Launching a new venture during a pandemic, Q&A with the founder of MultiForce.com

MultiForce

I recently found out about MultiForce.com, a new service that at first glance looked to me like “Quora for Domainers” which is awesome. When I looked at some of the people who are starting to become active on there, I noticed some of the top people in the industry like Mike Robertson, Kate Buckley, Richard Lau, and Jothan Frakes to name a few.

I reached out to Omar, the founder of the new service and asked if he’d answer a few questions about why he started this new venture and to dig a bit more into his entrepreneurial journey.

With that, let’s get to it, enjoy!

[Morgan] So let’s start with the obvious – what is MultiForce.com?

[Omar] MultiForce.com is a platform for top Domainers in the world to connect, communicate and collaborate.  Individually we are capable but collectively we are limitless.

I chose the name MultiForce because it’s a brandable and memorable domain (it consistently gets offers).  Herein is an important point.  How hypocritical would it be for me, someone who makes their living from domains, using a crappy domain when launching a new venture.  The temptation is always there because you want to be frugal but sometimes you can be too frugal for your own good.  The best example of doing this right is Richard Lau’s Logo.com.  Can you think of a better name for a company that designs logos?  No wonder they have already designed 10 million logos including the one for MultiForce.com.

[Morgan] What made you decide to build this?

[Omar] Over the years domaining has become a much more global business.  Now we have conferences all over the world including many in China, India and other countries (until the pandemic).  However, it’s still a very fragmented industry.  Now herein lies the dichotomy.  In this industry social capital *really* matters.  Much more so than a lot of industries.  Knowing the right people can accelerate your business by leaps and bounds.  The problem is that it’s not practical to fly around the world attending conferences, meeting people, and building those valuable connections.  However, online is perfect for this especially as technology has enabled things that were not possible before.

[Morgan] What’s an example of value created on the site?

[Omar] Communicating the importance of China.  If you have a premium generic .com domain for sale and you are not directly contacting end users in China then you’re missing out on a massive opportunity.  That’s where the money is.  For instance, one of the members of MultiForce.com researched end users for a one word generic dotcom he was selling.  He used Google Translate for the initial contact.  Then once a company was interested he hired a Chinese tutor to help.  He recently sold the name for seven figures.  

[Morgan] What was your biggest challenge in getting MultiForce.com off the ground?

[Omar] I would say it was all the work that was done leading up to it.  It reminds me of what Marc Andreessen said about building a startup.  From the outside it looks glamorous but from the inside it’s like a sausage factory.  There was a ton of testing done.  A lot of things that didn’t work.  A lot of revisions.  A lot of going back to the drawing board.

[Morgan] If you were to go back in time what’s one thing you would do differently?

[Omar] I would have launched it sooner.  This way you get feedback quicker.  It’s tempting to want to wait till everything is perfect but you miss out on valuable feedback.

[Morgan] Any new features you’re thinking of adding soon(ish) you’d be willing to share?

[Omar] Right now it’s in private beta.  The only way to get access is through a referral from someone who is a member.

All of the current and future features relate to accelerating domainer business growth.  Every domainer wants the same things: how do I get more sales, how do I sell my names for a higher price, how do I sell my names faster, how do I acquire undervalued names, how do I increase my traffic revenue, etc.  I hope the platform can facilitate solutions that were not possible before.

[Morgan] What advice would you give other entrepreneurs who want to take their idea from dream to reality?

[Omar] Start and launch a venture online now!   We have the mother of all tailwinds behind us because the pandemic has accelerated the move to a more virtual world.  Let me use an analogy.  When you are cycling in a headwind it’s quite difficult if not painful.  There is a tremendous amount of drag you have to overcome.  However, when you have a tailwind it’s like being a human powered missile – you’re just flying!  So take advantage of his massive tailwind even if it’s launching a hobby.  That’s how a lot of great businesses including Google got started.

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton