YouTuber Doug DeMuro says he will not start another business after building Cars & Bids, the automotive auction platform he launched in 2020 and sold a majority stake in for $37 million in January 2023.

“I’m never doing it again … ever,” DeMuro said on “The Iced Coffee Hour” podcast hosted by Graham Stephan and Jack Selby. “I straight up, I’m never doing it again. I just remember those days, and I’m too old for it, and I probably have too much money for it.”

DeMuro, 37, built his YouTube channel to 5.1 million subscribers through automotive reviews before launching Cars & Bids. The platform reported 4,000 listed cars and $75 million in spending by purchasers in 2021. 

The Chernin Group acquired the majority stake two years after launch.

Early Challenges Nearly Broke Him

DeMuro describes the initial months of launching Cars & Bids as the most challenging period. “Getting it going was the hardest part at the very beginning,” he said. “The first four or five months, you know, that’s sink or swim, especially when you’re as public as we are.”

Unlike typical startups, which can test products with select audiences, DeMuro announced its launch publicly on day one. “We launched, I mean, we announced the launch the day we launched, and then everyone knew, because I was on YouTube and it was a big deal,” he said. “If it wasn’t going to work, it was going to fail like in those days, like I didn’t have a second chance.”

The platform experienced extreme fluctuations in customer volume. “There were more customers than we ever expected right away, and then there were fewer customers than we expected soon after,” DeMuro said. “We have different problems now. We got to figure this out, and there was just constant triage and whack-a-mole and putting out fires.”

Two Successful Businesses, Same Grueling Pattern

DeMuro considers both his YouTube channel and Cars & Bids as successful businesses that followed similar difficult trajectories. 

“The YouTube channel also had a very difficult start, a lot of effort, an enormous amount of work, long nights, long hours, long weekends, a lot of travel,” he said. “Then we started the cars and bids business, which was all of those things once again. So, like, it happened twice, and I think that’s all you get.”

Before The Chernin Group investment, DeMuro personally handled operational tasks, including setting prices. “I was personally setting reserves,” he said. “People would send in their car, and I would be the one to type, like, you know, we’ll offer you 20. Oh, I want 25. Like I personally did that just by myself for the first six months.”

Financial Security Changed Everything

DeMuro reports that the investment dramatically improved his mental state. 

“I was doing well on YouTube, but that tap could be turned off at any time,” he said. “It definitely lowers the stakes from – I absolutely have to do this or else I’ll don’t know what’ll happen to – like, let’s make this succeed, but it’s a fun project.”

The change allowed him to focus on content creation. 

“I don’t have to really deal with a lot of the day-to-day operations anymore, and I can instead focus heavily on the thing that not only do I do best, but I enjoy the most, and I am most valuable to the business, which is making the videos,” DeMuro said.

Platform Strategy Remains Selective

Cars & Bids denies more than half of submitted vehicles, although DeMuro notes many submissions include mass-market vehicles such as 12-year-old Honda Civics with 200,000 miles. The platform avoids scheduling competing vehicles at the same time and does not run weekend auctions.

DeMuro acknowledges discussions about expansion, but remains cautious. 

“Do you then alienate the people who came in the first place? Maybe. Probably,” he said. “I’m not starting any more businesses.”

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