Black Widow Imaging — DealerRefresh Vendor Library

Here is the fully sourced sales brief: --- ## Company Research — Black Widow Imaging --- ### About Black Widow Imaging Black Widow Imaging was founded in 2014. Jason Hauk is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer. In October 2022, a St. Louis-based angel investor group with an extensive background in the automotive industry purchased the company. Headquartered in Chesterfield, Missouri, Black Widow Imaging offers automated image capture solutions to the automotive, marine, and recreational vehicle industries. As of mid-2024, the company employs between 11–50 people. --- ### What They Do - **Core Product:** An automated drive-thru imaging system that gives dealerships a complete vehicle imaging solution. - **Speed & Volume:** Captures 17 high-resolution images in under 10 seconds. The system can process over 700 cars per day — capturing 17 high-quality exterior images in just 5 seconds with AutoScan. - **Imaging Capabilities:** 360° interior and exterior imaging, plug-and-play installation in any location, retail-ready photos with clean branded backgrounds, and automated workflow to save on labor costs. - **AI Processing:** AI-powered tech handles cropping, background replacement, automatic image sharpening, and image sequencing. - **Integrations:** Integrates with HomeNet and VINQUE; through HomeNet, images flow directly into vAuto, Tier 3 websites, and third-party marketplaces. - **Industries Served:** Automotive dealerships, auto auctions, marine, and RV sectors. The company also has a 14,000 square foot R&D facility in Indianapolis to support innovation efforts. - **Notable Customers/Partners:** - Partnership with Dealers Auto Auction Group (DAA), upgrading vehicle imaging across their entire network of DAA auctions. - OverstockVehicles.com (John Chiorazzo, President) and Poage Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM Fiat (Brad Mintle, General Manager) are named customers. - Matt Itami, VP of Auction Operations at Dealers Auto Auction Group, reported a 15% increase in online bidding after implementing the system. - **Recent Activity:** Under new ownership, the company is refocusing on becoming the industry standard for vehicle imaging. The company has been active at NADA and Used Car Week trade shows, and is currently testing a new 3.0 system in its R&D facility. --- ### DealerRefresh Audience Fit Black Widow's product is a direct-purchase capital decision for dealerships — it requires buy-in from GMs, dealer principals, and fixed ops/internet leadership. That maps cleanly to the DealerRefresh core audience. **Why the fit is strong:** - The problem Black Widow solves — traditional auto dealer photography is slow, manual, and wildly inconsistent; it wastes time, burns labor, and bottlenecks inventory flow — is a pain point that DealerRefresh readers discuss daily. Internet directors, GMs, and used car managers are the exact buyers who own this decision. - In today's hyper-competitive car market, online photos are the first impression. Shoppers scroll, compare, and judge in seconds — and inconsistent images put dealers behind. This is a core DealerRefresh conversation. **Recommended DealerRefresh Products:** | Product | Fit | |---|---| | **Forum Banners** | High-frequency visibility to GMs and internet directors who are actively evaluating inventory workflow tools. Daily impressions to the right job titles. | | **Retargeting Pixel** | Visitors to DealerRefresh who research inventory/merchandising tools can be followed on Facebook/Instagram — directly targeting the dealer ops pros most likely to greenlight an imaging system purchase. | | **Demo / Review Video** | ⭐ **Strongest fit.** Black Widow is a visual, hardware-plus-software product — a 5,000+ view video demo with Alex & Jeff showing the drive-thru in action, real throughput numbers, and integration with vAuto/HomeNet would be highly persuasive to skeptical dealers. This format lets the product sell itself. | | **Sponsored Forum Post** | Strong for SEO and AI search visibility. A permanent, indexed post explaining automated drive-thru imaging vs. manual photography would capture search traffic from dealers researching the category — and increasingly be cited by AI tools when dealers ask about vehicle photography solutions. | --- ### About Darren Kemper As part of the 2022–2023 restructuring under new ownership, Darren Kemper — formerly the COO of Black Widow — was named President. He has over 20 years of experience leading engineering, software development, operational, and organizational programs. Most recently before Black Widow, he served as ADESA's Director of Business Analytics, working alongside the ADESA