Daniel Negari is one of the most famous faces in the domain name industry. The 30 year old entrepreneur has owned some of the most valuable .COM domains available, but over the past few years his focus has been on developing XYZ; a company that owns and operates new gTLDs such as .XYZ, .COLLEGE, .RENT, .SECURITY, and .CARS.
Since forming the company in 2011, Daniel has advocated the use of new gTLDs as a viable alternative to .COM. Such is Daniel’s belief in his new gTLDs that he has decided to sell his .COM domain names, including his own surname - negari.com.
At this year’s California Domainers Meetup (organized by @dnpimping.com), NamePros’ Managing Director Edward Zeiden had the opportunity to interview Daniel, who told us he is a regular reader of NamePros, and has been since the beginning of his domaining career.
Below, we bring you a rare interview with Daniel on a number of subjects surrounding domain investing, his own names, his past endeavors and China’s interest in .XYZ. Naturally, there were certain subjects that we were keen to explore, but weren’t able to due to Daniel’s legal obligations.
NP: During your time at USC, you had the opportunity to meet Warren Buffett. Did you discuss domain names? If so, did he reveal why he doesn’t invest in domains?
Daniel: I had to really work my way into that opportunity. It was meant as a graduate program, and I was an undergraduate. At the time, I was just testing the waters with domains and was largely participating in real estate, so we spoke briefly about real estate. I inquired as to why Mr. Buffet didn't have larger investments in real estate and his response was that it can't move the needle the way owning a controlling share in a company can.
NP: Many people compare the real estate market to domain names. As someone who’s been successful in both industries, are there really many similarities?
Daniel: They’re extremely similar. Property often has large offices or homes built upon them raising their values just as domains with websites or companies built on top of them.
NP: What was the first premium domain name that you bought?
Daniel: DMN.com, which I still own. They are my initials. I also owned my own last name Negari.com, that I auctioned off on NameJet. I'm in the process of liquidating my entire portfolio of domains with the exception of .xyz because I believe in the gTLD and its success.
NP: What is your best acquisition to date?
Daniel: My best acquisition is .xyz. The application was uncontested, meaning no one else applied for it, and I won.
NP: In 2010, you started the .com.de registry. How successful was this extension, and did it teach you any valuable lessons that you’ve applied to your future endeavours?
Daniel: .com.de is still operating and I learned quite a bit from it. Most importantly, it was a learning experience on how to run a registry while heavily marketing and working with registrars. Those connections and experiences have followed me onto my future endeavors.
NP:Why do you think China has seemingly embraced .xyz (with LLL .xyz's going for $400+), whilst other new TLDs have been left behind.
Daniel: There are many reasons, and most of them factored into my strategic choice to apply for .xyz:
We've had a strong marketing presence in China and towards startups and small businesses from the start of .xyz
NP: Has .xyz changed strategy to incorporate China's attraction to .xyz?
Daniel: Yes. On top of increasing and focusing more of our marketing in China, we opened up a subsidiary Beijing business, as well as hired four full time employees in our Santa Monica office that are fluent in Mandarin or another Asian language.We've obtained ICANN approval to launch a gateway service local to China, which will allow us to become an accredited registry operator under Chinese law. No one else has secured this opportunity.
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Thanks to Daniel for taking part in our interview, and thanks to @Edward Zeiden for making this interview possible at the first California Domainers Meetup of the Year.
The meetup, which took place at .XYZ’s Santa Monica office, included a speech by Daniel Negari, a raffle that consisted of the chance to win 3 Domain Startup Summit tickets or a domain name, and of course it was a chance for domainers to network.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Since forming the company in 2011, Daniel has advocated the use of new gTLDs as a viable alternative to .COM. Such is Daniel’s belief in his new gTLDs that he has decided to sell his .COM domain names, including his own surname - negari.com.
At this year’s California Domainers Meetup (organized by @dnpimping.com), NamePros’ Managing Director Edward Zeiden had the opportunity to interview Daniel, who told us he is a regular reader of NamePros, and has been since the beginning of his domaining career.
Below, we bring you a rare interview with Daniel on a number of subjects surrounding domain investing, his own names, his past endeavors and China’s interest in .XYZ. Naturally, there were certain subjects that we were keen to explore, but weren’t able to due to Daniel’s legal obligations.
NP: During your time at USC, you had the opportunity to meet Warren Buffett. Did you discuss domain names? If so, did he reveal why he doesn’t invest in domains?
Daniel: I had to really work my way into that opportunity. It was meant as a graduate program, and I was an undergraduate. At the time, I was just testing the waters with domains and was largely participating in real estate, so we spoke briefly about real estate. I inquired as to why Mr. Buffet didn't have larger investments in real estate and his response was that it can't move the needle the way owning a controlling share in a company can.
NP: Many people compare the real estate market to domain names. As someone who’s been successful in both industries, are there really many similarities?
Daniel: They’re extremely similar. Property often has large offices or homes built upon them raising their values just as domains with websites or companies built on top of them.
NP: What was the first premium domain name that you bought?
Daniel: DMN.com, which I still own. They are my initials. I also owned my own last name Negari.com, that I auctioned off on NameJet. I'm in the process of liquidating my entire portfolio of domains with the exception of .xyz because I believe in the gTLD and its success.
NP: What is your best acquisition to date?
Daniel: My best acquisition is .xyz. The application was uncontested, meaning no one else applied for it, and I won.
NP: In 2010, you started the .com.de registry. How successful was this extension, and did it teach you any valuable lessons that you’ve applied to your future endeavours?
Daniel: .com.de is still operating and I learned quite a bit from it. Most importantly, it was a learning experience on how to run a registry while heavily marketing and working with registrars. Those connections and experiences have followed me onto my future endeavors.
NP:Why do you think China has seemingly embraced .xyz (with LLL .xyz's going for $400+), whilst other new TLDs have been left behind.
Daniel: There are many reasons, and most of them factored into my strategic choice to apply for .xyz:
- It's all consonants. Most other TLDs have non-CHIPs characters, vowels, etc.
- We have an extremely competitive pricing structure that was largely unparalleled. It is one of the most affordable endings that small business owners and new or experienced investors can buy.
- Everyone knows that X, Y, and Z are the last three letters of the Latin alphabet, even if they don’t speak English. It is an intuitive phrase that transcends language barriers
We've had a strong marketing presence in China and towards startups and small businesses from the start of .xyz
NP: Has .xyz changed strategy to incorporate China's attraction to .xyz?
Daniel: Yes. On top of increasing and focusing more of our marketing in China, we opened up a subsidiary Beijing business, as well as hired four full time employees in our Santa Monica office that are fluent in Mandarin or another Asian language.We've obtained ICANN approval to launch a gateway service local to China, which will allow us to become an accredited registry operator under Chinese law. No one else has secured this opportunity.
--
Thanks to Daniel for taking part in our interview, and thanks to @Edward Zeiden for making this interview possible at the first California Domainers Meetup of the Year.
The meetup, which took place at .XYZ’s Santa Monica office, included a speech by Daniel Negari, a raffle that consisted of the chance to win 3 Domain Startup Summit tickets or a domain name, and of course it was a chance for domainers to network.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
