Chad recalled that the major competing players when he started in the mid 90s were Scott Day, Garry Chernoff, Elia at Anything.com, Ray King (a Canadian investor - not the SnapNames founder of the same name), KingWeb and a few others. He also talked about his domain acquisition strategy. "I  focused on various verticals by creating new domains that were unregistered along with going after dropping names and buying a few larger domains on the aftermarket. Applications.com, Streaming.com, Automations.com, Telecom.com, Integrations.com, SatelliteTV.com, DSL.com, HostingServices.com, MobileWeb.com, etc. were all infrastructure related domains I acquired that defined my niche strategy in the early days. Back then it was free to lock down a domain, so you grabbed as many as you could, bought what you could afford and hoped no one caught on to your strategy."

To promote his burgeoning portfolio, Folkening would later take the proceeds from the sale of a couple of his domains and buy an RV that he turned into a mobile billboard. He plastered it with stickers for MobileWeb.com, DSL.com, Handyman.com and others, then set out on a Florida road trip. Domain fans will especially appreciate the license plate of Chad's RV. 

Above: Folkening promoted his domain names on this RV he bought in 2002.

Below: The RV's vanity license plate. The plate alone is probably worth a tidy sum now!

When Folkening and other pioneers began building their portfolios in the mid 90s the monetization options that people take for granted to day (like parking and affiliate programs) were either non-existent or in their infancy. The lack of ways to generate a return on domain investments was of no concern to Folkening though. "I  just knew that technology and the Internet was the future. I really was not worried about monetization as long as the value of the domain asset was increasing in value. For the price of a few mixed drinks you could buy a domain worth that of a house so i was not concerned with monetization - just acquisitions," Folkening emphasized.

"The original revenue model was never intended to sell domains but that ultimately was how it was financed. I used a lot of strategies to acquire names that included non refundable $1,000 or $5,000 fees  for 30-day buy options, gathering knowledge of who's who and who would do what -  for example buy, sell, partner or trade. We actually tried in 1998 to form a $100 million acquisition company to buy/partner with everyone in the industry, or at least the top 10 players, and aggregate portfolios. Todd Rokita, the Indiana Secretary of State who was my counsel at the time, flew to Las Vegas to meet with Ray King and other top domainers to merge and take out the next two-three big portfolios. The deal never panned out so I just continued to buy and sell domains to build up my own supply," Folkening said.

"Next up was Handyman.com I believe. Again, traffic patterns justified turning it into something more. We have done a lot of other development projects for my corporation but recently started consolidating these individual projects into a more cohesive network plan. Next up on our development plate is Staffing.com, Streaming.com, Applications.com, Felony.com and others."

"The development formula I used was based on my three C's: Content, Community and Commerce. I really looked at these as the foundation and then added more C's; Computers, Connectivity, Capital, Collaboration, etc. We now just use Consumer Networking as the term we have been branding."

Gaining Ferber as a partner brought a new dimension to Folkening's RapidDomainBuilder project. Chad explained how he got together with the Advertising.com founder. "John, who was already a friend, approached me with an offer to help develop some of our premium domains. I said sure, but first you should see what we have been working on. He loved RDB and we ended up merging our teams and some assets and forming a new company - Domain Holdings."

"Along with RDB, we build and manage some of the top generic domains in the world with custom development, SEO-Content management and also create and implement monetization solutions. We also have a development division that builds enterprise solutions for companies around our RDB technology platform."

"We have some really big plans for Domain Holdings, LLC. We have a strong and growing team of experienced professionals who are working hard at implementing our ideas and visions. As with most products, they end up on a completely different path or application than expected and its hard to see where the offering will end up five years from now. Our current focus is on creating the best domain development, management and monetization system in the industry. Additional versions will allow us to drill even deeper into the vertical markets of niche industries through domains and expand those opportunities and applications," Folkening said.

