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Who's Who: Tom Smith

Eight years after founding kiosk developer MontegoNet Inc., the company's chief executive officer delights in the challenges that each day brings.

December 21, 2004

Before he founded MontegoNet Inc. in 1996, chief executive officer Tom Smith experienced a succession of different work environments. They taught him all he needed to know about what he wanted out of his career.

"I worked for a small company for a while, and had many hats," Smith said. "Then I worked for a large company for a little while, and realized that I was better suited for a small company. So after I left the larger company I started MontegoNet."

MontegoNet, based in Portsmouth, R.I., fulfills Smith's need for usefulness by allowing him to get involved in every step of his company's development process. MontegoNet manufactures custom kiosks and develops content for companies launching Internet-enabled installations.

"My hands are in everything whether it's good or bad," he said. "I know every aspect of MontegoNet, from the manufacturing point where I help design kiosks and do some troubleshooting, to sales and marketing and the techy stuff."

Bliss is a challenging concept because each level of happiness often spurs a need to move to the next level. But at MontegoNet, Smith has found joy.

His own private Jamaica

A graduate of Clarkson University and Providence College, Smith got his start in software development working on accounting software. His work experiences taught him the value of adding personal touches. The origin of MontegoNet's name stems from that.

"When we started the company, we didn't really know the exact direction we were heading, so we wanted something fairly generic," he said. "My wife and I had just gotten back from our honeymoon in Jamaica. We were going to call it Montego, but since we were doing something with the Internet, we thought we should throw a `net' on it!"

MontegoNet Inc. founder Tom Smith is a firm believer in working hard, involving himself in all aspects of his company, and having fun.

The Caribbean motif has continued to this day; the company's kiosk enclosures all have names that reflect - you guessed it - Smith's tropical bliss: Caicos, Kingston, Grace Bay, and Nassau.

In just eight years, the privately owned company has gone from a two-person operation to an 8,000-square-foot facility with 13 full-time employees. Smith said remaining flexible in a maturing market has enabled MontegoNet to grow.

"Rather than deploying kiosks, we create solutions for customers looking to deploy kiosks," Smith said. "We don't have one single path that we're heading down. There are a number of companies out there that had the business model, and they went down that one path, and when things changed they weren't able to change with it.

"We really are a full service company; we have manufacturing, we have software development, we have post-installation support, all under one roof," he added. "We can really give some excellent service to those companies looking for the whole package."

Positively positive

Smith is a man who enjoys his work, and it shows. According to Tim Kearns, MontegoNet director of marketing, that positive attitude makes the office enjoyable and more productive.

"It makes for a positive work environment," Kearns said. "But it's also great for dealing with customers. Tom has a background in computer programming, but he's not the type of tech person who does not have the ability to convey his thoughts to people. He comes across very well when we're dealing with clients, and I think the real personal touch and the humor and the personality, all those things factor into any business dealing.

"We could have the greatest technology out there," he continued, "but if we can't communicate that to customers, and give them that nice warm feeling that they're dealing with not only good technology but good people, then we wouldn't be anywhere."

Known to be a technology junkie, Smith enjoys the thrill of creative problem solving.

"I like coming up with alternate solutions for customers," he said. "I don't need to get involved in the actual coding, but coming up with solutions, doing it one way rather than another way, that's what I enjoy. It's a cross between technology and sales and marketing. And our sales philosophy is not an in your face, `we're gonna sell you this kiosk today' approach. It's more of an educational approach."

The challenges ahead

During the past few years, Smith has changed the focus of his company from informational kiosks to a model that focuses on transactions.

"I think that people are really thinking of the ROI assigned to a kiosk project," he said. "It's a lot easier to indicate the real value of a kiosk when you have it perform a specific transaction."

Another MontegoNet focal point is to develop remote monitoring applications that are very intuitive at the device level.

"Hardware providers have been so nice in providing interfaces to peripherals so you can really drill down to find out information about the machines beyond low paper and out of paper," Smith said. "We are really drilling down into those peripherals to see what is really going on."

One of Smith's most recent deployments - a new bill pay kiosk - is currently in full scale piloting mode. "I expect them to be huge for us. That again is a transactional-based kiosk system," he said.

So what killer app will dominate the kiosk industry 10 years from now, in Smith's opinion?

"By 2014, I believe that a future trend will be advanced biometrically enabled self-service devices which will allow consumers/users to walk up to the kiosk and be instantly recognized, validated, and content personally provided to them," said Smith. "Biometric applications are starting to appear in ATMs, governmental security systems and bill payment devices, among others."

Regardless of where kiosk technology and trends go, Smith is continuing to have fun. "I think if you're not having fun with what you're doing, then you shouldn't be doing it," he said. "When it gets to be not fun, that's when I'll move on to something else. I'm having a good time. It's a great industry to be involved in."