Execution eats strategy for breakfast
Coming up with strategic options is not the hard part. Translating a strategic imperative into something the organization can execute is.
The insider's edge for growth, exits and retention in automotive retail technology.
We help corporate development teams and CEOs find the right targets and partners, test the thesis, prepare for a sale or a raise, and keep the dealers they already have. Operators, with the data and the introductions to back it up.
800+auto-tech software and data companies profiled
40,000auto industry connections
60+clients, from $2M to $2B in revenue
85%+of clients have engaged us for more than one project
Who we work with
Two kinds of leaders bring us in. Both need to see the market more clearly than a standard report allows, and both need to move.
Corporate development and strategy leaders
At larger companies, you own buy-side opportunity identification and early deal execution.
- Targets before they're on the market. We can often get you into conversations with companies that aren't taking calls from bankers yet.
- Data beyond the public record. Proprietary profiles and expert transcripts on the dealer software stacks you're evaluating.
- White space in days, not months. Specialists who work in these platforms every day test the adjacency with you.
CEOs and product leaders
At growth-stage companies, you're weighing an acquisition, a channel partnership, or a future exit.
- See yourself as an acquirer would. We know what strategic buyers in automotive retail are looking for right now.
- Partners that fit. We find channel partners where your product integrates naturally and the partnership adds value on both sides.
- Warm introductions. We don't stop at identifying the opportunity. Our network opens the door.
How we run an M&A research process
Every engagement follows the same discipline, tuned to your team's priorities. Each step has its own article in our series.
Start with the right question
Write the summary question before anyone calls a banker.
Map the landscape
See every category, vendor and dependency before pricing the white space.
Size the prize honestly
Move from total market to a penetration model a board can underwrite.
Run build, buy and partner
Test all three paths against the same opportunity, then choose.
Decide with a matrix
Make the team's weights explicit and turn debate into a decision.
Validate with experts
Pair proprietary data with operators who know the stories behind it.
Screen to disqualify
Rank targets on consistent lenses and write down every pass.
Land the recommendation
Name the path, the moves, the go-to-market and the number.
What we do
Three practices, one view of how an automotive retail technology company grows: what to buy/sell, build or partner on, how to decide, and how to keep the customers you have. For companies without a corporate development team, we are that team on a fractional basis.
M&A and growth intelligence
Find, test and reach the right targets and partners.
- Build, buy/sell, partner analysis
- AutoScapes landscape analysis
- Target screening and market sizing
- Buy- and sell-side positioning
Strategy and execution
Get the leadership team to a decision, then make it executable.
- Strategy facilitation and decision matrices
- Go-to-market and channel strategy
- Execution and change management
- Leadership business coaching
Retention and operations
Find where dealers leak out and make retention someone's main job.
- Retention diagnostic
- Ownership and team design
- Scorecards that focus the team
- Leading indicators of churn
Buy-side M&A
Found four acquisitions for a major media company.
Sell-side exit
Helped a customer engagement company plan and execute an exit.
Market opportunity and pricing
Identified the market opportunity and developed the pricing model for a new DMS data product.
Strategic pivot
Identified and helped execute a pivot from a consumer solution to B2B.
Operators, not observers
Our team has founded businesses, led major acquisitions and divestitures, and helped create hundreds of millions in margin, all within automotive.
Mike Rother
Partner
Steve Greenfield
Partner · General Partner, Automotive Ventures
Pete Batten
Partner
Chris Madison
Partner
Insights
How we approach M&A research, strategy and retention in automotive retail technology, written for the people doing the work.
Better executive decisions via the matrix
The difference is not the matrix. It is how you run it. Eight lessons from facilitating decision matrices for auto retail software leadership teams.
Start with the right question, not the target
Most automotive software M&A processes start with a target. The best ones start with a question.