US data company likely to be based at SmartCity
DayBreak, an American hi-tech company that started operating from Malta earlier this month and which plans to create 1,000 jobs by 2014, will probably be based at SmartCity, owner Doug Monahan told The Times.
SCM01, the first block of the Ricasoli knowledge and IT village was officially inaugurated on October 10, but no official announcement about tenants has been made since.
Mr Monahan, an Austin, Texas based entrepreneur who will be moving to Malta soon said: “The SmartCity project seems to be making the most sense. We are speaking with Jin Choi, executive director of strategy and business development about leasing 1,600 square metres, with an option for an additional 1,600 square metres within the first 24 months. As you know, we need the room to expand, and it seems SmartCity is really the only option for a tech firm expecting to house 1,000 employees.”
Mr Monahan said he was surprised more hi-tech firms haven’t already embraced Malta as the new “high tech Mecca.”
“Your country is close enough to travel by air to Dubai, Israel, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Greece. It is really a perfect location for any firm that is exporting information,” he said.
He said the company’s strategy is currently working as planned.
“I’ve got a team of 10 vice presidents of business development in the United States and we are expanding the team to around 65 before I move to Malta. I’ve also hired a director of data integrity who is based in Sliema. We have received quite a large number of candidates for the Maltese positions and the CVs are currently being reviewed and categorised into development, IT staffing, data entry and sales.”
Mr Monahan told The Times Business that he did get some emails from people who were sceptical about the company being able to employ 1,000 people in Malta. However, this was a gradual process, he said.
“It’s not 1,000 overnight, but 100 the first year, 250 the next, 500 the next and 1,000 the next. I think some who read the article (in The Times Business, December 2) forgot to read the four year plan and almost expected me to show up with a small army. The great majority of those who have written are quite positive.
“We aren’t going to Malta to get cheap labour, in fact, it is quite the opposite. We are looking for those with college degrees who understand the internet and wish to be able to expand their knowledge, work in technology, but don’t want to leave ‘home’,” he said.
Mr Monahan said that while the company hasn’t yet signed or concluded an agreement with SmartCity “we have listed it on our website as where we plan on housing our team”.
DayBreak describes itself as offering “the largest and most comprehensive contact list databases available today.”
Mr Monahan reiterated what he had told The Times Business three weeks ago, namely that anybody from Malta who wishes to gain access to the company’s contact list database for personal reasons such as searching for a job can have access to it right away at no cost whatsoever.
He said the company was funding the Malta project entirely out of cash flow “so we aren’t looking for banks other than to hold our monies”.
He also told The Times Business: “Our first sale happened yesterday – so it is pretty exciting.”
DayBreak has roughly 12.5 million contacts in its database.
Popular Stories
Update 3: Woman found dead in car,...
Updated: Woman dies in car crash
Carm Mifsud Bonnici resigns after...
Part of Dwejra 'Azure window' collapses
The end of the bar that ‘never closed’
Bundy does not know whether to...
Updated - Jason Micallef demands...
This WAS the night - Kurt makes it...
'No need for early election if PM's...
In Discussion
Updated - Jason Micallef demands...
Gozo tunnel could take 5-7 years to...
CABS remote controlled aircraft shot...
Carm Mifsud Bonnici resigns after...
Joseph Calleja condemns portrayal of...
Updated: Labour would give...
CABS drone shot down
Second group of migrants arrives
Adrian Vassallo in scathing...
30 Comments
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
tony fava
Dec 24th 2010, 09:34
LET US BLOG WHEN IT IS FIRMLY ESTABLISHED WHETHER THIS IS A SPIN OR NOT. THAT IS WHEN THE ONE THOUSAND OR SO IT HANDS ARE ACTUALLY TAKEN BY THIS AMERICAN COMPANY.
Christian Sciberras
Dec 24th 2010, 09:53
You mean 3 years form now?
"...plans to create 1,000 jobs by 2014."
manuel lia
Dec 24th 2010, 08:43
dear mr.monahan.....first of all thank you so much for having faith in our country,our bright and excellent workforce,and thank you again for investing in our island.......the usual moaners and groaners writing comments about ur investment should be ashamed of themselves....u know what mr.monahan?u wouldnt have invested in malta pre 1987...thats for sure.....we werent even allowed to have a pc back then.....electrical outage was so frequent that we used to be happy when we had electricity....even the water supply was scarce back then....and surely u wouldnt have found any people qualified in IT....there was no mcast and no IT courses....issa xi haga bil malti lill dawk kollha li ikkummentaw negativvament fuq dan linvestiment.....messkom tisthu......mbasta malta lewwel u qabel kollox......malta lewwel u qabel kollox meta tkunu fil gvern imma.....and thats a long time ago.....anyway happy xmas to all....and thanks again mr.doug monahan....