As you might expect, Folkening is one of the leading evangelists for domain names, never missing a chance to tell young business people how much a good domain and an online presence can turbo charge their enterprise. In fact when he met the love of his life, Bianka Krausch, six years ago while she was working as a concierge in the Donald Trump organization, Folkening convinced the popular model to build her own company online. Bianka launched an online agency at ModelStore.com and it soon became the go-to source for hiring the area's top models. The ModelStore provided the many stunning models that assisted at various functions during the recent T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Miami conference.

Bianka Krausch (ModelStore.com) and Chad Folkening

As the value of his domains have grown, Folkening has also kept an eye on the political winds, especially since the interests of domain owners are currently under represented in government and regulatory circles. He hopes to see that change and hopes other domainers will see the wisdom in backing candidates who will give domainers a voice in determining their own futures. Folkening's attention to politics related to his business dates back to the 1990s.

"Around 1998, before ICANN  existed, the government was really not sure how to administer the rapidly growing Internet," Folkening said. "I was invited to join some others on a visit to the White House to talk with President Clinton's Senior Advisor Ira Magaziner about the web. Two years before that, when I was chasing Telecom domains, Congressman Cliff Stearns, who I just had lunch with at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Miami, was one of the delegates that wrote the Telecom Act of 1996 (legislation that also covers the Internet). Congressman Stearns is still on the scene and will have major input in an upcoming rewrite - the Telecom Act in 2011," Folkening said, also noting that Stearns will become Chairman of the House's powerful Energy and Commerce Committee (again with Internet oversight responsibilities) if Republicans regain control of the House in the upcoming election. 

U.S. Congressman Cliff Stearns (left) and former Congressman 
Mike Ferguson speaking at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Miami Oct. 18, 2010.

Folkening's former attorney, Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita, is also in line for a seat on that key committee if Rokita wins the U.S. Congressional race he was in at press time (Rokita held a comfortable lead in the polls going into the election). "Todd is interested in learning more about our industry and supporting us when issues arise. If anyone in our industry wants to have the ear of a someone on a committee that is so important to our industry, someone that will listen and acknowledge our concerns, Todd Rokita is our man," Folkening said.

Chad Folkening and Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Miami 2010

"Things like taxation, international lawsuits, Net Neutrality, Cyber Crime and policy changes all need a strong industry voice behind these issues and concerns. Please review your online and domain strategy and if it revolves around domains, then please review ToddRokita.com and donate to his campaign," Folkening implored (donations will be needed even after the election to help cover campaign expenses). 

"Who you gonna call when you have a concern that effects everyone in the domain business?" Folkening asked. "Why not call the leaders getting stuff done? We need to work as a cohesive group to really show the power of domains and its impact on our livelihood. Our industry needs to start looking ahead and seeing how politics is business and business is politics and position our industry to have a louder voice in governments and policies that effect or will effect out business."

While Chad is totally immersed in the domain business, he still has a soft spot in his heart for physical real estate. "Real estate is my passion, especially unique commercial properties," Folkening said. "In 2002 I purchased and renovated an old historic school that was considered a derelict building.  I turned it into art studios and recently sold the property for assisted living condos."

"In 2005 I noticed an article in the Indianapolis newspaper about a local 26,000 square foot estate that had been featured on  HGTV's Extreme Homes program and was still on the market after several months even though the owner had dropped the price several times. The next day I made an offer. The estate had not sold previously because of the condition of the property and the presence of several easements that potential buyers had reservations about. I eventually acquired the property and all of the easements and have spent the past five years renovating and remodeling the estate," Folkening said.

Above and below: The 26,000 square foot Indianapolis mansion Folkening 
purchased in 2005 and spent the past five years renovating.

Above: Google Earth view of the Indianapolis estate (courtesy of Google.com)

Below: Night view of the pool area at Folkening's Indiana home

"I have since used the property to develop systems and processes for my online developments such as PropertyManagement.com, HomeManagement.com, HomeChallenge.com and other ideas that can and will be implemented by leveraging the estate," Folkening noted.