Mississippi Tech Startup Carmigo Hits 4,000 Cars Sold Milestone
Carmigo just sold the 4,000th car on its online used-car marketplace. The Mississippi-based automotive tech startup is poised to continue its exponential growth in the coming year despite an industry-wide market slowdown.
TUPELO, MISS. (PRWEB) FEBRUARY 21, 2023
Carmigo, a Mississippi-based technology start-up, just sold its 4,000th car.
This milestone comes while other online tech companies in automotive continue to struggle.
“Last year was an exciting ride, seeing the used car market reach stratospheric highs before plummeting back to earth,” said Carmigo CEO and Founder Andrew Warmath. “We got to experience that unprecedented growth. But then we were quickly forced to adapt and innovate in order to grow when other companies in our industry were struggling.”
Carmigo sold just over 1,000 cars in its first year of operations after launching in January 2021. Now, after only one more year, the Tupelo-based company has quadrupled its sales.
Carmigo plans to continue connecting individuals with car dealerships through key product improvements and a profitable acquisition strategy.
TUPELO, MISS. (PRWEB) AUGUST 16, 2022 –
Tupelo-based tech startup Carmigo has announced the close of its most recent funding round. After receiving $7 million from both the original and new investors, Carmigo will continue building its marketplace that connects consumers with dealerships. This funding round brings the total investment in Carmigo to $10 million since its launch in January 2021.
“This round close is a significant milestone for Carmigo,” said Carmigo co-founder and CEO Andrew Warmath. “Our team created Carmigo after recognizing a significant pain point in the automotive industry. Our virtual platform creates a convenient and competitive environment for consumers, while helping our dealers source quality inventory. We are proud of what we have built, but this recent investment makes us excited for what’s to come.”
A major investor in the round was Southern Bancorp in partnership with Advantage Capital. Impressed by Carmigo’s innovative business model, Advantage Capital and Southern Bancorp will support Carmigo’s mission to instill a higher degree of trust in the automotive industry while providing jobs in North Mississippi.
“Our core values stem from our commitment to invest in small businesses and grow communities,” said Brian Anderson, Principal at Advantage Capital. “Carmigo is the perfect example of this dedication. They are committed to bringing jobs to Tupelo and fostering the job market.”
Tupelo Auto Online Startup Aims to Stem ‘Brain Drain’ by Selling Used Cars
By Kayode Brown | April 7, 2022–
Carmigo Founder and CEO Andrew Warmath got the idea for starting his Tupelo-based company during the COVID-19 pandemic, when demand for used cars increased because of the virus’ impact on the economy and, especially, on vehicle manufacturing, with factories shutting down.
His business allows owners to sell their used cars to the highest bidder among various auto dealerships. “Right when the pandemic first started, everything just shut down,” he said in a March 15, 2022, Zoom interview. “Most (auto) retail (outlets) were shut down overnight, but a few weeks later, the faucet turned back on, and traditional supply for cars was shut off while demand exploded.”
“So dealerships were looking all over for different sources of inventory, and we were having trouble finding it,” he added. Barnes Crossing Auto Group, the company for which he worked the time as chief financial officer, experienced the same need.
Andrew Warmath(Co-Founder/CEO – Carmigo) breaks down how they got their start, and how they are bringing jobs to North Mississippi by locating their headquarters in Tupelo.
Jackson, Mississippi – September 20, 2021 – Carmigo, a new software company, is locating its headquarters in Tupelo. The project will create 50 jobs.
Carmigo is an online vehicle marketplace connecting individual sellers with dealers in a one-day auction. The company builds listings for individuals looking to sell a vehicle and then posts them in the marketplace where dealers compete with one another. Carmigo currently has operations in Northeast Mississippi; Nashville, Tennessee; and Birmingham, Alabama. The company will be hiring software developers and operations employees to continually improve the current user interface.
The Mississippi Development Authority certified Carmigo through the Advantage Jobs Rebate Program, which is available for eligible businesses that create new jobs exceeding the average annual wage of the state or county in which the company locates or expands.
Carmigo plans to fill the 50 new jobs over the next two years. For more information about Carmigo, go to carmigo.io/.
