Such unfriendly words were given to Jack Ma in the early days of Alibaba, and the words referred to the name “ali baba”. Nevertheless, the name went on to become one of the most recognizable brands in the world. What about a domain you just made up and registered for $10?
At the Israeli Innovation Summit held in Tel Aviv last month, Ma shared the story and said, “When we started Alibaba, I went to Silicon Valley raising fund. I talked to over 30 venture capitalists. They said ‘Crazy! Ali Baba stupid crazy name’.” So, at the beginning of Alibaba’s history, the name “Alibaba” was once considered a crazy and stupid name. Now, who would still think so?
Most people know the story of Ali Baba, a character from the folk tale “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”. While the leader of the gang does play a merchant in one of the scenes, the story has nothing to do with commerce. It has more scenes about killing than doing business. Yet, today, “Alibaba” and the matching Alibaba.com are recognized across the world as the ecommerce giant from China.
If a crazy and stupid name/domain could rise up to become a success, what about even a name/domain you just created? There are plenty of example of such creations, such as MicroSoft.com, FaceBook.com, AirBnB, and TenCent. The implication is that you can create a name and register its matching .com for about $10 but still have the opportunity to become a global brand.
How? Very simple. First, prepare a list of keywords about the business you are starting. Then, enter these keywords, one by one, into a domain generation service available on the internet (my favorite one is LeanDomainSearch.com). Select the .com domains you like from the result for each keyword. Evaluate and then decide on one .com domain to use for your business. Finally, register the .com domain for about $10. For details, read my article How to create a global brand .com with only $10.
Remember, the internet is global by its very nature. Using this method, you get a global brand/domain on day one of your business because .com gives you that global image.
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