DNAcademy Founder: Michael Cyger Interview
When it comes to domain name evaluation and investing, there are many nuances that play an important role in seeing consistent success. If you're new to the domain industry or considering diving deeper into investing, one of the most effective ways to gain knowledge is by learning from the experts. Michael Cyger, the founder of DNAcademy, a leading domain investing training platform, happens to be one of those experts. With extensive knowledge of the domain industry, he offers valuable guidance to both new and experienced investors, entrepreneurs, and brokers, helping them achieve their goals while deepening their understanding of the intricacies of buying, selling, and negotiating domain names. We had the privilege of speaking with Michael to learn more about his experience in the domain industry.
To start, how did you discover and get involved in the domain industry?
After the sale of my media company in 2007, I started angel investing in Seattle-based startups. I met a ton of great, motivated founders with fantastic ideas, but what struck me was that these talented people all had subpar domain names.
Often their domain names had hyphens, extra words, or extra letters. These negative characteristics made their companies appear less professional at a minimum. As an investor, it gave me pause because if they couldn’t get a decent domain name, how were they going to overcome the many hurdles involved in starting a business?
When I asked them about why they chose their domain name, I would hear stories about how hard it was to contact the person who owned the domain name they wanted, how high the asking price was, or that the entire process was opaque and hard to understand.
Having purchased a couple of domain names in my publishing career, I decided to investigate the domain name industry so that I could help startup founders navigate these waters. That was the tip of the iceberg, and I’ve now spent more than a decade learning and explaining it to others—including entrepreneurs, investors and brokers.
What led you to start DNAcademy? Were there any hurdles you had to overcome when starting?
In the process of educating myself about domain names, I started an online video podcast series—called DomainSherpa—that I ran for about seven years before selling to Andrew Rosener at Media Options.
About 5 years into DomainSherpa, I’d receive emails from investors asking for advice, and I would recommend past DomainSherpa interviews. The information shared by the interviewees was terrific, but recommending that people watch an hour-long interview for one piece of instruction wasn’t efficient. That led me to develop DNAcademy for those who wanted an organized, accelerated learning path.
Distilling the content from more than 400 hour-plus long shows was a massive endeavor. First, the most important information needed to be distilled. Then it needed to be organized in a structure—based on adult learning objectives—where more advanced topics like valuation were built on core principles like domain name asset types and characteristics.
In the process, we built a valuation methodology and set of practical tools for DNAcademy members. Every month we make further progress and add additional functionality learning to the site. It’s amazing to see the progress our entire team has made since launch in January 2016.
What do you believe is generally one of the core factors of being successful in domain investing?
Being able to identify domain names that can be brands that companies feel will represent them well. It’s a simple concept that is hard to execute well.
I know domain investing can seem overwhelming to new investors, there is lots to discover and learn. Do you have any general advice for those interested in taking the leap?
If you don’t have money to invest in education, go watch every episode of DomainSherpa and listen to every podcast of Keith DeBoer’s BrandableInsider.com.
New investors need to hear from experienced, successful investors and brokers about how much domain names are selling for—and more importantly, why. Being able to learn how much you should spend for those domain names is key. Both of those podcasts I mentioned focus in this area.
Add the DomainNameWire and KickstartCommerce podcasts in and you have a nicely shaped, free learning path. But you have to go back in time to listen to the back episodes, which can take time to accomplish.
Do you feel like there are any common misconceptions about getting into domain investing?
Many people discover domain name investing by searching online for “work from home” or “side hustle business.” While it’s true in both cases, domain name investing is definitely not a get rich quick scheme. As a result, many fledgling investors abandon domain name investing within the first few months when the quick results they are hoping for cannot be achieved.
Are there any exciting news or updates coming to DNAcademy that you would like to share?
We just completed our second DNAcademy Brandable Bootcamp with Keith DeBoer as the lead instructor. It’s a one-week course focused on gaining knowledge and practicing skills buying two-word, brandable .com domain names in closeouts and drops. We teach students how to find great brandable domain names that could sell for $1,000 to $5,000 at the retail level and can be purchased for between $8 and $69 at the wholesale level.
We also continue to run live, cohort-based sessions called the DNAcademy Accelerator for the main DNAcademy course twice per year, taught by Jason Sheppard.
And fellow DNAcademy instructor Aline Carriere and I launched a free resource to help investors with estate planning for domain names. It includes an overview guide, two example plans for fictitious investors, and a blank template that people can use to plan. It can be downloaded at here.
Lastly, I saw that you'll be running a marathon later this year to fundraise and raise awareness for Camp Korey. Can you share more about that and how you became involved?
Camp Korey brings joy to kids in need.
Kids with serious medical conditions miss out on the joy and adventure of childhood because of their physical limitations, their treatments, and their regular medical appointments. But for one week a year, they don't have to think about any of that. They can simply show up at Camp Korey, have fun, and be kids again.
Camp Korey provides safety, friendship, inclusion and fun. All of the medical staff, cabin counselors, clean-up staff, and program facilitators create moments of magic every day for their campers.
No one is different at Camp Korey. Every kid is accepted for who they are. And all they have to do is have fun. They leave Camp Korey with new friends, happy songs, and stories of the greatest paint fight of all time. They also leave with greater confidence and resiliency in themselves.
If you've ever wished you could just be yourself and that people would love you for who you are, I encourage you to join me by donating to Camp Korey at https://Mike.run.