Seahorse Rent a Car
Company founded: 2021
Founder: Eric Zhevel (UC Berkeley BA, Data Science, 2019)
Here at UC Berkeley I met many well-traveled and adventurous people who introduced me to new cultures and places. One of them was a kitesurfing community in Baja California Sur, Mexico, called La Ventana.
After graduating, I finally planned a trip to La Ventana and had the time of my life—it was a dream come true. I happened to be there when the pandemic started, and like many other foreigners, I chose to stay.
At the time, there weren’t any trustworthy car rental companies, so no one, myself included, rented a car. And because no one knew how long the pandemic would last, no one bought a car either. Eventually, I brought mine down from San Diego. It’s a two-day drive through a very remote desert.
Soon after, many of my friends started asking me for a car—and that’s how it all began. I kept adding vehicles and reinvesting everything I earned. Five years later, we now have 150 cars and a seven-figure business.
There is no slowing down. We are going to be the best and largest in the region, and then keep going.
It all started with connections I made at UC Berkeley. Members of the UC Berkeley community introduced me to this part of the world. At Cal, our club triathlon coach reinforced the importance of not having limiting beliefs. I needed that mindset starting a business in another country with a different language, culture, diet, etc. My exposure to big thinkers and hard workers on campus showed me the intensity I needed to bring to make things happen. I have driven the Baja peninsula 39 times now. Many of my first cars came from California as California has the best used car market in the world. Successful alumni, students, and guest speakers proved to me that no goal was too big to achieve.
My time at UC Berkeley gave me the confidence and belief that I could grow this business from one car to one hundred, then from one hundred to one thousand, and eventually from one thousand to one hundred thousand—and beyond.
Thank you, UC Berkeley, for the amazing people you’ve brought into my life, who have encouraged me to dream bigger and make things happen! Literally with out you, I would not have this business that has changed my life!
Published October 2025