How Tomislav Mikula built $2.3m remote business negotiating car deals

For years, Tomislav Mikula sat across from car buyers who left dealerships frustrated, exhausted, and  angry. Now, the former finance manager has turned that frustration into a growing remote business that generated $2.3 million last year by helping people avoid dealership negotiations altogether.

Mikula, founder and CEO of Delivrd, charges customers a flat $1,000 fee to negotiate vehicle purchases on their behalf. The company has completed more than 3,000 deals since launching in 2023 and expects to exceed $3 million in revenue this year.

The company operates fully remotely with 15 employees and says it saves customers an average of $6,300 per transaction.

Building a Business Around Customer Experience

Before launching Delivrd, Mikula spent six years working inside dealerships as a top-performing auto finance manager after starting his career in telecom sales. Despite his success, he noticed a pattern among customers.

“They hated the waiting and all the back-and-forth,” he said. Customers often felt the process was happening “to them instead of for them.”

After repeatedly hearing buyers complain about the experience, Mikula concluded the traditional dealership system itself was the problem.

That realization pushed him to leave the industry and test a new idea online. He began by negotiating car deals for strangers on Reddit at no charge. After completing about 50 deals, he started charging clients.

Why Market Research Became the Core Strategy

Mikula said one of the biggest decisions behind Delivrd’s growth was investing heavily in market research before formally building the business.

He spent $10,000 paying 100 people with Amazon gift cards to explain what they actually wanted during the car-buying process. The answers surprised him.

Customers cared less about getting the lowest possible price and more about trust, time savings, transparency, and control over the experience.

That insight shaped Delivrd’s operating model. Each deal involves five workers behind the scenes, including researchers who locate deals, staff who verify paperwork, and employees who inspect vehicle delivery quality.

The company’s largest operating expenses in 2025 included payroll, software, and legal and accounting services, totaling $1.5 million.

Remote Workforce and Social Media Revenue

Delivrd also generates revenue through social media advertising and brand partnerships, adding another income stream beyond vehicle negotiations. Mikula said the company’s transparent pricing model helped build long-term trust with customers.

He tells potential clients the fee upfront within the first 30 seconds of a call: “$1,000, every time, never changes.”

He also advises some callers not to hire the company if they are comfortable handling negotiations themselves.

“That honesty builds trust,” Mikula explained. The company expects deal volume to rise to between 400 and 700 transactions per month by summer.

The future of remote service businesses

Delivrd’s growth highlights a wider shift toward specialized remote services that remove friction from stressful consumer experiences.

For Mikula, the business is not just about negotiating discounts. He believes customers are paying to regain their time, peace of mind, and confidence during one of the largest purchases many consumers make.

“I stopped competing on savings,” he said. “What customers actually want back is their Saturday, their control, their sanity.”

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