Friendemic Wins Growth Stage Category At AutoVentures, The First Automotive Start-Up Conference

Friendemic Social Engagement selected by leading automotive PE firms, automotive vendors and progressive dealers/groups who came together at AutoVentures to identify and nurture automotive businesses of the future

Salt Lake City, UT (PRWEB) - Friendemic won top honors in the Growth Stage competition at AutoVentures, the first automotive start-up conference in Las Vegas. After presenting its business case before a standing room-only audience of automotive private equity firms, automotive vendor business development teams and progressive dealers and groups, Friendemic was voted the most innovative and likely to succeed idea in its category. AutoVentures was co-produced by DrivingSales and Fraser McCombs Capital.

“We’re thrilled with this recognition from the most progressive minds in the industry,” commented Steve Pearson, Friendemic CEO. “Social media has been an exciting area for automotive marketing, but the generic tools available prior to Friendemic were not optimized for dealerships’ specific needs.”

For years, Friendemic has been an industry leader in managing social media marketing for hundreds of progressive dealers around the country. For the first time, the beta version of its DIY automotive software platform is now available, which allows dealership or 3rd party staff to efficiently manage their own social media marketing.

“Friendemic is a great example of the myriad compelling ideas that took the floor at the AutoVentures conference, many of which are destined to lead our industry forward,” said DrivingSales Founder and CEO Jared Hamilton. “Congratulations to Friendemic for winning top honors as the best idea in the Growth Stage category. AutoVentures is all about connecting new business ideas with the resources in the automotive community that will nurture them into the future. We look forward to hearing more from Friendemic in the years to come.”

Co-presented by DrivingSales with Fraser McCombs Capital, the first annual AutoVentures conference was held at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas on October 18th. AutoVentures offers a focus on automotive, with guidance and expertise from industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs; access to capital, as well as influential early adopter customers, and unique investment opportunities through a companion angel fund managed by crowd funder MicroVentures.

Twenty-two companies were selected to present from 160 candidates. The presenting companies were divided into three groups – Early, Mid and Growth Stage - and had five minutes to share their business case, followed by questions from a panel of auto/investment industry experts. The audience of investors and auto industry leaders voted for the companies they believed offered the most innovative ideas with the greatest potential for success.

As part of the AutoVentures program, MicroVentures is administering an angel fund portfolio investors can participate in, as well as enabling investors to build their own portfolio with investments in any of the companies participating in the program.

About Friendemic
Friendemic provides social media marketing and reputation management software and services for hundreds of automotive clients across the nation. We are a certified vendor with BMW, Chrysler, Fiat, Kia and Toyota, and a leader in managing social advertising management software and services. Friendemic helps you actively engage with your target audiences on social media to promote real conversations, build your brand, capture leads, and improve service retention. To see how Friendemic can help your bottom line, please visit http://www.friendemic.com.

About DrivingSales
DrivingSales serves automotive retailers with an integrated suite of technology, knowledge, community and performance insight designed to advance the success of retail professionals and their dealerships. Founded by a third-generation car dealer in 2008, today DrivingSales is utilized by two-thirds of franchised dealerships in North America as a resource to improve their business performance.

To learn more about the DrivingSales community, news, dealer education or performance analytics visit DrivingSales.com,

About Fraser McCombs Capital
Fraser McCombs Capital (FMC) is a leading, automotive focused venture capital firm. Founded in 2012, by an automotive entrepreneur and a longtime automotive investor, FMC has roots in the automotive sector going back decades across all three tiers of the industry. FMC was created to bring capital and mentorship to the underserved automotive start-up marketplace, where traditional venture capital firms refused to participate.

FMC looks to invest in new technologies and business models within the automotive vertical. By leveraging their deep knowledge base, they are able to find connections between key players in the sector on behalf of their portfolio of companies. To learn more about Fraser McCombs Capital and their portfolio, please visit fmcap.com.