Hello all,
I was there at the DOMAINX Conference that was held on September 7, 2014 in Hyderabad, India at Marriott Hotel and Covention Centre.
More than 350 people turned up for the event.
It was a massive hit.
Here are the review and report of the Conference:
Sessions:
1) Lamp Lighting by BJP IT Cell Convener Mr. VINIT GOENKA
Mr. Vinit Goenka lighted the lamp and enlightened us with his kind words about his hope from the IT industry in India. He even went on to recite a Bengali poem by Rabindranath Tagore and connected India and its citizens with the deep meaning in the poem.
2) MR. RON JACKSON interviewing MR. MICHAEL CASTELLO
The faces of people in the Conference gleamed as soon as MR. Ron Jackson appeared via Skype. Accompanying him on Skype, was the Whisky.com seller Michael Castello, who owns some of the best names you could ever find.
Ron Jackson interviewed Michael regarding his experience about selling Whisky.com, which Michael answered in detail. Michael also went on to add that he only buys a domain name only if it appeals to his emotions.
He said that he does not believe in parking revenue very much since they are falling, and tries to build website.
He ended the speech by giving out the message that if he could do it, anyone in the world could do it.
Ron Jackson shared his experience to make the discussion even more interesting and informative by discussing how he made many mistakes, how he invested in all the wrong names in his initial career and realized that he doesn't have the required knowledge to invest in domain names. Looking for resources, he could not find any. Therefore, he went on to start DNJournal.com and the rest we know is history.
3) Session by Indian Entrepreneur and Domain Name Investor MR. DEEPAK DAFTARI
Mr. Deepak Daftari shared his experience about one of his biggest sale TIE.com.
He stressed upon the importance of cash flow and closing deals if you get good offers. He adviced fellow domainers not to get very greedy while dealing in domain names. He shared one of his experiences where he had some of the best .MOBI domains when they were a hit, and he got an offer of $3 million for his entire portfolio. He did not sell them at that time, and now those domains have no value at all. However, he believes that .MOBI will rise again and fetch him good return on his portfolio.
4) MR. RON JACKSON interviewing MR. ADAM DICKER
This was my favorite part as I am one of the biggest fan of MR. ADAM DICKER. He is one of the best brains in the domain industry who knows how to sell a $10 name for multiple thousands of dollars in no time.
His understanding of the industry is deep.
He stressed upon the need to have multiple revenue system. He went on to share that he makes atleast $50,000 from each of his 12 businesses every month. He also mentioned that as parking revenues are falling, it is better to develop it into websites.
We see that Michale Castello also said something similar. Here is a thing to take away with you since all the industry veterans are moving away from parking revenue into a stable business model.
5) LUNCH SESSION
This was a great opportunity to network. I got to meet some of the best domainers in India. I could also see that there are some names that may not be popular in the industry, but they are doing amazing work as Domain Investors and Flippers.
Exchanged some 25 business cards as well.
I made a friend who is a Lawyer and runs a company in Bangalore - one of the most amazing man I met at the Conference.
I plan to be in touch with all the people that I met and befriended here.
6) Legal Session by MR. PAVAN DUGGAL
One of the leading lawyers in the Domain Name Industry, Mr. Pavan Duggal enlightened us with the UDRPs, INDRPs and that the domain name is not a property.
He told us how to avoid trademarks and what are the possible consequences of TM infringement. The session was great and Mr. Duggal spoke with such a poise and charisma that everyone got excited at once.
7) Legal Discussion: MRS. HARINI NARAYANSWAMY, MR. PAVAN DUGGAL and MR. RODNEY RYDER which was moderated by MR. ANKUR TANEJA
This was a panel discussion where the panelists presented their views and facts about the difference between UDRPs and INDRPs. MRS. Harini walked us through the decision making of UDRPs and the process involved. She discussed some case studies like TVS.com and ARMANI.com where the company clained that they have the legal right over the domain but the registrant could provide proof otherwise.
