My question to Godaddy's CEO at NamesCon: Domain Liquidity for the industry

[Rob Monster]

Earlier this morning, I wake up to seeing a lovely comment from Shane Cultra on his blog:

To my eyes, that comment from Shane is actually pretty crazy. Ironically, many people told me unsolicited, that my question was the highlight of the Q&A. This is not the first time that Shane has spoken out of school against me with trash-talk and it probably won't be the last since it shamelessly drives up his page views for his affiliate site. I don't know if anyone has a video of the Q&A section of Aman's keynote but if so, would be great if someone would upload the actual video clip. I believe anyone who objectively reviews my question will find it to be rather selfless. It was a question about domain liquidity. There were 2 parts, and I believe they were reasonable and sincere.

Part 1: Domain Liquidity via Loans

As some folks know, Epik provides interest-free loans secured by domains. This is popular but we cannot lend to everyone in the amounts that everyone might like. Compared to Godaddy, we are a relatively small company without access to the vast pool of capital that Godaddy has access to. I asked if Godaddy would consider extending domain loans to its customers. The lending model is proven. Godaddy has the ability to scale it to a much greater degree. Rather than forcing Godaddy customers to abandon domains to their expiry stream, why not allow Godaddy customers with liquid names to borrow against their portfolio? It seems reasonable to me.


Part 2: Working with US Congress to make domain names a bankable asset.

I have also been a long-time believer in the potential for domain names to be a respected asset class. The challenge there is that the banking industry does not recognize domains as a bankable asset class. People can donate domains to non-profits and can get a write-down for their investment basis, but if you go to a bank and ask to borrow against a 3N.com, they have no idea what you are talking about. The House subcommittee on banking could engage here but we would need some lobbying power to make that happen.

For anyone who has ever studied the history of the housing market, the correlation between the availability of borrowing capacity and the prices of the associated asset is indisputable. When credit is available, asset prices go up. If domain owners could more methodically borrow against their domains at conventional banking rates rather than only from hard money pawnshops that dominate the landscape today, it would be a game-changer for making the pie bigger for everyone.

I will be interested to hear what folks have to say on this very reasonable topic about domain liquidity that can greatly impact the future of the industry.

 

[trelgor]

There's 13.877 domain name collectors / investors ($100M+ / whales ) and they don't bother collecting business cards and can't find 1 good reason why they should attend DN events or talk about the sales.

Regards

“13.877” is a specific number, lol.

 

[Lox]

“13.877” is a specific number, lol.

combines data from 37 countries (not sharing a.f.i.)

 

[branding]

That explains a lot. Another Dutchman shared this with me, and it is helpful for the non-Dutch to figure out the Dutch mindset.

Show attachment 144096

Although Holland has largely fallen from its Christian roots, it did not lose its ability to serve it up straight. They are not being mean. They are being honest.

This might partially explain Shane's reaction to my question to Aman. I was not being rude. I was being sincere about something that matters a lot.

At the time I did not know Godaddy had an affiliate deal with Kabbage, nor do I have any context yet on when that deal was negotiated. What I do know is that Godaddy can do better.

That picture sums it up pretty nice. Saved it Being blunt/straight forward doesn't necessarily mean being rude.

As for the Christian roots, it's unfortunate but does raise opportunity to discuss religion and spread the word. I live in the Bible Belt, as we call it, and even here you can notice the change. I originate from the big city (which is relative on global scale, I mean, c'mon, it's Holland ) and I was the only Christian in our office at the time. Those were interesting times. Met a lot of great people. I'm still celebrating Eid al-Fitr with people I employed. Their hospitality is unmeasured.

It is within our differences we can find opportunity. The opportunity to get to understand,respect and admire the passion people have for their (other) way of life, faith and believes.

Sorry for being off topic. Back to empowerment people. Although I still think the original post was stupid and basically a kindergarten playard fight there are some fine topics being touched upon in this thread

 

[Rob Monster]

That picture sums it up pretty nice. Saved it Being blunt/straight forward doesn't necessarily mean being rude.

