02/08/2011

Sedo.com: Our Story

A Decade of Domains

by Jaclyn Jordan :: Marketing Assistant, Sedo.com

我们经常被问到，在Sedo，这一切是如何开始的。创建域名市场的想法是如何开始的？这些年来我们是如何成长的，我们今天是如何衡量成功的？在我们庆祝成立十周年之际，我们有一个特殊的机会与您分享我们的故事。

十年前，三名学生——蒂姆·舒马赫（Tim Schumacher）、马里乌斯·沃兹纳（Marius Wϋrzner）和乌尔里希·普里斯纳（Ulrich “Uli” Priesner）——通过一个大学论文项目构思了Sedo的想法。这三人最初开发了一个PC软件程序，并在德国各地分发。他们为这个软件创造了一个名字，并购买了一个域名来将该程序放在网络上。

最终，三人决定结束该项目，不再需要他们购买的域名。他们很快发现没有专门的市场来销售这个名字，并意识到有机会对此有所作为。三人找到他们的大学朋友乌尔里希·埃斯曼（Ulrich Essman），加入这项努力。因此，Sedo——域名优惠的搜索引擎——诞生了。

2001 年，Sedo GmbH（大致发音为“see-doe gay-em-bay-ha”）成为德国科隆的官方实体。在最初的几个月里，公司由 Tim 和 Ulrich 独自经营，而 Uli 和 Marius 则完成了他们的学业。Helga Schackenberg 成为公司的第一位员工，不久之后 Marius 也紧随其后。年底，乌尔里希决定完成他的住院医师培训，并离开了公司近两年的时间。

与此同时，Sedo继续发展，并于2002年搬进了科隆一个更大的办公室，以适应新兴的业务。2002 年发生了许多事情来促进这一增长，包括引入停车平台和关闭 50 个域名销售。Matt Bentley 也于 2002 年加入公司，并在 Ulrich 缺席期间任职，以进一步促进行业内的业务，并监督 Sedo 的声誉和品牌发展。

由于在北美市场缺乏强大的影响力，Sedo于2003年开始计划在美国开设子公司。在这个规划阶段，乌尔里希带着带领公司出海的愿望回到了濑户。随着细节的敲定，马特和乌尔里希前往美国，耶利米·约翰斯顿（Jeremiah Johnston）不久后加入了团队，担任总法律顾问。2005 年，Sedo 办事处在美国马萨诸塞州剑桥市成立，隶属于 Sedo.com， LLC。

2006年，首席执行官蒂姆·舒马赫（Tim Schumacher）暂时加入波士顿办事处，协助拓展新市场和不断发展的市场平台。也是在这一年，Sedo推出了域名拍卖。次年，Sedo 收购了 DomainsBot 和 GreatDomains，为市场带来更多功能和多样性。DomainsBot 的技术后来为备受期待的 Sedo 领先的域名搜索工具的更新做出了贡献，而 GreatDomains 则显着支持了市场优化。这对 Sedo 来说是一项了不起的成就，因为在公司的早期阶段，GreatDomains 是 Sedo 最大的直接竞争对手之一。

2007 年，我们与 dotMobi 合作举办了首次 .MOBI 域名注册拍卖会。随后在2007年和2008年又进行了两次.MOBI拍卖。在这些活动成功的基础上，Sedo举办了特别的.2009 年的 ME 和 .BIZ 拍卖以及 e.CO 慈善拍卖和 .2010年电视注册拍卖。所有拍卖，包括那些拥有注册机构或在GreatDomains下提供的拍卖，将继续作为我们市场和商业模式不可或缺的一部分。

2008 年，Sedo 在英国开设了商店，由 Hugo Dalrymple-Smith 和 Nora Nanayakkara 领导，继续扩张。2009 年，Sedo 收购了 Revenue Direct 和 ParkingPanel，令人兴奋不已。同样在 2009 年，我们的姊妹公司 AdLINK Media 被出售。正是这次出售导致了该集团在2010年重组并更名为Sedo Holding AG。同年，我们迎来了我们的另一家姊妹公司 Affilinet 来到我们的科隆办事处。蒂姆·舒马赫（Tim Schumacher）成为Sedo Holding AG的首席执行官，Liesbeth Mack-de Boer被任命为Sedo的首席销售官。

说到销售，域名销售也仍然是我们全球办事处令人兴奋的一个主要原因。在过去十年的十大销售额中，1个发生在2006年（Vodka.com 年），3个发生在2007年（Telecom.com、Sexe.com 和 Chinese.com），3个发生在2008年（Shopping.de、Pizza.com 和 Kredit.de），2个发生在2009年（Russia.com 和 Fly.com），1个发生在2010年（.com）。今天，我们为来自世界各地的 100 多万客户提供服务，他们列出并停放了超过 1800 万个域名。三个办事处的 150 多人为 Sedo 团队做出了贡献，他们代表 30 多个不同的国家，讲 20 多种不同的语言。

从三名大学生在地下室工作的卑微开始，到成为世界上最大的域名市场，Sedo在过去十年中取得了长足的进步。为了取得今天的成就，我们经历了很多事情;我们经历了起起落落，成功和挣扎。没有我们创始人最初的火花和坚定不移的动力，以及我们的会员、同事和朋友的持续支持，Sedo.com 的成功是不可能的。

展望下一个十年，我们很高兴能够开始新的项目，应对不断变化的行业格局的新挑战，并与我们的成员和合作伙伴建立更牢固的关系。Sedo.com 的所有人都渴望看到下一个十年会发生什么，我们期待着继续我们的故事，并帮助您在域名方面取得成功。

We have often been asked how it all started at Sedo. How did the idea to create a domain marketplace begin? How have we grown over the years and how have we come to measure success today? As we celebrate our decennial anniversary, we have a special opportunity to share our story with you.

