George Arison

George Arison (born "Irakly Areshidze" in 1977 in Tbilisi) is a Georgian-born American businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Shift, an online, peer-to-peer marketplace for buying and selling used cars. Prior to Shift, in 2007, he co-founded Taxi Magic, known today as Curb (RideCharge, Inc.).

George Arison
Arison at Web Summit in 2018
Born
Irakly Areshidze

Tbilisi
NationalityGeorgian
Alma materMiddlebury College
OccupationFounder, Shift

Early life and education

Arison was born Irakly Areshidze[1] in Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia in 1977. He moved to the United States at the age of 14.[2] He claims to be the "first student from the Soviet Union allowed to attend a private U.S. high school without a government sponsorship".[3] In 2000, he graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont,[4] having studied under political scientist Murray Dry.[5]

Career

Early career

Arison worked as a product manager for Google, working on Helpouts and Fiber.[6] He also worked briefly for Boston Consulting Group (BCG).[3] In 2007, he co-founded Taxi Magic, today known as Curb (RideCharge, Inc.), which uses mobile technology to organize transportation, on demand.[7] In the same year, Arison authored the book ‘’Democracy and Autocracy in Eurasia, published in 2007.[6]

Shift
Main article: Shift (business)

In 2014, Arison founded Shift, an online, peer-to-peer, marketplace for buying and selling used cars.[8] Shift acts as "an agent between used car buyers and sellers."[9] In 2014, Arison secured a $23.8 million investment, primarily from chief investors DFJ and Highland Capital Partners, as well as SV Angel and Great Oaks VC, along with individuals like Lars Rasmussen of Google Maps and Hans Robertson of Meraki.[8]

In 2015, Arison made a deal with Goldman Sachs, which lead to a $50 million investment in Shift. The investment's purpose was to expand the company's services beyond Silicon Valley and Los Angeles to compete with market leaders like Carmax and Craigslist. Arison said at the time: "We think that any city with 250,000 people or more could have an awesome Shift marketplace. We don’t want to make a lot of money on the car itself. Marketplaces win when they offer a better product for less money."[10]

Political activity and commentary

In May 2016, when Donald Trump was criticized for his policies by businesspeople in Silicon Valley, Arison was included, saying, "We all very strongly believe in immigration and bringing very skilled, awesome people to the U.S. and welcoming them. Google wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for (Russian-born) Sergey Brin and Tesla wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Elon Musk."[11]

In the same year, Arison was a speaker for the Clinton Global Initiative.[12] He has also contributed to numerous publications, including the Christian Science Monitor.[13]

References
  1. "Michigan State University Press". MSU Press. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  2. "Alumnus to Speak at Cum Laude". Hebron Academy. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  3. "George Arison". LinkedIn. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  4. "Middlebury College Admissions: International Students". Middlebury College. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  5. Areshidze, Giorgi; Carrese, Paul O.; Sherry, Suzanna (20 June 2016). Constitutionalism, Executive Power, and the Spirit of Moderation: Murray P. Dry and the Nexus of Liberal Education and Politics. SUNY Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-4384-6043-7.
  6. "George Arison". Inc.com. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  7. "George Arison". Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  8. "Shift Technologies Raises $23.8 Million to Build Used Car Marketplace". WSJ. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  9. "Why Shoptalk Isn't Jumping the Shark on Retail Trade Shows". Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  10. "Used Car Retailer, Shift, Raises $50 Million In Round Led By Goldman Sachs". TechCrunch. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  11. "rump Supporters Are Rarer Than Unicorns in Silicon Valley". Bloomberg. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  12. "Clinton Global Initiative Speakers". Clinton Foundation. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  13. "The path forward in Georgia: Will billionaire Ivanishvili invest in democracy?". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
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