Why we raised $4.2m in venture capital, how we’re going to invest it, and what comes next

We raised $4.2m in venture capital so that we can do one thing better: advocate for the consumer.

We’re going to invest in building a better car-buying and ownership experience through our software, educational courses, and partnerships. We’ll invest in the YAA Community Forum, as well as hire and train countless “Auto Advocates” to provide one-to-one expert support for consumers when they need it most.

We’ll know we’ve done a good job investing this capital when we’ve done two things: increased the number of YAA members and simultaneously increased our “net promoter score” (a metric used to measure how likely someone is to recommend a product/service to a friend).

Let’s dive into more of the details ...

Why did you decide to do this

You don’t have to dig too deep to understand why my dad and I are passionate about YAA. Whether it’s in written form, videos, or podcasts, we share the same message time and time again: we want to help people.

For my dad, at his age, and after all that he has endured in his life, he is incredibly eager to educate and help others. I think a great deal of that comes from the fact that my mom (his wife) was a special education teacher. He (just like the rest of my family) admired my mom for her patience, perseverance, and commitment to “change the world” one student at a time.

I think my dad is living out my mom’s legacy through YAA. I see the passion and concern in his eyes when we film a video, take a phone call, or meet with a potential business partner. He wants to help people, and he recognizes that YAA is his vehicle to do that. He’s proud of what we’ve built, and excited for what is yet to come.

As his son, I am able to appreciate how unique and special this opportunity is. Not only does YAA serve as an incredible source of meaning in both of our lives, it has brought us closer together than ever before.

You may recall from the YAA Manifesto, I resented my dad because I never saw him when I was a kid (I selfishly wanted him there when I was playing in a soccer tournament, cooking dinner, or doing other “normal” kid things). I never saw him because he was working his butt off at the car dealership to (as he would say) “provide everything to my family that they don’t even know they want yet.”

As I got older my resentment towards him faded. In its place I found a new target; the industry that so casually took advantage of his time while simultaneously taking advantage of its customer. My dad’s not a bad person. He worked tirelessly to provide for his family. The systems and processes of the industry he chose to work in are outdated, unfair, and unequivocally “broken.”

Our passion for YAA runs deep, and we are committed to being advocates for consumers. We see an opportunity to bring millions of hours back to humanity by creating efficiency for everyone involved in the car buying process (both buyers and sellers).

The opportunity to positively impact society is not lost on us, and I am young enough, eager enough, and full of enough naivety to think I can do it. My dad brings a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, subject matter expertise, and industry connections.

YAA has a chance to change the world and we recognize that it is up to us to make that happen.

Are we entirely altruistic human beings? No, of course not, we have personal goals and ambitions that are less selfless (I really want to buy my dad a house at the Jersey Shore for example), but what gets us out of bed in the morning is the idea that we can help people. We realize and appreciate how fortunate we are to have this opportunity.

The best thing we’ve done over the past 18 months is create videos for our YouTube channel. My dad is great on camera. His advice and knowledge is incredibly valuable, and he’s supremely funny and engaging. It’s an awesome combination. It also doesn’t hurt that you can make some serious money on YouTube by allowing advertisements on your videos.

For the past year or so we’ve done exactly that. If you watch a YAA video (which as of the time of this writing have been viewed nearly 17,000,000 times — WOW!) you will see an advertisement. We get paid a small amount (thousandths of cents on the dollar) every time an advertisement runs.

I’ve mentioned it in the past, and I will say it again now: we’ve invested every dollar from the YouTube channel back into the business. The Market Price Report? Funded by YouTube ad revenue. Trade-in valuations from Black Book? Funded by YouTube ad revenue. Everything you see back on JoinYAA.com? … Funded by YouTube ad revenue.

We wouldn’t be where we are today without you and your viewership of our videos. Period.

Since starting YAA in December of 2019, we have had a lot of ideas for how we can help people. Our YouTube ad revenue has allowed us to invest in those ideas (some winners, others losers). One challenge we’ve faced however is that with such little cash in the bank, if we invest in an idea and it isn’t a “winner” we could be in serious financial trouble.

It’s difficult to focus on ideating, testing, and building things when you’re paralyzed by your bank account. You can’t (in good conscience) hire people to work with you, or invest as aggressively as you’d like when you’re concerned you’ll run out of cash.

The reason we’ve raised venture capital is so that we can mitigate these concerns and really focus on ideating, testing, and building things that truly benefit the YAA community.

YouTube ad revenue is GREAT, and it has carried us an incredibly far way (way further than I would have guessed before starting the business), and now we are ready to take YAA to the next level — to provide the experience that is truly necessary to level out the information asymmetry that plagues the consumer. We have no excuses. We have the capital, now we need to execute.

Speaking of which ...

How we’re going to invest

Our goal is to grow the YAA community and increase our net promoter score. We now have $4.2m ways that we can try and do that. So what do you do?

First, we have to have a very clear vision for what we are trying to achieve. It’s simple. We want every person in the world to have a confidence-inspiring experience when they buy a car, service their car, sell their car, or do anything with their vehicle. Why? Because all of my life I have had my dad there to help me with those things, and not once have I thought to myself “Oh man, I hope I’m not getting screwed right now.” I knew I wasn't getting taken advantage of because my dad was there with me to make sure it didn’t happen. My sister has had the same luxury, and we’ve benefited immensely from this.

99.9% of humanity doesn’t have someone they can turn to that has their back (not to mention the expertise) to help them navigate these situations.

What’s the vision for YAA? That everyone has an advocate they can turn to to support them.

Right now our focus is on providing this service in automotive. In the future it could very well extend beyond that.

Our vision is clear; provide the same experience I have always had to millions of people all over the world. So how do you do that?

You need to hire smart, capable, and committed people.

Over the coming weeks and months there will be many new faces at YAA. We need help to accomplish our goals. We need people who are experts in their field and that are committed to our mission and vision that want to join our team so that we can execute our plans efficiently and effectively. If you think that might be you, please consider joining our team!

Doubling down on what works, and testing new concepts quickly are the priorities. We’ll be investing in the things that we know provide value to our community in an effort to make them even better. For example, we’re aware of improvements we can make to our Market Price Report that will save thousands of people even more time when they use it every day. We’re going to double down on that.

We’ll also be testing a variety of ideas for new products and services. By building out a team that is passionate about advocacy, and then equipping them with the resources they need, we will be able to test and develop many new member benefits over the coming weeks, months, and years.

Soon we will share our product roadmap with you on the YAA Community. Transparency and authenticity are key values that have allowed us to gain your trust up to this point, and just because we’ve raised outside capital doesn’t mean that’s going to change.

What does success look like?

A larger community that recommends YAA to their friends and family. There is no simpler way to describe what success looks like than that.

Part of what “works” about YAA is that when you engage with us, you quickly realize that we are real and genuine people. Our authenticity and openness is what has allowed us to earn your trust.

Raising venture capital was a major decision for us, and after careful deliberation and consideration we decided that it gives us the best chance to attain “success” and most importantly, to do it quickly. Because of our great partners (thank you Flybridge Capital, NextView Ventures, Long Journey Ventures, and other angel investors), we feel confident that we have aligned ourselves with the right people who see the same incredible potential YAA has.

Thank you for your continued support.