I am Todd Han, Founder of Dynadot, Ask Me Any Question

[Dynadot]

APA will begin Friday, May 22 from 4-6pm PDT, but wanted to open the thread now in case you're unable to join me during that time. If you have questions or comments you would like to make, feel free to submit them here and I will try to address them during the interactive interview session.​

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I started Dynadot in 2002, in a spare bedroom at home. I still remember getting my first order for $7.99, and jumping up and down in excitement. Back then Verisign charged $6 per .com domain, and there was no ICANN fee yet. In those early days I did everything: customer service, website programming, accounting, and marketing. As the business grew I eventually rented an office and starting building the excellent team running the company today.

I have loved computers since I was a child. Writing code and solving technical problems always came naturally to me. I studied computer science in college, and spent many hours in the dark underground computer labs at UC Berkeley. Sadly I stopped coding about 2 years ago, to focus on strategy and management. But someday I plan to return to my first love, computer programming.

Why did I start Dynadot? I was building a website for my mother for her vacation house. I was using another registrar, and thought to myself I could write a better control panel. Being young and naive, I didn’t think that much and just jumped in and applied to be a registrar. It is a competitive and difficult industry, but I have enjoyed all these years, and am proud of what we have built.

Ask me anything.

 

[Dynadot]

DynaDot marketplace - suggestion to include subject and message in reply to Domain Offers

DynaDot marketplace suggestion - minimum offer

Thank you for these suggestions. Our new offer system will include subject and message in all replies. Also a minimum offer will be added soon.

- Todd

 

[NewDayBrand]

I'm a domainer since a few weeks. I created my account on dynadot today to drop catch a domain and your system succeeded. I'm happy that you created this website for your mom in 2002. I live in Morocco and times are hard for almost everybody on the planet now. I felt a warmness in your post. God bless you. I wish you and all NamePros members all the best.
Aniss

 

[CJ6]

What is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything?

 

[branding]

Come to think of it, I do have one question for you.

What other registrar do you look up to and why?

 

[Sutruk]

Reverse the name "TODD" to "DDOT" and then elaborate it, which then becomes - "D for Dyna" + DOT"

My bet is for a simple join of Dynamic + Dot = DynaDot.

 

[enterscope]

I love dynadot, I am moving all my domains there as they come up for expiration. The interface, ease of use, pricing are all with the domainer in mind.

I don't have any questions, but wanted to let you know we appreciate your efforts!

 

[Dynadot]

1. Any possibility of Payouts via wire transfer?

2. Processing fee of 5% on payouts is high, don't you think?

Thank you for your feedback. Yes, I will look into adding wire transfer payouts in the future.

Regarding the 5% fee, credit card processors charge us 2-3%. So we need to recoup that somehow. However I acknowledge your point that perhaps the payout is not the place to do that.

- Todd

 

[Dynadot]

- how old are you?

- about how much to become an icann registrar that time?

Thank you for your questions. I am 47 years old. The fee to become an ICANN registrar in 2002 was around $3000 I think. The fee is $4000 now so it has not changed much.

- Todd

 

[Dynadot]

Hi Mr.Todd,
Thanks for sharing the story behind Dynadot, truly inspiring.
I've used Dynadot for a while and it's great.
Thanks for the AMA!
I would love to know, how old were you when you started coding ? And have you thought of other projects besides Dynadot as a dev?

The first code I wrote was during a summer vacation coding camp. I was probably around 11. We used Apple II computers to program a simple animation. My animation was of a spaceship. Dynadot has taken up all my time since I started it. By the time I come home I just want to watch TV or play a game. So I haven’t done any other dev projects.

However I did take up Argentine tango dancing about 10 years ago as a hobby outside work. And that has brought me tremendous joy.

- Todd

 

[GoWebnames.com]

Nice to know the dynadot story Todd, congratulations !!

Here is my question:
Revenue-wise, how much has the company grown in all these years?

