711 Andrew Rosener — Becoming The Hokkaido Scallop King, Leasing Blue Chip URLs, Life Tenets from Charlie Tuna, Selling 8-Figure Domains, and More
This is a OPEN AI summary of the Tim Ferriss Podcast #711- visit www.TinyTim.blog for more AI summaries, or www.Tim.blog for the official Tim Ferriss Podcasts
Tim Ferriss and Andrew Rosener discuss their past experiences and how they led them to where they are now. Rosener shares how he got into the seafood business and his mentor, Peter Moehrke, who taught him valuable lessons and gave him direction in life. They also touch on Rosener's unconventional work attire and the unique perspective of his mentor.
The speaker, Andrew Rosener, shares his experience working for a seafood company owned by a man named Peter. On his first day, Peter gave him a book to read and took him on a tour of scallop-processing facilities. The company has been successful despite not owning any factories or boats, and Peter values exactitude and having the right information for making decisions. He has kept the business nimble and successful for over 40 years.
The conversation discusses Andrew Rosener's experience working in the scallop industry, where he learned the business of buying and reselling scallops for profit. He talks about his success in the industry, including a major contract with Benihana restaurants, which he won through a combination of luck and his knowledge of cigars. He also explains the difference between American and Japanese scallops in terms of quality and grading.
The speaker shares his experience of pitching to a restaurant and securing a contract to supply them with consistent and high-quality Hokkaido scallops. He attributes his success to his fearlessness in sales and adaptability in meeting customers' needs. He also mentions the influence of his mentor, who taught him the importance of playing the long game and enjoying the journey.
The speaker describes a successful man named Peter, who prioritized freedom over material possessions and had a set of 10 principles, including sayings like "Don't be backwards about going forwards" and "You can't run a whorehouse without any whores." He was also known for his competitive squash skills and got the speaker into the sport. Despite running a tight business, Peter also believed in making a profit and not being like Mother Teresa.
Andrew Rosener and Tim Ferriss discuss the challenges of running an arbitrage business, including the need for forecasting and prediction in a fast-paced market. Rosener shares his experience of building relationships with suppliers all over the world, which gives his company an advantage in understanding market trends and anticipating shortages. This allows them to secure business by having the products in short supply, even if their prices may be slightly higher.
The speaker, Andrew Rosener, explains that his superpower is knowing where to fill gaps in the market and offer products at competitive prices. He shares how he discovered jamón ibérico and tried to import it to the US, but it was initially illegal. Years later, he meets the first legal importer and trades valuable domain names for a ham. This leads him to realize the value of domain names and becomes a successful domain investor.
The speaker, Andrew Rosener, shares how a chance encounter with a business owner sparked his interest in the domain industry. He later learns about the potential for buying and selling domains and starts his own brokerage business, Media Options, to connect domain owners with potential buyers and educate businesses on the value of owning a desirable domain.
The speaker and his wife started a company together, and later the speaker's account representative from GoDaddy joined their team. They then moved to Panama. The domain industry has a structure and various players, including investors and journalists who cover news and policy changes. Good domain names can receive type-in traffic which can generate revenue through keyword advertising. This used to be the primary business model in the early 2000s.
Andrew Rosener and Tim Ferriss discuss the difference between domain investors and squatters, with Rosener emphasizing the negative connotation of squatters in the past. They also mention that many VCs are now domain investors, with a small fraction still engaging in cybersquatting. The UDRP provides a mechanism for recovering trademarked domain names, and Rosener's company has been operating since 2008.
The conversation discusses the business model of Media Options, a company that sells domain names. The founder, Andrew Rosener, explains how he started the business and how he attracts clients through forums and online publications. He also mentions his initial success with selling a domain name, pizza.net, which solidified his belief in the potential of the business.
Pizza.net was a highly sought-after domain due to its appearance in the movie "The Net" and its prior art on patents related to online pizza ordering. The owner of the domain was also responsible for stringing internet cables up the East Coast and registering all one-letter .com domains except for three, which were grandfathered in by ICANN.
Andrew Rosener sold Pizza.net for $120,000 and earned a $20,000 commission. He had a mantra to make $250 profit every day to keep his business afloat. He moved to Panama to escape negative vibes and because it was on the US dollar.
