This week, we speak with Doug DeMuro, one of the most popular online car reviewers. His YouTube channel has amassed 3.7 million subscribers; his videos have been streamed over 1.1 billion times (each averaging 2 million views). He co-founded the auction site Cars & Bids and is the author of two books: “Plays With Cars,” and “Bumper to Bumper.”
Bored with being a cubicle drone at Porsche, DeMuro quit to become a writer. His early columns drew praise for being humorous and honest (See this 2013 review of the Chicago Auto Show). After a reader suggested shooting videos to accompany his columns, he started shooting scripted videos. Not long after in 2014, he decided to buy a used 2004 Ferrari 360 Modena for $80k — half down, half financed with a co-sign from his parents.
He experimented with the format, producing like Does a Ferrari 360 Attract Women? (No, they actually attract teenage boys and car guys). But when he let 20 friends drive his Ferrari, filming their reactions, the video quickly went viral.
DeMuro soon noticed his videos were being seen by more people than his written columns, and so he began doing more of them. Since he could not buy a car each time he wanted to make a video, he began reviewing other people’s cars. Once his YouTube channel amassed 100,000 subscribers, it became obvious it was a viable business model. Recently, he launched a new automobile auction site, Cars & Bids, focusing on cars from the 1980s to present.
A list of his favorite books are here; A transcript of our conversation is available here .
You can stream and download our full conversation, including the podcast extras on iTunes, Spotify, Overcast, Google, Bloomberg, and Stitcher. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can be found here.
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business next week with Pedro Earp, Chief Marketing Officer at AB InBev as well as the director of the company’s Venture Capital fund, ZX Ventures Officer. AB InBev is the world’s leading brewer, selling about ~1/4 of all beer around in the world beer in more than 150+ countries with such brands as Budweiser, Corona, Stella, Becks, Hoegarden, Modela, and 100s others.
