RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK — Get Spiffy is ready to franchise.
After a bumpy few months weathering the impact of COVID-19, the RTP-based on-demand car care, technology and services company confirmed it’s on the rebound and is now accepting applications for franchise licenses in new markets across the country.
“We started Spiffy six years ago with the idea to leverage digital technologies to disrupt the existing automotive service industry,” said Scot Wingo, Spiffy CEO. “We’ve seen tremendous demand and our move into franchising opens the door for an army of enthusiastic entrepreneurs to join us as we provide a digital 10 times better customer experience.”
Just a few months ago, Spiffy was hurting badly. After years of scaling quickly — expanding into 20 metropolitan markets and closing on $10 million in new venture capital last year — it saw its revenue plummet by 90 percent in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. That sudden drop forced the company to furlough around 200 employees in April.
However, things are looking up now.
“Just in the last two weeks we got to two thirds of the pre-COVID levels,” Wingo told WRAL TechWire. “So [we’re] off 30 percent, which is still not where we want to be, but a heck of a lot better than the bottom where we were.”
Source: Get Spiffy
Founded in 2014 by Wingo, the co-founder of ChannelAdvisor, and Karl Murphy, Spiffy started out offering a variety of hand car washing, advanced detailing, oil change and maintenance service options using the Spiffy app. Shortly after the pandemic hit, it also added disinfection services for “virus-free” vehicles and facilities.
However, despite their coverage nationwide, a third of all service requests come from outside of Spiffy’s established markets, Wingo said. That has pushed the company to broaden its supply with franchising.
“As a four-time serial entrepreneur and co-founder of ChannelAdvisor where thousands of our customers were also digital commerce entrepreneurs, I’m really excited to help Spiffy franchisees build successful businesses in this exploding digital services space,” he said. “We believe that we are in a great position to offer a unique opportunity with unparalleled support to potential franchisees.”
That support includes upfitting service vehicles with proprietary equipment designs by the Spiffy Labs team. Appointment booking and monitoring are handled via in-house software development. Franchisees also have access to a seasoned leadership team and a suite of corporate support resources — including accounting, customer service, and marketing.
“This is a crucial moment for Spiffy,” added Connor Finnegan, VP of Strategy. “We’ve been steadily growing towards this milestone since we secured additional funding last year, and have been in contact with many individuals looking to learn more about operating under our brand. We’re eager to expand our reach with many talented operators across the country!”