The conversation is about the growth of Panama's GDP in 2008-2009 and the reasons behind it, including the booming banking sector and global trade. The guest, Andrew Rosener, shares his experience of starting a business in Panama and how he initially focused on making $250 a day before expanding to bigger goals. They also discuss the valuation of domain names and the recommendation for startups to lease rather than buy their domain names. The value of domain names has increased significantly in recent years, attracting more investors and VCs.
The speaker discusses his observations of successful entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley who have learned from past experiences and see the value of having a strong domain name for their companies. He explains the trend of leasing domain names rather than purchasing them outright, as it allows for a larger pool of potential buyers and reduces the risk for both parties involved. He also mentions the use of a third-party escrow service for safe and secure domain transactions.
Andrew Rosener explains a lease option for purchasing a domain through escrow.com. The process involves a third-party arbitration forum, an initial option fee, and a monthly lease payment. This allows startups to operate on their exact brand match .com from day one and avoid rebranding risks. The option fee acts as an advance towards the purchase price and the lease payment provides a reasonable rate of return for the domain owner.
Re-branding can be expensive and complicated, costing between $10-40,000 per employee to change domain names. Some people treat domain names as a source of passive income, with the potential to earn thousands of dollars a month. Leasing a domain name can be a cost-effective option for businesses.
A venture capitalist and domain name investor, Andrew Rosener, discusses the importance of having a .com domain for a company, citing examples of successful companies that use .com. He also shares his experience of buying and selling vida.com to the founder of a health tech company and how they came to a deal involving both cash and equity. Rosener emphasizes the benefits of having a .com domain in terms of fundraising and de-risking the investment process.
Andrew Rosener discusses his approach to investing in startups by using domain names as capital instead of cash. This allows him to have a stake in the company and potentially reclaim the domain if the company fails. He believes that domain names are valuable digital real estate and sees potential for growth in this market. He also notes the importance of owning your digital presence, as opposed to relying on third-party platforms like Facebook.
Tim Ferriss and Andrew Rosener discuss Rosener's success in buying and running profitable Facebook pages. Rosener also shares his experience of buying the domain Fuckyourself.com and using it to send auto-responses to annoying emails. However, the domain receives over 100,000 emails a day, rendering it unusable as a personal email address.
The speaker discusses his struggle with anger management and how it has affected his life. He credits the host of a podcast for making him realize that he had an issue and inspiring him to seek ways to deal with it. He also talks about the dangers of creating a narrative to justify negative traits and the importance of finding healthy outlets and constantly reflecting on triggers. He attributes his progress to the advice and resources provided by the podcast host.
Tim Ferriss and Andrew Rosener discuss Seneca the Younger's book "How to Keep Your Cool" and its similarities to a book on quitting caffeine. Rosener uses the book as a reminder to control his temper and suggests it as a tool for managing anger. They also briefly discuss email management, with Rosener admitting he struggles with it and spends two and a half hours each day going through his inbox.
The speaker is optimistic about the potential of AI and believes it can replicate their work in email filtering. They also discuss the impact of AI on the domain world and how domain names are a foundational layer in the digital world. They mention the potential for AI to affect how humans interact with the internet, but emphasize the importance of domain names as the bedrock layer.
The article discusses the role of domain names in the consumer internet and e-commerce. It argues that while AI tools like ChatGPT and Bard are useful for finding solutions from existing ideas, they are not creating new ideas or pushing the boundaries like human creativity does. However, these tools may impact the SEO game and the value of domain names. The article also mentions that unique products and companies will still require a strong, semantically meaningful domain name. The author also mentions the potential impact on Google's ad business and the importance of email in today's digital world.
Andrew Rosener believes that as AI and misinformation become more prevalent on the web, domain names will become increasingly important for verifying identity. He predicts that in the future, most people will have at least two or three domain names - one for their real identity, one for a pseudonymous identity, and one for commercial purposes. Rosener also sees potential for using domain names as crypto wallets, which could contribute to the growth of the domain name industry.
The speaker, Andrew Rosener, is a huge early adopter of Handshake and has spent a lot of time thinking about it. However, he has failed to identify a durable use case for Web3 domain names beyond their utility as wallets. He believes that the lack of standardization and potential for confusion among different blockchain networks make it unlikely for Web3 domains to be widely adopted. Additionally, he expresses concerns about the dangers of decentralized information and draws a line between decentralizing money (which he supports) and information.
