DriverSide.com is the driver's seat with $5.3 million

Posted Mar 13th 2009 1:30PM by Tom Taulli
Filed under: Small Business

Predictions for U.S. auto sales look grim for 2009. With the wealth destruction and grinding recession, the number of auto sales may be only ten million or so.

But, this could actually be good news for DriverSide, which is a resource for car owners.

In fact, the site raised a cool $5.3 million in venture capital recently (in all, the company has raised $8.4 million). The lead investor: Allegis Capital.

DriverSide, which got its start in late 2007, has a variety of useful tools. For example, users can find ways to reduce servicing/maintenance costs. There are also recall and service alerts. Oh, and there is a plethora of useful editorial content and community forums.

Now, with the infusion of capital, DriverSide plans to expand its distribution footprint, such as through key partnerships. One of the latest is with Integrated Services, which makes LubeSoft (a sophisticated POS software system for fast lube operators).

The founders of DriverSide have strong backgrounds, having sold their prior ventures to biggies like Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU). And, based on the progress of the current venture so far, it looks like the team is on path for another success.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a free online business valuation tool for small businesses.

Tags: DriverSide, venture capital, VentureCapital