GoDaddy As The Potential Catalyst For A New IPO Bubble

from the fits-the-billing... dept

Thu, Apr 13th 2006 3:17am — Mike Masnick

We've had a few stories lately about the IPO market -- and whether or not it was really opening up. Back when Google went public in 2004, there was a lot of talk about how it would open up the IPO market for tech companies again... but that turned out to be wrong. In retrospect, it isn't hard to see why. Google is clearly a special case for the market -- and could have gone public successfully no matter what the rest of the IPO environment was. To really open up the market again, there would need to be a lower profile, but still well known, company to successfully hit the market. While there has been some talk about how slow the tech IPO market has been there certainly have been some companies going public. Unfortunately, many of them seemed pretty questionable. With the folks on Wall Street publicly begging tech startups to go public again, it was only a matter of time until more high profile firms started to head through the door. There was some thought that Vonage might be that company (though some classify it more as a telco play than a tech one), but the questions concerning that company's IPO have many still believing that the IPO filing is more about trying to force the hand of potential acquirers. However, the latest rumors coming around are that well known (if occasionally controversial, and always publicity seeking) domain registrar GoDaddy is planning to file to sell shares to the public shortly. Since the documents haven't been filed, and the company's finances are still under wraps, it's hard to tell whether this is a more sensible IPO or one that pushes the boundaries. However, what it could do is really bring back a more open window for tech startup IPOs. The other really borderline IPOs that are easy to make fun of only encouraged other questionable firms to take the IPO path. There were no "brand name" tech firms going public. Getting a recognizable "name" in the tech industry to go out successfully could start the lemming process going, where a number of more well known but still private tech companies start working on filing. The folks on Wall Street must be thrilled.

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40 Comments

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Mordred, 13 Apr 2006 @ 3:52am

first
first post
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second, 13 Apr 2006 @ 4:34am

second
second :-)
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What the hey, 13 Apr 2006 @ 4:49am

third
I can play too;

third
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Apr 2006 @ 5:37am

fourth!
fourth!
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oh yeah, 13 Apr 2006 @ 5:39am

Going Pubic
Instead of going public, GoDaddy should step it up a notch with their hot little spokesperson and go pubic instead. I'd buy some shares in that action!
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Steve, 13 Apr 2006 @ 6:19am

What's so special?
Maybe it's just me, but what is so special about GoDaddy? I mean they are a domain name registrar that ran a risque ad during the superbowl, I haven't seen much from them since, but if it's IPO pays off I guess that's money well spent on the ad...
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- Brody, 13 Apr 2006 @ 7:07am
  
  Re: What's so special?
  My sister has GoDaddy.com. And frankly, she loves it. This is her site. Yes, I know. It's great. (If you think that's good, she did all of her graphic work through paint, and Microsoft Excel... now she has Photoshop though.) GoDaddy, is a reliable, inexpensive, easy, and great provider. No stupid ads, statistics trackers. You name it, they got it! They don't only do domain name registering. They also do web hosting. Not site building, but hosting. I love GoDaddy.
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- Anonymous Coward, 13 Apr 2006 @ 7:39am
  
  Re: What's so special?
  "but what is so special about GoDaddy"
  
  Nothing, but what's that got to do with their prospects for a successfull IPO?
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- Common Sense, 19 May 2006 @ 12:34am
  
  Re: What's so special?
  Hmmmm... just a domain registrar, with over 15 million domain registrations and being the largest domain registrar in the world and also the largest shared hosting company in the world, fastest growing SSL provider and dedicated serve rprovider in the world. Yet they just had a risque commercial. Maybe you haven't heard of them since because you don't watch the business. Pay attention before you spit out non sense
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Others deserve a chance too, 13 Apr 2006 @ 7:22am

Others do the same, and sometimes for less
I have been using frugalname.com for a few years now. Same interface, same reliability. Been thrilled with them for my hosting and domain needs (326 domains and counting) There are many GD resellers out there. The money still goes to the same man, but at least the reseller makes a few cents in the process.
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- common sense, 19 May 2006 @ 12:36am
  
  Re: Others do the same, and sometimes for less
  That may be one of the funniest things I've seen. This URL is a reseller of Go Daddy. LOL
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Lisa, 13 Apr 2006 @ 7:33am