The speaker discusses a decentralized new internet with advanced features, but points out that it has a major flaw - the inability to remove illegal content. They explain that major browsers will not support this new internet, making it unlikely to become mainstream. However, they mention that domain names can now be used as wallets, and share information about their company and podcast. The interviewer asks about the speaker's views on happiness, and they respond saying they are generally content.
The conversation between Rosener and Ferriss discusses the pursuit of contentment and novelty in life, rather than simply chasing happiness. Rosener believes that individual purpose is to find unique characteristics and engage with the world in new ways. He also argues that pain and suffering are necessary for growth and success, using art as an example. Overall, it is important to embrace and lean into challenges rather than avoiding them.
The speaker encourages running towards difficult tasks and facing challenges in order to achieve success and greatness through novelty. They mention that greatness often involves pain, suffering, and heartache, using their own experience with wrestling as an example. However, they caution against pursuing painful things that are not worth it and advise having a clear goal or "North Star" to guide actions. The speaker also acknowledges the correlation between high pain tolerance and success, but warns against blindly pursuing painful things without a clear purpose.
The speaker reflects on their previous desire to become a billionaire tech entrepreneur, but learns from someone else that true freedom and happiness come from making decisions that align with personal values and goals. They decide not to pursue a new business venture, realizing that their current business may not be considered successful by traditional metrics, but it allows them the freedom and lifestyle they desire. The speaker prioritizes spending time with family, traveling, and having control over their time.
The speaker, Andrew Rosener, talks about his decision to leave a successful business and pursue his own happiness. He credits his driving force as his desire for freedom and not conforming to societal expectations. He also mentions the influences of wrestling, his parents' enduring marriage, and a mentor named Charlie Tuna in shaping his values and goals.
Andrew Rosener and Tim Ferriss discuss the exciting and diverse experiences that come with their respective careers. They both have a passion for engaging with interesting people and learning from their stories. They also touch on the importance of privacy and discretion in their line of work. The conversation ends with a recap of where to find Andrew, including his company Media Options, educational podcast DomainSherpa, and Twitter handle @AndrewRosener. Lastly, Andrew shares his approach to "hunting bigger fish" in the domain industry.
In a conversation between Tim Ferriss and Andrew Rosener, they discuss the importance of knowing the price when contacting a buyer or seller. Rosener shares his experience of starting out in the domain selling business and how he had to fake it until he made it. He also talks about the key to creating an objective valuation for any domain name and how he had to formulate algorithms to demonstrate its worth to potential buyers. The purpose of a domain name is ultimately to connect a business with its intended customer, and Rosener's success can be attributed to his ability to understand this concept and create a compelling business case for buying expensive domains.
A domain name is a human-readable format for getting someone onto a destination on the internet. The value of a domain name can be measured through search volume and advertiser willingness to pay for a specific keyword or acronym. This can determine the total addressable market for the domain name, which can then be extrapolated to measure use in culture and commerce. The duration or multiple for a domain name's value varies depending on the industry and durability of the business associated with it.
The value of a domain name is determined by a combination of industry standards and individual preferences. It is important to be conservative in valuing a domain as most people do not understand its worth. The total addressable market can be calculated by measuring search volume and potential revenue from that traffic. SEO plays a role in capturing a portion of this market. The value of a domain name can significantly increase conversion and click-through rates, resulting in a higher cost of customer acquisition and potential growth for the business.
The value of a domain name is determined by its ability to reduce the cost of customer acquisition for a business. This can be calculated using a mathematical valuation methodology. However, there is often an emotional barrier for businesses to pay for expensive domain names. Eventually, there will come a point where the business realizes the value of owning the domain and will be willing to pay a high price for it. Once a company acquires the domain, they see it as an essential part of their brand and are unwilling to sell it.
A successful businessman wants to buy a domain name for his brand, but the owner had just sold it to someone else. The new owner refused several offers, stating that the domain was now an integral part of their brand and would only sell it for a huge sum. This shows the importance of owning a .com domain and how it affects a company's branding and online traffic. A case study of Overstock's failed attempt to rebrand to o.co highlights the significance of having the exact .com domain for a brand.
The speaker discusses the importance of having a domain name that is easy to remember and access, using Amazon's one-click purchasing and their purchase of prime.com as examples. They also mention how Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, is knowledgeable about the impact of domain names on customer journey.
https://tim.blog/2023/12/20/andrew-rosener/
