-up attempts. Out of those follow-ups, 30-40 percent scheduled an appointment to come in to the dealership.”
Holstein said the company currently is working to add a three-store area dealer to their Show-Me State dealer base, which includes longtime Springfield client Youngblood Auto Group and Mid-Missouri Motors Inc. of St. Roberts.
“We’re missing one piece of the puzzle, and that’s distribution,” Holstein said.
To that end, CellARide is working on a deal with Detroit, Mich.-based Motormindz, which Holstein described as a group of over 30 former automotive executives who partner with startups and help take them to market with other dealers.
“We’re in the final stages of the vetting process,” he said. “They are figuring out if the approach is correct and pricing is as it should be and what is the fastest way to get us into these other channels. We’re finalizing the contracts with them as we speak.”
Holstein also is in talks with St. Louis-based sales and marketing services company Maritz LLC and Houston, Texas-based Gulf States Toyota Distributors Inc. to further market the CarInfoToGo product. Supplying
CellARide car window sales stickers, dubbed Ridetags, in retail stores is under discussion with Northfield, Ohio-based Hy-Ko Products Co.
“Since I’ve always said ‘I’m not a car guy,’ my goal is to take this company to the nth degree, take it to where we can take it, and find the fit that can take it to the next level,” Holstein said.
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
