Roger Collins: Reviving Afternic and Pioneering the Domain Resale Market

Roger Collins, a visionary entrepreneur from Florida, has played a pivotal role in reshaping the domain name industry. His journey began far from the world of domain names, growing up in Central Florida in a family of five. His early foray into programming on a Commodore 64 and a knack for numbers laid the foundation for his future endeavors​​.

Collins’ first major venture, ProProject.com, emerged from his experiences as a software developer for Motorola, where he saw an opportunity to improve operational efficiencies in business processes. This experience in creating web applications that streamlined time, expenses, and billing for consulting organizations marked the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey​​.

His accidental entry into the domain industry came with the .US land rush in April 2002, where he, along with his brother Michael, acquired a significant number of domain names. This unexpected venture led them to start NameBuySell.com, a platform for buying and selling domain names, which quickly gained popularity​​.

The turning point for Collins came with the acquisition of Afternic.com from Register.com. Despite Afternic’s tarnished reputation and history of bad customer service, Collins saw immense value in its high internet traffic. He transformed Afternic from a struggling entity into the leading site in its market, leveraging its traffic potential for his domain resale business​​.

Collins’ ambitious vision didn’t stop at reviving Afternic. He aimed to revolutionize how domains are sold in the aftermarket. By restructuring Afternic into an exchange-broker network and partnering with domain registrars, Collins created a one-stop solution for customers to access both new and used domain names, thereby expanding the market reach dramatically​​.

Under Collins’ leadership, Afternic saw substantial growth, with new memberships and inventory increasing daily. The addition of experienced professionals like Denney Cole for business development and Michael Collins for marketing further strengthened the company’s position in the market​​.

Collins’ journey with Afternic is not just a story of business acumen but also of resilience and the ability to see opportunity in adversity. With a committed team and a clear vision, he turned a struggling brand into a leading player in the domain name industry, illustrating the transformative power of innovative thinking in the digital age​​.

Roger Collins, a visionary entrepreneur from Florida, has played a pivotal role in reshaping the domain name industry. His journey began far from the world of domain names, growing up in Central Florida in a family of five. His early foray into programming on a Commodore 64 and a knack for numbers laid the foundation…