As for the Christian roots, it's unfortunate but does raise opportunity to discuss religion and spread the word. I live in the Bible Belt, as we call it, and even here you can notice the change. I originate from the big city (which is relative on global scale, I mean, c'mon, it's Holland ) and I was the only Christian in our office at the time. Those were interesting times. Met a lot of great people. I'm still celebrating Eid al-Fitr with people I employed. Their hospitality is unmeasured.

It is within our differences we can find opportunity. The opportunity to get to understand,respect and admire the passion people have for their (other) way of life, faith and believes.

Sorry for being off topic. Back to empowerment people. Although I still think the original post was stupid and basically a kindergarten playard fight there are some fine topics being touched upon in this thread

Good stuff.

And yes, the Dutch are also among the most tolerant and open-minded folks you will meet and that is not a new thing. They will give you their opinion but you do with it as you like.

As for Muslims, having traveled around the world, including throughout the Middle East, I find the fear-mongering to be nonsense.

There is far more that unites humanity than will ever divide it. Part of empowerment includes having the means to be able to peel away nonsense.

Ultimately, I believe the selfless desire to empower, enlighten, enrich and love others is the natural and predictable outcome for anyone who accepts the existence of an all-knowing Creator.

Thanks for the input.

 

[branding]

Good stuff.

And yes, the Dutch are also among the most tolerant and open-minded folks you will meet and that is not a new thing. They will give you their opinion but you do with it as you like.

As for Muslims, having traveled around the world, including throughout the Middle East, I find the fear-mongering to be nonsense.

There is far more that unites humanity than will ever divide it. Part of empowerment includes having the means to be able to peel away nonsense.

Ultimately, I believe the selfless desire to empower, enlighten, enrich and love others is the natural and predictable outcome for anyone who accepts the existence of an all-knowing Creator.

Thanks for the input.

Nice!. 100% agree. Almost made me change my vote. Almost Have a great Sunday!

 

[Rob Monster]

Nice!. 100% agree. Almost made me change my vote. Almost Have a great Sunday!

Yes, you did -- on page 1:

And you are still here.

The pissing match with Shane is stupid.

The questions are not stupid.

Surely the intelligent people in the room who think for themselves will likely figure out how to not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

It is worth noting that there are almost no votes that the topic itself is unimportant. I will rest my case there as the mission of raising industry awareness of these important issues has been accomplished.

I consider that to be a win because we elicited a bit more empowerment energy at solving a critical industry problem, with or without Godaddy's leadership, but preferably with Godaddy as the driving force!

It is a pity that Aman himself has yet to drop by. A man of the people would weigh in.

 

[omelet]

Definitely support @Rob Monster

 

[Ategy]

The interest and commission is pre-paid. For example:
- Net proceeds to borrower: $1,000
- Interest rate for 1 year: 10%:
- Commission for Epik: 2%
- Monthly repayment over 12 months: $83.33

So someone has to pay $120 upfront, transfer there domain names to epic, and then pay back $83.33 per month?

How did you come up with the $120 upfront charges.

Rob didn't actually post a number (as far as I know) .. but 10% on $1000 over 12 months (with a 1/12th monthly payback plan) would only be $54 in interest, as the average balance over the year would be ~$542*:

*It's not the $500 most would expect because the first full month is the full $1000. Effectively the average is skewed by half a month .. and just to do the math in a different way ..
10% of $1000 = $100
$100 / 12 months = $8.33/month
$8.33/month * 1/2 month = 4.17 (that's where the extra $4 comes from)


So in some cases it might make more sense for the loan not to have a payment plan and just a one shot repayment at the end where obviously the total interest over the year would be $100 and not $54. (Ideally both options could be available).


Other thoughts:

Good idea overall ... maybe offer multiple types.