Christian Sciberras
Dec 24th 2010, 09:57
Manuel, no one commented against this investment, the comments so far where how the Government seems to completely forget about local investment, said from *experience*.
I can't say about foreigners since I don't know how the government is treating them...I sure hope not the same way as locals!
Anyway, as I said before and again, we need to better invest in our infrastructure, and really, what do you expect me to say? "Well done PN/Enemalta, keep up with the outages"?
How can you not complain about that (except not having your life depend on it)?
Doug Monahan
Dec 23rd 2010, 22:27
Hello Malta! My name is Doug Monahan. I am the CEO of DayBreak - www.daybreakdirect.com. I am beyond excited about what your country has to offer. The comments I read about power problems etc don't worry me a bit. I'd also like to point out I am funding this out of my own pocket - there is no government subsidy, no loans, nothing, other than my own hard earned dollars being poured into this endeavor. ($3.5 million so far) Why Malta you may ask? I think Malta is one of the best kept secrets in the world right now - excellent work force, fantastic internet connections, bright young developers and everybody speaks english fluently, reasonable labor costs and overall I envision a whole new excitement of hundreds of technology firms taking advantage of Smart City - which I know has taken a long time - and people are becoming skeptical - but "the cavalry is coming" so to speak. It does surprise me that people from Malta are skeptical about the motivation I have - it is your country - rather than telling me everything bad - about words about the good! Merry Christmas to all! www.daybreakdirect.com
Christian Sciberras
Dec 24th 2010, 09:48
Hello Doug,
- excellent work force: I've been looking for certain specific employees, no luck so far
- fantastic internet connections: either the one in Gozo is pretty bad, or we're not talking about the same ISP.
- bright young developers: Can't really complain about this one. Really. :-)
- everybody speaks english fluently: Agreed.
- reasonable labor costs: ...
Anyhow, welcome to Malta. Be sure to visit Gozo some time (you just can't visit Malta without coming to Gozo, you'd be missing half the fun! ;) ).
James Bonello
Dec 24th 2010, 11:02
The term "Malta is one of the best kept secrets in the world right now" is rather painful as it implies that the organisations responsible for attracting FDI into Malta are not doing a very good job!
Abusaada Mustafa
Dec 27th 2010, 23:56
Dear Mr. Monahan,
On behalf of many of the Maltese citizens, and the SmartCity team, I would like first of all wish you a happy Christmas with your family and beloved ones.
Welcome you, and your business plan to our Islands, appreciate your excitements and faith in the Maltese people workforce and knowledge.
As a conclusion, I would congratulate you for selecting the largest development on the Isalnd as your office location, and definitely wish you, and your business all the best.
Wish you a Happy New Year,
Philip Sultana
Dec 23rd 2010, 20:45
I wonder how real this all is! 1000 employees in 1600 sqr mtrs of office space? That is 1.3 x 1.3 metres space per person? You can hardly fit a chair! Is this just Maltese spin?
Doug Monahan
Dec 24th 2010, 15:24
Merry Christmas Philip. Yes - 1000 people would have a very hard time fitting into 1600 sq meters. LOL We expect to have 100 full time people by the end of 2011 - and I think 1600 sq meters will be ample for them - planning on adding an additional 150 by end of 2012. 1000 is our goal by the END of 2014. I'm funding all of the growth out of cash flow, we aren't getting loans, not being subsidized by government - and I think our numbers are realistic and achievable. It will take hard work, timing and perhaps a little bit of luck to make sure it all happens as planned. But . . . nothing ventured ...nothing gained you know!
l fenech
Dec 23rd 2010, 17:51
Allajbierek kif qed ifaqqsu bl'eluf l-impiegi, issa nergghu naghamlu is-somom lejliet l-elezzjoni.
Reuben Abela
Dec 23rd 2010, 18:27
x ghandu x jaqsam investiment barrani mal elezzjoni ?
Christian Sciberras
Dec 23rd 2010, 17:37
As an afterthought, Malta rarely gets anything of value done by itself, so if our great government just can't do things right, perhaps these foreigners might help force it to move the right way.
J.Tonna
Dec 23rd 2010, 17:12
How i pity these people, the only thing they learn to do from their media, is to MOAN.
What an unhappy life they live.
Christian Sciberras
Dec 23rd 2010, 17:48
How I pity people that don't give a hoot to how their country is being run....except when someone raises fuel prices etc, only then do they mix well with the rest of the moaning people.
Too bad the majority don't moan at all, too much moaning might have had some affect in parliament, whereas shrugging/nodding off everything doesn't do a single thing, except eventual damage.
I Vella
Dec 23rd 2010, 16:57
I really hope this is not just bluff! however if this company is so big as he states, how come he does not even have a web presence?! when today even the small round the corner shop has a website?!
