Domain Name Wire Podcast

When it came time for Laura Roeder to select a name for her new company, she didn't go about it the same way most people do. She thinks they do it backwards. The result is that she got a nice, brandable domain--Paperbell.com--for under $2,000. Hear how she went about it and the story behind her other business name, MeetEdgar.   Also: Domain Name Association rolls into i2Coalition, .UK expired doma...

It's one thing to list your brandable domains for sale. It's another thing to list them for sale and have people suggest them to end users at the exact moment they're searching for a name. That's one of the many benefits of Squadhelp, a crowd-sourced naming service. On today's show, Squadhelp CEO Darpan Munjal explains how it works and the company's new white-label domain marketplace system.   Als...

Elkhan Agamirza's domain name portfolio has been doubling every year and now stands at over 5,000 domains. He takes a detailed view into what end users want to buy, scooping up domain names that many domain investors overlook based on traditional metrics. In this show, you'll learn how he approaches domain investing and the bottom line sell-through rate and revenue it generates.   Also: Supreme Co...

Last year I interviewed one of the co-founders of Unstoppable Domains. I'm checking in with another co-founder this week, Brad Kam, to see how it's going. The company offers blockchain-based domains such as .crypto that it says can't be censored. We discuss the challenges of operating domains on an alternate root, if offering uncensorable domains has a downside, and compare the domain to blockchai...

My guest this week is Eric Poyton, a security researcher with Awake. Awake security issued a report last week about a network of malware and connected it to a large number of domain names at ICANN-accredited registrar Galcomm. We discuss how Awake discovered the issue, the tricky way the perpetrators tried to cover their tracks, and what role Poyton thinks domain investors have in shutting down ma...

A drama about ICANN and domain names? Ryan Estrada made it happen with his 9-part drama podcast Big Data about stealing the keys to the internet. On today's show, Ryan explains how it came together and how he managed to get people like Jermaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords and Felicia Day to participate. Ryan also talks about how someone used a domain he let expire to try to impersonate him....

Owning a great domain is like owning a fine piece of art. It's one of a kind and, given the right opportunity, thieves would love to get their hands on it. My guest on today's show has had to defend his valuable domain twice from hijacking: once through UDRP and, most recently, and actual theft of the domain. Today, he explains what happened and how he got his domain back. Also: Kelly Hardy's new...

There's no doubt that the ICANN-regulated DNS has some drawbacks. On this week's show, Mike Carson (who also runs Park.io) discusses a blockchain-based alternative called Handshake. Mike has developed a registry service for Handshake that will allow registrars to sell Handshake domains.   Also: Is domaining worth your time? Cuban uses .bank, Google rankings change, and Workforce Software's big dom...

I talk to Steven Tey on this week's show. Steven is a student who created OneWord. Domains to help people discover one word domains that are available for registration. In addition to speaking with Steven, I also give my take on the current state of the domain market, discuss domain name liquidation platforms, and share my frustrations with GoDaddy.   Also: Patents, reverse domain name hijacking,...

My guest this week is Adrian Kinderis. Adrian has been in the domain business for a couple of decades and started by founding a domain registrar. This snowballed into operating the .au domain. On today's show, Adrian recounts his history in the business and discusses his new top level domain .film. He is candid about the struggles of getting studios to adopt the domain, but also explains how it's...

There was a big spotlight on domain names last week in a place where you wouldn't expect them: The U.S. Supreme Court. The court heard oral arguments in a dispute over whether or not Booking.com should be able to trademark booking.com. It was fascinating to listen to the court drill both sides in the issue. On today's show, Internet Commerce Association general counsel Zak Muscovitch and I discuss...

Many domain investors talk about building their domains into websites and selling them. Today, I interview Marc Andre of VitalDollar, who has done just that. Marc has built four different websites and sold them for over $1 million total. Marc explains how he created the sites, monetized them, and sold them. You'll also learn about metrics and considerations when selling a website.   Also: .Org bom...

In January I interviewed domain name investor Nikul Sanghvi about his domain name journey. He had lots of great stories and takeways. He's back on this week's show with some lessons he's learned about domain name investing and business in general. You'll enjoy this interview.   Also: Done.com, abandoned domain, AWS and more.   Sponsor: Donuts

There was a time, not so long ago, when people went to movie theaters to watch movies. They were subjected to 30 minutes of previews before the movie began. And these previews included domain names for each movie. Bad domain names. Why do people that pick domain names for movies choose such bad ones, like CrazyMovieTitle-TheMovie.com? Today's guest has investigated this, and even published a blog...

Eric Borgos has had a lot of hits. He sold millions of dollars worth of domain names, including a set of sites for $4.5 million back in 2008. But what he did back then doesn't work the same way today. On today's show, Eric shares what he's been doing over the past 5-10 years to try to make money, what hasn't worked, and how he hopes Bored Humans and artificial intelligence have better results.   A...

Domain names can be difficult to liquidate. We all hold out for the end user to buy our domains, but wouldn't it be nice if we could easily sell domains to other domain investors, too? That's the idea by Domain Name Wholesale Exchange (DNWE). On today's show, DNWE creator Joshua Reason and his business partner Joshua Schoen discuss how the site works and its success to date. I was surprised by how...

Domain name investor Page Howe returns to the program this week. Page talks about how he's managing his portfolio in light of the coronavirus bust, and how the shift to web-based work could change things. He also discusses an upcoming virtual domain name conference he's organizing.   Also: Verisign gets its price hike, coronavirus domain names, and it's not all doom and gloom on the domain sale fr...

Warren Coughlin has been through a lot of downturns. On this week's show Warren, who is a business coach to entrepreneurs, shares his experience steering a business through the dot-com bust in order to help business owners survive the coronavirus bust. He has some great, actionable advice to make sure your business makes it to the other side. It's relevant for business owners with employees as wel...

Last week was unlike any I can recall in my lifetime. People are understandably scared and anxious. This was obvious to Shane Cultra, who saw an immediate drop in aftermarket domain sales through his daily list last Thursday. On today's show, Shane discusses what he saw from his vantage point, what it might mean for the domain aftermarket, and how he's also coping as a small business owner with do...

When I went to a podcast conference last month, one thing stuck out: .FM. It was everywhere. Many companies in the industry, such as podcast apps and monetization companies, use the country code domain name extension. This week's guest, George Bundy, is CEO of the company behind commercializing .FM. Bundy explains how .FM wasn't a success out of the gate and how the company has embraced adoption f...

People don't like to think about death or becoming incapacitated, but it's especially important for domain name investors to make a plan. Our loved ones probably don't' have the same passion, and certainly not the same knowledge, about domain names that we do. If they need to step in, they need to know what to do. Our guest on today's show, Anthony Park , is an estate lawyer who is also a professi...

There's been a lot of debate about new top level domain names. Love 'em or hate 'em, there's a legitimate business opportunity to get your own top level domain name. On today's show, you'll hear a presentation from .Club at NamesCon about how it works and its own experience, plus some predictions for the next round.    Also: Frank's payday, .Org sage continues, Spring Break canceled.   Sponsor: DA...

Clay Burgess is a lawyer and owns a law firm in Louisiana. His business was struggling. The SEO and marketing consultants he hired weren't delivering results. Then he tried something everyone told him wouldn't work: he built lead generation sites on .lawyer and .attorney domain names. It turned his firm around, and now he has so many leads that he's helping other lawyers build their businesses. It...