From the carting love to the passion to create the supercars Sin Cars
Rosen Daskalov is a pilot, engineer, designer of supercars and a businessman from Rousse city. He begins his career as a karting racer from a very early age and in 1989 he becomes a part of the national team. After that he lays the foundation of his business. In the year 2010 he starts organizing karting races in Bulgaria. The next step is the gathering of a team. Soon after that he decides to find the perfect racing car, which is closest to karting as style and way of operation and driving. He changes off several cars, but none of them matches his criteria.
So in 2012 by the visit at Autosport the idea to create his own carting alike car is born. The car is supposed to be not only very impressive and with powerful engine but also completely competitive to the other cars of the same class in regard to quality, power and price. After a year of sleepless nights, the hard work gives results and the team of SIN CARS introduces their first prototype SIN R1. Few years later the SIN Cars are at European championship – first place at pole position and second place at Red Bull Ring. The acknowledgements and the successes continue – some of the latest are second place at class PRO and third general place for SIN Cars and Sofia Car Motorsport at Misano Adriatico Italy – the last competition of GT4 European series, which took place on 2-4 October 2015. Today Rosen Daskalov is here with me to tell us a little bit more about himself and his dreams – not only those that have already came true but also the ones in progress.
Plamena Petkova for Success Stories Mag:
When did your karting and cars passion emerge?
Rosen Daskalov:
Well.. I should start at little bit more back in the days. Our family is a motorsport family. My grandfather was engaged in repair of harvesters in the village where he lived. Then my father and my uncle went down the path to take his motorbike at the time he did not drive it. From there racings and actually my dad is quite keen competitor in motorcycling and motoring from the past. I started with karting as a child. Then I was helping him and hence as people generally say “the apple does not fall far from the tree.”
When and why did you decide to turn this passion of yours into a business?
Our daily business was always connected to cars. We deal with repairs, vehicle maintenance, spare parts, car sales too. It was never far from that, but this rather big step that we made, as you mentioned, was dictated by the pure impulsive desire to find a good car for me to race. I bought several cars, I tried, I saw that it’s not much of a great philosophy, as we say from one point of view, but when we started to deal deeper into things it turned out to be a pretty big philosophy.
Where did you started from and how? What did you go through until you started the project of making an own car brand?
What I can tell you is that all started with finding the right people, who could answer the questions that I had. Our partners in England have a very long experience in this kind of business and industry, 30-40 years. I came across the right people by chance, they helped me, guided me at the right direction and gave me the necessary contacts. The difficulties are endless, basically because we want to make things happen here in Bulgaria. We do not have surroundings of the young people, who have training in this kind of activity here. We don`t have an experience in this manufacture, educated people and so on.. This is the biggest problem, which I am facing at the moment. The other things aren`t so complicated if you have the right contacts and the right people, who can do satellite activity and help the development and improvement of a certain detail for the different activities and different projects.
How many and what cars have you created until this point?
Until this moment we have created not a big number of vehicles- around 10, which are divided mainly in two directions – racing, which is already homologated for the GT4 series in the world championships of FIA and a vehicle that is designed for street use. We presented the model of the street car few weeks ago at the international fair in Frankfurt. These two cars as they look similar, so are radically different because their goals are different. It turned out that the car, which is designed for a different type of people, who aim mainly in individuality, must be quite luxurious, with interesting and contemporary functions…attractive. That was an additional challenge in this kind of work.
What does it take to be successful on the international and global market?
It takes a lot of effort, a lot of striving…
Nothing happens the easy way.
This is it..technology, processes, contacts, the right people, investors…
All is one infinite line of facts, that should be knotted as a chain in the correct sequence.
You have participated in numerous competitions and fairs here and abroad. What are the expert reviews about the cars abroad? Do you already have orders and what type of people are the potential customers interested in your cars?
The competitions and fairs, in which we have participated are mainly in the English championship GT Cup and in the European GT4 series. Overall until now we have not missed exhibitions related to sports-car racing in the past three years. We have three years of performing in England, at the most prestigious exhibition. This year we will participate in the fair in Indianapolis with our American partners, Frankfurt and now in the spring we will take part in Geneva…
Basically we’re trying to promote maximum the vehicle because on such exhibitions come mainly people who like watching beautiful and interesting cars, make pictures and then the pictures go around the web.
The potential customers are those that would rarely come to such exposition. They generally are living in a different world in their private jets, traveling back and forth without coming into contact with people like us at all, but we have contacts with people in these circles and I presented the car. There is a great interest in it and generally this is the way. We are seeking for customers who want exclusivity, who are looking for difference and are willing to pay an amount for a handmade car.
Is it difficult in Bulgaria for a young entrepreneur to develop freely and successfully his/her ideas? What challenges encounter and how do you overcome obstacles on your way?
We live in Bulgaria and work here throughout all our conscious life. I have also a company in Germany and in England as well. I can say that in Bulgaria with the necessary desire things can happen even much easier than in a number of European countries. I dare say that in some things we are much more favored. As I said there are naturaly some bureaucracy obstacles regarding homologation – this can not happen in Bulgaria. At least in some aspects we are quite behind the average level in Europe, but in others, I think there are also advantages. So I firmly stand behind that I want the basics in our car to be produced in Bulgaria.
