Shift (business)

Shift is an online marketplace for buying and selling used cars. Founded in 2014, Shift is an American company based in San Francisco’s Mission District. , the company offers its services in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose and San Diego, California as well as Portland, Oregon.
History.
Shift was founded in 2013 by: George Arison, Toby Russell, Minnie Ingersoll, Christian Ohler, Joel Washington and Morgan Knutson. The company was incorporated in 2014, and launched its first market of San Francisco in 2015.
The company initially served as an intermediary that bought and sold used cars on a consignment basis. The company then began acquiring cars outright and reselling them on its platform direct to buyers, removing the peer-to-peer consignment model. 
As a private company, Shift received funding from Lithia Motors Inc., Goldman Sachs Investment Partners (GSIP), Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), Highland Capital Partners, SV Angel, Great Oaks Venture Capital, DCM Ventures and others. As of 2019, Shift has raised approximately $300 million, a mix of debt and equity.
In June 2020, Shift announced that it would engage in a merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) called Insurance Acquisition Corp., then a public company listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol INSU. Through its merger with Insurance Acquisition Corp., Shift went public in October 2020 on the Nasdaq with a pro forma enterprise valuation of $415.9 million.
Business model.
Shift buys and sells used cars directly to and from consumers through its ecommerce platform. It facilitate test drives, financing options, inspections, Department of Motor Vehicles interactions, detailing, pricing and merchandising. Once Shift acquires a car, it inspects and repairs it through its regional reconditioning centers. From there, the company lists cars on its website where consumers can purchase the car online or book a test drive appointment in their local area. As of March 2021, cars sold through Shift were purported to include a seven-day, 200-mile return policy and a 30-day powertrain guarantee.