One where the loan is the full amount for the whole period where there is no guarantee/valuation from Epik, and that the loaner simply gets the domain in the case of default. I think a lot of domainers might be willing to give loans on this basis. Either way they win. In this case an option would be for the domain owner to only pay the interest each month.

I think that might be an interesting option in the case where the domain owner does NOT want Epik to backstop the loan .. because the moment Epik backstops the domain, the domain has a perceived valuation (by Epik). Which could ultimately hurt the point of getting optimal free-market value of the domain(s).

Ultimately and ideally this would almost mirror domain auctions, but where the original owner has the option to buy back the domain after a year (or whatever period). The loaner would get some interest over time .. as well as the chance to get the domain at what they perceive as a good value.

My only real concern is if there'd be enough demand from both sides?

Y’all realize you’re debating a OP that runs a registry and gives 1% of customers special privileges?

Keith .. What special privileges are you referring to? Special pricing is open to ALL members of NamePros .. and NamePros is FREE to register for everyone .. so effectively the special pricing is open to anyone!

To create liquidity with an asset the best technology to date is blockchains.

I'm not quite sure crypto is there yet. I consider myself reasonably technically-savvy .. yet I still haven't even tried getting into crypto (I do have some fantastic crypto domains though .. lol). The moment you put something on to crypto you are considerably restricting your potential audience before you even begin .. even if .. yes .. it likely is the best and most efficient and secure way of doing it.

Maybe a representative from the group can summarize the top 5 reasons why this thread is stupid so the rest of us can make sure to not post stupid threads in the future. Thanks!

Rob ... in all fairness .. you framed the poll in a rather limited and biased way.

In this poll you ask if your question at NamesCon was in bad form (which has zero to do with whether the actual conversation is important or not) .. and none of your answers even pertain to that. You force people to vote if the loan idea was good or not (nothing to do with form/appropriateness of timing). You don't have an option where people could say what I think @Domain Shane and some of the others are trying to say .. which is that it might have been an interesting question and topic, but it simply wasn't the correct time/place/way of starting the conversation and that they feel it was more of an ambush with a question that obviously could not be answered in that moment without Aman Bhutani looking bad. (I'm not saying that myself as I wasn't actually there to see it, but it seems that's what some people who were there thought). PS .. I didn't vote in this poll because the answers are not even applicable to the question (I have no idea how/why everyone else answered .. none of the votes really have anything to do with the question .. lol). Kinda shows the obvious bias on BOTH sides! Although I suppose asking a poll question with no appropriate answer might be considered stupid by some? lol

Kind like asking ..
Q: What's 1+1?
A) Purple
B) Penguin
C) What are numbers?
D) This topic is stupid

BTW .. Since you're all talking religion .. I pray you stop posting polls like that if your intent is not for it to be a meaningless joke! Because they are more stupid than they are purple!

Whether Rob really meant to be on the average domainer's side when he asked his questions at the conference or whether he was trying to make the competition look bad

Again .. why is this an either or. While Rob most certainly is concerned with how loans could help the industry .. it's also maybe possible that it wasn't the appropriate time or venue to start such a conversation? Particularly out of the blue and when to some it's very obvious Aman had no way to answer the question without either skirting the issue .. or looking bad.

BTW .. How did Aman actually respond to Rob ??? lol .. I find it very amusing that nobody has even asked yet?

No doubt that dozens or hundreds of domains would be financed in a heartbeat, but pricing not-category-killing domains for this to make financial sense is challenging. When you have a great name, you might forgo full potential, for cash in hand. After all you have other names, you are still making a huge profit and the buyer can wait to cash it in. Win, win, since there's a lot of money for both sides. But for $xxx or $xxxx domains it's tricky.

Well said .. I suppose for the lower end it might be more ideal to batch things in portfolios, as ultimately the whole process might not even be worth the time on most domains (based on their wholesale level).

Mind you .. I say that .. but we also need to keep in mind that @Rob Monster's vision is beyond just first world markets .. and even a $50 loan could significantly help some people in some corners of the world.

