Throttlecast: Episode 11

In this episode of Throttlecast, Eric Schorvitz shares his journey from a small software entrepreneur to a passionate Ferrari enthusiast, blending stories of business, cars, and life philosophy. He reflects on his early days building a company from the ground up—sometimes earning as little as $36,000 a year—while emphasizing the importance of perseverance, strong relationships, and having a supportive partner.

Eric dives deep into his love for Ferrari, recounting unforgettable experiences like touring the factories in Italy, owning iconic models like the 599, and customizing cars through Ferrari’s Tailor Made program. He explains the emotional difference between V8 and V12 Ferraris, describing V12s as a “movie star experience” and highlighting why the 599 remains one of his biggest automotive regrets after selling it.

Beyond cars, Eric shares how his passion translates into business—stressing that people, trust, and reputation are the true drivers of long-term success. He also opens up about how his wife became part of his automotive world, and how shared experiences and communication strengthen both relationships and personal passions.

The episode wraps with Eric’s broader perspective on life: focus on what excites you, value your time, and pursue what brings meaning—whether that’s cars, business, or the people you choose to share the journey with.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

All right guys, welcome back to another episode of Throttlecast. I'm Grant Van Brewer and I'm joined by Mr. Josh here, one of our founders at Ride Lounge, and have a special guest today, Eric Shorvitz. How's it going, brother? Terrific. Thanks for having me. Yeah, thanks for thanks for stopping in. We've known each other for, I guess, about a decade or more, back in the days of me at Motor Cars of Atlanta. Has to be longer than 10 years. It has to be, yeah. What was what was your life like during that time? I mean, that's when we first met. So uh, you know, I remember the 599 being one of the cars that uh that I remember you driving at that time. But what was what was your life like at that time?

SPEAKER_01 0:37

You know, I was small business entrepreneur, two-person company, uh software development, and just madly passionate about Ferrari, you know, uh Lamborghini, McLaren, and just really enjoying the supercar world and the supercar community in Atlanta. Yeah. So you had the 599 at that time. What else did you have in the garage during that period? So the 599 was the uh was the you know the track fun car. Also, yeah, I got into Tesla back then. Uh I remember I was at uh motor cars and I was looking at the 650 McLaren. Yep. And it was one of the first ones in Atlanta. It was some beautiful dark red color. And uh Ed said, the guy turned it down, you could have it. And I said, let me think about it. So I went home, got on the computer, and ordered a Tesla Model S instead. Uh and so I I had the Tesla and I had the uh 599. But the 599, um What year was this? This was probably 2014. Yeah, 20. I was there 2015. So yeah. So the Model S was 2015. Oh, yeah, you were an early adopter at that point. Um for the Tesla, yeah. But I you know, I I lived in St. Ives at the time, and someone in the neighborhood had one of the uh roadsters. So it would, and my son played baseball at East Cobb, and one of the dads was like, You guys just have to invest in this company, Tesla. You have to buy the stock. It's I day trade it, you have to buy the stock. And I'm like, whatever. Yeah, should have listened to me. And I just put the money I spent on the Model S into the stock, I would have all the cards. But I remember him always talking about Tesla, and I just I went home and I said, I don't want the 650. Let me just get this silver hardware one, you know, version six software car, and um ordered it online without even seeing it. And that was back when you can order the suspension the way you wanted. There was there was there was a lot of options that you could do. Yeah. Um, but yeah, those are the two cars. That's cool.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

And then um you later decided to sell the 599, or maybe you traded it. Which one was it? I can't remember.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Well, the five the the the the 599 was my second Ferrari ever. My first Ferrari was a 355.

SPEAKER_02 3:01

Uh one of the first.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

Annual transmission 355. And we're gonna talk about what it means to regret getting rid of cars. Right, yeah. The 355 was a challenging car because it required a lot of maintenance even back then.

SPEAKER_02 3:12

Motor out, all that stuff.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

But the 599 story, that that's uh that first of all, great car. But the the way that and it really helped me build a relationship um with you and with motor cars. Um I was in Italy. I was in Italy to take a tour. I literally flew to Italy to take a tour of Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati. And um Motor Cars was uh gracious enough to call the Lamborghini dealership because the day that we flew out there to take the tours, I guess the Urissa or one of the cars was gonna be unveiled, and they said no more people can come in for the factory tour anymore. Right. And Motor Cars calls them up and says, This is our number one customer. And I had bought like one car from you guys. Yeah, this is our number one customer. You have to let them in. And we were the only people on the tour of the Lamborghini factory. And I remember asking one of the guys in there, uh, he was working on an engine, and I said, Is this the greatest job ever? And the tour guide had to translate into Italian, and he looks at me and he just goes, Yeah. It was a very sterile environment, very clean. Um, the waiting room, you know, there was cars glued to the wall, sort of thing. It was it was a really neat experience at Lamborghini. Maserati was cool. Um, there was a guy there from Siberia on the tour. Oh, interesting. With you know, Maserati tattoos, just living the brand.

SPEAKER_00 4:45

What do you do with the Maserati in Siberia?

SPEAKER_01 4:47

I I you know what there's no dealership there. He had to buy a used one.

SPEAKER_00 4:51

Yeah, but I mean, so let's say you bring it to Siberia. What do you get? Like uh two to three weeks a year that you can take it out? Like I was surprised to meet somebody from Siberia.

SPEAKER_01 5:01

He was really cool and just like tattooed up.