The FOUNDER TERRY DOWNES OF MYSAFE

Terry Downes is the founder and CEO of Dubai-based MySafe. Terry and his partners are set to disrupt the 100-year old safe-deposit box industry with groundbreaking automation and security technology. MySafe is the only private safe deposit box company in the Middle East and Africa to offer a fully automated, Lloyds-insured safe-deposit box service for the 21st century.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO LAUNCH MYSAFE?

I came to realise that the global retail banking sector for many different reasons had no strategic interest in continuing to provide safe deposit box services. The concept was always seen as a loss-leader by the retail banks, a service they felt obligated to provide to less than 3% of their client base and now even that capacity was shrinking. In many countries the banks no longer provide any service at all, in others the waiting lists can be anything from 3 to 6 years to secure a coveted “Box”. That makes no sense.

Terry Downes CEO - Board Director MySafe Global Vaults

In a related industry sector, I was involved in the lunch of a concept then called the “Convenience ATM Network” and I had seen how taking the ATM out of the banking hall and positioning it in the mall changed the way society managed cash and so realised that if we could lift the humble safe deposit box from out of the basement vault and take it in into the high street, it too could revolutionise the way we store small items of value.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MAIN USE CASES FOR PHYSICAL SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES? HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THAT MARKET?

When you mention Safe Deposit Box (SDB), one immediately thinks of a deep underground Bank Vault. Apart from the fact that Banks were once the primary custodian of all valuables, the SDB industry has actually nothing whatsoever to do with banking and everything to do with secure storage. In a postCovid world with the increasingly volatile nature of societies across the world, taking reasonable precautions to protect items you consider to be of value to you or your family is an exponential-growth industry.

Of course, it attracts high net worth individuals with valuables to store but you would be shocked at how diverse the client base and items considered valuable really is. The thing is that everyone has something they consider of value to them or their family. With MySafe we set about identifying the optimum solution convenient to all; a fully automated SDB concept utilising advanced safe robotics, a fully integrated privacy pod and in so doing, we disrupt an industry sector that has delivered the service the same way for the past 100 years and we create a 21st century Safe Deposit Box solution convenient and accessible to all. We are the only private Automated Safe deposit box company in the Middle East.

WHY DUBAI AND KENYA? WHAT MADE THOSE LOCATIONS THE RIGHT PLACES TO LAUNCH?

Dubai because we felt it offered a business ecosystem conducive to disruptive technology, a city that embraced the concept of automation and SMART technology. Dubai is a large, discerning, multi-cultural community and we get to experience feedback from clients that span that cultural mix. Let me also be sincere, we never came here to open a “Shop”, Dubai is also a window to the world and hence exposing the concept of MySafe to a global market was also a key criteria.

Kenya represents a very different risk profile and we wanted to demonstrate /prove the concept in an environment that was very different to Dubai. The fact is that wherever you are in the world, people have items of value to them and the demand for an appropriate convenient 21st century solution will find traction. In actual fact, the greater the risk, the more the demand for a premium 21st century solution.

HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT CREATING A BUSINESS PLAN, FINDING YOUR PARTNERS AND FINDING THE RESOURCES TO GET STARTED?

It all happened overnight! Of course not, it was incredibly difficult as it is for any entrepreneur starting out with an idea. I was fortunate to meet people of integrity and vision who believed in my vision and were prepared to back me in launching the concept. We researched extensively, travelling across Europe, Africa, and the Far East to identify the optimum partners for us, and the rest is built on a passionate belief in our capacity to make an impact.

DIGITALISATION IS A BUZZWORD IN THE REGION RIGHT NOW. DO YOU SEE THAT AFFECTING MYSAFE, AS MORE DOCUMENTATION BECOMES DIGITAL?

We absolutely buy into the concept of digitalisation and indeed we are so proud to have our own internal R&D team who interface jointly with our global partners to ensure we can continue to future-proof the technological advances baked into our concept. We have developed customised ERP, a world’s first fully-functional dedicated APP will be launched in Q4, allowing clients across the world real-time access to their box with a multi-functional capacity for noncontact interface with their box. Not ‘smart’ to tick a box (forgive the pun) but real ‘smart’ because it makes everything even more convenient and accessible.

IN ANY BUSINESS, TRUST IS A NECESSITYPERHAPS EVEN MORE SO FOR MYSAFE. HOW DOES A NEW BRAND INSTIL THAT SENSE OF TRUST AND SECURITY IN PROSPECTS AND CUSTOMERS?

WHAT ARE THE MAIN THINGS YOU DO FOR MARKETING PURPOSES?