Sure, it takes years of experience and an eye for present trends to be able to say what that 1 year expected value should be, but that is what people who get to underwrite these loans will need to be able to do. Industry leaders like Godaddy would have many people capable of doing it. Epik also has a few as well. I happen to be one of them. And fortunately, software provides a basis for scaling model best practices.

I still don't get why you want GoDaddy to be so involved with this. I really don't see them as being able to take on those kinds of risks due to their overall structure and needing to answer to shareholders and a board. Not only that, but I personally do NOT see them necessarily having people with that capability. Maybe a small percentage of their brokers, but of those very few, is GD going to have them take time away from brokering to do this?

Conversely .. what I REALLY LIKE about having a pure P2P loan market is that with enough participants and volume, the domains will be worth what they are worth. Value based on actual basic supply and demand (well .. wholesale at least if the loaners are mostly other domainers).

In the end .. I think overall with a few tweaks and making sure the proper options and structure is there, this could really be amazing .. with one HUGE potential caveat .. that you really need to ensure you have enough potential loaners. It's a fairly significant catch 22 as without competing loaners (1) driving domain values up to actual (wholesale) worth and/or (2) driving interest rates down, you won't get very many people wanting loans.

So one way to make this work (in the case of renewals) is to not to directly give the loan amount out to the domainer, but rather for Epik to apply it directly to renewals (or transfers) for domains that are deemed to have potentials and then to provide some help and advise to the domainer for selling enough domains from the portfolio to pay off the loan.

that being said.. maybe a solution I am thinking of here.. would be a service whereby the owners of such service .. or better still the community or participants as a whole.. evaluate such portofolios on case by case basis.. and then collectively decide if they want to participate in sponsoring or financing (as in renewals basically) such portofolio.. while the owner cannot. many variants can exist here.. some profit sharing for each sale with participants and sponsors.. etc... i think infinite possibilities!

The problem with all these elaborate and complicated ideas some of you are putting out there, is that it completely ignores the time and expertise involved if such a program goes to scale, which would necessitate significantly higher fees/rates. If you go pure p2p (no middleman valuations), domains could then be loaned at closer to optimal/actual values.

More importantly .. if a buyer/seller or loaner/borrower come to an agreement on the value of the domain (or that value is established by a liquid auction-type process), then any other (middle) person's opinion isn't just a waste of time/money, but it's ultimately a potential and unnecessary bias that contaminates the actual value.

Yes I think there could be a channel where there is a backstop and ultimate "valuation" by an expert employed by this new Epik spin-off company, but in that case there would need to be extra fees.

Anyhow ... that's enough for one night .. got to finish tomorrow's list in time to go to work tomorrow .. lol

 

[Ategy]

Also ... It might also make sense to start things with a suggested default interest rate of 12% .. because as long as the interest is paid monthly, there is no compounding, and ultimately that would mean a very easy to calculate 1% interest per month (in cases where there's no monthly payment plan).

That could also allow for the loaner to have the option of giving the extra 2% for Epik's fees up front, or just have Epik keep the first two months.

The illusionary* simplicity of an even 1% would also make it easier to negotiate possible extensions.


* I say illusionary because obviously the website will calculate any amounts in question so it doesn't change much if it 0.833% a month, the $dollar amount would still be constant. But I think using numbers that people can calculate in their head could go a long way to giving perceived trust .. which in turn might get more people to use the system.

Even more importantly, I think going from 10% to 12% might go a long way towards attracting lenders.


Also .. based on earlier comments .. *IF* the interest was to be paid up front, then it's just a matter of the borrower getting less money at the start. So if it was a payment plan with $54 in interest due in a year, well then the borrower would simply get ~$946 at the start (plus the opposing interest on that "pre-payment" = ~$2.50 without calculating .. lol).


