How Domain Investor Chad Folkening Went from Mowing Lawns to Buying Mansions

[Ron Jackson]

New DN Journal Cover Story: Former football player Chad Folkening has had to continually change directions to get around obstacles in life. Untimely events broke his body, derailed a business and claimed the life of a brother. Yet Folkening has come through it all and emerged as a leading player in the domain industry. You can read the full story here:
http://www.dnjournal.com/cover/2010/october.htm

 

[namenut]

Hey Duke,

Yet another great read. Just goes to show the resiliency of
the human being. Yes you can means yes you can. Great story.

NN

 

[DomainOutlaw]

The sky is always the limit

 

[DNNinja]

but don't depend on the sky too much. it does rain sometimes.

 

[domainer700]

The guy has been doing this since the mid 90s according to the article. If that's true he doesn't impress me one bit. Introduce me to this industry in the mid 90s - when msome of the great names were still available - and I'd be the guy DN journal does a feature on. Hell I'd probably own the biggest auction house, registry, and forum. Now if he had just got started a few years ago then THAT would be impressive.

The harsh reality might be that those just entering the business might have it the hardest if they're trying to get rich (like me). I don't know about you guys, but I want one thing and one thing only, and that's to be a millionaire by the time I'm 30. If this industry has no room for that - thanks to those sucking the web dry of great names and doing absolutely NOTHING with them but holding on to them for dear life - then I'm finding an industry where you really do have a good chance of getting where you want to go. I suggest other ambitious newcomers do the same and don't be fooled by those pretty numbers and stories that are designed to get your mouth wet.

 

[namenut]

The guy has been doing this since the mid 90s according to the article. If that's true he doesn't impress me one bit. Introduce me to this industry in the mid 90s - when msome of the great names were still available - and I'd be the guy DN journal does a feature on. Hell I'd probably own the biggest auction house, registry, and forum. Now if he had just got started a few years ago then THAT would be impressive.

The harsh reality might be that those just entering the business might have it the hardest if they're trying to get rich (like me). I don't know about you guys, but I want one thing and one thing only, and that's to be a millionaire by the time I'm 30. If this industry has no room for that - thanks to those sucking the web dry of great names and doing absolutely NOTHING with them but holding on to them for dear life - then I'm finding an industry where you really do have a good chance of getting where you want to go. I suggest other ambitious newcomers do the same and don't be fooled by those pretty numbers and stories that are designed to get your mouth wet.

Well the gentleman you claim will someday be writing about you .... is the OP of the thread, you just ranted in. "He" found the subject impressive. Good luck with that.

So you feel Folkening squatted a bunch of names for 15+ years doing nothing and now his success is "unimpressive"?

"Chad Folkening, Co-Founder

Chad is the Founder of eCorp.com and Global Ventures, LLC a 
technology-based venture development, advisory and investment group established in 1996. 
With 15,000 premium Internet domains, 3 commercial historic buildings
 and a 26k sq. ft. HGTV featured “Extreme Home”, he continues to pursue 
new venture opportunities in the technology market and 
virtual/physical real estate space. Chad successfully founded and sold such websites as Webex.com, Tagged.com, CafeWorld.com, PartyOnline.com, DigitalPoint.com and many others. Customers include Disney, IdeaLab, BSKYB, Google, Microsoft, DigitalRiver, BealBank, Zynga and many others.

A life long entrepreneur, Chad enjoys meeting new people, especially
 entrepreneurs, keeping up with new technology and applications, 
implementing and executing new ideas and challenges, along with growing 
his art collection. Charities he continues to support include
 several animal and youth programs along with his own projects, 
including HomeWork.org and his new venture debuting in late 2010,
 Entrepreneurs.org.

Chad lives in Miami and Indiana with his fiancé and son and attended Ball State 
University for its renowned Entrepreneurship program, as well as Butler 
University.

http://www.domainholdings.com/who-we-are/

http://www.domainholdings.com/portfolio/ "

Did you read the article? I found it quite impressive. I'm not sure you could be more wrong about his role in web development.

NN

 

[Sparhawke]

The thing you don't get maybe Domainer is that without those people holding valuable domains and showing what they could be worth we would not have an internet as we have today, much in the same way that without the .com boom and bust we wouldn't have the really fast broadband that got laid down in a couple of years we all enjoy today...it all interconnects.

The early guys didn't know how they were going to make money, they just invested with an idea it might go big, just as gold prospectors didn't know if after 3000 miles they would ever strike it rich in California, they did end up building Los Angeles though inter the powerhouse it is today and later the Trans Continental railroad.

Yes, all the great names are taken by others but it seems that every 50 years there is some huge advancement in technology that makes millionaires, where will you be in 35 years?

Now, I missed all the scramble for reasons I will not go into but there are certainly ways to get your own piece of the pie, simply start small and work your way up by getting better and better domains every time.

 

[DU]

Blah blah blah blah blah.

