Finio Inc. last month announced a partnership with online vehicle marketplace Trader Interactive to streamline the credit application process of vehicles other than passenger cars.
Finioโs technology will be integrated into Virginia Beach, Va.-based Trader Interactiveโs existing Buy Now credit approval tool as part of the partnership.
โItโs exciting for us as a relatively new market entrant to work with a leading online marketplace in powersports and motorcycles,โ co-founder and Chief Executive Andreas โAndyโ Hinrichs told the Business Journal.
The Irvine-based fintech startup makes it possible to finance a vehicle online, connecting customers, retailers and lenders across the powersports, motorcycle and marine leisure industries.
Itโs the latest venture from Hinrichs and Nicholas Stellman, co-founders of automotive fintech company Digital Motors Corp., which was sold to TrueCar Inc. (Nasdaq: TRUE) for a total consideration of $21.8 million in May 2022.
Online Financing
Customers using Finio can get prequalified โwithout ever having to leave the couch,โ Hinrichs said.
Typically, the dealership helps match customers with a lending institution if they need financing when purchasing a motorcycle, recreational vehicle or boat, he said.
Finio, instead, aims to automate this process online, cutting down on paperwork and reducing time spent evaluating customer leads for dealers and lenders.
โItโs still the dealership delivering the vehicle, but everything else is conducted seamlessly online,โ Hinrichs said.
Finio publicly launched on April 1 after having been under development for the past two years.
The startup is still entirely self-funded and is currently not looking for investors.
โAs commercialization takes hold, weโll [reconsider] as opportunities arise,โ Hinrichs said.
Auto Fintech Experts
Hinrichs and Stellman are no strangers to the auto financing industry.
Hinrichs said they relied on their previous experience at Digital Motors to build Finio from scratch.
Following the acquisition of Digital Motors by TrueCar, the two stayed on as VPs for about a year before deciding โit was time to move onto their next adventure,โ Hinrichs said.
Hinrichs and Stellman also previously co-founded AutoGravity Corp. in 2016, which allowed customers to buy cars online. It was shut down by Mercedes-Benz Financial Services several years after the two left.
They built the app into a business that generated over $2 billion in financing requests and connected 2 million users with car dealers and financial firms.
Making the move to branch outside of auto fintech was mainly fueled by the desire to bring the same innovative technologies into other vehicle adjacent industries, Hinrichs said.
โMy co-founder and I realized that a lot of the digital tools and practices that are increasingly taken for granted in the automotive industry are not yet addressed in adjacent industries,โ Hinrichs said.
While the Trader Interactive partnership focuses primarily on the credit application and approval process, Finio plans to commercialize other financing tools for consumers and dealerships down the line, according to Hinrichs.
The company said it expects to hire more employees as they further plan commercialization.
