As with any industry, external events and phenomena can have an effect on liquid prices, buyer confidence and the general outlook of the industry. Some factors play a larger role than others in influencing our decisions as investors. In this edition of Expert Exchange, we asked our assembled domain industry pros:
Nat Cohen (@Telepathy), Owner of Telepathy.com
Shane Cultra (@Domain Shane), Domain Investor & Publisher of DSAD.com
Frank Schilling (@Frank.Schilling), CEO of Uniregistry
Giuseppe Graziano (@Giuseppe Graziano), CEO of GGRG Domain Brokerage
Mike Mann (@Mike Mann), Owner of DomainMarket.com
Joe Styler (@Joe Styler), Domain Investor & Aftermarket Product Manager at GoDaddy
Tessa Holcomb, Co-Founder and CEO of Igloo Domain Brokerage
Andrew Rosener (@MediaOptions), CEO of Media Options Domain Brokerage
Morgan Linton (@domainflipper), Publisher of MorganLinton.com & Co-founder of Fashion Metric
These responses have been edited for clarity.
What Single Factor Influences the Domain Industry More Than Any Other?
Nat Cohen (@Telepathy), Owner of Telepathy.com
That the human mind uses specific words to associate all one's thoughts, feelings, and desires about a business, and on the Internet, those words are in the form of domain names.
Shane Cultra (@Domain Shane), Domain Investor & Publisher of DSAD.com
At this point, China. The buying power is a major force and influences the prices of so many different domain categories.
Frank Schilling (@Frank.Schilling), CEO of Uniregistry
The broader economy. If technology does poorly, domain names have a bad year. I think these next few years should be good and even a bad year or two can still be papered over by natural growth and interest within the space.
End-user demand. What has happened in the Chinese market over the past two years (domain names trading as commodities) cannot sustain a long-term value growth. In the end, the value of a specific class of domains is highly influenced by how many domains are actually developed. We try to capture that number in our quarterly report.
Mike Mann (@Mike Mann), Owner of DomainMarket.com
Hype
Joe Styler (@Joe Styler), Domain Investor & Aftermarket Product Manager at GoDaddy
I think it is a small industry so conducting yourself in a trustworthy and cordial manner is very important as relationships would be one of the biggest influences in your individual domain endeavors. On a macro level, the global economy plays a big role in what names are purchased and when.
Tessa Holcomb, Co-Founder and CEO of Igloo Domain Brokerage
Although I feel that the economy, in general, has the greatest influence on the domain industry, I’d have to say that venture capital (VC) funding and related rapid-startup growth within innovative companies has the most influence on our area of the domain industry, as Igloo works primarily with end users including the rebranding of existing companies, the launch of new products, or startups forming their brand.
Andrew Rosener (@MediaOptions), CEO of Media Options Domain Brokerage
I think a strong economy in the USA is the most important factor in domain name values and volume of sales.
Morgan Linton (@domainflipper), Publisher of MorganLinton.com & Co-founder of Fashion Metric
The use of domain names by consumers. There was a while there where I was afraid that apps would overtake domain names. That hasn't happened yet, and with all the new gTLDs, it feels like domain names are actually becoming increasingly important, and consumers are more open to the idea of something not necessarily needing to end in .COM to be trusted.
These responses have been edited for clarity.