Bringing Titles into the Digital Era | A Conversation with Shane McRann Bigelow of CHAMP Titles (eLUMINATE Part 7)

In part 7 of our eLUMINATE: An eSTART Profile Series, we spoke with Shane McRann Bigelow, CEO of CHAMP Titles, to explore what it means to build a digital foundation for titling and registration—not just for convenience, but for security, equity, and economic efficiency. Shane’s journey is a fun one, and his passion for solving deeply entrenched infrastructure problems is what continues to drive CHAMP forward.

Tell us a little about yourself and how you got here.

I’m Shane McRann Bigelow, and I lead CHAMP Titles along with an amazing group of colleagues. We build technology for DMVs to improve their title, lien, registration, and driver’s systems of record.

This is actually the second company I’ve co-founded in the space. The first, years back, was in automotive lending. That’s where I first saw how flawed the title system really is. We saw firsthand how putting liens on vehicles feltlike going back in time—fax machines, paper, and weeks of waiting. I tucked that pain point away and kept moving.

Later, I ended up working on Wall Street. There, my experiences showed me that the world lacks digital tools for proving ownership of movable assets, and without a quality system of record in place, lending and insuring assets became unnecessarily expensive for citizens everywhere.

So when the chance came to start CHAMP, I jumped. We saw the same need from a different angle: if we could help government entities modernize how they serve their constituents—especially in DMVs—then we could unlock real efficiency and equity across the ecosystem.

What’s CHAMP Titles’ approach to solving this problem?

CHAMP is here to upgrade how governments and their constituents interact around titles, liens, registrations, and driver information.

Amongst many other things, that means helping dealers sell cars faster, enabling insurers to settle claims without delays, and giving fleet operators the tools to manage vehicle records cleanly and efficiently. But we do it all by empowering the state first. We provide modern, secure tech—and they deliver it to their constituents. Importantly, we only succeed (and get paid) if people actually use the system. That’s how we believe government contracts should work: performance-based and fair. We’re not a vendor in the traditional sense. We’re here to partner and build something that actually works—for the people who rely on these systems every day.

How did you get involved with eSTART?

It was a natural fit. When I first heard about eSTART Coalition, I knew this was a group of doers—folks who actually understood the regulatory hurdles, the tech debt, and the need to unify.

We got involved because we wanted to contribute to the kind of coalition that doesn’t just write white papers but moves markets. CHAMP was already focused on building digital infrastructure that works across stakeholders, and eSTART brought together a set of partners who shared that same vision.

What’s the hardest part about modernizing this industry?

Fragmentation. You’re looking at 51 jurisdictions, each with its own tech stack, legal code, and political climate. Some states—like West Virginia—are incredibly progressive. Others are still trying to leverage PDFs and calling it modernization.

And when you tell someone you can reduce a 45-day title process down to real-time, you get a lot of polite nods. It sounds too good to be true because they haven’t seen it done before.

That’s where persistence matters. At CHAMP, one of our core values is treating “no” as a stumbling block on the way to “yes.” That mindset has gotten us through more closed doors than I can count.

What do people misunderstand most about titling?

They don’t realize how much of the economy depends on it.

A title isn’t just a record—it’s a gateway. To insurance claims. To collateral-based lending. To ownership transfer. To government revenue.

And yet, it’s astonishing how many people assume this process is already digital. Yes, there are digital lien placements or partial registration tools, but we’re talking about full digital lifecycle management. From issuance to transfer. From dealer to individual to insurer. In a secure, traceable system. And we have done it—the first intrastate and, importantly, interstate digital title transfers have been built, created, and handled by our systems.

That’s not just modernization—it’s transformation. The real digital future involves integrated systems that work across jurisdictions and players. That’s what we’re delivering.

Anything else you want to say to readers who care about this space?

I’ll say this: the time is now.

This is already in motion. The snowball is rolling. Within the next few years, your car title could live in your digital wallet, ready to be transferred or verified with a tap.

We’re proud to be part of that future—and to stand alongside organizations like eSTART, who understand that this isn’t about politics or paperwork. It’s about building systems that work—for everyone.