 

[Jv1999]

Hi Todd! I like dynadot too!
Nice to finally put a name to the registrar!

I think your costumer support is excellent

Next year, I hope to get into your auctions... still learning them.

I'm curious though - I thought all registrars started out as domainers. Was this the case for you? It sounds a lot more like you were more of a dev.

Were you ever buying and selling pure domains for profit before you applied for a registrar?

 

[Chacha Wixard]

Please "merge" private seller auctions and expiring domains, so that we (private sellers) can get bid from buyers as good as expiring domains. Buyers do not like buying from other sellers. Unless buyers check whois and check the expiration date, they are should be equal chances.

 

[Dynadot]

Does Covid-19 increased your new registrations?

Thank you for the very relevant question. We did see some weakness in our March numbers, but it was not substantial. April and May are consistent with our pre Covid-19 projections.

- Todd

 

[Dynadot]

Do you plan to increase drop catch capabilities by making more shell companies and optimizing script?

Thank you for this question. We don’t currently plan on adding new ICANN accreditations to our drop catch system. However the drop game is constantly changing so anything is possible. And yes we are constantly working on our drop catch algorithms.

- Todd

 

[Dynadot]

It's somewhat clear that Dynadot is your first love and you are emotional attached.
Did you ever bump into the downside of this aspect?

Thank you for this interesting question. Burnout when starting or running a company can happen pretty easily. There have been some days that I come home and I am just exhausted. But it doesn’t happen that often. I am pretty good at telling other people to do things. So if there is problem, I usually assign an experienced employee to handle it. So I never get overly tired.

- Todd

 

[Dynadot]

Out of curiosity, what's a superbulk user? Does it come with any perks?

SuperBulk customers get a lower pricing level than Regular and Bulk pricing. They are also assigned an account manager. There are some smaller benefits like higher search, api, and whois quotas if you are doing any research or data collection.

- Todd

 

[branding]

Wow, this was really interesting. I really enjoyed this. Thanks to NamePros for hosting the AMA and to Todd @Dynadot for answering all our questions. Keep up the good work!

 

[OhYeah]

Love Dynadot, but... Why do you ask "forum name" instead of "username"? :D Pretty often it confuses the buyers...

 

[rajdomains]

Also, what was your age when you started Dynadot?

 

[Samer]

I see on the Dynadot website it shows the dynadot co-op owners behind the Dyna brand;

but i have yet to see your photo, Mr. Han

Also appreciate if got rid 30 and 60 day locks,

Samer

 

[Haroon Basha]

Does Covid-19 increased your new registrations?

 

[Sinbad]

Hey, Thanks for AMA. I loved your story.

1) I sold a domain in Dynadot but it took 10 days to credit fund in my acocunt. Why so much time ?
2) any plan on decreasing grace delete charges ?

 

[HotKey]

Hello Todd,

Congratulations on your registrar's continued success, and sharing it's "garage-style" (bedroom) beginnings. From the Dynadot ui, it is evident you are as passionate about the user experience as you are about domain names.

If you may divulge, my question is;

What are the required total fees an ICANN-accredited registrar has to pay out yearly?

Thanks!

 

[handpicked]

Happy to say hello to an successful entrepreneur. My question is, GoDaddy and Bluehost have thier (.in) versions of their international website, and offices in India too. they accepts payments through local internet banking/banks with Indian rupees however, Dynadot needs an international credit card, and a hefty conversion fee / service charges are levied by the credit card company for payments in USD. India being an upcoming market, any plans to step in? locally, with an brick and mortar office?. presently, I only have around 12 domains on Dynadot, this will help me buy more.

I quote here an example of HP printer advertisement for diwali festival on TV during 2018 that was made in an Indianized way, which made HP Printer very popular here ever since, you may plan an entry something like that too. watch here (not affiliated). Thanks.

 

[Dynadot]

Hi @Dynadot ,
I want to know which city Dynadot's team in China is in and what business is responsible for?

Thank you for your question. Our office in China is located in Tianjin.

- Todd