Shift (business)

Short description: Shift is an online, peer-to-peer, marketplace for buying and selling used cars.

Shift

Type| Public

Traded as

| NASDAQ: SFT
Industry| E-commerce, Automotive industry , transportation industry
Founded| 2014
Founders| George Arison, Minnie Ingersoll, Christian Ohler and Morgan Knutson
Headquarters| San Francisco California , United States

Area served

| urban areas of San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, CA, Sacramento, CA, San Diego, CA, San Jose, CA, and Portland, OR
Website| shift.com

Shift is an online marketplace for buying and selling used cars.[1] Founded in 2014, Shift is an United States company based in San Francisco ’s Mission District.[2] As of 2019[update], the company offers its services in San Francisco , Los Angeles , San Jose and San Diego, California as well as Portland, Oregon , Oregon.[3][4]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 1.1 Business model
* 2 References
* 3 External links

## History

Shift was founded in 2013 by: George Arison, Toby Russell, Minnie Ingersoll, Christian Ohler, Joel Washington and Morgan Knutson. The company was incorporated in 2014, and launched its first market of San Francisco in 2015.[5][6]

The company initially served as an intermediary that bought and sold used cars on a consignment basis.[7] The company then began acquiring cars outright and reselling them on its platform direct to buyers, removing the peer-to-peer consignment model.[8]

As a private company, Shift received funding from Lithia Motors Inc., Goldman Sachs Investment Partners (GSIP), Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), Highland Capital Partners, SV Angel, Great Oaks Venture Capital, DCM Ventures and others.[6][9] As of 2019, Shift has raised approximately $300 million, a mix of debt and equity.

In June 2020, Shift announced that it would engage in a merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) called Insurance Acquisition Corp., then a public company listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol INSU. Through its merger with Insurance Acquisition Corp., Shift went public in October 2020 on the Nasdaq with a pro forma enterprise valuation of $415.9 million.[10][11]

### Business model

Shift buys and sells used cars directly to and from consumers through its ecommerce platform.[6] It facilitate test drives, financing options, inspections, Department of Motor Vehicles interactions, detailing, pricing and merchandising.[12] Once Shift acquires a car, it inspects and repairs it through its regional reconditioning centers. From there, the company lists cars on its website where consumers can purchase the car online or book a test drive appointment in their local area.[6] As of March 2021, cars sold through Shift were purported to include a seven-day, 200-mile return policy and a 30-day powertrain guarantee.

## References

1. ↑ "LA tech roundup: Shift comes to LA, Zest heads to China, & more". Built in Los Angeles. http://www.builtinla.com/2015/07/01/la-tech-roundup-shift-comes-la-zest-heads-china-more. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
2. ↑ "S.F. Auto Startup outgrows teen years with new Mission office". San Francisco Business Times. https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2019/07/11/modern-workplaces-s-f-auto-startup-shift.html. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
3. ↑ "Bay Area car-selling marketplace to invest $20M in Virginia expansion". Washington Business Journal. http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/techflash/2016/01/bay-area-car-selling-marketplace-to-invest-20-in.html. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
4. ↑ "Adios car dealers, there's a new kid in town". The San Diego Tribune. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/dec/11/shift-online-used-car-marketplace/. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
5. ↑ "Online Used Car Startup Shift Adds Another $40 Million, Snags COO in Road to IPO". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/10/online-used-car-startup-shift-adds-another-40m-snags-coo-in-road-to-ipo/. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Shift Technologies Raises $23.8 Million to Build Used Car Marketplace". WSJ. https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2014/11/18/shift-technologies-raises-23-8-million-to-build-used-car-marketplace/. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
7. ↑ Mac, Ryan. "Shift Technologies Revs Up Online Car Marketplace With $50 Million Round From Goldman" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2015/09/01/shift-technologies-ramps-up-online-car-marketplace-with-50-million-round/.
8. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid. "P2P car marketplace Shift pauses DC operations, lays off 10% of staff" (in en-US). https://social.techcrunch.com/2017/01/25/p2p-car-marketplace-shift-pauses-dc-operations-lays-off-10-of-staff/.
9. ↑ "This Startup Drives Used Cars Right to Your Door". Bloomberg Businessweek. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-01/this-startup-drives-used-cars-right-to-your-door. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
10. ↑ Ravera, Davide. "Shift: Underfollowed Stock With Great Growth And Valuation (NASDAQ:SFT)" (in en-US). SeekingAlpha. https://seekingalpha.com/article/4415116-shift-underfollowed-stock-great-growth-and-valuation.
11. ↑ Reuters Staff (2020-10-15). "Online used-car seller Shift's shares fall in Nasdaq debut" (in en). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-shift-tech-listing-idUKKBN2702AY.
12. ↑ "On-demand used car buying and selling comes to L.A.". LA Times. http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-shift-los-angeles-20150626-story.html. Retrieved 26 June 2015.

## External links

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