IMPORTANT: Over these last two posts I've discussed both loans with monthly payments .. and loans with a one-shot repayment at the end (almost more like a line of credit if the borrower pays just the interest monthly). So just be sure not to confuse the two things .. ultimately I think having both types of repayment structures would get more overall users.

 

[Pay.My.id]

IMO , there are different fundamental interest between epik misiion and godaddy , but we could believe here that epik and godaddy want to make a better experience in domaining .

 

[frank-germany]

IMO , there are different fundamental interest between epik misiion and godaddy , but we could believe here that epik and godaddy want to make a better experience in domaining .

first of all, I would think
that both companies want to improve their bottom line.

and both of them may have a different strategy to reach that goal


calling a different view of a topic "negativity" is kind of brainwashing

the only negativity that arrises here
is the negative effect on the path of the CEO
and his original plans
as he needs another route and/or more energy to fulfill his original ideas

so that's a negative effect on him
.. and you fanboys love to protect your hero

but that doesn't mean its actually "negativity"

 

[oldtimer]

@Ategy , you bring up many good points, but we should not forget that the whole idea of this loan program is to empower domainers who might be struggling with their renewals or who might be missing out on some acquisition opportunities and it's not meant to empower some rich domainers to be able to grab valuable domains from the struggling domainers who are in distress.

As far as Rob goes, we all appreciate everything that he has done to help domainers, but he might also have certain plans that serves his own long term interest, whether he wants to make Epik into a global company or whether he is going to pester Godaddy to force a buyout those are things that all CEOs ponder with and are beyond the daily operations of the company. As long as Rob is taking good care of domainers he should be allowed to look after his own long term interest as the major shareholder of Epik.

IMO

 

[nothere]

As far as Rob goes, we all appreciate everything that he has done to help domainers, but he might also have certain plans that serves his own long term interest

As long as his interests are aligned with domainer interests, this should be no problem. Everyone has the right to make a living as long as it is ethical and legal.

The problem with this idea is that many will fall behind and will end up losing a good domain for several thousand dollars. I know, decisions, decisions and we're all responsible for our choices. However, the same thing that happened when you needed the loan, might happen when the loan is due. Then people start complaining publicly even though they signed at the dotted line.

Also, not sure how popular will this be, meaning how many domainers with good names, will be asking for loans. I suspect that 99% of the work will be sending the "decline" message to domainers with horrible names hoping to unload them.

 

[Internet.Domains]

I'm not quite sure crypto is there yet

I don't believe I mentioned crypto. I was speaking about the technology that is the backbone of crypto, blockchains.

 

[Rob Monster]

As long as his interests are aligned with domainer interests, this should be no problem. Everyone has the right to make a living as long as it is ethical and legal.

The problem with this idea is that many will fall behind and will end up losing a good domain for several thousand dollars. I know, decisions, decisions and we're all responsible for our choices. However, the same thing that happened when you needed the loan, might happen when the loan is due. Then people start complaining publicly even though they signed at the dotted line.

Also, not sure how popular will this be, meaning how many domainers with good names, will be asking for loans. I suspect that 99% of the work will be sending the "decline" message to domainers with horrible names hoping to unload them.

Just to be clear, the objective is not to blow the borrower up through foreclosure on their assets. The objective is to bridge them to a better situation through consultative partnership.

From an Epik perspective, there are really 3 main types of loans:

(1) Domain rich but cash poor but needing transitional liquidity: This is more common than some realize. There are folks that have extended dry spells or shot the moon too many times but came up empty. These folks have assets but need a bridge facility to avoid losing inventory.

(2) Overextended and executing a broken business model: This is also common, e.g. people who built business models around PPC or SEO exact-match domains but failed to adapt to market trends. Perhaps they went long on gTLDs and are getting squeezed by brutal renewal fees. Or they just can't pick 'em.

(3) Bootstrapper with time and talent but not much treasure: This is becoming more and more common as emerging market participants get into the game, often with little access to credit but who have studied and are hungry for financial independence.

