Test Track at TRAFFIC Las Vegas – previously known as the “Shark Tank” of domaining – was an interesting experiment that gave the opportunity to several domainer entrepreneurs to showcase their projects, seeking financial backing.
This experiment in angel investing was a clear indication that not everyone is ready for “prime time”. While some participants had prepared their presentation very meticulously, others clearly failed to meet the high standards one should expect from participants of a highly anticipated domainer conference feature.
After a lot of research, we found several other projects that were presented to the committee that decided which would make the final cut and into TRAFFIC Las Vegas. The results were rather amusing and we present them here for your viewing entertainment.
Failed entry #1
Ricky K. from Wichita, KS presented an application for a domainer baby registry that’d issue certificates of ownership to all babies, complete with a free .tel URL and a photography certificate. Seeking $80,000 in capital, Ricky thought it’d be fun to id all domainer babies upon birth.
Failed entry #2
Sophia J. and Adolph H. from Sacramento, CA presented an application for a dating web site catering exclusively to domainers. Under the working project of “Aryan Domainer” the database would contain only the blondest men and women of domaining, complete with DNA samples and picture archives of their ancestors. The idea was to ensure the Domainer Aryan Race would carry on even in the event of a nuclear holocaust. Projected budget: $2,500,000
Failed entry #3
Rudy C. from Krakow in Poland presented a business plan for recycling business cards from expired domains. With millions of domains expiring annually, Rudy’s business “Green Cards” would seek, collect and recycle the business cards of obsolete companies by creating a central database of expiration for their business entities. By catering to domainers, Rudy planned to collect the data for free using Estibot 2.0. Projected cost: $6,540,000 (to buy the domain GreenCards.com)
Failed entry #4
Lars T. from London, England proposed the construction of a public database of cybersquatters. His proposal was outright rejected by the presenting panel with no further details disclosed.
Failed entry #5
Roberto K. from Palermo, Italy presented a business plan for protecting domains from being stolen, via the means of utilizing aged members of the Mafia to enforce live protection. For a nominal fee, domains under the “Iron Shield” project would each have a contract, protecting them and their registrant with bodyguards against any theft or home invasion. Projected cost: disclosed only after taking the Sicilian oath of silence.
If you think that those were good, you should have seen the ones that REALLY didn’t make the list. By the way, these and any other developing programs can be submitted to T.R.A.F.F.I.C. for the Milan show in April. http://targetedtraffic.com.
LOL #4 cracked me up.
The mind boggles…