I'm tired of the same "American Dream" offset with a tinge of personal tragedy drama. What is this? People magazine?

Then again - the "American Fantasy" is what keep this business afloat isn't it.

 

[namenut]

Blah blah blah blah blah.

I'm tired of the same "American Dream" offset with a tinge of personal tragedy drama. What is this? People magazine?

Then again - the "American Fantasy" is what keep this business afloat isn't it.

No .... not people magazine but rather DNJournal "The Domain Industry News Magazine":p

And no .... it's "The America Dream" not fantasy :D

@ SparHawke, Very well said.

 

[DU]

No .... not people magazine but rather DNJournal "The Domain Industry News Magazine":p

And no .... it's "The America Dream" not fantasy :D

Oh. It's news. My mistake.

 

[alien51]

The guy has been doing this since the mid 90s according to the article. If that's true he doesn't impress me one bit. Introduce me to this industry in the mid 90s - when msome of the great names were still available - and I'd be the guy DN journal does a feature on.

Yes. The investments field is often a PYRAMID type structure. Those who got there early and sitting on top, always gets rich. Those who enter late at the bottom pushing the pyramid higher, are the ones who struggle with the size of the competition.

Perhaps the TALENT that was featured in that article, is the talent on how to spot "emerging" opportunities when very few people are still looking at it.

You have to figure out what people need, and then fill that void. When that "need" becomes saturated with competitors, move on to the next "virgin" swamp and leave the rest of the crocodiles behind.

 

[enterpryzman]

I started buying domains a few years after that and had a very hard time because I was paying $ 140. at Network Solutions in the start. I had several premium names and simply could not find a way to keep them due to renewal cost. ( still own several others that are fantastic and a total just south of 1,000 )

When I want to renew my faith in my own creative path, I get my old domain list out and look at some of the domains I once owned and how their new owners did exactly/similar to what my vision was......this also can make me a little sick, LOL.

This guys story is amazing and "should" serve to inspire others who have the ability to be inspired. In my honest opinion, if these types of things fail to inspire you or get some juice flowing, you should not be investing in domains which I feel is the greatest and easiest way to be a " pure start-up " owner. This is the least expensive way to go from idea to income on the planet.

Thanks for posting this....I missed it.

Enterpryzman

 

[Domainace]

I know people who were buying domains 15 years ago... and they're still living hand to mouth. I love it how the newcomers come equipped with all the excuses about how they missed the real opportunity. Sorry, but with that attitude, you could have been buying domains 15 years ago, and I highly doubt you would have much to show for it today.

The DN Journal does not do stories on the 100s or 1000s of people who jumped in 15 years ago and never made a mark. It's easy to say today that, had you been involved back then, you would have made a fortune - but that's far from a done deal.

It always looks easy in hindsight, and part of the reason for that is because you only hear about the successes. Yes, some people are just lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. But most people, including the guy above, have to put a lot of serious effort into building a business where there are no guarantees and everybody thinks they're being an idiot for doing it.

Domainer700-If you want a million dollars by the time you're 30, you'd be better off looking for ways you can rather than complaining about ways you can't. (Or just wait for the dollar to devalue...)

 

[alien51]

Reminds me about the Friendster versus Facebook case study.

I think Friendster got a head start on that social networking idea. But they blew it. So i guess if you mismanage your "vision", you'll end up a loser evenif you got there first.

I also read a trivia that a recoding company in the 50's turned the Beatles away when they were still auditioning, because they said guitar acts no longer had any future value.

So i guess it's true, evenif you had a good domain name back in the 90's, one would have thought it must have been ridiculous to keep paying 140 bucks a year for a name you had no idea how much it would be worth in the future.

 

[enterpryzman]

Reminds me about the Friendster versus Facebook case study.

So i guess it's true, evenif you had a good domain name back in the 90's, one would have thought it must have been ridiculous to keep paying 140 bucks a year for a name you had no idea how much it would be worth in the future.

Keep in mind that we all have unique paths and at that point in my life, $ 140. was a great deal of money and it was between child-support, food, getting kicked out of an apartment, you know the rest of the story.

I personally kept what domains I could by doing without any other luxuries and it paid off very well ( not as well as the story subject ).

Being older now at 47 and having earned my way, it is now much-much easier than early on. I never worry about loosing my money as I know I could very quickly make it back again......that may sound crazy to some but others will completely understand, LOL.

I love the Internet and the vast possibilities it provides to ALL of us. I have met individuals who earn several million dollars monthly online and they all started with a domain registration and an idea combined with HUGE action and some luck as well.....it can happen to you.

Enterpryzman

 

[shopperx]

Blah blah blah blah blah.

I'm tired of the same "American Dream" offset with a tinge of personal tragedy drama. What is this? People magazine?

Then again - the "American Fantasy" is what keep this business afloat isn't it.

Excellent post that describes how the industry works.

It seems the new strategy used by registries, registrars and "famous" domainers is selling dreams to the newbies.