This is a great question and at its core the driving force behind our growth. Marketing is a missioncritical component of any business development plan, but you can only sustain your business if the values you market are baked into the DNA of the brand values and the culture that permeates across the group. We are asked all the time what our USP is. The technology is genuinely exceptional, you sit at the desk and ten seconds later the advanced robotics open a small hatch and up pops your box. It’s something very special to see and with that comes the most advanced security infrastructure of its kind in the world. That said, our USP is grounded on the fact that we care. Your business is our business. Our approach whether interacting with global market leaders, local suppliers, clients, or indeed internally, is grounded in the development of a culture where we really care and that becomes self-evident when you interact with MySafe. It helps when our insurance partners are the largest insurance marketplace in the world, and having audited our concept, allow us to offer clients the option to insure the contents to a maximum of 5 Million AED per box, the highest in SDB insurance cover available in the world.

WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU’VE FACED SINCE STARTING MYSAFE?

WHAT SETBACKS OR FAILURES HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED ALONG THE WAY?

The greatest single challenge we face is to explain the business such that stakeholders come to appreciate it has nothing whatsoever to do with banking and everything to do with taking reasonable precautions to store small items of value. The market is conditioned by the historical involvement of the banking sector in the industry and the perception that every good spy has their own network of safe deposit boxes. The reality is totally different: ordinary clients who perceive the need to store items which for them are considered worthy of taking the precautions.

WHAT LESSONS HAVE YOU LEARNED AS A RESULT?

WOULD YOU DO ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY A SECOND TIME AROUND?

Of course, we have learned and continue to learn every single day. That is an inherent component of any successful growth plan and so to be perfectly honest, no regrets of any kind. We are lucky to have a very experienced and senior team, so between us we have probably made every mistake in the book and learnt from it.

HOW HAS CUSTOMER FEEDBACK HELPED SHAPE THE DIRECTION OF YOUR BUSINESS?

This has been critical to our success and to ensuring our R&D is focused on the demands of the client and not an internal demand we artificially create. We are also fortunate to have an outstanding relationship with our strategic stakeholders and so whether its about customising our global insurance cover to reflect feedback from the clients, the development of a totally new product targeting the Hotel and Hospitality sector, the development of cardless access, keyless boxes, or a world’s-first functional APP, all these initiatives are baked into our DNA so we future-proof our capacity to continue to be innovators in our field.

WHAT ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS SO FAR, THE BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENTS?

As you build from the ground up, you learn to celebrate every milestone and so I remember our very first sale, the first time I walked into the Kempinski Hotel on the Palm Jumeriah and looked at an empty site, I remember being on the ground watching the 5 ton safe being offloaded at midnight from its container and 6 exhausting hours later the entire safe if finally “on the ground”. I remember how proud we were to get final approval for our latest site in the EMAAR-developed AL Manzil Souq. I walked out of the door and looked up and up and up at the Burj Khalifa and I pinched myself.

Most of all, I am so proud of our team. My Wingman Sascha Winter, a German national with 20 years C-level experience here in the Middle East is an inspirational character. Our FC Jasfer Rashid has built bridges between finance function and our front-end. Between us we lead a team of young but passionate warriors who are even more committed than we are to aspire to their full potential. We work so hard to empower that team and build that sense of cultural values that have stood the test of time.

WHAT AMBITIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR THE COMPANY IN THE COMING YEARS?

We currently have a portfolio of 11 sites across East Africa and the UAE, and with exclusive distribution agreements in place, we are finalising plans to expand the Network with an additional 27 new sites over the next two years. To that end we have already incorporated in Turkey, in Israel and in the USA. To be honest with you, along the way, the growth potential we have uncovered will take us across multiple regions and we are building the foundations with that in mind. Nelson Mandela said it best, “There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

HAVE YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH MYSAFE CHANGED YOU IN ANY WAY?

There are many ways that MySafe has changed my life. It gave me a blank canvas to paint on. A lifetime’s experience making mistakes and correcting them before finally having this chance to start afresh with a clean slate, to see how far we can go if we don’t stop. It has helped me to trust in people, to feel that sense of shared passion and above all, it has enhanced my view that a gift shared is one that lasts a lifetime.

midnight.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER ENTREPRENEURS LOOKING TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESSES IN THE ARABIAN GULF?

I have been fortunate to build business across many different regions, Europe, Eastern Europe, the USA, Asia, East Africa and now the Middle East. Every single environment brings with it its own unique challenges and opportunities. What makes building a business in the Arabian Gulf so different, is the fact that it is an environment that sets high demands, and the rewards that follow success are commensurate. This is not a business environment for the fainthearted. But for those who are committed, passionate, and who aspire to be all they can be, there is no better environment in the world. The region is built on a vison and is lead by extraordinary individuals who have created the ecosystem to support that vision. Such that here, everything is possible, you just have to make sure you are the best at what you do. My advice to entrepreneurs is to surround yourself with people who share your vision and who will never quit. When you find those people, invest in them, empower them, nurture them, and inspire them to be all they can be. Then you can step back and watch the magic happen.