Today, Afilias announced the acquisition of .GLOBAL, a new gTLD started by serial entrepreneur Rolf Larsen. I was able to get the inside scoop on the deal but of course was sworn to secrecy until it was announced. Well, today is the day so I can spill the beans, and provide a much deeper dive.
Since Rolf and I were both in Portugal for NamesCon Europe I thought it would be a great opportunity to sit down with him and do a deeper dive, not just into the acquisition but into his experience as a founder. Oh and, what better time to do it then on a beautiful beach in Portugal?
I thought it would be interesting to cover the history of .GLOBAL, why Rolf picked this extension to go after, what he did before this, and what he’s doing next. As many of you know, I used to do video interviews a long time ago and I think this will be my first foray back into the interview world except this time I’ll stick with audio to keep things simple, and it will be less of an interview and more of a conversation.
Over the course of our conversation I did my best to ask some tough questions, dig into what worked, what didn’t, and really understand the dynamics of the business. I also went further into Rolf’s background and I think there’s some really good nuggets in here that startup founders will find incredibly relevant.
Initially I planned on just using a voice recorder so I could talk to Rolf and not have to sit there scribbling notes…then as you’ll hear, part way through I realized – this would probably make a great audio interview. In the end, I think that makes this particular interview a little more real and raw. It’s not in a studio, at times you’ll hear different groups of surfers celebrating in the background, and at one point Andrew Rosner walks by to ask for directions to the parking lot.
If you like this style, I’ll stick with it since I think it’s a different format that I’ve heard before, it really is just me and Rolf having a conversation vs. a formal interview. Now, enough from me, let’s get to the interview – enjoy!
Morgan sits down with Rolf Larsen to talk about .GLOBAL and life as a serial entrepreneur
As always, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to comment on the interview, ask any additional questions, or share what you think of the acquisition below. Comment and let your voice be heard!