In addition to the establishment of SIN Cars, you also deal with the rest of your business, including the only authorized service in Rousse for the brand BMW. I also heard that underway is the creation of a new karting track .. How do you combine the commitments of all activities?
There is nothing I can do only by myself. We work in a team with people. People who support me in these endeavors, of course for payment, but after all money is not the main driving factor – I think that we have a style of behavior and management, we are trying to conduct social activities. We make field sport events like “Spartakiada” and Circuit Rousse (PISTA ROUSSE), which is the largest sport event for ROUSSE city and so on. That way we came along this idea, since the karting track, which we had, is sadly unable to exist at the moment due to the fact that the Mall where the track was located has declared bankruptcy. At this point we want to organize a center for after-class activities, where every single child can be left by its parents, for example to spend time after school, without engagement, in an activity which would be useful – i.e. favorite subjects, sports, painting, math and so on with teachers, who will do this in their spare time. We do this project together with the municipality. And of course there will be a small karting track in the school yard, which could be used during summer. Unfortunately, it could not be used during winter.
Fair enough. What are the next challenges for you? And where do your dreams for the SIN Cars reach to?
Oh, the challenges are related only to these cars. Naturally our first and main task is to organize and modernize the factory, which is located in Rousse. We want to be able to produce ten cars per month. The next task is to think of a new model, which should replace the existing one after five years, so we will have a lot of activities and work for the next five years at least before us.
How do you understand the concepts of ambition and success and do you think that it is enough to be ambitious in order to achieve success?
I think that it is enough. I think that if a person doesn`t only think about the financial result and thinks about what he wants to do with love and from soul and heart and puts all the efforts and ambition for this thing, things will always happen. And if you go with the financial account, which is not irrelevant, but if you go just with it and seek only profit, then things for me are distorted and do not always bring success.
Every successful person needs to make some kind of sacrifices on the road to success for the sake of achieving the ultimate goal. Who or what are the biggest compromises that you had to do in the name of success? And what would you say to those who do not dare to take the risk to make such sacrifices?
Compromise is included in the name of our car – SIN CARS. Our admitted sin is that we spend almost all our time on this project at the moment. I hope that in future we will have a little more free time, but this means family, children, hobbies,.. other interesting activities that are like my hobbies do not manage to gain any time. We have sometimes 2 races per month, which means that two weekends we will be fully occupied. Then we have presentations, participation in fairs, etc .. You can figure it out by yourself that time runs out extremely fast and there is no time for anything else.
You have participated in various competitions as a driver of your cars. By your last driving during the participation in the European GT4 series on the austrian circuit Red Bull Ring, you suffered a serious accident from which you thankfully got rid alive and healthy. The crash could hardly be called an incident – the video clearly shows that another competitor – Jörg Viebahn – is trying to push you out of the way. In the eyes of an ordinary spectator like me the crash seems straight as attempted murder. Do you think that other car manufacturers of cars from this class feel threatened by the growing success of the SIN cars – by bulgarian cars winning leading places? What did you lose and what did you win from this car crash?
This was a very unpleasant incident. I guess nobody knew the consequences neither I nor the other driver, what exactly happened after this collision, but what I can say is that I lost a pretty great emotion and I can tell for my family and for the people around me this was tension, fear, etc. What we won was a lot of advertising, publicity and a lot of fame because today I spoke with a close friend of mine in Singapore, who has seen a video of the crash by chance. He asked me how I feel and so on.. Generally inside of the vehicle itself, due to the fact that the inside is properly designed and very safe, almost nothing was felt, but really outside everything looks very spectacular and very scary. Hopefully that things like that won`t be happening to me anymore and I will stand mainly behind the wall of the box, managing and controlling the teams in the future.
When we are headed towards our success, we don`t always progress as fast as we want to, i.e. things don`t always align according to our desires. How do you perceive the failure, even if it is a small one and what motivates you in difficult times to keep going?
Well I have my own psychology. I do not know whether other people see it that way. I perceive failure as something that had to happen exactly this way and was supposed to happen, because it was supposed to teach us something.
We analyze very carefully why we have failed, because mainly during the racing season in the year we had some pretty serious problems and thereafter, after analysis, we try to eliminate, to understand where the problem is, what are the mistakes and then to construct, to gain a foothold on solid ground and begin everything the right way. So failure doesn`t discourage me in absolutely any way. On the contrary, I tell myself – this was supposed to happen this way, so that we could become better in the next moment. So I advise anyone who has any problems to learn from their mistakes and move on.
Do you have any other tips to the startup entrepreneurs? What is the most important advice you would give to people, who are on their way in pursuit of the realization of their ideas, dreams and goals?
What I can say is that you have to live and work with your dreams.
If you work and live with your dreams you can achieve results.
If, as I said, you are looking for the purely commercial part, then for me things do not happen.
© Sin Cars
© Sin Cars
© Sin Cars
© Sin Cars
© Sin Cars
© Sin Cars
© Sin Cars
© Sin Cars
© Sin Cars
© Sin Cars
