Hey everyone,
When I’m not working on the platform or looking for new partners, I’ve been spending some time on a side project that I think you might get a kick out of.
I just launched Auto Empire on the site.
It is a dealership simulator that takes you through the entire career arc of an owner. You start with $50k and a single independent dirt lot. The goal is to source inventory, manage your floorplan interest, build out your service drive, and eventually scale into a multi-point franchise empire with a massive "Blue Sky" valuation.
I tried to bake in as much "real world" logic as possible:
The Core Loop: You have to manage daily overhead and your floorplan burn.
Fixed Ops: You start by subletting all your recon until you can afford to build your own internal shop to fix your absorption rate.
Variable Ops: You move from manual haggling to hiring a management team that executes your desk strategy for you.
OEM Relations: Once you go franchise, you have to keep your CSI high to get the best allocations.
To be clear: this is very much a work in progress. I’m building this as a fun way to celebrate the grind we all know, and I’m definitely still tweaking the math and the features.
If you have a few minutes during a slow shift, give it a spin. I’d love to hear your feedback in the replies here. Is the floorplan interest too aggressive? Is the Service Manager too expensive? Are there features you’d like to see added?
I’m happy to keep building onto this as long as you guys find it entertaining.
Scott