Meet Randy Nonnenberg, a 45-year-old who turns a one guy’s car blog into a $1 billion car auction powerhouse

Randy Nonnenberg is a 45-year-old entrepreneur and the co-founder of Bring a Trailer (BaT), an online platform and a community-based auction marketplace for buying and selling unique and rare vehicles. The site curates classic, collector, and enthusiast vehicles submitted by its audience for auction.

With a background in technology and mechanical engineering, Nonnenberg was uniquely positioned to create an online marketplace for collectible vehicles, Along with his friend Gentry Underwood, Nonnenberg co-founded BaT in 2007 when he was just 30 years old, and the site quickly gained a following of car enthusiasts from around the world.

Before starting BaT, Nonnenberg worked in the technology industry, holding positions at companies like Adobe, Macromedia, and Yahoo. He’s also a classic car aficionado. In a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), Nonnenberg wrote:

“My favorite of my own vehicles is my 1975 FJ40 Landcruiser (a replica of the one I drove to high school) and my dream car has always been a Porsche 959. I’m a native Californian and have also lived in Germany where I worked for BMW and Audi.”

Under Nonnenberg’s leadership, BaT has grown into a successful and highly respected online marketplace, attracting buyers and sellers from around the world. The site has also become a community for classic car enthusiasts, with a blog, forums, and events that bring people together to share their love of vintage automobiles.

In 2019, Hearst Autos acquired Bring a Trailer, but Nonnenberg remains involved with the company as a board member and advisor. He continues to be a prominent figure in the classic car world and is highly regarded for his knowledge and expertise in the field.

“I’m very excited to continue to lead Bring a Trailer as we partner with Hearst Autos,” says Randy Nonnenberg, BaT’s co-founder and CEO. “We can now keep all of the best parts of the business intact while enhancing our capabilities to address our huge product demand and user traffic growth.”

Today, the San Francisco-based Bring a Trailer now has more than 415,000 users and more than 175,000 registered bidders who vet each vehicle, giving confidence to potential buyers.

Since he sold the company four years ago, the story of Nonnenberg has spread far and wide. He was featured today in a piece on Wall Street Journal titled, “How One Guy’s Car Blog Became a $1 Billion Marketplace.”

As Nonnenberg explains, Bring a Trailer is not just any ordinary website, it’s a hangout spot for car lovers. People come from all over the world to share their love of vintage cars, and it’s all thanks to Randy and his team.

“I wanted to create a platform where people could come together and share their love for these vehicles,” Randy said.

But BaT isn’t just a place to talk about cars, it’s also the perfect spot to buy or sell some of the most sought-after classic cars around. From shiny red Ferraris to classic Mustangs, you can find it all on BaT!