June 2012 -> September 2012
We dedicated a lot of time to studying our competitors (at that time it was ECabs and Dial-a-Cab – the London Taxi cab service in Malta) and took several reconnaissance trips in their cabs – we used to ask the drivers questions on their pay, their working conditions, if they liked working for those companies etc.. That information would help shape the EcoCabs business.
With the help of a local graphical designer – Stiefnu – we got to work on the EcoCab’s marketing campaign. Stiefnu did awesome work for us and in the space of a few weeks we had tons of designs and mock ups to show off.
I took on the responsibility to figure out how to get local authority approval to operate as a cab service in Malta. I also had to find the necessary office/garage space to be the headquarters for EcoCabs.
To this day, one particular event really stands. After seeing countless amounts of offices we settled on a property in San Gwann. The property was still in shell form but had everything we needed. It had a massive, 10 car garage with street access from two seperate streets and had offices above the garages.
The verbal agreement was EUR 2,000 monthly for a minimum of two years – we informed the investors and we were given the green light – EcoCabs had their headquarters!
The night before we all met to sign the agreement I got a call from the estate agent. The owner of the property got cold feet and didn’t want to sign over the lease to EcoCabs. I was fuming. I took my anger out on the estate agent. I wish I could apologize to that estate agent and today, I wish I could tell the old man ‘Thank You’ – today I am a firm believer in the saying; ‘everything happens for a reason’.
Between June 2012 and September 2012 we had several catch up meetings with the investors. We were always very eager to show them EcoCab’s progress. It appeared as though our relationship was blossoming and, at face value, they always treated us with a lot of respect. We were young, ambitious guys with limited business experience going into a partnership with seasoned professionals.
Our cab concept mainly revolved around the EcoCab’s IT System that we were also developing, the “EcoCabs Dispatch System”. This software would have enabled us to reduce our cost base and, most interestingly, we wanted to introduce a ‘cab-sharing’ function via a customer smartphone app – remember, this was way back in 2012.
We pitched this idea to a number of local organizations. One company actually flew in their head of IT from the US to discuss this system with us. From the feedback we received, it seemed like we were really onto something.
September 2012
Towards the end of September 2012 the stars seemed to be aligning – EcoCabs was ready to advance to the next stage – we started advertising to hire shift managers and drivers – The investors were ready to inject the capital we needed to kick things off.
Then One afternoon I received a message from Nick;
“Hey Gabe, They pulled the plug”
At that time, my wife and I were looking to buy an apartment. We were at a viewing when I received Nick’s message. I clearly remember walking to a balcony and thinking that if that message was a joke then it sure as hell was not funny.
I called Nick to see what had happened. He told me that it seemed like they got cold feet and they felt like Eco Cabs wasn’t worth the risk.
Something did not seem right, why would they have spent so much time, money, and effort to get to that point and then, just bail on the deal?
When I got to Nicks apartment, Nick and Andy were just sitting quietly on the couch, staring at the sea.
I wanted answers. What had happened? Andy was at a loss. Nick received the message from John and did not have any more information.
We decided to go for a walk by the sea to try and clear our heads. A couple of minutes into the stroll we all received a very polite email from the board of directors informing us of their decision to pull out of the Eco Cabs venture – they did not give any reason as to why they decided to do this.
Those all-nighters we pulled, fueled by redbull and ambition, to meet unrealistic deadlines were seemingly all for nothing.
This organization was not the only investor that was interested in this project but they were the perfect Strategic partners.
I hate to say it but EcoCabs died that afternoon.
That’s all folks
The few months I spent working on EcoCabs was a rollercoaster of emotions – I went through waves of excitement, extreme nerves, stress, incredible fun, sadness and major disappointment.
When Andy, Nick and myself met we never discussed what had happened. Now, I’m not ashamed to say it, I was embarrassed of myself, I could not accept that we failed so I did not want to discuss with anyone, anything to do with EcoCabs.
Before it went sour I used to speak about EcoCabs to my family and friends as though we had already succeeded. I really believed in the project so I actually never considered that it might fail.
That summer we really worked our ass off to make sure Eco Cabs was a success – we were young, confident and ambitious but also immensely naive and inexperienced. If We were a bit more level minded and cautious would the investors still have pulled the plug?
Having said that, a couple of years ago I heard a rumour that the reason Eco Cabs failed was because Nick tried to negotiate some under-the-table deal for himself – I sincerely highly doubt this though.
Another theory is that the investors pulled the plug after they got all the information they needed from us. They decided that they would wait out the time-limit on the NDA and to do it themselves. There is evidence that this might be true but, if so, good luck to them. if that is the way they conduct business, eventually karma will come knocking.
Till this day, I do not know why Eco Cabs never took off. What I do know is that, for some reason or another, Eco Cabs never materialized. I would not change anything we did throughout that summer – it was one of the best educations of my life.
This chapter of my life is now closed. I am at peace with this and to be honest, I am not particularly interested as to why Eco Cabs failed. I cherish the lessons I learnt during this venture and I genuinely look back on the whole experience with very fond memories.