Ten years ago, three students – Tim Schumacher, Marius Wϋrzner, and Ulrich “Uli” Priesner – conceived the idea of Sedo through a college thesis project. The three had originally developed a PC software program that they were distributing throughout Germany. They coined a name for this software and bought a domain name to put the program on the web.

Eventually, the three decided to end the project and no longer needed the domain name they had purchased. They quickly discovered that no specialized marketplace existed to sell the name and realized an opportunity to do something about it. The three approached their college friend, Ulrich Essman, to join in the endeavor. Thus, Sedo – the Search Engine for Domain Offers – was born.

In 2001, Sedo GmbH (roughly pronounced as “see-doe gay-em-bay-ha”) became an official entity in Cologne, Germany. During the first few months, the company was operated solely by Tim and Ulrich while Uli and Marius finished their studies. Helga Schackenberg became the first employee of the company, followed soon thereafter by Marius. At the end of the year, Ulrich decided to finish his medical residency, leaving the company for nearly two years to do so.

In the meantime, Sedo continued to grow and, in 2002, moved into a bigger office in Cologne to accommodate the budding business. Much happened in 2002 to contribute to this growth, including the introduction of the parking platform and the closing of 50 domain sales. Matt Bentley also joined the company in 2002 and served in Ulrich’s absence to further promote the business within the industry and oversee the development of Sedo’s reputation and brand.

Lacking a strong presence in the North American market, Sedo began planning in 2003 to open a subsidiary office in the United States. During this planning phase, Ulrich returned to Sedo with a desire to lead the company overseas. As details were finalized, Matt and Ulrich headed to America, with Jeremiah Johnston joining the team shortly afterwards as General Counsel. In 2005, the Sedo office was opened in Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA), under Sedo.com, LLC.

In 2006, CEO Tim Schumacher temporarily joined the Boston office to assist with expansion into new markets and an evolving marketplace platform. This was also the year that Sedo introduced domain auctions. The following year, Sedo acquired DomainsBot and GreatDomains to bring more functionality and diversity to the marketplace. DomainsBot’s technology later contributed to the much-anticipated update of Sedo’s leading domain search tool, while GreatDomains significantly bolstered marketplace optimization. This was a notable accomplishment for Sedo, as during the company’s early stages, GreatDomains served as one of Sedo’s greatest direct competitors.

In conjunction with dotMobi, we hosted our first registry auction of .MOBI domains in 2007. Two more .MOBI auctions followed in 2007 and 2008. Building on the success of those events, Sedo held special .ME and .BIZ auctions in 2009 and an e.CO charity auction and .TV registry auction in 2010. All auctions, including those with registries or offered under GreatDomains, continue to serve as an integral part of our marketplace and business model.

Expansion continued in 2008 as Sedo opened up shop in the United Kingdom, an operation headed by Hugo Dalrymple-Smith and Nora Nanayakkara. Excitement continued to brew at Sedo in 2009 with the acquisition of Revenue Direct and ParkingPanel. Also in 2009, our sister company, AdLINK Media, was sold. It was this sale that led to the reorganization and renaming of the group to Sedo Holding AG in 2010. That same year, we welcomed our other sister company, Affilinet, to our Cologne office. Tim Schumacher became CEO of Sedo Holding AG, and Liesbeth Mack-de Boer was named Chief Sales Officer of Sedo.

Speaking of sales, domain sales also continue to be a major cause for excitement in our offices worldwide. Of our top ten sales in the past decade, one occurred in 2006 (Vodka.com), three in 2007 (Telecom.com, Sexe.com, and Chinese.com), three in 2008 (Shopping.de, Pizza.com and Kredit.de), two in 2009 (Russia.com and Fly.com) and one in 2010 (Sex.com). Today, we serve more than one million clients from around the world who list and park over 18 million domains. More than 150 people across three offices contribute to the Sedo team, representing over 30 different nations and speaking more than 20 different languages.

From the humble beginnings of three college students working from their basement, to becoming the world’s largest domain name marketplace, Sedo has come a long way over the past ten years. Much has happened to get us where we are today; we’ve experienced ups and downs, successes and struggles. Without the initial spark and unwavering drive of our founders, and the continued support of our members, colleagues and friends, the success of Sedo.com would not have been possible.

As we look to yet another decade, we are excited to begin new projects, tackle new challenges of a changing industry landscape, and build stronger relationships with our members and partners. All of us at Sedo.com are eager to see what the next ten years hold and we look forward to continuing our story and helping you find success with domains.

See how others have found success with domains: Sedo.com/Success