Sumpton racked his brain for a new category that hadn't been taken and quickly lit upon last names. Sumpton got a computerized phone directory, sorted out the most common surnames and started buying. The horde includes smith.net and 11 variations of the country's most common name, such as thesmiths.org. With those prices it needs about five customers to sign up for each domain before the investment pays off. So far the company has spent virtually nothing on advertising but says it has still attracted enough users to be slightly profitable.
People ask their friends where they got that unusual e-mail address.
After all, by selling off subdomains for a fraction of the whole domain's cost, the company saves customers money. The real value in the company lies in what may happen next.