From Tesla to Tekion: How One Founder is Redefining the DMS

Special Guest - Jay Vijayan

Jay Vijayan, Founder & CEO at Tekion, discusses the dealership pain points he saw which led to the creation of his business. He also shares insights on AI and digital retail and lessons he learned from his leadership role at Tesla.

In this episode you'll hear:

How Jay’s team gained a deeper understand of dealerships operations
His journey to improve customer experiences through technology
Discussion on the F&I process, cloud platforms and industry disruptors

Episode Breakdown

0:00 - Jay’s introduction to the automotive industry
7:42 - Why Jay’s company decided to acquire dealerships
10:23 - The major pain points he saw dealerships facing
15:38 - What Jay learned from owning dealerships
21:14 - How a focus on people drove their platform creation
26:11 - Addressing dealers’ concerns with changing technologies
33:03 - What can dealers expect from AI in the next few years?
37:56 - The F&I process and what dealers are saying
39:53 - Best Bets: Cloud platforms, the next industry disruptor and APIs
42:32 - Lessons learned from working at Tesla