Investors deal BacklotCars $8M; KC-based startup hitting the gas on disruption

December 11, 2018  |  Austin Barnes

BacklotCars

Disrupting the used car space has driven a Series A funding round to $8 million for Kansas City-based startup BacklotCars, the company announced Tuesday.

“This investment comes at a great time. We are growing rapidly in our existing markets and expanding our national footprint. We expect to continue to add new features – to accompany our transportation network and financing programs – to help dealerships operate more efficiently,” said Justin Davis, founder and CEO of BacklotCars.

Origin Ventures led the funding round, according to a release.

Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, KCRise Fund, Royal Street Ventures, Chaifetz Group, and other undisclosed investors participated.

“We are very excited to welcome new capital partners to BacklotCars,” Davis added.

Click here to read more about the impacts of hometown versus outside capital.

“We are thrilled to invest in a dynamic and disruptive marketplace like BacklotCars,” said

Origin co-founder, Steve Miller. “The wholesale car market has long been ripe for disruption, and we believe Justin and the BacklotCars team will continue to empower dealers to move their inventory more effectively.”

In business for just two years, BacklotCars innovates the wholesale auto industry by enabling dealers, financing, and rental companies to make purchases online without attending auto auctions.

The company operates in more than 18 states with a transaction volume of more than $100 million, BacklotCars said.

“We have a talented team of problem solvers here that gets things done,” said Nathan Sterner, growth and marketing manager. “[We’re] looking forward to putting this money to work to realize our vision even faster and give dealers a better way to buy and sell cars.”

As part of the round, the company announced it also received a credit facility expansion of $10 million.

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

2018 Startups to Watch

    stats here

    Related Posts on Startland News

    Frustrated by the fit, this traveler-turned-swimwear founder crafted 10 pairs himself; now his trunk show is going global

    By Tommy Felts | December 3, 2025

    Opening a popup swimwear store in one of Atlanta’s most upscale malls represented a surge of momentum for Tristan Davis’ high-end brand that began not on a beach or a runway, but in Kansas City’s tight-knit startup community. “We’ve gone from an idea in a handmade bathing suit to a high fashion mall in less…

    Harvesting opportunity: How a KC chicken chain turned a strip of parking lot into its latest ingredient

    By Tommy Felts | December 2, 2025

    Months before snow blanketed Kansas City this week, Todd Johnson transformed a weed-filled, unusable portion of parking lot at his Lenexa restaurant into a flourishing garden that serves up fresh produce used in kitchens at all three of his Strips Chicken and Brewing locations in Johnson County. In its first season, Moonglow Gardens — as…

    AI evolved faster than rules to protect people; this founder wants to code ethics back into the tech

    By Tommy Felts | December 2, 2025

    Amber Stewart sees what many overlook in artificial intelligence, she said: the human cost of unregulated technology that can manifest as anything from sexist and racist outcomes to outright theft from willing and unwilling members of the public. “I’m not afraid of the tech,” said Stewart, founder and CEO of GuardianSync. “I’m afraid of unfettered…

    A romantic hideaway (for you and a book): Entrepreneur’s heart for reading opens store on Independence Square

    By Tommy Felts | December 2, 2025

    America Fontenot didn’t plan to launch her new Independence bookstore on national Small Business Saturday — the busiest shopping weekend of the year — but renovation delays just kept pushing back the opening, she said. So while many small shops were offering Black Friday-adjacent deals to get customers in the front door, Fontenot’s The Littlest…