Cases (1) and (3) are relatively easy.

The hard work is (2) since it often evolves navigating ego, i.e. a domainer who once had the Midas touch and now is laying goose eggs. These can be hard conversations but the objective is the same: bridge the domain investor to a better place.

After extending many, many hundreds of domain loans, I am not aware of anyone that came away feeling like they did not come out of it in a better place.

My appeal to Godaddy is simply a statement that the rhetoric of empowerment could be very easily delivered upon with relatively modest risk by leveraging their market knowledge and balance sheet strength to introduce strategies for liquidity.

The folks who find it odd that I would encourage Godaddy to make the pie bigger through financial empowerment might not grasp that I ultimately don't care who makes money or who gets credit. If it is a good idea, and others can scale it better, then let them.

 

[oldtimer]

Also, not sure how popular will this be, meaning how many domainers with good names, will be asking for loans. I suspect that 99% of the work will be sending the "decline" message to domainers with horrible names hoping to unload them.

Although loans for larger amounts have to be evaluated more carefully, but in many occasions even a loan of lets say $250 to $500 can help domainers get past a difficult and stressful situation specially if they are willing to listen to some advice and can adjust their strategies accordingly and in some emerging economies a loan of just $100 dollars can make a lot of difference for talented domainers who want to register a few good domains or buy some on the expiry channels.

As far as domain quality goes in many cases people might have to put up more than just one domain as collateral and since there is a little philanthropy involved on Rob's part I am sure that he will be more lenient when it comes to approving smaller loans and also working with domainers that might need more time to make good on their loans. As Rob has Already mentioned a few times here this is more about helping domainers to be able to keep their best names through relationship building and consultation rather than trying to take advantage of struggling domainers who are in distress.

I am not sure if this program can be scaled up across the whole Industry since the empowerment and philanthropy factors might be missing in other places, but in the case of Epik I believe that it has a good chance to work specially when it comes to smaller loans made to domainers here on the forum who are already known to Rob.

IMO

 

[branding]

@Rob Monster

what the he*** did you do to your signature???

Man does not live on bread alone.....

Show attachment 144163

Frank, I thought you would have been delighted not seeing any links to Epik in his signature

 

[Keith]

Also ... It might also make sense to start things with a suggested default interest rate of 12% .. because as long as the interest is paid monthly, there is no compounding, and ultimately that would mean a very easy to calculate 1% interest per month (in cases where there's no monthly payment plan).

That could also allow for the loaner to have the option of giving the extra 2% for Epik's fees up front, or just have Epik keep the first two months.

The illusionary* simplicity of an even 1% would also make it easier to negotiate possible extensions.


* I say illusionary because obviously the website will calculate any amounts in question so it doesn't change much if it 0.833% a month, the $dollar amount would still be constant. But I think using numbers that people can calculate in their head could go a long way to giving perceived trust .. which in turn might get more people to use the system.

Even more importantly, I think going from 10% to 12% might go a long way towards attracting lenders.


Also .. based on earlier comments .. *IF* the interest was to be paid up front, then it's just a matter of the borrower getting less money at the start. So if it was a payment plan with $54 in interest due in a year, well then the borrower would simply get ~$946 at the start (plus the opposing interest on that "pre-payment" = ~$2.50 without calculating .. lol).


IMPORTANT: Over these last two posts I've discussed both loans with monthly payments .. and loans with a one-shot repayment at the end (almost more like a line of credit if the borrower pays just the interest monthly). So just be sure not to confuse the two things .. ultimately I think having both types of repayment structures would get more overall users.

It’s the 1% that have extended renewal privileges. According to @Rob Monster, a mysterious customer has lots of domains registered at epik. Therefore, they don’t have to follow the rules.

Now, if you put equality and standards before the almighty dollar, the rules are the rules. When my domain is up for drop at epik, yours should also drop. None of this special privilege bs.

