Stephanie Meyer of The Dealer Grid
An exclusive Tech Tribune Q&A with Stephanie Meyer (founder and CEO) of The Dealer Grid, which was honored in our:
Tell us the origin story of The Dealer Grid – what problem were you trying to solve and why?
The Dealer Grid was built from the ground up to solve an issue that nearly every car dealership has – the issue of getting a customer their desired unit of inventory in a timely fashion when it is not readily available. Oftentimes, if a certain dealership does not have a certain car onsite or within reach, the customer will look elsewhere. The Dealer Grid was built to prevent this, by connecting dealerships and their inventories from across the country into one cohesive network. This allows dealers to search for any car, anywhere, and have it in their possession as soon as possible.
The pandemic provided an example of how all types of inventory (both new & used) could become incredibly hard to find when demand is high, or when supply cannot satisfy whatever demand currently exists. Additionally, we want to provide dealers the opportunity to invest in or divest of whatever inventory they choose, all the while boasting no transaction fees, which will save dealerships a considerable amount of money. There is also the added benefit of dealers parting ways with inventory that might be aged to them, but a hot ticket item to someone else. In this environment, The Dealer Grid is even more advantageous, allowing for a digital window into the show floor of every dealership across the country.
What was the biggest hurdle you encountered in your journey?
We found that our main challenge was creating every aspect of the infrastructure that we needed to be self-contained and successful. A huge part of overcoming that hurdle was our partnership with ShipYourCarNow, a service which provides us with the already existing transportation infrastructure required to have a transportation system that matches the scale of our nationwide network.
What does the future hold for The Dealer Grid?
For The Dealer Grid, it is important to us that we continue to expand across the country, building our relationships with both new and existing customers. We hope to bring every dealership in the nation onto our network, and become the digital backbone of automotive sales in this country.
What are your thoughts on the local tech startup scene in San Luis Obispo?
We are proud to be mentioned with the other tech startups in SLO and SLO county, many of which are established and well-known businesses, such as CheddrSuite. We look to continue to grow alongside these other great companies!
What’s your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
Above all else, I believe it is important to be relentless, resourceful, and innovative.