Derek Tam-Scott, Founder:

Derek is a lifelong car enthusiast. In fact, his enthusiasm predates his birth since his parents met when his mother inquired about a 1971 Porsche 911 his father was selling. He grew up around cars and there was always something interesting around, from Volvos, Triumphs, and MGs to Porsches and Italian thoroughbreds (click here to read about the ongoing Miura restoration). Derek’s father raced quite successfully in the SCCA, winning the national championship in his class in two consecutive years driving a 912 Targa and a 911 Coupe, while his mom preferred to buy cars that she thought were pretty (which is how she ended up with two V12 E-Types).

After working briefly on Alfa Romeos, Jaguars, and Land Rovers as a mechanic, he went to work one at of the nation’s foremost special interest car brokers, Fantasy Junction, at age 16. He eventually found his niche in the office writing comprehensive descriptions for the website and client mailing list. He handled everything from a Citroen 2CV all the way up to multi-million dollar Ferraris and even an original factory competition Mercedes-Benz SSK.

He graduated with distinction from Stanford University in June of 2009, majoring in Science, Technology, and Society, with concentrations in Art History, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in his senior year, and went on to get a masters of science in Stanford’s Sustainable Design and Construction program in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is particularly interested in the social and cultural implications of design, and would like to go to business school eventually.

Paul Doersch, Chief Technical Officer:

Paul also comes from a family of car people, though the heights of those on his paternal side means they have always been BMW enthusiasts since they don’t fit into most conventional sports cars. A number of interesting cars have passed through their hands and his family still has the 1970 BMW 2002 which they purchased new. They also have a 1948 Willys Jeep and 1949 Ford Deluxe convertible, both of which have been in the family for decades.

Paul learned to drive in a BMW E36 M3, which, unfortunately, was rear-ended to death a couple years later. Undeterred, he purchased an identical car (right down to the color) a year and a half later, which he is now enjoying.

Paul is a senior at Stanford and is majoring in Computer Science, with a concentration in Human-Computer Interactions. He is particularly interested in how these will shape cars in the future, and is a member of Stanford’s autonomous car project, which you can read about here and here.