Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Pre-branded domain names for startups

stylate.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 212 posts

Re: Pre-branded domain names for startups

#21

Post by paulnelligan »

I'm not sure I agree that this is such a 'superb idea' ...

As a founder, I want to personalise my domain, and design, and that means coming up with different concepts, and searching whois until I find a good match that's available ... The design then has to represent what the product is about in a non-generic way ... The designs on this site are far too generic for my taste

I can't imagine myself going to that page with a concept and saying 'AHA, that's exactly what I wanted' ... Possibly it could in reverse if someone is looking for inspiration for their next startup ...

Re: Pre-branded domain names for startups

#23

Post by Robin_Message »

jasonkester wrote: post #12

This is domain squatting pure and simple. Just because it's dressed up with a pretty design doesn't change the fact that these guys are the exact sort of bottom feeders that we should be blackballing from our industry. Flagged.

It's annoying that they have purchased the domains, but there is no way to do this kind of boutique, pre-made branding without squatting the domains. So I'm not sure it is that clear cut. The logos and categorisation distinguish it from straight squatting.

Re: Pre-branded domain names for startups

#24

Post by Robin_Message »

paulnelligan wrote: post #21

I'm not sure I agree that this is such a 'superb idea' ... As a founder, I want to personalise my domain, and design, and that means coming up with different concepts, and searching whois until I find a good match that's available ... The design then has to represent what the product is about in a non-generic way ... The designs on this site are far too generic for my taste I can't imagine myself going to that page w…

I think that would make a great practice at idea generation and learning about brand awareness: get a list of these and try to decide what the named company does. Then compare with others. I'd be interested to see whether there are any names that totally dictate what the idea is.

Re: Pre-branded domain names for startups

#25

Post by stylate »

jonnathanson wrote: post #20
ollie wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure it's as evil as you make it out to be. It's certainly not clear-cut domain-squatting. They're adding value to a domain & selling it at (what I believe to be) a reasonable price. They're clearly investing time coming up with ideas for domains that they can create decent logos for. You would easily pay $500+ for a 'good' logo.

Domain squatting with fancy window dressing is still domain squatting. I'll admit, however, that this is a very clever form of domain squatting. I begrudgingly admire the player here, even if I hate the game. This is sort of like the domain-squatter's equivalent of department store mannequins: visual aids that help shoppers picture what the items could look like in practice, sparking their imaginations, and thereby c…

Domain squatting has a fairly specific legal definition. We aren't squatting. We actually came up with the idea after being frustrated by domain parking and squatters and frankly the whole domain industry.

Re: Pre-branded domain names for startups

#26

Post by ljf »

heyadayo wrote: post #3

I like this a lot. Sometimes you can spend 3-20 hours trying to figure out a name, domain, and branding. I'd pay a couple hundred bucks to skip that step. I wish this existed all those previous times I was stuck grinding on names!

There is no name here that suited what we were looking for, but it has the potential to save you loads of time, plus the logo costs.

If I was starting out something new I'd def check here, and use this as a starting point, use the logo to start a basic site, get a letter head made and some business cards done - bang, hours save, cost of a decent logo save, headaches saved.

Plus, you can change your name when ever you like - people get so overly stressed about names, as though the .com is the most important thing.

Re: Pre-branded domain names for startups

#27

Post by stylate »

shimsham wrote: post #11

unfortunately a logo and 2-syllable odd-sounding name don't make a brand. however, as a cost-effective way to get a name and image, it's relatively pragmatic, especially for those who need it NOW.

We are trying to add to the lean startup ecosystem, not replace $xx,xxx keyword domains that venture-backed startups can afford.

Re: Pre-branded domain names for startups

#28

Post by stylate »

e1ven wrote: post #5

This is a really great idea. One of the things which young startups often spend too much time on is picking a perfect name + brand. This is a great way to get started. You can always iterate later if necessary, but this gives you something to use NOW, and put the discussion away and get back to real work. Also, I love the layout. Very straightforward. I currently subscribe to the http://justdropped.com/ mailing list…

Thanks for the feedback. A newsletter of some sort is next on the feature list.

Re: Pre-branded domain names for startups

#29

Post by iamben »

Hrundi wrote: post #19
acabal wrote: post #10

Looks like a great idea, very clever, but I'm not sure about the pricing. I would love to use something like this as a small developer, but $250 is a bit much for a domain and a logo given my small-time budget. On the other hand, companies with a larger budget would probably just have something like this done in-house. So I guess I'd ask: who do you see being the target market here?

I see HN as the ideal target market. I'm sure this submission didn't occur spontaneously and there are many people in HN who can afford $250 for a seemingly good value. I'd be surprised if most of the domains are not sold quickly.

IMO, some of these domains are probably worth more than $250 anyway.

Re: Pre-branded domain names for startups

#30

Post by stylate »

acabal wrote: post #10

Looks like a great idea, very clever, but I'm not sure about the pricing. I would love to use something like this as a small developer, but $250 is a bit much for a domain and a logo given my small-time budget. On the other hand, companies with a larger budget would probably just have something like this done in-house. So I guess I'd ask: who do you see being the target market here?

We are testing different price points. What would you feel comfortable paying?
Post reply on HN