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Ekho

Enabling OEMs, distributors, and dealers to sell more vehicles in the…

Using Ekho’s licensed, white-label integration, our partners unlock market coverage and enable buyers to complete checkout, financing, payment, insurance, and titling & registration in a matter of minutes — all automated and online, without a single visit to the DMV.
Active Founders
Christopher Howard
Christopher Howard
Founder
Rowan Mockler
Rowan Mockler
Founder
Jobs at Ekho
Ekho
Founded:2022
Batch:Summer 2022
Team Size:10
Status:
Active
Location:New York
Primary Partner:Jared Friedman
Company Launches
Ekho Dealer: Enabling manufacturers to sell their vehicles online
See original launch post

TL;DR We’re a licensed, full-stack distribution solution enabling OEMs to compliantly sell vehicles in the U.S. through their websites, instantly unlocking market coverage.

Hi everyone, we’re Rowan and Chris - the team behind Ekho Dealer!

The problem ❌

It's legally and logistically complex for vehicle manufacturers and distributors to sell their vehicles online:

  • Franchise laws mandate that new vehicle sales must be made through a licensed dealer
  • Traditional dealers lack online sales support and take 20-30%+ commission
  • It is illegal for manufacturers to sell vehicles directly to consumers in most states
  • In states allowing direct sales, it’s expensive and difficult to operate compliantly

Our solution 🏁

Ekho Dealer enables manufacturers to compliantly sell their vehicles online by making it easy to integrate our licensed, full-stack distribution solution into their websites.

With Ekho Dealer enabled, vehicle buyers are able to select a vehicle on a manufacturer’s website and complete the entire purchase process online in minutes. This includes financing, insurance, titling, registering, and scheduling the delivery of their new vehicle (all without visiting a physical dealership).

How it works 🛠️

On the backend, we take care of all the complicated regulatory requirements that come with selling vehicles online. This includes calculating and collecting sales tax, filing registration/titling forms and fees with the DMV, maintaining a portfolio of licenses, and complying with lending regulations when providing financing. On the front end, our website integrations leverage our infrastructure to compliantly process vehicle sales.

Our backstory 🪞

  • Rowan and Chris met at Stanford where they both studied computer science
  • They built a bunch of fun stuff together while in college
  • Rowan is from South Africa, is a world champion public speaker, and previously worked on the product team at Duolingo
  • Chris is from Atlanta, is a published researcher, and previously worked as a Machine Learning Engineer at Meta

Our ask 🙏

  1. If you know someone in vehicle manufacturing (motorcycles, cars, RVs, trailers, ATVs, UTVs, LEVs, NEVs, golf carts, snowmobiles, etc.), ping us at founders@ekhodealer.com or direct them to our inbound form if you think they’ll find this interesting
  2. If you like what we are building, share and upvote!