Welcome to another episode of Founder Focus with Steve Greenfield, founder of Automotive Ventures. This CBT original series 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.
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