For those who exercise, the market is dominated by Apple Watches and Garmin Watches. Strava is by far the biggest app that takes data from those devices and adds more metrics, insights, and social features. The issue is that Strava relies on data coming from others. Recently, Garmin said that if Strava wanted to use its data, it had to display Garmin’s logo on the activity to show where it came from. Strava refused and responded by suing Garmin for patent infringement over something called “segments.” The lawsuit was clearly retaliatory, and “segments” themselves are nothing new. They’re just portions of a run or ride that have existed forever. Nobody knows how Strava managed to patent the idea.
The bigger takeaway is that biting the hand that feeds you is risky. People may change the app they use, but they aren’t changing their watches. To make it worse, Strava has been selling user data for millions and is trying to go public at a $1.5 billion valuation. Bad timing.
The lesson for any company is simple: if your business is built on someone else’s data or affiliate program, you are at their mercy. Your goal should be to grow beyond that foundation. Have multiple data sources or affiliate partners so your company doesn’t collapse if one pulls the plug. If you’re curating a marketplace or earning well through affiliates, the original company will eventually copy you. It happens all the time. In some cases, they’ll buy you instead, which can work out.
Shopify is a good example. Many of the best Shopify tools started as third-party apps before Shopify bought them. It’s often easier to acquire and integrate a successful add-on than to build one from scratch. Shopify also wants to encourage innovation and avoid the reputation of copying its users. Straight affiliate businesses are different if you’re just creating a better search experience. The goal there is to become the best search option and then show people what else you offer, eventually substituting your own products for others. Start with one product, then two. That’s how many lasting businesses are built, from selling theirs to selling yours.
Quote of the Day: “If you depend on a platform, you work for that platform.” — Ben Thompson, Stratechery
Domain of the Day: Enrichment.com I made the over under $40K at the beginning of the week. Looking like under
Please Note: The list below contains affiliate links and/or names that have been posted for a fee. It is how we pay for our time since it is a free site. More details at bottom of page. Can go to any of the auctions by adding the names at the end like this one
Dynadot
ExclusiveStore.com Most bids on the board and 28 year old domain
AIK.org K is a tough letter for an acronym in English but other languages its much more in use
SugarDrop.com 8 days out but a fun name
PromoWork.com 22 years old
Cyberguard.net I think the dot net works well for a cyber security company. You ARE guarding the net
AIModels.xyz Keyword strong enough to make XYZ have some value
Motorboats.org A bad but oh so fun purchase
HowToDoBetter.com Long but only $14 at press time
Sweetcake.com Also 8 days out and a sweet name
Namejet
Paintco.com Paint is a bit generic but the co makes it a solid brand IMO
SunflowerMedia.com 27 years old. Both great keywords
UnicornFarm.com Not huge value but a fun name
Wand.org Magic. As seen on Domain Sherpa and we all loved it
LegalPoint.com Love this as a legal zoom type name
Learn2Code.com Says exactly what you are going to learn
Antico.com “Ancient” in Italian so you see it in a lot of Pizza and Italian restaurant names
PoolRepair.com Part of owning a pool is all the maintenance. Great name for side of the truck
Atom – Active Auctions
Postpone.com Not sure of the business case but solid one word dot com
Gape.com The biggest use case is adult and had to use AI to find that out 😃
Debase.com I am only putting this here so I could write “It’s all about Debase, deabase”
Stalk.ai 4th time is the charm
TASE.com Nice CVCV
Oats.co Can Sow them
Mute.co Or shut them up
Shabby.ai
Washroom.ai All comes down to the reserves. Solid keywords
Sedo
SOT.com Reserve is actually fair. Never seen this one up for sale before
QFVY.com $99 and met reserve. Q at the front isn’t bad but tough letters from there
Huddle.app Great football app name
BZH.ai the cheapest BIN at SEDO right now at $288
QOW.ai Quantum
Catched
Whois.fo Always room for another Whois site
Strike.es Great keyword
Simple.email One of the better dot email names. Haven’t seen many I like but this is one of them
Wallet.solutions Top SLD and it works well with TLD
Aroma.me I think a restaurant or cafe could be a call to action
Candle.me Sounds dirty
Sunny.casino Positive sounding place to lose all your money
Godaddy Domains with Bids
SmileApp.com A few apps using the name already
Klana.com The kind of 5L I love to add to my portfolio
LeapFi.com A lot of fi names to compete with but solid keyword
AlphaAlert.com Crypto or trading name all the way
Marcus.net One of the more popular names and a last name so double good
OOTU.com Pronouncable 4L = money
WholesaleToys.com To flip on Amazon
VeryDirect.com Buy direct
PhotoTest.com Test if its real or AI
Refinanced.org Past tense but still a good keyword for mortgages and a never ending hot market
KnowBox.com Now an AI name like so many words
SportLook.com A lot of uses but beauty products is obvious use case
QuantumAiAgent.com I don’t love it but can’t find much hotter keywords
VBlue.com Memorable 5L brandable
ExpenseManagement.com tool or service
Movivo.com Brandable that exudes motion
GoodBoi.com Surpisingly taken in 34 extensions
Godaddy Names with 1 or NO Bids
Other GoDaddy Names With More Than One Bid
IndependentAccountabilityMechanism.net
philadelphiaofficeofhomelessservices.org
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