GoDaddy is cheap.. but you get your money's worth
I have a few domain names registered with goDaddy. GoDaddy is good for that but that's about it... unless you're into PHP development. I tried to work with them on a j2ee site with jsp's and servlets with a MySQL database and they were HORRIBLE. Took them two weeks to try to figure anything out and never did figure out why they couldn't get their end of things working. I ended up cancelling the hosting service. Customer support were not techincal and had no idea what to tell me. The other developer working on the site nicknamed them "NoDaddy". So if you're doing just the simple stuff GoDaddy is a good deal. But if you're a *real* developer that does more than just php then I suggest looking elsewhere
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- Charles, 13 Apr 2006 @ 1:49pm
  
  Re: GoDaddy is cheap.. but you get your money's wo
  Who did you end up going with? From their site ads, they seemed to be one of the few offering Ruby/Rails support inexpensively.
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- Charles, 13 Apr 2006 @ 1:49pm
  
  Re: GoDaddy is cheap.. but you get your money's wo
  Who did you end up going with? From their site ads, they seemed to be one of the few offering Ruby/Rails support inexpensively.
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- Common Sense, 19 May 2006 @ 12:42am
  
  Re: GoDaddy is cheap.. but you get your money's wo
  Then again if you are a real developer you probably would have read the accepted applications explained on the Go daddy site. Or really if you are a "real developer" you probably want to go beyond the $4-$12 you are paying for SHARED hosting and delve into the dedicated hosting life so you as the "real developer" can do as you please. Then again if you are a "real developer" and need the hosting company to do your work for you maybe you need to look into something else alltogether.
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Mont, 13 Apr 2006 @ 8:17am

More simpletons than geeks = $$$$$IPO
If godaddy can tap the simpleton who needs his blog registered and hosted then I'm in on this IPO.
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- common sense, 19 May 2006 @ 12:46am
  
  Re: More simpletons than geeks = $$$$$IPO
  Hmmmmm. concept of shared hosting unveiled, oh no time to chnage the worlds ideals. People are paying low prices for basic products and complaining that it won't do what they want despite that they were given the capabilities upfront and then getting mad when a fortune 500 company won't change everything they do to do there job for them.
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Frank J. McCourry, 13 Apr 2006 @ 8:21am

CHEAP
I would never invest in a company that sels there products so cheaply, without advertising to make up the difference. The prices they sell for are cheaper than what many wholesalers can sell for. They cannot possibly do this for an extended period and stay profitable enough to offer public shares any kind of return on their investment.

If they do go public, watch for their prices to go up.
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- Bob, 13 Apr 2006 @ 9:32am
  
  Re: CHEAP
  If you consider they don't ship anything and have no physical products, registering domains is just keeping a database updated. It's not costly. They're choosing to penetrate a market by only taking in 500% profit instead of 1500% on registrations.
  
  Hosting is a little different since you have to have a server farm or rent one to sell users. Still they don't manufacture anything. But as far as domain registration goes, I don't see why they can't sustain their business at their low prices.
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- common sense, 19 May 2006 @ 12:49am
  
  Re: CHEAP
  Hmmmm. domain wholesalers or shared hosting wholesalers, or server wholesalers. Then again do you really know what anybody of the whole group is paying for any of that. I'd be willing to bet all of the money you have to invest that you don't.
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Emraith, 13 Apr 2006 @ 8:36am

their prices have been pretty much the same for years. Ive used them for about 10 domains over the years and always had great reliable service, and cheap too. From what I remember, they were one of the first to offer domain registration for $15/year, instead of most others that were still $35/year. I never plan on using any other domain registration service than godaddy
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Phillip, 13 Apr 2006 @ 9:16am

Issues
Before godaaddy goes public I would suggest they look internally at cleaning up their service and issues first. Do a search and look for the numerous problems customers have had with godaddy. Domain name hostage holding being a primary one, sure they are easy to use and work well but try to move your name to another hosting company. No I am not a disgruntled exemployee or a unhappy customer, just someone who has had to do a ton of research into companies like this.
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- common sense, 19 May 2006 @ 12:55am
  
  Re: Issues
  LOL obviously not enough research. Give examples of "domain hotage" or are you speaking as someone who wanted a domain but was not the registrant and you are now upset because you were not able to steal someones legal property. Because if you really did any research you would understand the process and see that as the #1 regitrar in the world they have to follow things that are setup to be guidelines, called LAWS. And they don't try to throw there weight around to change those like some other companies. (see network solutions, verisign)
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Mr. Numerology, 13 Apr 2006 @ 10:09am

Great Service
I love GoDaddy. They're cheap and everything works the way it's supposed to. You can register a site and have it on the web in no time.

