I have always thought that brand-matching .com domain names are very important, and a recent news story confirms my belief once again. Chinese bicycle sharing startup OFO recently acquired its brand-matching OFO.com for a reported price of more than US$ 1 million. Bicycle sharing services have exploded since last year, led by companies such as […]
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A sound company with a sound domain strategy
Yes, the pun is intended. This post is about a Chinese audio manufacturer and the domains it owns, hopefully giving us some hints about selling domains to corporate China. FiiO Electronics Technology is a Chinese audio manufacturer founded in 2007. It makes music players, earphones, and various audio accessories which are sold in China and […]
Continue ReadingA tale of two Chinese unicorns and their domain strategies
One night in the cold winter of 2015, several engineers went to the streets of Shanghai to test a crazy idea: Would someone rent a bike left on the street without operator assistance? They placed some 50 bikes on the sidewalks and went home. When they opened their computers the next day, they were excited […]
Continue ReadingWill a domain be worth a billion dollar?
A domain investor friend called me the other day. During our conversation, I was reminded that I once said that many domains would one day be priced in millions of dollars. So, what do I think now? Let’s talk about addresses first. In 1989, Japan-based Mitsubishi Estate invested $1.6 billion to acquire a number of […]
Continue ReadingA domain with two faces
When you see the word “danke”, what do you think of? Well, it depends on your native tongue. German speakers may smile because it means thank-you but Chinese speakers may simply draw a mental picture of an eggshell or ammunition case. Such phenomenon happens because many languages have been Romanized. In the case of Chinese, […]
Continue ReadingWill China’s IPO darling SMZDM make 5L acronym domains popular?
You could pick up a 3L (letter) domain years ago for $100 but now it costs 5 figures or more. Similarly, 4L domains had little interest but now every one of them can sell. So the question is obvious: Will the IPO of SMZDM bring 5L domains to the forefront? It all began years ago […]
Continue ReadingA panda ready to step out of China
Pandas are cute yet they rarely leave China because of strict legal, financial, and dietary requirements. But in the world of tech startups, there is a panda well positioned to enter the global arena at any time. Billi Li (李海鹏) was a venture capitalist strong in food and real estate. Few years ago, he saw […]
Continue ReadingMy simple view of domains
In today’s world of too many choices, life can be difficult. To make it easier, I try to live a simple life, which also applies to my view of domains. What is a domain? A domain is a digital address. To be exact, a domain is a simple representation of the actual, difficult-to-remember address in […]
Continue ReadingAre numeric domains used in corporate China?
“One night in some empty room where no curtains ever hung. Like a miracle some golden words rolled off of someone’s tongue. And after years of being nothing they’re all looking right at you…” This old song fits very well with the scene in 2015/2016 when some Chinese investors pushed numeric domains onto the world […]
Continue ReadingEnglishDotCom may be the best domain strategy for Chinese startups
Chinese startups today are blessed. They are riding two tidal waves which can quickly propel them to the global arena, but going global requires a careful consideration of the domain strategy. What are the two tidal waves? The first one is the “One Belt One Road” initiative started in 2013 to connect China to the […]
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