Clutch, a Canadian online retail platform for vehicles, announced last week that they have raised $7 million in seed financing which they will use to grow their team and scale their business in each of the cities that they currently operate. The announcement also included the news that Janet Bannister, founder of Kijiji.ca and managing partner of Real Ventures will be joining Clutch’s board of directors.
The company, which originated in Halifax in 2016, has quickly grown and offers customers a fast and easy car buying experience and end-to-end online purchase experience. Customers can visit the company’s website Clutch.ca to browse vehicles and prices, and then purchase the vehicle of their choice virtually. Every element of the transaction is done online including financing, insurance, scheduling an at-home test drive, and vehicle delivery.
“The convenience of buying a car online has become more important than ever,” Clutch’s CEO, Dan Park said in a recent press release. “Increasingly, customers are demanding an easy, transparent, risk-free way to buy all goods and services online. While the auto industry has traditionally lagged other categories in providing customers with this type of offering, Clutch is changing this,” Janet Bannister explains.
“Clutch was borne out of my frustration with the traditional car buying process which instills very little confidence and takes hours,” said Steve Seibel, founder and COO of Clutch. “Our company was founded on a number of core values including building trust with our customers, making magic with every purchase, and building a company that makes a positive impact on our communities.” To foster this trust, Clutch backs each purchase with a standard 7-day money back guarantee, which instills consumer confidence in their online purchase.
