Fast Facts
Founder/Broker at Buddha Media Ltd
LinkedIn: Natasha N.
Twitter: @NameBuddhaHQ
Location: Cayman Islands
Time in the industry: 2.5 years
What’s your favorite extension?: Dot-com
Tell us which domain name you wish you owned: Tash.com
Name 3 things you can’t travel without: Laptop, sunglasses and chewing gum
In Depth
Who would you call your mentor?
Domo arigato, Bill Sweetman! At the start of the 2020 pandemic, I had lost my job (and my self-confidence along with it). An acquaintance working remotely for UNR suggested that I enroll in the DNAcademy course. After completing it, I was under no illusion that my requests to connect with my domain idols on LinkedIn would be taken seriously… but Bill did, and I’ll always be grateful to have him in my corner. The rest is history!
Describe a recent challenge that you overcame.
Pressing snooze on the booze for the past 6 months has been a game changer for me on so many different levels. Kudos and virtual hugs to Krista Gable for sharing her story here too.
What kinds of changes do you foresee in this industry within the industry in the next year? The next 5 years?
If the past informs the present, I foresee continued and excessive speculation of Web3 companies and domain names – similar to the dot-com rush in the late 90’s. In the aftermath of the subsequent dot-com crash, the backbone for the web as we know it was built… There’s obviously still a lot of controversy surrounding crypto and the “decentralized web” but overall, the pattern suggests that we’ll continue to change the way we think of and utilize domain names. In the near future, owning a Web3 domain might be as valuable or mainstream as owning a regular domain today. Stranger things have happened.
What are the current trends that are directly impacting your business?
People are becoming more conscious of their carbon footprint and the rising cost of electricity. I think that renewable energy stocks will be particularly resilient in the face of a recession and companies in that space will continue to grow, which is great for the domain industry.
What fact about you would surprise people?
I’m South African but English is not my first language. For some reason… people constantly mistake my accent for Irish, LOL.
What are you most proud of?
The love of my life and the little life we have built together.
What was the best advice you were ever given?
“Negotiate in their world. Persuasion is not about how bright or smooth or forceful you are. It’s about the other party convincing themselves that the solution you want is their own idea. So don’t beat them with logic or brute force. Ask them questions that open paths to your goals. It’s not about you.” ― Chris Voss, Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
What’s the most recent thing you learned (big or small)?
After watching ‘The Hunt for the Crypto King’ on Netflix, I spent an entire week taking a deep dive into Blockchain forensics.
What are you most looking forward to at the upcoming NamesCon?
It feels like a long overdue family reunion. There’s so much that I’m look forward to! Spending quality time with my mentor and existing friends in the domain industry is high up on that list.
How would you describe NamesCon to a new domainer?
This will be my first time attending NamesCon in person, but I’ve seen and heard nothing but rave reviews from past attendees. It’s an exciting opportunity to engage and hangout with the best in class!
If you’re attending NamesCon Global 2022, you will get an email for the featured attendee form and help the NamesCon community learn more about you before you arrive in Austin!.
