Discover/Riding Unicorns

The future of car finance with Aidan Rushby, Co-founder & CEO @ Carmoola

Riding UnicornsMar 19, 202547 min

Aidan Rushby, CEO of Carmoola, breaks down the disciplined approach to scaling a lending business from zero to millions in car finance. His framework centers on systematic testing before increasing marketing spend and the counterintuitive insight that even dealerships now refer customers to his direct-to-consumer platform. This episode delivers tactical advice on building unit economics in lending and choosing markets based on addressable opportunity rather than vanity metrics.

Key takeaways

  • •Scale marketing spend through systematic testing with conditional budget increases based on cohort performance rather than gut feelings or arbitrary growth targets.
  • •Choose markets based on real TAM and distribution accessibility, not just market size—most founders overestimate their addressable market while underestimating acquisition challenges.
  • •Build lending unit economics gradually through cohort analysis before cranking up growth spending, treating confidence as a measurable metric built over time.
  • •Direct-to-consumer fintech can disrupt traditional partnerships so effectively that incumbents begin referring customers to you rather than competing.
  • •Strategy and execution responsibility sits entirely with the founder-CEO, not investors—your job is building the plan, not delegating strategic decisions.

Listen to full episode

0:00
fintechlendingunit-economicsmarket-sizinggrowth-marketing

Best moment

27:28· 37stactical advice

The disciplined approach to scaling a lending business through systematic testing

27:28 / 28:05

or return on equity, if this is true. And if this is true, let's crank up the budget 20%. And you're able to go through those gears based on if this is true, if this is true, if this is true, then go harder. And you have to be really disciplined about that and, you know, test and learn, and expand, step by step. But it takes a lot to get to that point in a lending business. And, you know, we're now at that stage where we're seeing, you know, pretty phenomenal growth on direct, and you're able to then just start scaling that because you have the confidence

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5 clips

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Riding Unicorns

framework

The two questions every founder gets wrong about TAM and distribution

Carmoola's CEO breaks down the two critical market evaluation criteria that most founders overlook when building startups. He explains why understanding your real TAM versus inflated projections matters, and why having a clear customer acquisition strategy is just as important as market size.

2:45 - 3:2540s
market-sizingcustomer-acquisitiontam-analysis

Riding Unicorns

market insight

Dealerships now refer customers to us, which is crazy

Carmoola's CEO reveals their surprising customer acquisition mix, with direct-to-consumer channels dominating through TikTok and Facebook, 20% coming from referrals, and even traditional dealerships now sending customers their way. This shows how a fintech startup has flipped the traditional car finance model.

20:25 - 20:4520s
customer-acquisitionfintech-marketingdealership-partnerships

Riding Unicorns

tactical advice

Carmoola CEO reveals the moment you know it's time to crank up growth spending

Aidan Rushby explains how Carmoola gradually built confidence in their unit economics before scaling growth. He describes the transition from cautious testing to aggressive budget increases, sharing insights from a recent board meeting where strong CAC and return metrics justified ramping spend by 20%.

26:58 - 27:3437s
unit-economicsgrowth-scalingbudget-allocation

Riding Unicorns

tactical advice

The disciplined approach to scaling a lending business through systematic testing

Carmoola's CEO explains their methodical approach to scaling growth in lending by testing assumptions incrementally and only increasing budgets when metrics prove successful. He emphasizes the importance of discipline in the 'test and learn' methodology, moving through growth gears step by step. The company has now reached a stage where they're seeing phenomenal direct growth and can scale with confidence.

27:28 - 28:0537s
lending-businessgrowth-scalingtest-and-learn

Riding Unicorns

Practical Framework

It's not the investor's job to make those decisions. It's ultimately my responsibility to build the plan, build the strategy. As the CEO and founder, your job is to drive strategy and build that out.

This takes a clear stance on founder vs investor responsibilities, providing a framework for CEO decision-making. The emphatic tone and clear delineation of roles will resonate with founders navigating investor relationships.

33:38 - 34:1537s

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