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This is innovation? "Also today, professional domain name trader Winged Media, based in Australia but now with an office in the US, announced a $3 million inve

This is innovation? "Also today, professional domain name trader Winged Media, based in Australia but now with an office in the US, announced a $3 million investment from the Carnegie Innovation Fund."

nreece 15y ago
The Carnegie Fund’s backing will allow them to develop and launch a new platform, called Protrada. The platform is an aggregator of major domain providers, allowing members to buy, build and sell domains themselves. Protrada already manages more than 150,000 domains. Ref: http://www.startupsmart.com.au/technology/domain-start-up-winged-media-gets-$3-million-carnegie-innovation-fund-backing/201111024417.html http://www.startupsmart.com.au/technology/domain-start-up-wi...
- rednaught 15y ago
  Thank you for the link. I stick to my original question though and the reason is that I'm not in favor of domainers or "domaining as a business."
  - damncabbage 15y ago
    Makes you wonder what happens at Domainer meetups. "No, you can't sit there. That chair is mine... And all those other ones too. I'll lease one to you for $50/hour, though."
damncabbage 15y ago
Aye. I've done work for a startup (flipped, now owned by a larger company) that has a massive portfolio of domains. It leases out directory listings and sells domains. :( It seems a common problem that "safe bet" ripoff ideas get funding. Atlassian is the big local exception (along with some other small groups like http://crowdhired.com http://crowdhired.com, http://99dresses.com http://99dresses.com and http://orionvm.com.au http://orionvm.com.au). On the other hand you have DesignCrowd, and other funded copycat startups like http://spreets.com.au http://spreets.com.au, http://pygg.co http://pygg.co and http://wooboard.com http://wooboard.com.
- nl 15y ago
  BigCommerce isn't a rip-off, and it's a really good platform (from what I've seen). OrionVM.... it's a good idea, but not exactly innovative. But then, "innovative" is worth nothing on its own.
  - damncabbage 15y ago
    Point taken about OrionVM. I worry about their long-term future as speed to the US becomes less of an issue, though. I see what you mean about BigCommerce. The admin panel is painful (and I've heard that the actual system is hell for their employees to hack on), but they're definitely doing a roaring trade, and the instructional articles and videos they provide along with their actual product are rather useful. The environment the Australian startup scene is a bit odd. We can't (easily) accept payment from US customers (and vice-versa), so we effectively have a little "bubble" in which we can set up paid products without much fear of the existing US startups stomping all over us. Interesting times.
    - nl 15y ago
      Point taken about OrionVM. I worry about their long-term future as speed to the US becomes less of an issue, though. They fixed that speed of light problem? :) We're going to be stuck on 100ms ping times until that is fixed (http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=sydney+to+los+angles+at+speed+of+light http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=sydney+to+los+angles+at...) OTOH, I'm not sure what they will do when Amazon opens their datacenter (if that really is their plan). We can't (easily) accept payment from US customers (and vice-versa) That's not really true. Yes, it is more work than "include this Javascript file and you can accept payment" (aka Stripe), but if you are prepared to do some work it isn't that big a deal. Plus there is always Paypal. (Also, most US countries accept Australian payment. Some won't ship here, but that's a different problem)
      - damncabbage 15y ago
        That's not really true. Yes, it is more work than "include this Javascript file and you can accept payment" (aka Stripe), but if you are prepared to do some work it isn't that big a deal. It is if you want to display your prices in US Dollars to American visitors: http://blog.angrymonkeys.com.au/why-being-an-aussie-startup-sucks http://blog.angrymonkeys.com.au/why-being-an-aussie-startup-... (with discussion here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3098224 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3098224 ) Summary: You CAN do it if you have enough cash. (This post also addresses the PayPal point. You're stuck with Payflow Pro, which is much pricier, especially for a bootstrapped startup.) (Also, most US countries accept Australian payment. Some won't ship here, but that's a different problem) Point. (They won't usually quote prices in AUD, but that's much less of a problem.)

nreece 15y ago

The Carnegie Fund’s backing will allow them to develop and launch a new platform, called Protrada. The platform is an aggregator of major domain providers, allowing members to buy, build and sell domains themselves. Protrada already manages more than 150,000 domains. Ref: http://www.startupsmart.com.au/technology/domain-start-up-winged-media-gets-$3-million-carnegie-innovation-fund-backing/201111024417.html http://www.startupsmart.com.au/technology/domain-start-up-wi...

rednaught 15y ago
Thank you for the link. I stick to my original question though and the reason is that I'm not in favor of domainers or "domaining as a business."
- damncabbage 15y ago
  Makes you wonder what happens at Domainer meetups. "No, you can't sit there. That chair is mine... And all those other ones too. I'll lease one to you for $50/hour, though."

damncabbage 15y ago

Aye. I've done work for a startup (flipped, now owned by a larger company) that has a massive portfolio of domains. It leases out directory listings and sells domains. :( It seems a common problem that "safe bet" ripoff ideas get funding. Atlassian is the big local exception (along with some other small groups like http://crowdhired.com http://crowdhired.com, http://99dresses.com http://99dresses.com and http://orionvm.com.au http://orionvm.com.au). On the other hand you have DesignCrowd, and other funded copycat startups like http://spreets.com.au http://spreets.com.au, http://pygg.co http://pygg.co and http://wooboard.com http://wooboard.com.

nl 15y ago
BigCommerce isn't a rip-off, and it's a really good platform (from what I've seen). OrionVM.... it's a good idea, but not exactly innovative. But then, "innovative" is worth nothing on its own.
- damncabbage 15y ago
  Point taken about OrionVM. I worry about their long-term future as speed to the US becomes less of an issue, though. I see what you mean about BigCommerce. The admin panel is painful (and I've heard that the actual system is hell for their employees to hack on), but they're definitely doing a roaring trade, and the instructional articles and videos they provide along with their actual product are rather useful. The environment the Australian startup scene is a bit odd. We can't (easily) accept payment from US customers (and vice-versa), so we effectively have a little "bubble" in which we can set up paid products without much fear of the existing US startups stomping all over us. Interesting times.
  - nl 15y ago
    Point taken about OrionVM. I worry about their long-term future as speed to the US becomes less of an issue, though. They fixed that speed of light problem? :) We're going to be stuck on 100ms ping times until that is fixed (http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=sydney+to+los+angles+at+speed+of+light http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=sydney+to+los+angles+at...) OTOH, I'm not sure what they will do when Amazon opens their datacenter (if that really is their plan). We can't (easily) accept payment from US customers (and vice-versa) That's not really true. Yes, it is more work than "include this Javascript file and you can accept payment" (aka Stripe), but if you are prepared to do some work it isn't that big a deal. Plus there is always Paypal. (Also, most US countries accept Australian payment. Some won't ship here, but that's a different problem)
    - damncabbage 15y ago
      That's not really true. Yes, it is more work than "include this Javascript file and you can accept payment" (aka Stripe), but if you are prepared to do some work it isn't that big a deal. It is if you want to display your prices in US Dollars to American visitors: http://blog.angrymonkeys.com.au/why-being-an-aussie-startup-sucks http://blog.angrymonkeys.com.au/why-being-an-aussie-startup-... (with discussion here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3098224 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3098224 ) Summary: You CAN do it if you have enough cash. (This post also addresses the PayPal point. You're stuck with Payflow Pro, which is much pricier, especially for a bootstrapped startup.) (Also, most US countries accept Australian payment. Some won't ship here, but that's a different problem) Point. (They won't usually quote prices in AUD, but that's much less of a problem.)