QUOTES
“Mississippi is home to some of the most tech-savvy innovators in the country, like the team at Carmigo. The announcement that the company is locating its headquarters in Tupelo, creating 50 good-paying, high-tech jobs, shows others around the country that Mississippi has the ingredients, such as our strong business environment and customizable workforce development programs, to ensure innovators and developers can thrive in our great state. I appreciate the Carmigo team for choosing to create these exciting jobs and grow this new venture in Tupelo.” – Gov. Tate Reeves
“The Carmigo team’s dedication to Tupelo and the state of Mississippi, as well as the decision to create this exciting company and bring these new jobs opportunities to their local community, is a strong testimonial to the fact Mississippi is definitely a business-friendly state, but it also is a place that offers an unmatched quality of life and neighborly hospitality. MDA is proud to support this homegrown, high-tech company, and we look forward to Carmigo’s success moving forward.” – MDA Interim Executive Director Laura Hipp
“Tupelo is my family’s home. It’s where we live, where our kids go to school, where we go to church. And I’ve seen firsthand how so many young people grow up and leave our great state. I’m excited to have an opportunity to partner with Mississippi and battle our brain drain problem by providing an exciting place to work, while Tupelo provides them a great place to live. We have big dreams at Carmigo, and it’s going to take a lot of great minds to execute. We are excited to make a difference in our community by hiring Mississippi-based software developers and operations employees to scale beyond our state.” – Carmigo Co-founder and CEO Andrew Warmath
“On behalf of the city of Tupelo, I am thrilled to have a locally owned startup company such as Carmigo create these high-paying software developer and operations opportunities in our area. These talented workforce jobs will help cultivate the entrepreneurial and information technology culture we know is vital to our city’s future growth. We appreciate Carmigo’s commitment to Tupelo and the surrounding area.” – Mayor Todd Jordan, City of Tupelo
“Carmigo’s unique software and professional marketing approach is groundbreaking for the used vehicle industry. I have personally used Carmigo’s services and was impressed by the superior customer service experience and seamless sales process. The Community Development Foundation appreciates the Mississippi Development Authority’s assistance on this exciting project, and I look forward to seeing the great impact that these career opportunities have on 50 local families in the Tupelo region.” – Community Development Foundation President and CEO David Rumbarger.
Andrew Warmath, Founder & CEO of Tupelo-based startup Carmigo, is looking to revolutionize the car-selling process. Carmigo bills itself as an online auto marketplace that helps individuals sell their vehicles directly to dealerships across the country in a one-day auction.
TUPELO • Carmigo, an online auto marketplace that helps individuals sell their vehicles directly to dealerships across the country, is adding 50 jobs as it establishes its headquarters in Tupelo.
The company will be hiring software developers and operations employees over the next two years.
The company builds listings for individuals looking to sell a vehicle and then posts them in the marketplace where dealers compete with one another. Carmigo launched in January and currently has operations in Northeast Mississippi; Nashville, Tennessee; and Birmingham, Alabama.
“Tupelo is my family’s home. It’s where we live, where our kids go to school, where we go to church. And I’ve seen firsthand how so many young people grow up and leave our great state. I’m excited to have an opportunity to partner with Mississippi and battle our brain drain problem by providing an exciting place to work, while Tupelo provides them a great place to live,” said Carmigo co-founder and CEO Andrew Warmath. “We have big dreams at Carmigo, and it’s going to take a lot of great minds to execute. We are excited to make a difference in our community by hiring Mississippi-based software developers and operations employees to scale beyond our state.”
The Mississippi Development Authority certified Carmigo through the Advantage Jobs Rebate Program, which is available for eligible businesses that create new jobs exceeding the average annual wage of the state or county in which the company locates or expands.
“Carmigo’s unique software and professional marketing approach is groundbreaking for the used vehicle industry. I have personally used Carmigo’s services and was impressed by the superior customer service experience and seamless sales process,” said Community Development Foundation President and CEO David Rumbarger. “The Community Development Foundation appreciates the Mississippi Development Authority’s assistance on this exciting project, and I look forward to seeing the great impact that these career opportunities have on 50 local families in the Tupelo region.”
Andrew Warmath, Founder & CEO of Tupelo-based startup Carmigo, is looking to revolutionize the car-selling process. Carmigo bills itself as an online auto marketplace that helps individuals sell their vehicles directly to dealerships across the country in a one-day auction.
TUPELO • A Tupelo-based startup hopes to revolutionize online car-selling with an innovative approach.
Carmigo bills itself as an online auto marketplace that helps individuals sell their vehicles directly to dealerships across the country in a one-day auction.
“We connect the individuals with car dealers right now in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee,” said Andrew Warmath, the founder and CEO of the company.
