🔎 Spotlight #8: Inside Clutch
Canada’s digital car buying service shifting the auto industry into high gear 🏎️
The founding drive: building a better way to buy cars
Clutch was founded in 2016 by Stephen Seibel in Toronto with the goal of making car buying radically simpler for Canadians. In 2019, Dan Park (former General Manager of Uber Eats Canada) stepped in as CEO to help scale the business nationally. The premise was simple: skip the dealership runaround and give people the ability to buy a high-quality used car entirely online.
Clutch’s model lets customers browse inventory, arrange financing, complete paperwork, and get their vehicle delivered to their door. Every car comes with a multi-point inspection and a 10-day money-back guarantee for peace of mind.
What’s new under the hood
Over the past year, Clutch has been accelerating its growth and presence across Canada:
Expansion to the West Coast with a new flagship facility in Richmond, BC
CEO Dan Park joining OMVIC’s Industry Advisory Council in Ontario, reinforcing their influence on modern consumer-friendly auto retail
February 2025: Closed a C$50M Series D round at a valuation of C$575M, signalling a strong rebound and renewed investor confidence (BetaKit)
Continued product and process refinements that make buying a car from your couch easier than ever
Funding and team at a glance
💰 Series D (Feb 2025): C$50M, C$575M+ valuation
👥 Leadership: CEO Dan Park, Founder & COO Stephen Seibel
🌎 National operations with teams across Canada
🖥️ Website: clutch.ca
Clutch on the court
In 2024, Clutch became the Official Online Car Retailer of the NBA in Canada. The partnership includes activations with NBA Canada, branding across key events, and unique fan engagement opportunities. As a big basketball fan myself, I think this is a brilliant move. It aligns Clutch with a passionate audience that values speed, performance, and big moments, much like buying your dream car online. Kia has a huge partnership with the NBA and I always associate that brand to basketball, and now Clutch is in the mix. Who knows, maybe we’ll see a dunk contest where someone jumps over a Clutch branded car 🏀
Clutch’s record-breaking growth and new retail space
Clutch recently hit a major milestone, surpassing $1 billion CAD in total cars purchased. That kind of volume speaks to how quickly they’ve scaled and how well their direct-to-consumer model is resonating with Canadians looking for a simpler way to buy and sell vehicles.
Adding to the momentum, Clutch just opened its first permanent customer hub in CF Markville Mall. This marks an interesting step into physical retail for a company that built its brand on an entirely online experience. The move signals a hybrid approach, keeping the speed and convenience of digital while offering an in-person touchpoint for customers who still want to see, ask questions, and connect before making a purchase.
The competition and how Clutch compares
In Canada, AutoTrader remains a dominant player in online car listings, while Canada Drives also competes in the direct-to-consumer car sales space. South of the border, Carvana and Vroom have popularized the digital car buying model.
Clutch’s advantage lies in being Canada-first, with localized logistics, strong regulatory alignment, and a no-questions-asked return policy that builds consumer confidence. Clutch is a fully integrated platform built for the Canadian market. They handle sourcing, reconditioning, financing, delivery, and protection products all under one roof. This level of control means consistent quality and a more trustworthy buying experience. In an industry where trust and transparency drive referrals, that is a major advantage.
My take
Clutch is tackling a complex operational challenge that blends software, logistics, and financing into a seamless customer journey. They are showing they can execute with national expansion, strong governance, a clever NBA partnership, and a product experience that removes the biggest pain points of buying a car. If you are looking for a role where tech meets real-world impact, this is a company worth watching.
🧭 Clutch Roles — Now Hiring
Clutch is hiring for a variety of roles, although not fully aligned with the ideals of LaunchPad but I still think they are worth checking out. As always, tune into our next LaunchPad post on Tuesday to see more featured jobs from Clutch and other great tech companies in Toronto as soon as they are live 🚀
That’s a wrap on Spotlight #8
If you made it this far, thank you for reading! Sorry for the late post this week, we will jump back to our regular cadence of Spotlights dropping on Thursdays very soon! Either way, I hope these spotlights help you discover companies worth your time, and make the job hunt feel just a little bit less overwhelming. Keep an eye out for next Tuesday’s LaunchPad job drop, and if you know someone looking to break into tech or level up, feel free to share this with them too.
Here’s to building something cool, or better yet, joining something cool. 🚀
