Location: London, England
Session: Domain Name Valuation
Fast Facts
Time spent in the domain industry: 14
Favourite extension: ccTLDs (.ME in particular)
Domain name you wished you owned: thisis.me
Now reading: Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker
Best North American location for a conferences: Florida
Your mentor: Michael H. Berkens
Q&A
Describe your company and how long you have been there?
DNPric.es was spun off five years ago from the in-house monitoring system. I have been building it with my other two partners over a decade. Registra.rs was acquired and integrated about three years ago.
What can attendees look forward to during your session?
I shall touch the following topics: What is there in the value of domain names? What financial instruments one can apply to maximize the cash flow? Tips & tricks from 10+ years of domain name brokerage, leasing and valuation.
What can attendees do in order to prepare for your session? Are there any questions or scenarios they should consider in advance?
Think about how do you value digital assets? What techniques have proved to work for you?
What would you like attendees to learn or take away from your session?
Structured techniques and hopefully inspiration of how to be more realistic and effective in the industry that is changing again.
Can you tell us about how your service or product helps deliver value to your customers?
I believe that transparency brings you closer to the reality. And that makes life simpler, happier and more fun.
What are your thoughts on the new TLDs?
Many (most of them) make sense. They shall slowly penetrate the Internet there and there. Give them a decade or two. From the financial angle, the registries are more aggressive in maximizing their revenues, have being helping many already with the pricing models and identifying the right premium sets. This all leaves less space for domainers to speculate. Still with thousands of options, the domaining field is very wide.
What kinds of changes do you foresee within the industry in the next year? 5 years?
In the next year we shall see another acquisition or two. This is just natural for the maturing industry. In the long run, five years ago I jotted an article for TheNextWeb [ http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/06/09/how-many-domain-names-will-the-explosion-in-gtlds-really-produce/ ]. Most of the claims still hold. As I travel I see more and more new extensions being used in new products and they are [slowly] changing the consumer perception. Domain names are there to stay for a while and the trend is heading towards short and jingly names, easy to recall, easy to promote.
What are you most looking forward to at the upcoming NamesCon?
Meeting many people with whom I interacted over the Internet and phone but have less chances to meet in person on a more regular basis.
What industry trends or topics do you think will be at the forefront of panel and keynote discussions this year?
Many shall revisit blockchains, obviously new gTLDs along with secondary markets and techniques to enhance the premium sales. Personally, I am looking forward to discover new useful tools to open extra gates in the marketing and new channels as well.
Who are you excited to hear speak at Namescon this year? Why?
Frank Schilling and his Uniregistry that never stops innovating and tries to bring the industry to the new horizons as well. I would also love to hear more about domain name leasing. Frank should hire me as a Director of Leasing and I promise to add significant revenue within three years.
What’s something most people don’t know about you?
I let one personal domain name drop back in 1999. Then recovered it years later. The game has different prospective if you look over the decades and the cash flow.
How did you get your start in the industry?
My first domain name was a personal site back in 90s. Then few more for the companies and services I worked in. Then more for the future projects. Than first sales. Had to drop many domain names too. Being financially savvy is the main survival key.
What advice can you offer those who are just getting their start in the domain (or related) industry?
Research first. Learn the game and the turf. Then invest in slow cycles. Focus on IRR. Domain names are very exotic derivatives. Very illiquid. Hedging a portfolio requires some financial skills as well.
What was one of your biggest “Aha!” moments in life?
Today it is AI & ML. Also, many bio hacks I can share with friends and peers at the lunch or coffee chat.
How does your career compare to what you envisioned in your youth?
It shifted from working for big companies to mastering the growth in niche markets. I had no idea I would end up in the DNS world.
How would you describe what you do in a single sentence to a stranger?
I work for “Zillow” or “Zupla” of the Internet.
If you had fifteen extra minutes each day, what would you do with them?
Depending on a day or need: more time with the family, more networking, more exercising, more work.
Who has been the biggest influence on your life? What lessons did that person teach you?
Having recently read the book 10% Human: How Your Body’s Microbes Hold the Key to Health and Happiness by Alanna Collen, it is definitely the other 90%: microbiome and how we love it to love us back.
Latest and greatest accomplishment in your career?
Taking a courage and releasing private data of DNPric.es for the public use and observing it being used in every country on this planet.
Describe a recent challenge, at work or in your personal life, that you overcame.
Convincing myself to go back to the university to refresh on the artificial intelligence. That industry made a significant breakthrough in the past 20 years. Bounding with the study buddy and dedicating time to it gave me an extra idea for DNPric.es, currently under the hood.
Where is your favourite place to escape?
Mother nature. In all of its forms. If you ask to narrow it down: skiing in Alps or supping on fresh waters.
What was the best advice you were ever given?
My father taught me to take life as a game. It is much more fun this way.
What object would you put in a time capsule that best represents who you are today?
A memory card with my photo and video archive. Or a small version of it on my IG account(s) @Londain, @DNPrices et. al.
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