Scott Painter

Scott Painter (born September 30, 1968) is an American entrepreneur in the technology and automotive industries.

In 2016, he co-founded Fair, Inc., a Los Angeles–based automotive financial technology company, with Georg Bauer

Previously, Painter founded and was the CEO of TrueCar, Inc. Prior to TrueCar, he was the founder and CEO of CarsDirect.com.

He has advised a number of automotive businesses including Tesla Motors.

Early life and education Painter was born in Seattle on September 30, 1968, and grew up in Placer County, California, near Sacramento. He started his first company, Scott's Auto Dealing, at the age of 14. After high school, he joined the United States Army and trained to become a Spanish interrogator.

Career Painter left UC Berkeley before graduating to sell his first auto-related startup company, AUTOAccess, an electronic database listing used cars for sale. Prior to founding TrueCar, he initiated and was involved in other ventures. Painter was also an early advisor to Tesla.

TrueCar

In 2005, Painter founded TrueCar, Inc., which is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. TrueCar is a negotiation-free car buying platform.

In August 2015, Painter stepped down as CEO. He was replaced by Chip Perry as of Dec.15, 2015.

Fair, Inc. Painter’s later venture was Fair, Inc., an automotive financial technology company.

Disruption with the auto industry In late 2011, TrueCar raised significant debt and equity capital (>$200m) which enabled it to advertise nationally on television. Consumer usage increased in response to the television campaign that was developed in conjunction with TrueCar investor Guthy-Renker, but dealer and industry criticism was significant and well documented in a series of Automotive News articles.

Painter, who is commonly associated with vehicle pricing transparency, up-front pricing, and the value of big data in auto retail, received pushback from auto dealers and manufacturers over the fear that TrueCar was responsible for significant retail price discounting. The industry resistance led to nearly a dozen states launching investigations into the company's practices and policies. As a result, Painter and TrueCar underwent a nine-month regulatory compliance overhaul and initiated industry outreach programs.

TrueCar went through a business turnaround in 2012 that resulted in the company reporting in its S-1 filing that it had generated positive adjusted EBITDA in 2013 after having lost over $40 million in 2012. In December 2011, Painter was featured in Forbes regarding TrueCar's business practices and, in November 2012, he spoke directly to the industry about the current status of TrueCar in an Autoline TV interview. In 2011 and 2014, he was named a finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Greater Los Angeles Area. Painter won the EY Award for Entrepreneur of the Year in consumer services for 2014. In 2012, Painter was named a Technology Pioneer by the WEF. The racing team supported high-potential women aspiring to become premier race series race car drivers. TrueCar and its partners provided full sponsorship support, professional coaching and training, marketing exposure, and top-tier racing team opportunities throughout the U.S. with the goal of winning races and championships.

Personal life Scott Painter lives in Los Angeles with his wife; they have four children.