This is a ‘what-if’ story, of how three friends almost managed to secure investment and to partner up with one of the most successful business families in Malta. In 2012 Nick Ebenhoeh, Andrew Trinchero and myself embarked on an adventure to set up an eco-friendly cab company in Malta – EcoCabs.
EcoCabs never actually began operations but as you will read, we were not far away from making it a reality. The roller coaster of emotions I experienced throughout this period left an everlasting effect on my character, it changed the way I approach problems and how I deal with failure
April 2012
In the beginning of 2012, Nick and I were working for an aircraft maintenance facility in Malta. Nick was half German, half American and worked in the finance Department. I was an aircraft mechanic. On one Saturday in late April, Nick and I happened to be working the weekend shift. We didn’t really know each other much as I had just joined the company. We sat together during lunch and Nick complained about how expensive and inefficient taxis were in Malta. We spent the rest of the day discussing how we could improve the whole taxi/cab set up in Malta.
By Monday I had already forgotten that we had spoken about this whole taxi/cab debacle. To my surprise, during lunch that day, Nick casually walked up to me and asked if I would be interested in opening a company with him. We would split the company 50/50 and the plan was to conquer the Maltese cab industry. This would be my first foray in the world of business.
Nick was a do-er. By Tuesday he had set up the meeting with an accounting firm in Sliema to sign the company papers and to begin the process with opening a bank account with a local bank right.
May 2012
The concept was simple: use eco-friendly cars to reduce our impact on the environment and use technology to reduce our operating costs. There were not many eco-friendly car options in 2012. The Toyota Prius and Prius + were the only viable vehicles for EcoCabs.
We knew we needed a strong, established business partner to make EcoCabs a reality. We decided to approach a local family business who, at that time, was considered as the top eco-friendly vehicle importing organization on the island. They had a section on their website that encouraged budding entrepreneurs to submit their ideas to them. I sent an email to a certain John, stating that we had an idea that the board of directors would be interested in.
Sure enough, after a couple of days John replied and invited us to their headquarters for a meeting to present our idea. We were buzzing! We didn’t think we would hear back from him. We worked day and night for almost a week to put together a presentation for John.
The meeting was set for a Wednesday in the beginning of May at 1400. The morning of the presentation Nick drafted a basic Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) – the conditions were that the NDA was valid for 5 years and carried a penalty of EUR 500,000 if the NDA was breached. This was the first time I was pitching an idea to a potential investor so I just went along with the flow – I trusted Nick.
When we got there, to our surprise, John was waiting for us in the parking area and told us that Michael the CEO, and some of the board of directors were waiting for us – they were actually taking us seriously – game on.
John escorted us up to the CEO’s office (which looked more like a bachelor pad than an office). After 5 minutes of pleasantries we were asked to begin our presentation. Without hesitation, Nick handed them the NDA and told them that we would gladly begin if they signed the NDA. I will never forget how unfazed he was by the whole situation. It was as though he had been in that situation many times before.
Michael glanced at the NDA and asked us to leave. Evidently, he did not appreciate being blindsided by the NDA. Nick stood up, said thank you and we left.
By 1410 we were headed straight for Dubliners (a bar a few meters away from Nick’s apartment) to drink our sorrows away and to discuss our next steps. We couldn’t believe we had wasted so much time preparing for the presentation.
One pint in and Nick received a call from John – Michael and the board of directors were ready to sign the NDA if we removed the time and penalty clauses. Nick stood firm, he said we would accept if they kept the 5 years and reduce the penalty to EUR 250,000.
They accepted the conditions and at 1500 we headed back to their headquarters.
Boy oh boy did they like our presentation.
They were very interested in the project and would partner up with us if we could develop a proper plan for this “EcoCabs” concept. The offer they presented was:
50% of he start up capital for 50% of the business – Nick and I would split the other 50%
Exclusive rights for EcoCabs to use their vehicles
Very advantageous vehicle prices
Use of their premises to facilitate the licencing process
Access to their contacts
They would pay EUR 50,000 for the business plan as a sign of good will
Nick and I would have to work full time for Eco Cabs
June 2012
Nick and I both had full time jobs so it was clear from the get-go that we needed help in order to take EcoCabs to the next level. Nick suggested an old friend of his, Andrew Trinchero – an American who lived and worked in California. I didn’t ask many questions, I trusted Nick but I highly doubted that Andy would relocate to Malta from California to start a cab company. I do not know what Nick told Andy but 2 weeks after they spoke, he was on his way to Malta.
Sometime in mid-May, I remember Nick called me to ask if I would pick up Andy from the airport. The only problem was that I had no idea what Andy looked like. He briefly described Andy and assured me that I wouldn’t have any issues with spotting him. Sure enough, Andy was at the airport waiting for me, Nick was right!
Andy was going to live with Nick in his two-bedroom, sea-front apartment in St Julians. Parking was a nightmare but, for that summer, that flat became my second home.
To be continued..
