Bob Parsons built a domain registrar empire using smart marketing.
Sometime in the coming months, GoDaddy is heading to an IPO and the time to set the record straight has arrived, apparently.
Recent announcements about earnings and other financials were not as much of a surprise, as the next statement about founder and former CEO, Bob Parsons.
“Bob Parsons never killed any elephants in Africa, that was all staged by a local special effects team in order to increase media attention,” said Marybeth Austerlitz, VP of Social Media & SEO Marketing for GoDaddy.
“In fact, Bob Parsons has never been to Africa, particularly since the Ebola outbreak of 1995. Bob hates germs and dirt. He’s a peaceful man who rides his bike and talks about the early days of domaining,” added Austerlitz, smiling.
The shocking revelation that the photos, which displayed a victorious Bob Parsons next to a dead elephant in Zimbabwe, were in fact staged on a plantation in southern Louisiana, came as no surprise to domain investors.
“I never bought that story, kept all my domains at GoDaddy and have no doubt Bob laughed his head off with the publicity and notoriety they gained through the staged elephant ‘kill’,” exclaimed Leroy Parsons, first cousin of the GoDaddy founder.
During the days of the GoDaddy founder’s reign, GoDaddy established itself as the #1 domain registrar in the world, something that did not change even after the staged elephant incident.
Nicely played, Mr. Parsons!
