discuss Startups and their domain name selection?

[mad409]

I love to read DNgeek new startup domains, honestly some of them are just butt ugly. Who is picking their domain names? Obliviously someone that hasn't put much thought or research into it and all the new options available.

I'll point out a few;

1.

TRIOTECH

Venture

$80,000,000

Trio-Tech.com

I don't mind a hyphened if it's a short domain but with 80 million you could have done better.

2.

Pomegranate

Venture

$67,020,000

PomegranateInvestment.com

What that's 22 characters before you even enter .com? You're going to love typing that daily or giving it out over the phone. I could have helped you out, you do have 67 million...

3.

DimensionalMechanics

Series A

$4,700,000

DimensionalMechanics.com

Hmm 20 characters, another long one, is long and hyphens the new startup trend?

I do find a few on these lists that aren't bad but many of us here could have helped these million dollar startups find much better domains.

Anyone else look at this and think WTF? http://dngeek.com/2016/03/83-newly-...ir-domain-names-topas-com-revup-com-aura-com/

 

[hxp]

StalkBuyLove.com? YouthsToday.com?? LifCare.in???

lol. That list makes me cringe. The only one that I like is Aura.com.

I doubt 90% of that list realizes the importance of Naming/Branding, or the need to set apart a budget for it...

 

[mad409]

@hxp
StalkBuyLove Seed Undisclosed StalkBuyLove.com

Exactly, I see this kind of crap in all the startup venture releases, unreal IMO.

 

[Kate]

Thanks for the lists. There are a few good names but it's pretty bad overall.
It's almost as if those start-ups settled on crap domains because they don't expect to be around for very long What do you think ?

I think the problem is always the same: webmasters and so-called media agencies can put up working websites, but are not able to advise on branding and choosing winning domain names. In fact, they are seldom going to advise buying a name on the aftermarket, but that's what they should be doing, sometimes.

BTW a premium domain is an asset that can be resold if your business plans do not come to fruition as expected.

 

[HighValueBrands]

Education and guidance are why I created the Certified Domain Name Standard. Explains exactly why a domain name is valuable. Might be useful for domain sellers to have. Certainly useful for domain buyers to know

* Higher search rankings
* Increased website traffic
* Reduced Advertising Marketing costs
* Create unlimited vanity email addresses
* Easy for customers to remember and share
* Effective Lead generation tool
* Protects your market space from competition
* Creates growth opportunities for your business
* New product service brand marketing campaigns
* Investment that can be monetized and resold

maybe NP members have some value points to add that Imay have missed?

 

[Jon B]

Short answer: Venture Capitalist firms and startups are often made up of people who think they are way smarter than they actually are. Few companies are savvy enough to invest in high end digital real estate early on.

The entire system is devised to prop up unprofitable companies with hyper inflated valuations. Eventually, these trash companies either go public (in which investors take the L) or get acquired by an aspiring monopoly. Most startups are trying to game the system.

Why spend extra money on a good name when VCs and Founders have historically been able to make billions off of shady business practices alone?

 

[JB Lions]

I love to read DNgeek new startup domains, honestly some of them are just butt ugly. Who is picking their domain names? Obliviously someone that hasn't put much thought or research into it and all the new options available.

I'll point out a few;

1.

TRIOTECH

Venture

$80,000,000

Trio-Tech.com

I don't mind a hyphened if it's a short domain but with 80 million you could have done better.

2.

Pomegranate

Venture

$67,020,000

PomegranateInvestment.com

What that's 22 characters before you even enter .com? You're going to love typing that daily or giving it out over the phone. I could have helped you out, you do have 67 million...

3.

DimensionalMechanics

Series A

$4,700,000

DimensionalMechanics.com

Hmm 20 characters, another long one, is long and hyphens the new startup trend?

I do find a few on these lists that aren't bad but many of us here could have helped these million dollar startups find much better domains.

Anyone else look at this and think WTF? http://dngeek.com/2016/03/83-newly-...ir-domain-names-topas-com-revup-com-aura-com/

83 startups, 0 new gtlds. At least they're getting the extension right.

 

[mad409]

83 startups, 0 new gtlds. At least they're getting the extension right.

I agree most are using really bad .coms, ccTLDs seem to come in second but there is a new gTLD that shows up on the lists from time to time.

I think the most recent one I seen was cult.fitness.

 

[Recons.Com]

Try putting on your business card:

Email: [email protected]
Website: www.pomegranateinvestment.com
Social: www.facebook.com/pomegranateinvestment

And every time you tweet any link from your page, 26 precious characters out of 162 are wasted even before specific page details are entered (URL shorteners do little to promote your brand, so, no, it is not the same).

And now, factor in number of mistypes and incorrect memory of the name (was it investment or investments? Is pomegranate with two m, is it grenate or granate, etc...). Idiotic choice, frankly.

 

[disaac81]

Most startups do not understand or value the importance of their own names. Strange but true.

Some also lock themselves in by using long descriptive names with no room for movement. Now if they actually thought where they were going to be in ten years from now, they might have actually come up with something amazing.

 

[JB Lions]

I agree most are using really bad .coms, ccTLDs seem to come in second but there is a new gTLD that shows up on the lists from time to time.

I think the most recent one I seen was cult.fitness.

Could be lots of reasons.

Just smarter than most domainers, understand marketing/consumer behavior.

Maybe the marketing registries/registrars are doing is not enough or good.

Maybe those companies realize their could be a traffic bleed to the .com, like that cult.fitness

Maybe they tried getting that new gtld but run into the same exact problems they would trying to get a .com, some domainer has it and wants thousands. If you want to spend that much, might as well get the .com

I've checked that site myself many times and linked to it from here and see the same thing. Rare sightings of new gtlds being used.

 

[Kate]

Try putting on your business card:

Email: [email protected]
Website: www.pomegranateinvestment.com
Social: www.facebook.com/pomegranateinvestment

Indeed we often talk about the radio test but the business card test is very important too. Some names just don't fit.

 

[DNScholar]

I think lack of knowledge, hurried publication and poor media branding are some reasons for these names. But sooner or later they will understand and get the proper name for their business.