What I learned from some of the smartest domain investors on the planet

I started buying and selling domain names in 2007 which made me…super late to the game. However, I was incredibly lucky to have the chance to meet and become friends with people who I consider to be some of the smartest domain investors on the planet.

TRAFFIC Florida 2012

Techstars talks a lot about giving back and I thought it was time I give back and share in two sentence what I’ve learned from some of the smartest domain investors on the planet. This is not an exhaustive list and there’s a good chance I’ll end-up doing a part two of this post since it would be epically long if I included everyone (yes there are a lot of damn smart people in this industry)

Frank Schilling – it’s never too late to get started. Frank started investing in domains after everyone in the 90’s had already scooped up their names, he went on to build one of the best domain portfolios in the world and proved that if you put your mind to it, you can do it.

Rick Schwartz – there’s a reason Rick is called the Domain King. Rick taught me to stick to my guns and not only ask for what I think my domains are worth but also pay attention to who is making the offer because at the end of the day it does take the right buyer to realize the true value of a name.

Michael Berkens – Michael is without a doubt one of the hardest working people in the domain industry with a solid portfolio and one of the top blogs in the industry – The Domains. Michael taught me to not be afraid to take risks and go beyond my comfort zone a bit, Michael has some absolutely amazing .COMs but isn’t afraid to dabble in .ME and other TLDs, oh and he was part of the Meet.me deal with Rick and Ammar which is the highest-selling .ME sale to-date.

Michael Gilmore – be 100% behind what you are doing. If you’ve met Michael you know he has a heart of gold, but he also believes in what he is doing and has build an incredibly intelligent parking platform (ParkLogic) that honestly gets better and better every single year, and I think he’s more excited about it every time I see him.

GGG (Gregg McNair) – hire great people. Gregg taught me that building great companies means hiring and inspiring the best people, Gregg has an eye for incredibly people which is why just about every company he starts or touches turns to gold.

Richard Lau – be humble. Richard is one of the most successful domain investors on the planet, but I didn’t know it until about two years after I met him and spent a bunch of time with him, he’s one of the most humble people I have ever met while also making some massively big moves in the domain industry.

Ammar Kubba – laugh, a lot. I can tell Ammar’s laugh from a mile away, he’s not only one of the most successful domain name investors (and startup founders) but he has fun while he does it and this inspires everyone around him.

More to come, like I said if I put everyone in a single post it would be far too long for anyone to read. Thanks to everyone I mentioned above for teaching me something that has truly become a part of me. While I am far from being as successful in this industry as anyone on this list I try to practice what I’ve learned from them every single day.

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton