A 41-year-old Irishman who set up an online trading brokerage four years ago in his son's bedroom with $230 (€233) and a personal computer has joined the ranks of Ireland's burgeoning IT million aires. Mr Phillip Berber's Texas-based company, CyBerCorp.com, sold on Wednesday to online stock trading giant, Charles Schwab, for $488 million.
Mr Philip Berber, a UCD Commerce graduate from Nutley Lane in Dublin, and his family, own just over 50 per cent of CyBerCorp through the Berber family trust. A further 10 per cent ($48.8 million) is owned by a prominent Irish businessman and personal friend of the Berber family who took an early stake in the company.
CyBerCorp has pioneered sophisticated electronic stocktrading technology. It allows online traders to access multiple electronic communications networks (ECN) and market makers, and search for the best price at the volume the trader is seeking. Charles Schwab, which currently holds the number one position in online trading, is gradually losing market share to other low-cost traders. CyBercorp's software will provide high-speed trade executions which are seen as critical to online trading. CyBerCorp has an impressive record of trading volume gains, with 2,500 customer accounts, and average customer trades of eight times per day. Last year, the company recorded a $4 million after-tax profit on revenues of $24.5 million. The previous year the company had revenues of just $5.5 million.
Mr Berber describes himself as an entrepreneur, citing as his biggest influence a final year course in UCD in entrepreneurial development conducted by Dr Frank Roche.
"I would dearly love to speak to commerce students at UCD and share my story with them. We Irish have much to contribute in the current climate, and I'd like to let them know that dreams can come true."
A contemporary of Cognotec founder Mr Brian Maccaba, the two set up Expert Information Systems specialising in electronic motor insurance quotations in London in 1984. Bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, he launched his first start-up, Financia, in 1988. An early user of artificial intelligence software, it provided advanced financial market analysis and predictive technologies. The company was privately sold in 1991 to Frontier Financial in Houston.
Mr Berber says he and his family are keen to help the less fortunate, in particular children. The family trust is in the process of setting up a charitable foundation whose first task will be to establish an orphanage in Ethiopia.
Mr Berber says CyBerCorp will now "piggyback" on Charles Schwab's extensive marketing infrastructure to offer day trading in Asian, European and US securities as well as trading in bonds, options and foreign exchange.
