After years in the corporate world, Dean Morash at the age of 55 decided to form his own business, So Cal Classic Car Storage in Laguna Hills.
“It’s a late life entrepreneur journey that goes against the conservative wisdom,” Morash told the Business Journal. “I wanted to become an entrepreneur and find something I was passionate about.”
Morash has long been a fan of classic cars. Now, his business stores 100 cars ranging from Corvettes to Ferraris to a rare 1958 Dual Ghia.
“These are anywhere from investment-grade cars to classic cars that have been with the family since the father bought them,” Morash said.
Quest Veteran
Morash spent decades marketing tech software products, including at Computer Associates and later at Irvine-based Quest Software, which was acquired in 2012 for $2.4 billion by Dell Inc. Morash, who received an MBA from Pepperdine University, took an exit package and decided to venture onto his own in 2015.
“I was itching to get into an entrepreneurship,” he said. “There’s an element of confidence that you don’t have when you’re in your 20s. You’ve seen a lot, gotten a tremendous amount of experience. The corporate work environment is a great training ground for entrepreneurs.
“I had tremendous confidence I could hit the ground and be successful because of my background in the corporate world.”
He and son Jay are the company’s only employees, although he does hire temporary workers at times.
Classic Car Storage has competitors such as Costa Mesa’s Crevier Classic Cars, a 25,000-square-foot facility capable of holding about 80 vehicles.
The trend to store cars is in Morash’s favor as newer homes in Irvine and Newport Beach often limit their garages to two spaces and street parking is becoming tighter.
“Driveways are eliminated in a lot of new housing developments. There are all kinds of new laws,” he said.
The pair found enough success during the first four years that they expanded their facilities from 12,000 square feet to 17,000 square feet. They also rent out their garage for gatherings up to 75 such as meetings for sales teams or corporate boards. They take security seriously by investing in “state-of-the-art” equipment such as high-definition cameras and sensors. They also intend to expand south of their Laguna Hills location.
“Orange County is a mecca for nice vehicles,” he said. “There’s a great deal of appreciation for cars in Orange County.”
Morash is in an industry where he should be able to survive the economic effects of the coronavirus crisis because his clients are affluent.
“I don’t think these are customers who cannot afford the space or need to liquidate,” Morash said.
“Collectors will continue to collect.”
