Lehi — Carketa, the Utah-based developer of SaaS applications that allows automotive dealerships to sell more vehicles in less time for more profit, today announced technology investor and operator Tim Hansen as CEO.

Hansen has spent his career advising, investing in, and operating software companies. After successfully investing in or sourcing early-stage companies at Pelion Venture Partners and Peterson Ventures, including Allbirds, Divvy, Lucid Software, and Ethos Life Insurance, Hansen served as VP of Corporate and Business Development at Weave Communications, Inc. which successfully went public in November 2022.

Co-founder Brady Thurgood, who has been serving as CEO of Carketa, will continue to build out the revenue function of the company. Thurgood explains, “As Carketa continues to grow and expand throughout the automotive and powersports industry we are so excited to welcome Tim to the Carketa Team. His vast experience will help expedite the vision of Carketa at hyper speed.”

As co-founder and CEO of Carketa, Thurgood raised more than $7M in venture capital funding, including a $6M Series Seed round in November 2021 led by Origin Ventures and Crosslink Capital. Since launching in 2019, Carketa has built a base of 500+ customers and has facilitated the inspection, reconditioning, and disposition of tens of thousands of vehicles through its software platform.

“Carketa is making waves in an otherwise slow-to-innovate industry. The number one barrier to growth for automotive dealerships is the working capital tied up in inventory that needs to be prepared for sale and then sold,” said Hansen. “Carketa helps dealers unlock that working capital by accelerating inventory turns, cutting waste in spend, and providing better transparency to all stakeholders in the car buying process. I’m so excited to be working with a team that has such a wealth of knowledge in this industry and a hunger to help automotive dealerships take full advantage of modern technology to grow their bottom line.”

“We invested in Carketa because their software delivers real value to dealerships. Founder Jason Berry created this software because he knew the needs of his own dealership, Action Auto, which has become one of the fastest growing dealerships in Utah,” says Scott Stern, Partner at Origin Ventures. “Both Jason and Brady have done an incredible job as first-time founders finding product market fit and getting Carketa into hundreds of dealerships. We are excited to pass the baton to Tim who immediately caught the vision and potential of Carketa. His depth of experience in the SaaS world will allow Carketa to continue its rapid growth.”

About Carketa

Carketa is an easy to use, automated inventory and reconditioning software platform that helps dealerships manage every car’s progress, eliminate bottlenecks, and ultimately sell more cars faster. A dealership simply uploads their inventory from their Dealer Management Software (DMS) and can easily manage their vehicles anywhere, from purchase to frontline ready, often selling the car before it even reaches the lot.

This software also impacts the end customer. By scanning a QR code on the windshield, the customer is given insight and transparency into the history of the car. This brings increased trust and efficiency to the sales process.

Additionally, Carketa includes a wholesale marketplace for the disposition of vehicles. “Carketa has helped my dealership set record-setting sales months even through Covid,” says Berry.

About Origin Ventures

O‌rig‌in Ventures is a nationwide early-stage venture capital firm investing in software, marketplace, and consumer companies that cater to Digital Natives. It was an early backer of BacklotCars.

About Crosslink Capital

Crosslink Capital is based in San Francisco and led Carketa’s Pre-Seed round in August 2020. Jim Feuille, Partner at Crosslink explains, “We have watched Carketa make a major difference to its customers since launching their first product and we are excited for the next of many chapters together. We are building a category-defining company.”