 

[Kyleirv]

That's true. Here is the rest:

"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." - Matthew 4:4

You are becoming quite the Bible scholar in your ongoing search for truth.

The cool thing about being a financially independent domainer is that you don't have to worry about a boss telling you not think this or say that.

True story.

Your topic was initially a query about public opinion in domain investing. Clearly as a owner of a well put together site you are heavily invested in this being the case for the future albeit small amount of domains relative to the market leaders. So it seems your to far into this your committed regardless.

Regarding religion its 2020, education is freely available to the masses. About time you open a factual book for once and living in a fantasy.

 

[Rob Monster]

Frank, I thought you would have been delighted not seeing any links to Epik in his signature

Well, it seemed fitting in the context of Empowerment. After all, I can't help everyone, but I do know someone who can. This sentiment is of course limited to my personal profile, not the company profile.

 

[frank-germany]

Frank, I thought you would have been delighted not seeing any links to Epik in his signature

the signature is the most accepted way to promoted stuff
nobody would have ever complaint

 

[Rob Monster]

It’s the 1% that have extended renewal privileges. According to @Rob Monster, a mysterious customer has lots of domains registered at epik. Therefore, they don’t have to follow the rules.

Now, if you put equality and standards before the almighty dollar, the rules are the rules. When my domain is up for drop at epik, yours should also drop. None of this special privilege bs.

Covered many times before but to repeat:

- Anyone can request more grace period. Usually the people who don't find 15 days have sufficient grace period have larger problems that they are navigating.

- NamePros members who have domains that don't have a backorder on them can usually get a courtesy restore even up until the time when the domain is deleted to the registry.

- If a domain is kept by Epik, and not sold to a new registrant, e.g. due to backorder, then usually we can restore that domain for up to 1 year for a maximum fee of $199.

I frankly don't know another registrar that is more accommodating but if you do, then we'll that's great.

If there are things that other registrar do well to empower registrants, this thread is a fitting one to raise it. Otherwise it is probably off-topic.

So, if you have compelling ideas for how to empower registrants to achieve financial independence, let's hear them. Otherwise, find a more suitable thread so you will be on topic and spare the Mods cleanup duty.

 

[Rob Monster]

I like the sentiment. Added it to my own signature. As a community it's nice to support each other in times of hardship.

By the way, did you cover the Namescon christian breakfast/lunch or whatever it was anywhere? Would've love to have attended but can't justify spending that much for a lunch

Respect.

As for the NamesCon Christian breakfast, the organizers opted not to put it in the program this year so our attendance was light this year. Nevertheless, it was a nice event. We have had as many as 50 in the past.

The story about the guy who can't mention his faith is a true story. It is a Parisian domainer who happened to attend the event on January 31 who shared that story.

He wants to make enough money as a domainer so he can quit his day job and not have to conceal his faith under a cloak of political correctness to please his secular humanist boss.

Like I said, true story.

As for revivial, it is the ultimate empowerment. I believe the next one will be enormous, world-shaking and it will be Digital. It;s coming.

 

[bballdude823]

@Rob Monster For me and I know for a lot of others has been of tremendous value. 24/7 access, Closing deals over the phone with buyers, helping coordinate payments that no other registrar could handle, and being genuine and sharing insights on a daily basis has turned my side hobby into something that makes real money. Thank you Rob for all you do. It seems the old cult of domainers talk bad because new investors to the industry are eating at their profits.

-KG

 

[Rob Monster]

@Rob Monster For me and I know for a lot of others has been of tremendous value. 24/7 access, Closing deals over the phone with buyers, helping coordinate payments that no other registrar could handle, and being genuine and sharing insights on a daily basis has turned my side hobby into something that makes real money. Thank you Rob for all you do. It seems the old cult of domainers talk bad because new investors to the industry are eating at their profits.

-KG

KG is an emerging success story when it comes to empowerment in the domain industry.

Watch this guy -- he is fearlessly and relentlessly hunting 7 figure game and making headway.