Less than a week ago, I emphasized the importance of having an exit strategy as part of a business plan. Foreseeing the future is not easy; predicting the impact of changing course is easier.
The news about the demise of the Bido service arrived in ‘shock and awe’ waves yesterday; most domainers are not prepared to see enterprises vanish without much of a warning.
And yet, it all comes down to that exit strategy I referenced, the triggering of a process that calls for one’s attention with a large, flashing ‘Game Over’ sign.
From the very beginning, Bido took on a unique role in the domaining market, as the only auction start-up created by domainers for domainers from the ground up. Technologically speaking, the bidding platform utilized many mechanisms of promoting, reviewing, discussing, buying and selling domains. If you think of domains as a product, Bido created a platform that encompassed a generous set of playgrounds to encourage a transaction.
Was the Bido business model right or wrong?
There is truly no direct answer to that; as the platform evolved tremendously in the two years since its launch. It changed and grew according to feedback and according to the ever-changing conditions of the domain market.
To outright state that Bido failed, one needs to have experienced the dot com boom and bust era first hand. Trust me, I was there and despite closing shop Bido did a whole lot better than many start-ups of the late 90’s; it actually created the technology and the processes that will be further utilized in future ventures.
As Philip II of Macedonia told his son Alexander the Great, “…seek thyself another kingdom, for this which I leave is too small for thee.” Domaining is a small, niche market. Bido created an application and a platform slated for bigger things.
Experience is not gained from success, it’s attained by failing and discovering what went wrong during the course. This is exactly what the Bido guys will be doing right now, after their exit strategy alarms kicked in.
A big thank you to Sahar Sarid, Jarred Cohen and all of those who worked at Bido.
Very well put. Bido was indeed a revolutionary product. Most domainers are far too blind to see that.
DDom – A lot of domainers expect something for nothing. The fewer venues we have to sell domains, the worse for us.
As Sahar told Rick Latona about his auction platform: succeed and we all win. Fail and we all fail. It’s sad seeing Bido go.
Thanks a lot everyone, we appreciate it.
Nice quote Theo, bravo…
Regards,
Jarred