I used GoDaddy to create MrNumerology.com:

www.mrnumerology.com
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You Mon Tsang, 13 Apr 2006 @ 10:27am

Next few months will tell...
I am waiting with baited breath. On one hand, I expect a strong growing, profitable GoDaddy that should succeed in the IPO market. Then there's Local Matters, which is a 1999-like concept IPO. If GoDaddy goes out, I am not sure if it tells us much. If Local Matters goes out and does well, then expect the floodgates to open!
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BlackCow, 13 Apr 2006 @ 11:53am

GoDaddy is the schizents
GoDaddy is awsome, very good service and awsome ads (to bad the government has to censor them, damn censorship)
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John, 13 Apr 2006 @ 3:37pm

What more could you want??
� GoDaddy.com is by far the best company that I have ever used for not only purchasing Domain Names, but also for Web Hosting and SSL Certificates . With GoDaddy, I get my domain names for less than $ 10.00 per year, and I only pay $ 3.16 per month for my hosting plan, which gives me 500MB of web space, PHP and MySQL, 250GB of monthly data transfer (bandwidth), and 500 free POP3 email accounts for my employees! Name one other provider that can offer that! If GoDaddy goes public, more power to them! They are constanly exceeding my expectations and coming out with better features to help enhance my web sites.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Apr 2006 @ 5:33pm

cheap Ruby/Rails
If you want cheap Ruby on Rails, you can't beat Bluehost.com.
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- common sense, 19 May 2006 @ 1:07am
  
  Re: cheap Ruby/Rails
  Nothing like people downing(maybe not) one company to support one of its RESELLERS
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pubic hair removal, 12 May 2006 @ 4:57pm

I Agree, Bluehost Rocks...
Bluehost is a great hosting facility. Their customer support is superb. They're way better about being proactive with their customers than the other hosting facilities that I've dealt with. My two cents....
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gideon, 18 May 2006 @ 10:00am

rise money for development
hi what it takes to rise money for this new compay www.businessrec.com. i have a friend that can put $1.000.000 worth of advertising on nation wide t.v if i will be abale to rise $ 1.000.000 for oporation,mean's office aqupment,sales organzation,stuff - web designers,secrituris,and over head.what this site is all about is business directory to go city by city and in the same time to buy small advertising company all over the map. this is our goal and we do need a help.contact Gideon Azari thank you
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- common sense, 19 May 2006 @ 1:09am
  
  Re: rise money for development
  WHAT? I hope you weren't asking people to invest with you. Maybe you should learn how to SPELL before you do that.
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Nathan K, 8 Jun 2006 @ 8:28pm

Bob Parsons of GoDaddy.com
We featured Mr. Parsons on nPost.com in an interview about the GoDaddy.com business and his long term goals:

http://www.npost.com/interview.jsp?intID=INT00131&searchTerms=parsons
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jun 2006 @ 6:20pm

godaddy is a ripoff
godaddy is a total ripoff buyer beware!
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GoDummy.Com, 17 Jun 2006 @ 9:49am

GoDaddy will have to stay and look Clean
Can Bob Parsons run a Public company? I am sure he can do just about anything he sets his mind to. Will GoDaddy continue to grow without Bob's "Shoot from the Hip" feel to the company. The Super Bowl Spots and what came from them made Go Daddy somewhat of a household word for a few days, as a public company would GODADDY use Candice Michelle in this kind of Ads....Don't think so.
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Jim Bob, 8 Aug 2006 @ 1:25pm

GODADDY IPO WITHDRAWN TODAY
http://DotComaMama.com reports GoDaddy IPO withdrawn.

Now will Bob Parsons sell GoDaddy to AOL as the revamp?
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5DayDomains.com, 8 Aug 2006 @ 2:13pm

GODADDY, IS IT ON THE BLOCK
Maybe GoDaddy will sell to someone like AOL or just pull back and wait till all the stars are lined up for their IPO.

The market is a little jumpie now and Oct. would not be a good time to roll this thing out.

http://DomainKiting.com will have more info as we get it.
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5DayDomains.com, 8 Aug 2006 @ 2:14pm

GODADDY, IS IT ON THE BLOCK
Maybe GoDaddy will sell to someone like AOL or just pull back and wait till all the stars are lined up for their IPO.

The market is a little jumpie now and Oct. would not be a good time to roll this thing out.

http://DomainKiting.com will have more info as we get it.
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FloatDomains.com, 14 Aug 2006 @ 6:09pm

GODADDY CANCELS DOMAIN FORWARDING
It is being reported that GoDaddy is canceling the forwarding for domains for maybe millions of domain names and putting the money in GoDaddy's account. DomainKiting.com will give you the news as we have it
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jonny, 18 Oct 2006 @ 3:38pm

jonny
jonny
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