This CBT original series (Founder Focus with Steve Greenfield, founder of Automotive Ventures) dives into the inside stories behind some of the most impressive entrepreneurial journeys. In this segment, Greenfield sits down with the Co-founders of Fluency, Inc., a digital advertising automation platform for automotive professionals. CEO Mike Lane and President Eric Mayhew are also Co-founders of the incredibly successful Dealer.com, which was acquired by Dealertrack and later, Cox Automotive.
Automation in advertising is not a new concept, however, Lane says Fluency focuses on the enterprise space of helping large businesses with large portfolios manage their digital advertising. He adds that everyone wants to advertise for cheaper, but advertising is only getting more complex.
“We focus on simplifying the things that can be simplified, says Lane. “Automating the things that can be automated and streamlining the process so that people can actually focus on what they should be doing, which is the strategy work, not the task work.”
In the early days of Dealer.com, Lane says there wasn’t a lot of business mentorship available in the tech space. The Co-founders took the advice of a fellow entrepreneur to set near impossible standards for growth on an annual basis. Lane says pushing hard to meet those standards gave the company the drive to work tenaciously.
Mayhew adds the important lesson he took away from his time at Dealer.com was that value delivery can happen in a much shorter timetable. That kind of perspective on minutes, hours, days, and weeks is crucial for entrepreneurs.
He explains, “You can’t lose sight of the big picture, but you need to be able to measure in those shorter units and deliver value in those shorter units.”
To learn more about Fluency, be sure to watch the complete episode above and visit www.fluency.inc.
LinkedIn post from Andre-M. Hobbs
First and foremost, I admire your Vermont mindset! I’m familiar with it because Vermont is only an hour away for Quebecers like me, and I spent a lot of my youth there.
In this interview Steve Greenfield asks a few interesting questions to the guys, such as key takeaways from their Dealer.com days (now Cox Automotive Inc.).
I like Eric’s comment about measuring in minutes, hours, and days rather than weeks and months. Set daily and weekly goals, and use shorter units. They also stated that achieving your goals will take longer and be more difficult, so you must be prepared to put in the effort.
Another interesting takeaway is that while entrepreneurship is enjoyable and can be viewed as a playground (especially when developing a product), business strategy should not be overlooked.
This last one is something I’m familiar with because I’m in charge of DecisioningIT‘s products, such as the Lucy F&I Platform. It’s fantastic to virtualize, simplify, and automate F&I processes, and I could easily spend 125 percent of my time working with the guys, but I also have a company to run, a business strategy to implement, and milestones to meet.
One of their most difficult decisions? Determine the best time to commercialize their product (This time speaking about Fluency).
I can also relate, as our own product was just released in April after 5 years of intensive testing in dealerships.
I am confident that our Lucy Platform, Widget, and API will be successful, and I look up to become the next Mike Lane or Eric Mayhew.
PS: XC90 and Camaro Z28 guys? Come on, I expected more exotic options!
PPS: Mike Lane, we’re looking for strategic investors 🙂
If you have time, watch this great interview of Mike Lane and Eric Mayhew, Co-founders of the incredibly successful Dealer.com and more recently Fluency Inc – Advertising Automation Platform.
First and foremost, I admire your Vermont mindset! I’m familiar with it because Vermont is only an hour away for Quebecers like me, and I spent a lot of my youth there.
In this interview Steve Greenfield asks a few interesting questions to the guys, such as key takeaways from their Dealer.com days (now Cox Automotive Inc.).
I like Eric’s comment about measuring in minutes, hours, and days rather than weeks and months. Set daily and weekly goals, and use shorter units. They also stated that achieving your goals will take longer and be more difficult, so you must be prepared to put in the effort.
Another interesting takeaway is that while entrepreneurship is enjoyable and can be viewed as a playground (especially when developing a product), business strategy should not be overlooked.
This last one is something I’m familiar with because I’m in charge of DecisioningIT‘s products, such as the Lucy F&I Platform. It’s fantastic to virtualize, simplify, and automate F&I processes, and I could easily spend 125 percent of my time working with the guys, but I also have a company to run, a business strategy to implement, and milestones to meet.
One of their most difficult decisions? Determine the best time to commercialize their product (This time speaking about Fluency).
I can also relate, as our own product was just released in April after 5 years of intensive testing in dealerships.
I am confident that our Lucy Platform, Widget, and API will be successful, and I look up to become the next Mike Lane or Eric Mayhew.
PS: XC90 and Camaro Z28 guys? Come on, I expected more exotic options!
PPS: Mike Lane, we’re looking for strategic investors 🙂
