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Island inspiration
Developer attributes Daniel Island success to influence of mentors, conservative policies
By Nadia Shamsedin
Contributing Writer
What makes for a successful real estate development company? Matt Sloan, chief operating officer of the Daniel Island Co., has an answer.
For more than a decade, the man who has been at the helm of transforming a 4,000-acre hunting preserve into an award-winning mixed-use community has given most of the credit for the company’s success to strong mentors and conservative policies.
“I’ve been fortunate to have three great mentors,” Sloan said, naming Frank W. Brumley, Dr. George Brumley and Henry Smythe as the men behind the company’s achievements.
Sloan met Frank W. Brumley during his first day in Charleston and has since cultivated a close friendship with his low-key business partner.
Frank’s brother George Brumley is a retired pediatrician whom Sloan credits with getting the ownership group “thinking about a whole lot of stuff you would not normally think about in real estate development. He was our moral heart and soul of the place. He challenged me (to) always shoot for a higher goal. His influence will be felt on this island for all time.”
In 1992, Smythe, now deceased, was a downtown Charleston attorney who represented the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation in the sale of the island. Sloan describes Smythe, an original Daniel Island Co. board member, as “a fabulous, true classic southern gentleman.”
Sloan describes Daniel Island Co. as a small company with modest capitalization that builds what works economically.
“We can’t afford to build something that is a boondoggle,” he said.
The inception of the island’s development was anchored in a conservative fiscal policy and an undaunted commitment to the master plan. At a time when additional finances would have been welcome, Sloan turned down a number of offers, including a dog kennel where the Blackbaud stadium now exists.
“We turned down bad offers with good money,” Sloan explained.
Numerous other projects were proposed for the island over the years but were never built, as they either were economically impractical or did not fit the vision of the island’s master plan, Sloan said.
“Collectively, we are all very conservative in what, when and how the money was and is still being spent,” Sloan said.
The conservative policy came out of necessity.
“As the project evolved, we achieved the financial freedom to continue investing in the community,” he said.
Daniel Island Co. grew from a startup enterprise of one employee in 1992 to its current staff of 200. Making the adjustment from startup to managing a large team was no small task. During the company’s early years, Sloan worked 80-hour weeks but is now enjoying a leveling off.
With six departments in the company today, Sloan delegates responsibility as much as possible. He pointed out that each department runs like its own “profit center” and, to the extent that is practical, each department is empowered with an “entrepreneurial experience,” he said.
Sloan admitted his approach to time management includes “completely bad ADD symptoms.”
“I start 15 things at once, finish none of them and then have to work entirely too late at night finishing the thing that I started at 8:30 in the morning,” he explained.
In addition to creating community through real estate development, Sloan also gives his time to serving the Charleston community. He serves as a board member of the Cannon Street YMCA in Charleston. Due to some of the initiatives of the board, Sloan said that in the next three to five years, “Charleston will feel a greater presence of the YMCA.”
The company was designed to facilitate a lifestyle where relationships with neighbors and families can flourish. For Sloan, the father of two sons, ages 7 and 9, spending time with his family is a priority.
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