Behind The Sales – A Talk With Paul Boyd about his purchase of Open.TV

Back in July Open.tv sold for $25,000, it was sold by a prominent member of the .tv community Makis Mourelatos. In a .com world it is always nice to get the insight of the buyer who spends five figures on a non .com. We are talking today with Paul Boyd, Paul had been a reporter for Inside Edition and just left the show on October 1.

Here is a look at his work and his good bye to Inside Edition

Q 1: So tell us a little about OPEN.TV?

A:  OPEN.TV Shopping Network is an e-commerce technology company that will deliver an almost virtual online shopping experience via 3D photography and dynamic point-of-view video. We’re taking the “unboxing” concept to the next level. Consumers will eventually be able to watch thousands of different products being OPENED for the first time at www.OPEN.TV ​

Each product is fully demonstrated and critically reviewed. Think of it as a chance to: OPEN BEFORE YOU BUY!

We’re also going to fuse together 3D product images with vibrant product video and point-of-view cameras. What sets us apart from the competition is our branding and video production values. Our product videos are engaging, informative, fast-paced, high-energy and packed with action. The videos thrive within social media and are optimized to become highly sharable viral content.

Throw BuzzFeed and Zappos into a blender and you’ll get something like OPEN.TV — our goal is to provide users with an extraordinary online shopping experience. Consumers will connect with our content via social media and our site: www.OPEN.TV

Q 2: You went with the .tv extension and paid $25,000, was there any thought to use a new gtld ?

A: We looked closely at the idea of building our brand around one of the new gtld’s – there’s tremendous potential as those extensions hit the market. Ultimately, we decided that www.OPEN.TV was just superior to the alternatives because “TV” is so intuitive for a company built around video. It’s also one of the true international domains in my opinion because “.TV” connects with users around the world in a way that not even “.com” can say if you really think about it. I’m very bullish on the “.TV” extension as a whole moving forward – especially with video becoming more prevalent and bandwidth capacity expanding globally.

Q 3: Can you tell us how the negotiation went for the name ? How high were you prepared to go to acquire OPEN.TV?

A: I don’t want to say too much out of respect for that process. However, it’s a reasonable question because the sales price of www.OPEN.TV is a public record now and this is relevant to your followers. I will say that we paid MORE than we wanted to and I know the seller sold for LESS than he wanted… so it was likely a fair price because both parties had to bend a little to get the deal done. That’s usually a good indication for any negotiation!

Q 4: Can you tell us roughly how much will be spent in developing the website?

A: As the saying goes… Rome wasn’t built in a day. This is truly a self-financed start-up right now. I have committed $200,000 my own money to get www.OPEN.TV off the ground in the coming months and also launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise awareness and hopefully grow more quickly. We’re going to be patient though because building a solid business is a marathon – not a sprint – and we’re positioning ourselves for the long run. Virtual reality hardware is also finally getting close to broad consumer appeal and we plan on pioneering content for the VR world as it relates to products and online shopping.

Q 5: What is the business model behind OPEN.TV how will it make money ?

A: Our primary focus is to provide informative and engaging product videos that people can trust for accuracy and fairness. At the same time, we’re also running a business and will need to generate some revenue through profit sharing with retailers and producing sponsored products. All of our sponsored videos will be clearly identified as such.