Gabriel Murphy is CEO of Abacus America, Inc. and a technology and real estate investor residing in Leawood, Kansas. Born December 23, 1975 in Saint Joseph, Missouri to Deborah and Michael Murphy, he attended Winnetonka High School in Kansas City, Missouri and graduated from Benton High School in Saint Joseph, Missouri in May of 1994. Gabriel went on to attend Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, graduating with honors in May of 1999 with a Bachelors of Science in Business Management and Marketing[1].
Business Career
editGabriel Murphy has founded and/or run a number of technology and real-estate ventures, including:
CommuniTech.Net
editIn April of 1997, during his sophomore year at Cornell, Gabriel and partner Bryan Heitman co-founded CommuniTech.Net, a web hosting service provider. With a $3,600 investment, CommuniTech.Net grew to 25,000 subscribers and $8 million in revenue by 2001[2]. In April of 2001, CommuniTech.Net was named one of the “Top 10” Small Businesses in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. In May, CommuniTech.Net was named the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce “Small Business of the Year” and Mr. K award winner[3]. The company was also named to the Deloitte & Touche Fast 50 in 2000 and 2001. CommuniTech.Net was sold to Interland, Inc. (now known as WebsitePros) in February of 2002[4]. The Kansas City Business Journal has referred to CommuniTech.Net as “one of Kansas City's most successful technology companies” and the firm wasthe fast growing business in Kansas City in 2001[5].
iNET Interactive, LLC
editIn April of 2003, Gabriel founded iNET Interactive, LLC, an online media agency which owned and managed a number of popular “auto-content generation” web portals. From April of 2003 through July of 2004, iNET Interactive acquired 16 websites, including WebHostingTalk.com and HotScripts.com[6]. iNET Interactive was sold to Stoddard Hill Media in October of 2005 for “between $3 to $6 million”, according to the Kansas City Business Journal[7].
Abacus America, Inc.
editIn July of 2006, Gabriel partnered with Catalyst Investors, a Manhattan, New York-based private equity firm, to acquire Abacus America, Inc., which does business under the trade name “APlus.Net”. According to the Kansas City Business Journal, “Murphy and New York-based Catalyst Investors acquired San Diego-based APlus.Net in July 2006 for $36 million” [8]. After the acquisition, Gabriel was named President and Chief Executive Officer. In February of 2007, APlus.Net was relocated from San Diego, California to Overland Park, Kansas[9]. In August of 2007, APlus.Net acquired WebImage, a web design firm located in White Plains, New York. As of May of 2008, APlus.Net hosted over 90,000 customer websites and had over 250 employees with operations in Overland Park, Kansas; Phoenix, Arizona; San Diego, California; and Sofia, Bulgaria.
Murphy Properties, LLC
editGabriel began investing in distressed multi-tenant office buildings in November of 2003 with his purchase of Nieman Office Center. He founded Murphy Properties in 2004 and went on to acquire Ambassador Office Center and Foxridge Towers in September of 2004, followed by the acquisition of Ambassador I in July of 2005, Ambassador II in January of 2006 and Tiffany Center I & II in July of 2006. By the summer of 2006, Murphy Properties had acquired over 540,000 square feet of commercial office space. According to the Kansas City Business Journal, Gabriel Murphy acquired the 180,000 square foot Foxridge Towers office building for $7.4 million, or $39 per square foot[10]. The building was renamed Mission Towers and since its acquisition, tenants including General Electric, Park University and Alliance Shippers have relocated to Mission Towers, which is leased to 94% occupancy as of May of 2008.
Nieman Office Center was leased-up to 100% occupancy and sold in July of 2005, as was Ambassador Office Center in July of 2007 and Tiffany Center I & II in December of 2007. According to the Kansas City Business Journal, Gabriel Murphy had netted “a profit of more than $9 million” from the sale of Ambassador Office Center and Tiffany Center I & II in 2007.
Awards
editIn June of 2001, Gabriel was named the “Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year” for the State of Kansas and Western Missouri by Ernst & Young[11].
Numismatics
editGabriel is an avid collector of United States coins, specifically silver dollars. According to the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), he presently holds the finest known collection of Eisenhower Proof Dollars[12], Susan B. Anthony Mint State Dollars[13], Susan B. Anthony Proof Dollars[14], Sacagawea Mint State Dollars[15] and Sacagawea Proof Dollars[16].
Notes
edit- ^ "APlus.Net Management Team". Press Release.
- ^ King, Suzanne (1999-10-22). "Growing up on the Internet". The Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
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(help) - ^ "CommuniTech.Net selected top small business by chamber". The Kansas City Business Journal. 2001-05-11. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
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(help) - ^ Brown, Matt Steele (2002-02-15). "CommuniTech finally lands big deal". The Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
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(help) - ^ "Top Area Fastest-Growing Businesses". The Kansas City Business Journal. 2001-05-25. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
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(help) - ^ Anderson, Charlie (2003-09-12). "OP's iNET buys Web site from Houston company". The Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
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(help) - ^ Anderson, Charlie (2005-11-18). "Murphy sells Internet firm for millions". The Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
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(help) - ^ Todd, Natenberg (2008-04-18). "High marks: Aplus.Net's customized service brings uniformly strong results". The Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
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(help) - ^ Anderson, Charlie (2006-11-03). "KC area will be host to Murphy's latest enterprise". The Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
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(help) - ^ Davis, Jim (2004-09-24). "Former tech exec buys Mission building for $7.4 million". The Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
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(help) - ^ Brown, Matt Steele (2001-06-29). "Murphy leads Entrepreneur of the Year winners". The Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
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(help) - ^ "Murphy's Eisenhower Proof Dollar Set". Professional Coin Grading Service.
- ^ "Murphy's "DRG Collection"". Professional Coin Grading Service.
- ^ "My Feminist Sister Likes These Coins". Professional Coin Grading Service.
- ^ "Murphy's Sacagawea Complete Variety Set - The Number One Finest Set of All Time". Professional Coin Grading Service.
- ^ "Murphy's Sacagawea Dollar Proof Set". Professional Coin Grading Service.
External links
edit- GabrielMurphy.com — The Official Website of Gabriel Murphy
- http://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielmurphy — LinkedIn Profile for Gabriel Murphy
- FaceBook.com — Facebook Profile for Gabriel Murphy
- MySpace.com - MySpace Profile for Gabriel Murphy