Car Lover Scott Levinsohn’s Dream Is Driven To A Reality Of Success
Scott Levinsohn took a circuitous route to his career in the automobile industry. He and his father shared a passion for cars. Levinsohn’s love of cars developed as he watched his father collect them. He grew up around cars and always felt that he would eventually work in the automobile industry.
Scott Levinsohn took a circuitous route to his career in the automobile industry. He and his father shared a passion for cars. Levinsohn’s love of cars developed as he watched his father collect them. He grew up around cars and always felt that he would eventually work in the automobile industry.
“I always wanted to do something with cars, but I never knew what,” said Levinsohn, managing director of The Finest Automobile Auctions.
As the reality of life set in, Levinsohn put his passion aside to pursue a more grounded and financially secure path. After graduating from Hofstra University, Levinsohn worked as a financial adviser and wealth manager. However, a void was not being filled.
After six years, Levinsohn left the corporate financial industry and drove down an alternative career path in event-based marketing. While transitioning between a few different positions, Levinsohn concentrated mainly on luxury goods and specialized in the cross-branding of products and services using event-driven marketing. Levinsohn focused on partnerships, tie-ins and bringing products to the market.
Working in luxury goods led Levinsohn to the Wellington community, the equestrian capital of the world, which was unfamiliar territory for him. He had never been a part of a tight-knit community like Wellington.
“I loved doing events in Wellington because the community welcomed us and appreciated the quality of events we were producing,” he said. “We were selective in order to maintain the integrity of our brand. We were always very cognizant of how other brands are represented in accordance with ours because we worked together to achieve an experience.”
When in Wellington, Levinsohn and his team worked closely with and became familiar with the International Polo Club Palm Beach as they orchestrated Sunday polo VIP parties and sponsored a polo team each season.
“We organized many events in conjunction with IPC,” Levinsohn said. “While working and coordinating these events in Wellington, I learned a lot about the luxury space. Most importantly, I learned how to put events together, produce them properly, showcase the products and the selection of sponsors.”
He developed an appreciation for the community. Its passion for horses reminded him of his passion for cars. The more time he spent in Wellington, the more Levinsohn saw similarities between the automotive and equestrian communities.
“They are all pursuits of passion,” he said. “We try to stress the importance of automobiles in people’s lives in a different capacity than just transportation. We want to convey the experience of owning them much as participating in polo is an experience and riding a horse is an experience… so there are correlations between them.”
After changing lanes and driving full-speed straight into the automobile industry, Levinsohn was brought onto The Finest’s team to pursue his passion as managing director, where he is responsible for overseeing all daily operations and event productions.
“How can I take a love of cars and turn it into a business?” he asked, just as he queried of himself. “I always loved cars but never knew what the end product would be. I knew it was going to be something with automotive events. The opportunity to work with cars wasn’t necessarily a dream but something really fun. Thankfully it turned into a successful, growing business.”
The Finest Automobile Auctions is a new auction house that focuses on delivering the finest experience for collector car enthusiasts and offers customized buying opportunities for onsite and online buyers.
“We believe that it is important to work together to achieve an experience, as this is seen through our live auctions,” Levinsohn explained. “We want to promote it as an experience for people, one that is enjoyable and unique, which sets us apart from other companies.”
The Finest will conduct quarterly online auctions. At this point in time, it is the only automotive auction house to engage collectors in this way. The company found an opening in the industry that it is well equipped to fill. “I have been very fortunate to work with a lot of very accomplished and intelligent people,” Levinsohn said. “No one person makes a successful event or company; it’s everyone you work with. I’m very humble in business, and I believe that we learn from everyone we come into contact with. I attribute the intelligence of the people around me to assisting us in becoming successful.”
Due to Levinsohn’s Wellington ties, a week before the Feb. 11 auction in Boca Raton, The Finest staged a preview event at The Patio at Polo. Levinsohn enjoyed the time he spent in Wellington so much that a few years ago, he purchased a house in the community.
For more information about the auction company, visit www.thefinest.com.
