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    October 11, 2018

    $22 million SpinCar Financing Big Win for StartFast Investors and Syracuse Tech Community

    Company was a 2013 participant in StartFast at the Madden School; investment is largest single financing for a downtown business in over a decade

    StartFast Venture Accelerator recorded its biggest win to date with the announcement of a $22 million investment in its portfolio company SpinCar. The capital infusion from Boston-based Wavecrest Growth Partners created a 20-times (2,000%) return for StartFast investors and has positioned SpinCar to continue its triple-digit annual growth rate. With its headquarters in Syracuse, SpinCar’s growth is creating new job opportunities for the region’s college graduates as well.

    According to StartFast Managing Director Nasir Ali, “This is a great win for SpinCar, our investors and Syracuse’s emerging tech community. StartFast investors and mentors believed that high-growth companies can succeed in Syracuse and they supported SpinCar every step of the way. Now, SpinCar is one more fast-growing employer anchoring the Warren Street tech corridor from the Tech Garden to the State Tower building.”

    “We are incredibly proud of Devin and Michael’s success” said StartFast Managing Director Chuck Stormon. “These two founders showed us how committed they were to succeeding during the program and that determination and intelligence has now borne fruit. It has been wonderful to see these two young entrepreneurs develop into seasoned leaders right here in Syracuse.”

    Having received so much help from the community, SpinCar is now in a unique position to help others and continue the “pay it forward” philosophy commonly found in major metropolitan startup ecosystems. One example is their emerging relationship with Le Moyne College’s Madden School of Business. “Our relationship with SpinCar is exactly what every university-business partnership should look like,” says Madden Dean Jim Joseph ’83. “Le Moyne has become a talent source fueling SpinCar’s growth, and Devin Daly is now a high impact participant on the Madden School Advisory Board.”

    Capital region based serial entrepreneur and former SpinCar board member John Miller had this to say: “I met Devin and Mike as a StartFast mentor in 2013 and was immediately drawn to their passion for the business. Helping them understand the applications of their technology to online car sales and navigating the path to building an amazing sales organization has been an exhilarating ride!”

    This SpinCar financing is the largest in a recent series of Syracuse-based private tech company transactions (collectively over $50 million raised by Density, TCGplayer, Ichor Therapeutics, and Plowz & Mowz). This trend is driven by a record number of regional business leaders becoming actively engaged in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. “Every successful entrepreneur can point to a small group of people that were critical to their early success. StartFast provides business leaders an opportunity to support promising entrepreneurs, like Devin and Michael, that could transform the region.” said James Shomar, program director at StartFast.

    About SpinCar
    SpinCar offers automotive dealers, OEMs and online marketplaces the industry’s most advanced platform for digital automotive merchandising. The company’s 360° WalkAround® technology builds trust between buyers and sellers by bringing the physical showroom experience to car shoppers wherever and whenever they want. SpinCar’s proprietary shopper behavioral data and VINtelligent® Retargeting solution enable dealers to deliver hyper-personalized interactions across the entire car shopping journey. To date, more than 140 million virtual WalkArounds have been experienced by car shoppers across 14 countries. To learn more about SpinCar, visit SpinCar.com.

    About StartFast Venture Accelerator
    StartFast is the only 100% privately funded accelerator program between New York City and Chicago. Backed by private investors from New York, Florida and California, StartFast seeks to invest in and accelerate the success of internet startup founders. The 12-week bootcamp for startups operates each summer in the Madden School of Business at Le Moyne College, providing founders with capital, staff, space, and connections to world-renowned mentors and investors. Since its inception in 2012, StartFast has invested in more than 40 companies from the US & Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. To learn more, visit startfast.net

    About the Madden School of Business
    Ranked #14 among small, private business schools by U.S. News & World Reports, the Madden School of Business develops reflective individuals, with an innovative spirit who will fulfill their potential as leaders, both locally and globally, embodying the Jesuit values of integrity, compassion, and service to others. Students are empowered and encouraged to explore and, having found what they are passionate about, to excel in their chosen fields. The members of the faculty challenge and enable students to attain their full potential through experiential involvement, ongoing scholarship, and up-to-date methodology. Three undergraduate programs were nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Reports - accounting (#44), information systems (#18) and marketing (#29). Learn more here.
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