
Threewords.me sold - jacquesm
http://sale.threewords.me/?sold
======
dolinsky
There's something about how the progression from the original post by Mark on
here a few weeks ago (<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2051288>) to the
post that the site was for private auction
(<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2113064>) to the post yesterday that
threewords had been sold (<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2122604>) that
gives it a 'used car salesman' feeling.

Maybe it's the fact that in the end it was sold to Kevin Ham; (taking
absolutely nothing away from what Kevin has done). Maybe it's that the site
had such a quick flame out.

Having been on this site for quite some time now and having the shared passion
of others on here to scratch an itch, I'm both inspired by and wanting to turn
the other cheek at the same time w/r/t the adventures of threewords.me.

Congrats on the sale, but I hope it's not a sign of a trend to come on here.

~~~
markbao
I'm sorry that it came across with that notion.

Bottom line is: I really want to focus on my projects that have high revenue
viability. I'm not experienced with monetizing free products, but someone else
is. Until then, having threewords.me on my back is extra baggage that I'd
rather let someone take care of, so I can focus back on what's important for
me: creating profitable startups.

I had the opportunity to take six-figure funding amounts from big firms and
individuals, but I said no to that. I'm passionate about building better
support systems for startups. I'm passionate about building an OpenTable
competitor. I don't feel the same passion with threewords.me, and since I
never take capital on something I don't really think my soul has a connection
with (to go all zen on you), the other option was to sell it.

I really appreciate the kindness of the Hacker News folks for taking an
interest in the threewords.me 'saga' (thank you!) but I'm admittedly a little
embarrassed because the image that all this coverage is putting out for me
isn't something that I actively pursue. I secretly hoped that the
threewords.me sale wouldn't hit HN, and was satisfied (until now :P). It's
just a side project that went big.

~~~
lionhearted
> It's just a side project that went big.

I thought you handled it extraordinarily well, and this should be a case study
on what to do when you've got a successful project on your hands that you
aren't inspired by... a number of people fall into this circumstance, and
usually they just let the project languish and die a slow death. I think you
handled this really well and I'm inspired by it.

Congratulations and I'm hoping this is a sign of things to come when people
have side projects go big.

~~~
markbao
Thanks man! I really appreciate your kind words. If this helps people derive
more value from their side projects, that would be awesome.

~~~
duinote
Congratulations. are you going to share who bought it? is it public ?

------
wavewash
I've met Mark (BarCam 4 and 5) and found him to be very intelligent and
personable. I think he did the right thing (and smart thing) to flip this. If
you look at his other work, it's more long standing and of bigger scope
comparatively.

I've worked on short projects as well and then have my longer projects. For
example <http://www.Blabberize.com> has been running for over 3 years now. We
could have had a quick and early pay off by flipping the site but instead we
took the long haul route to build it out. It feels completely different from a
quick turn over project. As such, comparing a site like this to a much larger
business with deep technology and IP does not make much sense.

~~~
markbao
Hey man! Thanks for your kind words :) definitely — I want to get back to work
on the big scope projects.

How's the site going, btw? And are you going to BarCamp Boston 6?

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brianbreslin
soooo.... how much?

~~~
phreeza
and who?

~~~
acangiano
Kevin Ham.

~~~
justinchen
Interesting article about Kevin Ham for those who don't know who he is.

[http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2...](http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2007/06/01/100050989/index.htm)

~~~
ohashi
If you want to look at the old stuff, his company was called Vertical Axis.
One of the biggest domainers around, competing with him was not fun. He is
very savvy at domaining and easily one of the most creative, pulling off .cm
was brilliant.

~~~
acangiano
The .cm domain deal with Cameroon truly put him in a different league than
most domainers.

~~~
ohashi
Agreed. That league would include Yun Ye, Frank Schilling and him.

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frsandstone
Awesome job! Has the amount been disclosed?

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knowsnothing613
yeah, what was the price range?

Based on your metrics, I'm curious to know what the market sentiment is for
them.

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dadro
Congrats to Mark. That looks to be a well executed business deal all around.

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CoachRufus87
Congrats Mark!

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narrator
Yet another sign that we are in the midst of a new tech bubble. Zippity doo
dah! Bubbles are a lot of fun, except when apartment hunting in San Francisco.
I can't wait for some social media startup in S.F to start throwing raves at
their offices every week. You'll know there's only about a year left on the
bubble when that starts happening.

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elvirs
Congrats on the sale Mark, if you disclose the price, please make sure you do
that on HN :)

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neworbit
Good work! What are you doing next? :)

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grandalf
In case there are any buyers still interested in .me concepts, check out
<http://winklevoss.me>

