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Chad Folkening, co-founder of Domain Holdings was interviewed by inc.com.
The interview was published under the name "Domain Pro Spills Secrets for Scoring a Prize URL"
Here are the highlights of the interview:
What's the state of the industry right now? Aren't all the good domain names drying up? What's left?
The supply of good names coming into the marketplace hasn't necessarily slowed down. It's picked up. There are still a lot of really good deals coming in. The opportunity for people to get in is still there. I thought that window would close years ago.
Interesting. What kinds of domains are coming in?
Yesterday I bought SkillsAssessment.com for $200. I bought StartupOffice.com for $300. I bought StoryDesigner.com for $22. If you hunt enough, you can find the good deals.
I see 98 percent of your sales last quarter were URLs that end in the traditional .com. So .coms are still the way to go in your mind? Why?
Russia and China are keeping the .com portfolios up, because startups there want to go global from the beginning. That keeps everybody's level up. Thirty or 40 percent of our business now is from Russia and China.
How long has that been the trend, as far as you've seen?
That started a few years ago, and has picked up in the past three to six months. They're being more aggressive in acquiring those assets. That's forcing startups to make the moves now. You have to look at your competition as in not the next state, but everywhere around the world.
What advice would you give to a startup founder trying to acquire a domain name that a professional domain-owner has in his or her portfolio?
That's why people hire us to do negotiations! But really, the No. 1 rule in domaining is open communications, because if you can't even communicate with the domain owner, you can't negotiate. Second: Have a list of names, branding, and how you name your company. Having some options and doing a little variation can get you a far better value. Get prices on several options--and then you really have options. Another thing: If you're going to buy a .co, make sure you know who owns the .com. Know your competition before you step in.
The complete interview can be read at Inc
The interview was published under the name "Domain Pro Spills Secrets for Scoring a Prize URL"
Here are the highlights of the interview:
What's the state of the industry right now? Aren't all the good domain names drying up? What's left?
The supply of good names coming into the marketplace hasn't necessarily slowed down. It's picked up. There are still a lot of really good deals coming in. The opportunity for people to get in is still there. I thought that window would close years ago.
Interesting. What kinds of domains are coming in?
Yesterday I bought SkillsAssessment.com for $200. I bought StartupOffice.com for $300. I bought StoryDesigner.com for $22. If you hunt enough, you can find the good deals.
I see 98 percent of your sales last quarter were URLs that end in the traditional .com. So .coms are still the way to go in your mind? Why?
Russia and China are keeping the .com portfolios up, because startups there want to go global from the beginning. That keeps everybody's level up. Thirty or 40 percent of our business now is from Russia and China.
How long has that been the trend, as far as you've seen?
That started a few years ago, and has picked up in the past three to six months. They're being more aggressive in acquiring those assets. That's forcing startups to make the moves now. You have to look at your competition as in not the next state, but everywhere around the world.
What advice would you give to a startup founder trying to acquire a domain name that a professional domain-owner has in his or her portfolio?
That's why people hire us to do negotiations! But really, the No. 1 rule in domaining is open communications, because if you can't even communicate with the domain owner, you can't negotiate. Second: Have a list of names, branding, and how you name your company. Having some options and doing a little variation can get you a far better value. Get prices on several options--and then you really have options. Another thing: If you're going to buy a .co, make sure you know who owns the .com. Know your competition before you step in.
The complete interview can be read at Inc