G McDowell
Dec 23rd 2010, 18:13
I Vella they do have a website http://www.daybreakdirect.com although I am unsure why he got his facebook account deactivated ( http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=72194145610 ), although that was a couple of years ago by the looks of things.
EPMuscat
Dec 23rd 2010, 18:34
www.daybreakdirect.com/
c. camilleri
Dec 23rd 2010, 16:54
@ Christian Sciberras and others like him::. Pls stop your moaning and whining and look for a bright future. Pls stop discouraging other people from starting business in Malta. These people know more than you and they are coming here because other countries are much much worst than us. They come over here because they see bright future for their business. Comments like yours surely are looked up as unpatriotic and are only intended to harm this Govt (Malta) Try to look at the positive side and not as if heaven is falling upon us. You are a victim to your own policy.
Christian Sciberras
Dec 23rd 2010, 17:08
Bright future? Indeed, the first place to look at would be our power station!
Christian Sciberras
Dec 23rd 2010, 17:24
c. camilleri - If those people are so smart, I'd suggest they get their own backup generators while transferring to Malta.
Since you guys can't seem to think past my "complaining", let me baby-feed it back to you.
Malta's a nice place to work in. Really. Problem is, businesses don't start building on top of sand. Especially when they're supposed to be a tech hub. Minimum requirements? Electricity, network, stable resources and services.
You decide how stable they are. Really companies just can't live employing workers which can't work (devices are down, network is down, lights etc), and without the slightest possibility of compensation.
It isn't just loss of profit, it is outright throwing money down the toilet.
Hey, it isn't really a problem which can't be fixed, it can. It just takes a new power station etc.
How long did it take them to build Xlendi road? The one to Mgarr? The bus stop down my road (which got planned circa 3-4 years ago)?
Abusaada Mustafa
Dec 29th 2010, 00:53
@ Christian Sciberras,
All the requirements you have mentioned are right, thats why DayBreak direct has selected smartCity Malta where to be; as it offers all requirements you have mentioned including the elec. power!
If you are running your own business, look forward to the bright future, and move on to the right place.
Regards,
Christian Sciberras
Dec 30th 2010, 03:45
@Abusaada Mustafa - So far, I'm less than satisfied with utility services; not only businesses don't get compensated for loss of service, but they get insulted in their face by the said providers. Don't know about SmartCity but I sure hope they've got a couple of backup generates planned. And fuel as well, come to think of it.
I don't run the current business I'm in (thank God, otherwise, I'd have jumped off ta' Cenc by now). Sure there seems to be a bright future ahead, but it's already feeling painful, and I've barely been two years through it! Sure hope you guys put some pressure over local monopolies (*ahem*) to straighten up their policies and actually start working as they should....perhaps getting them where they should have been 10 years or so ago.
Anthony Castillo
Dec 23rd 2010, 16:50
@Christian Sciberras. It looks like that you,re so smart that you always find something to say that you do not be happy with the progress. It looks like that progress in our country hurts you. You,re going to have a lot of this kind because our govenment is trusted all over the world and this means that a lot of this new investment is going to come to our country. Ido not know your age but if you,re old enuogh you should rememberthe misery years of the 70's and 80's when the whole world reject us and no body trust us.
Christian Sciberras
Dec 23rd 2010, 17:13
Perhaps you should read my post again, doesn't seem you read any more than the first four letters.
Oh, and for what it's worth, I'm smart enough in investing in computers AFTER getting a stable supply of electricity, as an example.
Unfortunately, doesn't seem to be the case with Malta...
Christian Sciberras
Dec 23rd 2010, 16:11
While they are welcome to conduct business here, it is most unfortunate to note that the local businesses get kicked repeatedly, slowly draining them from funds "legally", such as with the rather bad utility services, failing [tele]coms and increasingly difficult situations to cope with.
But I really shut up now, don't want to discourage foreigners from the potential hurdles which will eventually end up in front of their doors.
Really this anarchy is a huge disappointment...and I'm not even patriotic.
Joseph Cauchi
Dec 23rd 2010, 16:31
Just SOUR GRAPES, my friend!
Pacenzja u hu gost bil-gid, mhux ghira biss!
JC.
R Saliba
Dec 23rd 2010, 16:38
as if any companies do not do any due diligence before investing here..
Christian Sciberras
Dec 23rd 2010, 17:09
Joseph, ghira ghal xiex? Jien nghir ghal Amerka, fejn il-gvern JGHIN kumpaniji bix jikbru....mhux jaghmel minn kollox biex jahraqhom!!!
Christian Sciberras
Dec 23rd 2010, 17:11
R Saliba - True, which is why I'd invest in my own country's infrastructure before inviting foreigners.