yoonew on Fox Business

What's with the name?

Whenever we tell the yoonew story, the interviewer always asks, "What's with the name?" Our response is simply, "Because........you knew!"

We were sitting in an apartment in Cambridge and wanted to come up with a clever name that was unique, easy to remember, 2 syllables (like all popular web domains), and a name that could easily be turned into a verb. After several ridiculous names such as uture.com (your future), Hagos suggested, "you knew!" Without even blinking, I thought it was brilliant.

You knew your team was going to make it. You knew the price was going to go up. You...just...knew! We consciously chose the unique spelling, Y-O-O-N-E-W. Why? BECAUSE WE ARE DIFFERENT. When developing a brand, you have to think about all of the elements. How it sounds, how it looks, how it feels, what it symbolizes. yoonew is more than just a name. It embodies the culture of the company. We don't follow the trends. We blaze our own trails and do not accept "No" or "I can't" as an answer. Anyone true entrepreneur understands that.

Having said that, there have been some domain "experts" who question the "misspelling" of our name. I find the critique somewhat laughable, especially coming from non-operators. Squatting on generic domain names and exploiting google may be a very profitable business, but in terms of creating real value, nothing is like starting from scratch.

We dreamed up the idea. Invented the name. Coined the phrase "ticket futures". Pioneered the industry. Built a futures exchange from the ground up. Put simply, we created value from thin air. The name "yoonew.com" is more than a domain. It is a brand and a lifestyle. So much so, advertisers bid on the keyword, "yoonew". That is quite a rewarding feeling!

With regards to "When the Smart do not 'Get It'", opinions not supported by facts are about as good as the stuff on the bottom of my shoe. I would never post an opinion without doing proper due diligence. That would be amateurish at best. And on another note, no need to add insult to injury.


Let's try:

www.yoonew.com

www.younew.com

www.youknew.com

www.yooknew.com

www.ticketfutures.com

No one said it was going to be easy changing the world. No one initially agrees with a maverick. If things were that easy, everyone would do it.

-gw

$15 Billion?

The proof is in the pudding........and I don't see Bill Cosby anywhere in site.

Who's really your candidate?

Take this quiz.

You may be shocked.....and possibly appalled......with yourself!


Below are the candidates ranked by how much you agree with their stances.

Joe Biden
Score: 61
Agree
Iraq
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Disagree
Immigration
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Dennis Kucinich
Score: 57
Agree
Immigration
Taxes
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Energy
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Disagree
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Death Penalty

Hillary Clinton
Score: 54
Agree
Taxes
Stem-Cell Research
Health Care
Abortion
Line-Item Veto
Energy
Marriage
Death Penalty
Gun Control
Environment
Disagree
Iraq
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Education

Barack Obama
Score: 54
Agree
Taxes
Stem-Cell Research
Health Care
Abortion
Line-Item Veto
Energy
Marriage
Death Penalty
Gun Control
Environment
Disagree
Iraq
Immigration
Social Security
Education

Chris Dodd
Score: 54
Agree
Taxes
Stem-Cell Research
Health Care
Abortion
Line-Item Veto
Energy
Marriage
Gun Control
Environment
Education
Disagree
Iraq
Immigration
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Death Penalty

Rudy Giuliani
Score: 42
Agree
Immigration
Stem-Cell Research
Abortion
Social Security
Line-Item Veto
Energy
Marriage
Death Penalty
Disagree
Iraq
Taxes
Health Care
Gun Control
Environment
Education

John Edwards
Score: 40
Agree
Immigration
Taxes
Stem-Cell Research
Health Care
Abortion
Energy
Marriage
Death Penalty
Disagree
Iraq
Social Security
Line-Item Veto
Gun Control
Environment
Education

.....

Super Deal or Super Swindle?

So.....we popped our Techcrunch cherry today. To be honest, it feels better than I thought. At first glance, I was a bit perturbed by the use of the word "swindle." To me, a swindler is a thief and I certainly don't consider myself a crook. Having said that, I completely understand the point Michael is making and respect his domain expertise. In a nutshell, the ticket industry can be very shady. This I know from first, second, and third hand experience. But this is EXACTLY why I wanted to start a venture in this crazy space. If you can navigate through the minefield with rigor and common sense, there is a tremendous opportunity. One of the main reasons we started yoonew was to bring transparency, efficiency, and integrity to the ticket industry. I'm happy to say we are well on our way. I especially enjoyed the comments (good, bad, and indifferent).

On another note, I'd like to set the record straight on the 401k story once and for all. When Gos and I first started in the summer of '04 we didn't have any money, any tickets, any technology, any office, any employees, any anything. We were 2 guys with delusions of grandeur living in Cambridge.......trying to see if this yoonew thing would grow legs. Our Super Bowl experience worked out great! Made money and everything. 2005 Final Four........a completely different story.

That year was ridiculous. As soon as I got off the plane in St. Louis I got the word that a college coach was publicly arrested for reselling his tickets. The fear of imprisonment dramatically restricted the available supply of tickets. To add insult to injury, Illinois fans were buying any and every ticket available. Sometimes, even out bidding ticket brokers. (Simple ECON 101: low supply meets high demand). At that point we had two options. I could either tell our customers we didn't have their tickets and go out of business. Or, I could do what any confident, dedicated, founder would do. Man up and make $hit happen. I chose to liquidate my 401k and buy tickets for our customers. It was a no brainer.

That incident was March/April 2005. We've since raised millions, developed strategic relationships, and built some very innovative and powerful technology. Although it hurt me financially, it was the greatest crash course into the ticket industry. I literally witnessed the entire value chain of a ticket sale. The chain is soooooooooooo long and soooooooooo inefficient. At the same time, I watched (in amazement) ticket brokers, or ticket traders, buying and selling on cell phones and trading tickets/cash all weekend long. It was a frenzy that could have rivaled the most boisterous stock trading floor. That's when I knew we were on to something.

A ticket is just like any other commodity. People value tickets differently and this value can change at any time for any or no reason. The only true platform to efficiently transfer such a commodity is an exchange........the yoonew exchange.

I love firsts. Can't wait for the next one.