January 16, 2025
Launch NY commits up to $250,000 into auto e-commerce startup Refraction
Buffalo-based startup company was cofounded by former ACV Auctions employee
Refraction preparing to scale into the used car dealership market in 2025
January 16, 2025 – Buffalo, NY – Launch NY is pleased to announce it has committed up to $250,000 into Refraction, a technology startup that has developed e-commerce software for used automotive dealers.
Founded in 2023 by Jason Schwinger and Jason Bartz, Refraction debuted the first version of its platform earlier this year. The company is wrapping up its first pilot project with an auto dealer in Buffalo, completing the GrowthX revenue accelerator from the Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship and preparing to scale into the market in 2025.
Bartz previously held a number of roles at ACV Auctions, the region’s first software unicorn which develops products for auto dealers, and serves as Refraction’s strategic advisor while Schwinger is CEO. Refraction is part of a growing cluster of local startups developing software for auto dealers, a group which includes Launch NY portfolio company SelectFi, which closed on $4.5 million earlier this year and recently brought on Joe Peacock as CTO. Peacock is the former vice president of engineering at ACV.
“This is the virtuous cycle envisioned when Launch NY began supporting startups more than 10 years ago, with an early vanguard of successful companies creating an aptitude and opportunity for high-growth entrepreneurship in Upstate New York,” LaVigne said. “Refraction’s founders understand the problems in the auto market and how to configure software into a marketable solution for those problems. This marks an evolution in the Upstate New York startup ecosystem, and we’re proud to play a leading role in moving it forward.”
Refraction’s software helps independent, used auto dealers establish their own e-commerce presence, so that they can market their inventory effectively against large corporate dealerships and online-specific companies such as Carvana. Refraction’s software is easy to integrate and even easier to use, giving sales personnel at those dealerships an opportunity for digital marketing well beyond traditional regional boundaries.
The company’s early design partner immediately started marketing inventory into new markets and selling cars through Refraction once they went live on the platform.
“The old-fashioned way is to hope people drive by your dealership, putting your cars on Faceboook marketplace or just having a static website and hoping someone finds you through Google,” Schwinger said. “Refraction is a proactive approach to sales and marketing that gives mid-sized and large used auto dealerships an opportunity to compete with anyone. The early results on Refraction show that it can expand marketing reach and increase turnover.
The funding will support Refraction as it builds out features on its platform and invests in sales personnel who excel in the auto dealership market. It is part of Refraction’s ongoing pre-seed round.
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About Launch NY: Launch NY is the only nonprofit venture development organization and U.S. Treasury-designated Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that serves and directly funds startups in Upstate New York. The core mission of Launch NY is to identify, support and invest in high‐growth, high‐impact companies and to catalyze the entrepreneurial culture of Upstate New York on behalf of job and wealth creation. Since its inception in 2012,
Launch NY has served more than 1,740 companies which have gone on to raise more than $1.5 billion, generate more than $265 million in annual revenue and support more than 5,300 jobs. Launch NY delivers its mission via mentorship and capital access programs, starting with pro bono mentoring through its Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, Founders Go Big program for underrepresented and underserved founders, and Emerging Cleantech Opportunity (ECO) Incubator. These programs prepare entrepreneurs for investment capital from multiple sources, including Launch NY’s InvestLocal Financing Programs comprised of nonprofit and for-profit investment funds, and the Investor Network deals marketplace that features hundreds of accredited investors. Through these vehicles, Launch NY is the most active seed investor in New York state and has been ranked among the top 5 nonprofit seed funds in the country. Women- and/or BIPOC-led companies have consistently comprised over 45% of Launch NY’s mentored companies and have received more than 56% of Launch NY’s investment capital