Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Hurlbert.
Hi Daniel, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My passion for cars can probably be traced all the way back to when I was a kid, I loved playing with Legos. Then as I got older, I “upgraded” to RC cars, and eventually when I turned 16, I saved up $2,000 from mowing lawns and bought my first car, a 1971 Chevy Nova. It was a rusted out piece of junk, but I loved it. It forced me to learn how to work on cars because it was breaking all the time and I didn’t have the money to pay a shop to fix it.
When I started college, initially I went to the University of Michigan to get a degree in mechanical engineering and wanted to work for one of the Big 3. This was right around the dot com boom and so I decided mechanically engineering was too much math for my taste and switched majors to computer science. My career in software spanned over 20 years, and I worked my way up from a software developer all the way to CTO. My career success is the result of lots of hard work, meeting the right people, having a good mentor, and of course some luck.
Eventually, I was hired to start another company by a wealthy investor, and after running the company for four years, I was let go as the company was not doing well, and the CEO determined my salary was too much for the company. This forced me to reconsider my career and was unintentionally just the right timing to go full-time on my hobby – making YouTube videos about Ferraris.
So this leads us to today, I have gone full-time on my own company – Normal Guy LLC – which runs my YouTube channel, Normal Guy Supercar, and has become a well-known brand in the supercar world. We sell parts and services for supercars, but we’ve also become involved in two other companies, Gated Six LLC which manufactures manual conversion kits for Ferraris, and The Garage Queen LLC which sells automobiles and automobile memorabilia.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has most definitely not been a smooth road. The first major hurdle for Normal Guy LLC was simply getting an investor to help kick it off. I was fortunate that my mentor for my software career was open to investing in Normal Guy LLC, and his investment bought me enough time to dedicate myself to starting the company full time for over a year before it needed to stand on its own. Admittedly after the investment money started to run thin, the company was not in a position to sustain itself and provide me with an income, so I had to do some consulting in software to at least pay the bills.
Once COVID-19 hit, my consulting work dried up, so it was another challenge and became the “do or die” moment. I had to either give Normal Guy LLC up or find a way to make it work. As with many things, necessity is the mother of all invention, so I figured out that selling parts was a way to keep the company going. It was a rough start and took many hard lessons to figure out how to make Normal Guy LLC profitable, but this year it’s on track to not only pay myself enough to survive, but I’ve brought in another owner to help grow the company.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Normal Guy LLC is dedicated to the Supercar Ownership Experience. We produce entertaining and educational videos and other media published on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. We also sell aftermarket parts for major supercar brands including Ferrari, McLaren, Lamborghini, and Porsche. Finally, we offer services to owners of supercars and prospective owners. We have helped hundreds of people find and buy the right supercar by discussing the current market conditions, valuations, pre-purchase inspections, and offering custom-tailored services to meet their individual needs.
Our media is different than most others because we are not drama-focused. We present only real, unscripted videos whether it’s DIY content, participating in events, or even just discussing current topics.
I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve been able to enter the world of social media and not lose my soul. I won’t take on sponsorships that I don’t personally use or believe in. I won’t edit out mistakes when working on cars, I want people to learn from my mistakes. I’m unwilling to compromise on my own ethics and desire to remain honest, truthful, and transparent.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Austin has become our forever hometown. My wife and I moved here in 2006, and you wouldn’t be able to convince us to move somewhere else. I love what Austin has to offer to gear heads. We have developed a fantastic car community that hosts events for just about every type of automotive enthusiast. When we first moved here, the car scene was nearly dead. Now it’s thriving and I couldn’t be happier.
I will say that as someone from Michigan, sometimes the heat does get to me. It’s fine to have a hot summer, but when I’m still sweating and it’s late fall, that can be a bit trying.
Contact Info:
- Email: sales@normalguysupercar.com
- Website: https://normalguysupercar.com
- Instagram: @NormalGuySupercar
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/NormalGuySupercar
- Twitter: @NormalGuySuperC
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/normalguysupercar
