Rick Schwartz

Rick Schwartz
eRealestate.com President, CEO & Founder
T.R.A.F.F.I.C. President, CEO, & Cofounder
Internet Commerce Association Founding Board Member

Rick Schwartz, aka "Domain King" and "Webfather", is the CEO, President and Cofounder of T.R.A.F.F.I.C. The premiere domain conference for the domain industry. It is both the oldest and largest and attracts over 500 of the top professionals in the industry in a by invitation only event. From Google and Yahoo! to Directi, TrafficZ.com, Fabulous.com, Parked, Skenzo, GoDaddy.com and more than 300 other companies. TRAFFIC has held shows in the USA and venues around the world. From Milan to Amsterdam, Vancouver, Dublin and on. More than 25 shows since 2004.

As one of the early domain pioneers dating back to 1995, Rick has a knack for predicting big trends and getting it right. He may have been the first to recognize the value of "Type in" traffic which is now commonly referred to as "direct navigation” - the most potent and targeted traffic on the net. Rick has a prime portfolio of one and two word domains, and is considered by many to be among the leading experts on domain names, traffic, website flow and valuation.

Besides eRealEstate.com and domains like Candy.com, Property.com, Properties.com, Tradeshows.com, ChristmasCarols.com and some 5000 others, Rick is also an accomplished businessman in several other industries including furniture, lighting and advertising. He ran one of the most profitable and efficient home based businesses with no employees back in the early 1990's out of a 10 x 10 bedroom. He sold it for over 7 figures freeing his time to devote exclusively to the Internet in 1998. Rick also sold men.com for $1.3 million in a cash deal that was finalized in May 2004. A domain name that he bought for $15,000 in 1997. Many attribute that sale to jump starting the domain space at a time considered the lowest point the domain business has seen. It also cemented his main theory that "Domains would go up faster in value than any commodity or asset ever know to mankind." Laughed at in 1995 and 1996 it is FACT today. No stock, no land, no gold, no jewel has ever gone up faster and further in value.

He also sold "PartnerCash.com in July 2005 for $110,000 that was purchased in 1998 for $35. In August 2005 he bought Property.com for $750,000 tying him for the highest reported domain purchase at that time in 2005. His earlier 2005 purchase of Candy.com became one of the top 3 reported domain sales of 2009 with a price tag in excess of $3M and an equity stake in the new company. In 2010 Rick sold Punchbowl.com for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock in the company that bought the domain. MyPunchbowl.com

Rick also ran the first domain forum on the net in which the top domainers and sponsors in the world were invited to participate and join. His members read like the Who's who of the domain channel. It was known as the hardest website on the net to get into. While others beg for traffic, Rick and his members screened every applicant before they are accepted. The board was opened from 2000 until 2007.

Thus the basis for T.R.A.F.F.I.C. being a tradeshow that was by invitation only. Attendees agree that this was one of the most important features of the show as it guarantees a productive investment of their valuable time as they break bread with the "Biggest and the Best" in a warm and cordial environment. With some 25 shows in just 6 years TRAFFIC located at http://www.TargetedTraffic.com has established itself as the epicenter of the entire domain industry. They have attracted speakers from Ben Stein to Steve Forbes. Each show is a trailblazing event with networking at the center and capped off with the World's largest domain auction. In 2007 alone the 3 live and silent auctions at TRAFFIC brought in more than $25 Million in CASH domain name sales. In 2009 TRAFFIC dropped the Invitation Only requirement but still strongly reserves their right to exclude people of questionable reputation that could detract from the overall event.

Lastly, Tho not involved in anymore, Rick was a founding member of the ICA (Internet Commerce Association) A non profit association dedicated to protecting the rights of all domain name owners.

RicksBlog.com opened in 2007. Many of the thoughts and posts are the original ones from back as early as 1996 and the rest deal with my strongly held opinions on day to day business issues as well as life itself.