Thirteen dealerships are currently in the Carmigo marketplace, but inquiries have been coming in from dealerships across the country.
“We do everything from building the listings to bringing the buyers to after the vehicle sells, when we handle all the paperwork, the transportation, the money transfer,” Warmath said.
Other sites like Carvana and CarMax can buy someone’s car or truck or SUV, but Carmigo raises the bar by offering multiple dealerships and multiple offers for a vehicle.
“Carmigo was founded because we saw the frustrations individuals had when either selling a vehicle on their own or trading it in,” Warmath said. “We are introducing competition where competition wasn’t previously.”
Carmigo’s online marketplace, which began in January, brings buyers directly to the user. It combines the convenience of trading in a vehicle, but with the competitiveness when self-selling.
Carmigo launched quietly in January with the hopes of selling 25 cars. Instead it sold 70.
“It was a soft launch with basic functionality, with the intent of getting some feedback and hear the pains people had, as well as success stories,” Warmath said.
With software developers in Nashville, Dallas, Los Angeles and elsewhere across the country, the site has been made more user friendly. And it was done just in time for the recent launch of Carmigo in Nashville.
Carmigo works through a multi-step process :
“The whole process was so simple and easy. All I had to do was type my VIN in and schedule an appointment … I got exactly what I was wanting for our car within 24 hours,” said Grady Hurley.
With Carmigo bringing dealerships that submit bids to the seller during a one-day auction, users can watch the auction live as real-time bids come in for their vehicle.
Much like a traditional auction, Carmigo allows the user to set a minimum price. If the minimum price is not met, the individual is not locked into selling their vehicle and the seller does not owe a fee. This guarantees that customers get the value that they want for their vehicle. Once the vehicle is sold the $150 fee is deducted from the vehicle proceeds.
With the recent uptick in used vehicle sales, and the lack of availability for new vehicle inventory, dealerships are focused on sourcing quality used vehicles, Warmath said.
“Dealerships have been just as excited to use our marketplace as sellers,” he said. “Dealers are looking everywhere for quality inventory right now and there is no other place like Carmigo that offers direct access to individual sellers.”
Carmigo announces Daniel Kim as Chief Operating Officer
Tupelo, MS. – January 3, 2021– Carmigo, the leading online car-selling platform to help consumers to easily sell their car for the best price, announced today the appointment of Daniel Kim as its Chief Operating Officer.
Kim brings over 10 years of technology experience in the automotive industry. He oversaw the post-merger integration of AutoTrader, KBB, vAuto, VinSolutions and Homenet into Cox Automotive as management consultant at Bain & Company and helped improve and standardize digital marketing for over 1,500 automotive dealerships as the founder and CEO of Orbee, a leading marketing cloud company designed exclusively for the automotive industry.
As COO at Carmigo, Kim will be working to help further create scalable processes in customer acquisition, refine Carmigo’s business model and find the right investment and strategic partners to help Carmigo achieve accelerated growth in the coming years. Kim’s unique and extensive experience in building technology companies and understanding of the automotive industry will aid in helping build Carmigo into a scalable company with the proper product-market fit.
“Andrew and the team at Carmigo have built an amazing industry-first consumer-to-dealership (C2D) auction platform to help consumers get the most for their vehicle while providing access to quality inventory to automotive dealerships.” said Daniel Kim. “I’m excited to join this team to help Carmigo realize its vision in revolutionizing the way consumers sell their vehicles and the way dealerships source their inventory.
Kim joins Carmigo at a critical moment in the automotive industry where inventory shortages have created a need for dealerships to find non-traditional sources to procure vehicles and a need for consumers to find the best price for selling the car in a price-volatile market.
“We are very excited to welcome Daniel to Carmigo. Daniel brings extensive industry and tech company building experience which will help provide guidance for our young and fast-growing company,” said Andrew Warmath, CEO and Founder of Carmigo. “We have learned so much in our first full year and I am excited to be working alongside Daniel to grow exponentially in the coming years.”
About Carmigo
Carmigo is an online marketplace helping individuals easily sell their car for the best price at the comfort of their home by allowing dozens of local dealers to bid on these cars. Carmigo helps sellers turn their car into cash in under 24 hours while giving dealership partners access to quality used car inventory. Founded in 2021, the company has helped thousands of individuals sell their used cars with a 5.0 rating. Carmigo was founded in Tupelo, MS and currently serves the Nashville, Birmingham, Little Rock, North Mississippi and Huntsville market.
Tupelo, MS. – January 3, 2021