Purple Wave’s strategic partnership with global auction site will take KS tech international
October 10, 2023 | Tommy Felts
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro.
MANHATTAN, Kansas — A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is expected to help homegrown auction tech company Purple Wave scale into the global brand its co-founders always dreamed it could be, said Aaron McKee.
Purple Wave on Tuesday announced a “significant” investment from Copart, Inc., as well as a trajectory-boosting strategic partnership with the global leader in online auto auctions.
“We chose this partnership because it helps us gain an international footprint, an unparalleled international auction community, advanced technologies, and domain knowledge that absolutely no other partner could bring to the table,” said McKee, co-founder of online equipment marketplace Purple Wave alongside his wife, Suzy McKee.
The deal allows Purple Wave — a pioneer in the online auction industry, selling items directly from the seller’s location through no-reserve online auctions — to build upon the community of equipment buyers and sellers it has assembled since the Manhattan company’s founding in 2000.
Financial details of the investment and partnership were not disclosed.
“We have worked together to build a partnership that we are all very proud of,” McKee said. “This represents a significant investment, but we are all in from a capital and personal standpoint looking to the future. Capital was not our limiting factor, in fact Suzy and I are literally not taking a dollar of cash off the table in connection with the investment by Copart.”
Click here to check out Purple Wave’s auction platform, which applies its solutions across multiple industries — construction contractors, agricultural producers, fleet owners, and governmental agencies.
Copart leaders recognized the uniqueness of Purple Wave’s digital-first approach, said Jeff Liaw, co-CEO of Dallas-based Copart.
“This collaboration allows us to leverage our collective expertise for the betterment of our respective marketplaces,” said Liaw. “Most importantly, it reflects our shared commitment to creating long-term value through excellence and innovation.”
Copart’s involvement will support Purple Wave’s mission as it continues to be the easiest, most straightforward way to buy and sell equipment, said McKee, noting the founders and leadership team of Purple Wave will continue to lead the company.
“This is all part of the founder-led culture that is deep in the fiber of Copart’s DNA,” said McKee. “We have put together a partnership that is designed for us to continue to operate Purple Wave as partners in an independent company and brand, while still benefiting from shared efficiencies and resources that help both companies better serve our buyers and sellers.”
Aaron McKee, Purple Wave, center, alongside fellow Pipeline Entrepreneurs Bo Lais, Lula, and A.J. Mellott, Ronawk, during the 2023 Pipeline Innovators Gala; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
As a longtime member of Pipeline Entrepreneurs, McKee said, it’s difficult to imagine where Purple Wave would be without the resources provided by the elite network of Midwest founders.
McKee was among the finalists for Pipeline’s 2023 Member Growth Award.
“It’s been a pivotal factor for Purple Wave to achieve the growth, market presence and experience to achieve an opportunity like this,” said McKee. “I have relied on regular mentorship from my Pipeline network at every step of the way through the process of scaling Purple Waves community, and especially while putting together this partnership.”
“It is awesome to look back at the accomplishments and how Pipeline has been there to support me since 2015 when I joined the program,” he added.
This story is made possible by Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures.
Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures (EGV) is a business unit of NetWork Kansas supporting innovative, high-growth entrepreneurs in the State of Kansas. NetWork Kansas promotes an entrepreneurial environment by connecting entrepreneurs and small business owners with the expertise, education and economic resources they need to succeed.
Featured Business
2023 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
This Kansas gardener sued to sell fruit and honey; Now her town will allow urban farming
Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. Ottawa city officials are trying to strike a balance between people who want to produce food and the interests of their…
New CEO for one of KC’s most-talked-about startups could be the first step toward an IPO
A new CEO for Kansas City-based TripleBlind allows the privacy tech startup to advance into a growth stage company — one potentially headed toward a public offering — taking advantage of recent momentum around enterprise artificial intelligence solutions, said Riddhiman Das. TripleBlind on Monday announced the appointment of Prat Moghe, former executive vice president of…
Godfrey Riddle wants to build you a home; How Civic Saint’s eco-friendly bricks could reshape the foundation of affordable housing
Winning $55,000 in a recent national LGBT pitch competition provides Godfrey Riddle the building blocks for a hard pivot — shifting the focus of his lifestyle company Civic Saint from handmade retail goods to earthen bricks used to sustainably create artful, affordable homes. “Affordable housing is a problem I’ve been pondering since my family lost…
KC Cattle Company steaks its reputation on wagyu hot dogs; Why this rural MO business enlists veterans on its new mission
WESTON, Missouri — Patrick Montgomery struggled to find his way after his service in the U.S. Army, he said. Now on a new mission — his venture KC Cattle Company — Montgomery is helping other veterans at a similar crossroads. “The military does some things really well and they do some things really poorly,” he…