Also, a case study of Maruti was discussed. This was very informative in terms of the legality over the domain names. MR. Ryder and MR. Duggal also made some good points in this regard.
8) The Digital Future by MR. KARTIK TANEJA
Mr. Taneja represented Google and started by showing us how the technology is going to be used in the future and how is Google planning for it.
He presented some videos about the future technologies such as Wearables, the Drones which could deliver stuff by themselves, the cars that could drive by itself and other such stuff.
Later, he went to discuss some new gTLDs that Google has launched and some that they are planning to.
There were some questions put up regarding the indexing of new gTLDs in the Search results of Google which he answered.
9) TEA BREAK
There was a tea break. This was a awesome opportunity to network which everyone loved. I personally got to meet Mr. Duggal, Mr. Ryder and Mrs. Harini.
10) .ASIA discussions by MR. EDMON CHUNG
MR. EDMON CHUNG threw some light about the developments in the .ASIA domains and how it is performing in the recent years. He discussed how .ASIA is an emerging player in the Domain Industry and the fact that it is going to be a big player.
He gave some good examples of .ASIA domains that are developed and the big markets that they may become.
11) Cabinet Secretariat MR. RITVIK VIKAS MISHRA
Mr. Ritvik spoke about the various initiatives that the Government of India is taking to spread the Digital Revolution and how is India and the government trying to keep in pace with the Digital Revolution and the growing rate of Internet users in India.
He also put forth a suugestion to the Domainers in the Conference, to discuss the problems which they are facing due to certain policies of the Government and that he may take their voice to the Government so that this could be amended for the best.
12) MR. SAI POLA and Mr. MAHENDER who have $2 million to invest in domain names
Mr. Deepak Daftari interviewed Mr. Sai Pola and Mr. Mahender who own some of the best domain names and have been investing and capitalizing on Domain names. They have a successful story about a ecommerce business of Duckeggs which they built solely on the basis of their domain name.
They also shared that they have put up $2 million funds aside to invest in Domain Names.
So, if you are looking to sell your domain names, I think these are the people to approach.
13) MUSIC Launch of EMAIL.BIZ
Email.biz which is owned by the top .BIZ investor, MR. ANSHUL GOYAL did a Music Launch of its business EMAIL.BIZ
I think they have put up a great music.
14) THE ORGANIZERS THANK THE AUDIENCE(MR. MANMEET SINGH, MR. ANSHUL GOYAL, MR. ANKUR RAHEJA, MR. SIBTAIN ZAHEER and MR. NISHANK YADAV)
The Organizers came together on the stage and thanked everyone for making the event a success.
The best part of the Conference was that the people stayed even after the Conference was over, which got over about an hour late.
OTHER STUFF FROM THE CONFERENCE
1) There was a lucky draw conducted by Verisign. I won the first prize.
2) There were goodies given to those who came forward to ask questions to the renowned people who addressed the crowd.
3) The Conference was FREE. They did not charge any fee from anyone.
4) Food was awesome. They even kept the very famous, HYDERABADI BIRYANI.
5) REDBULL gave away FREE energy drinks.
6) GODADDY special code to buy membership for those who attended the Conference.
7) Bollywood Dances and Entertainment Sessions.
One of the best part of the Conference was that the Organizers tried to meet as many people as possible and Welcome and Thank them personally, even though they had so much work to do.
I had the priviledge to personally meet and discuss with each of the Organizers except Mr. Anshul Goyal. They are awesome people!!
The Organizing team understands each other very well and they seem to be a family together.
I am a follower of Mr. Warren Buffet and I believe that if the team is good, nothing could go wrong!!
I think the strong team at DNOAI is the reason why the event was PHENOMENAL!!
For those of you who missed it, I think this provided an insight!!
If I have missed something, anyone who attended the Conference, kindly add it below!!
I give this event a 100/100.
Thank you so much YuvaEngineers.com for your reviews!!
