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Every hero has an origin story.

Understand the origin story and you understand the hero. Steve Greenfield has spent more than 20 years of his professional career in automotive industry leadership roles and today, he is an authoritative voice when it comes to automotive technology and the innovators that are revolutionizing our space. Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier had so many questions for Steve that they actually ran out of time, but that’s how it goes when you’re talking to a hero.

What we discuss in this episode:

03:35 - It will come as no surprise that Steve’s entrance into the automotive industry wasn’t exactly intentional. He found himself unemployable with an undergrad degree when after some time, a friend from high school told him about an auto auction that was hiring for a technology manager.

“So I get a call one night and he says, Steve, they're looking to hire a technology manager. I'm like, what is that? I'm like, oh, you're gonna be selling software to car dealers. I'm like, why am I qualified for that? He goes, no, I really think this is gonna be a good rule for you. You should come in. So I went in and, you know, didn't know what to expect and, you know, I remember distinctly driving out there.

I was like, you know, how do used cars get on dealers lots? That's what consumed me for the 45 minutes on the way out there. And I was like, I, I would've bet anything at that point, a hundred percent of cars came onto dealers. Lots as trades. Yeah. I knew nothing about the whole wholesale mechanisms and wholesale auction industry.

So I get out there. It's like the biggest auction in Canada. It's like, Top five in, in Manheim's footprint. So it's like 400, 400 acres of that's a real operation. It's a real operation, 400 acres. And I'm like, wow, look at this place. Where are these cars coming from? Where, why are they here? And I, I walk in and, you know, uh, negotiate with, uh, with the, the, uh, general manager who also was the previous owner before Manheim bottom.”

06:59 - It was working for the auto auction that taught Steve a lot about the economics of the car business.

10:46 - Steve recounts his experience working alongside Dale Pollak and overseeing the acquisition of vAuto. He learned directly from Dale how to build a demand system and what value that brings to an organization.

12:31 - Today Steve works with a group of dealer investors who search out solutions so that they can be funded. Paul inquires about the common thread that Steve sees across the solutions that he is vetting.

Listen to the full episode for more insights and context from our conversation with Steve Greenfield

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