Look at all these new domain extensions and how hard they push them, the domain conferences were they invite celebrities not related to the industry, the inflated sales charts, shill bidding on new ccTLD auctions, all those quarterly sale stats.

It gives you a false sense that there's a good chance of becoming the next millionaire, the truth is for every domain you see on these charts there are thousands that will never sell.

 

[DomainTalker]

The harsh reality might be that those just entering the business might have it the hardest if they're trying to get rich (like me).

Don't agree...

...Future generations will say they'd have given anything to have been there in 2000 - 2020...


A dream is what it is: A dream. No more, no less. And, people DO make their dreams a reality....Not everyone. Not every time. But, some people. Sometimes. IF they can seize the moment. And NOW is the moment.


What a domain does in 2010, is it gives you a chance. A chance to place your chips on the table of the most far-reaching thing that's been invented since the invention of electricity, or the car, or the airplane, or the wheel - ie the thing that's systematically re-working how the whole world works, plays, knows things, and does business - ie the internet.


Those of us (still just a few, really) who understand domains today are in on the ground floor. Forget the early 1990's - that was a time of new domains, but no markets, no online users, and no resale market. Sure, a tiny number of people made big money, but good luck to them. They took a chance. And it paid off - but many, many lost out.


But us? The ones that understand domains today? That own portfolios with good brandable domains? Even the odd good generic?....Mate....WE have the GOLD of tomorrow, if we use it well.

Every day the internet gets bigger. Every day millions of new internet users are coming online. These people are hungry for everything! They want information, products, services, advice, friends, movies, music, or just to hang out, connect, or be noticed...

Every domain we own could be reaching a global market as a website & business, for something. Get it right with just one of your domains, and you'll be very rich. Or, every domain we own could be bought by someone, somewhere, that wants that particular domain for their business. At a good profit to you. Just yesterday, someone emailed me wanting to lease a domain I own for 2 years...There's opportunity everywhere....Every domain we own could be part of the re-working of lives that the internet is creating NOW.


So, don't whinge about missed opportunities from 1995...

...Thank the gods that you are here NOW - That you've found the internet - and, that you understand the significance of owning a unique internet address, NOW...


...In times to come, folks will moan & whinge - with good reason - about how plain LUCKY WE were to be there in 2010....and, how they missed the greatest opportunity in 150 years - ie that unique period in history when the internet was new, when it simply exploded, with billions of new people discovering the internet for the first time, and massive fortunes were made!!!


You want to make a million before you're 30?....Then, focus on the opportunity that's all around you right now....Otherwise your children will say to you one day: 'Dad, you were THERE, in the early 2000's?...And, you BLEW it ?!?'


...Yes, future generations will say: 'AHHHH, I just WISH I'd been there...'

.

 

[Sparhawke]

Don't agree...

...Future generations will say they'd have given anything to have been there in 2000 - 2020...


A dream is what it is: A dream. No more, no less. And, people DO make their dreams a reality....Not everyone. Not every time. But, some people. Sometimes. IF they can seize the moment. And NOW is the moment.

I won't quote what he says in its entirety but what he says is correct...right now not even 25% of the world is online, you do have your seminal companies doing business who started it off like Amazon, Ebay, Google and Yahoo and various others but in the next twenty years people are going to start looking at .info, .biz and the rest because there just aren't enough to go around and those that stake their claim even though they are late are going to be sitting on some serious real estate.

The trick is to realise what is important and forget the chaff, those that have gone before and done the serious investment have earned billions (and rightly so) because they were first but we have their experience to learn from just as the Wright Brothers taught us all how to fly, no one is around to say that is not a MASSIVE industry without them. Just look at what the travel industry is nowadays, you have millions of companies servicing the flight industry all making a tidy income and people are whining that they don't have computers.com therefore it is all for naught?

Of course the .com will all be taken but who needs Beverly Hills when you have vast tracts of virgin California real estate that people are begging to buy?

 

[Domainace]

...the truth is for every domain you see on these charts there are thousands that will never sell.

While you raise some valid points, the part quoted above is a template that just stops people before they've started.

"For every successful musician/restaurant/day trader/actor/writer/etc there are 1000s that failed"

This statement is true of almost any venture or profession that has the potential to make you rich. It's not true of dead-end jobs or ball-busting business that are enough to get you by.

It is doubly true for ventures that have low barriers to entry such as domaining. Low barriers mean you get lots of people who are not very serious and will not follow through and do what's necessary to succeed. And that's the vast majority of them.

Yes, domaining is filled with shills, liars and all manner of unsavory business practices. That's because it's still the Wild West. Greater risk and lack of established rules mean greater opportunities.

Yet, I would recommend that the OP try to learn from those who have succeeded. I rarely, if ever, hear a successful person slight another's success. I hear it from poor people all the time though.

 

[cache]

history always repeat itself. Missed chance 15 years old, or missed chance today. I have missed before but I am not going to miss today.