Marc Ostrofsky

Marc Ostrofsky is a "domain name" investor, who has been called a "Technology Wildcatter" in the Houston Business Journal, , May 15, 2000. His venture capital firm has created a number of successful telecommunication, publishing and internet based companies. He is the co-founder of hundreds of web properties. His best known enterprise is Internet REIT (iREIT) (also known as www.iREIT.com), which acquires, develops and sells internet traffic "wholesale" to Google for them to resell to others on a "PayPerClick" basis with partners Ross Perot and Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks.

He is known for his record sale of Business.com in 1999 for $7.5 million to eCompanies which landed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most expensive domain name ever sold, although the final value of the sale was closer to $2 million in cash and stock . Business.com was sold in 2008 for $345 Million which landed Ostrofsky another windfall He coined the phrase "Domain names and web sites are the real estate of the Internet" when he bought Business.com for $150,000 in the mid 90's, which had been the most money ever paid for a domain name at that time.

He owns one of the most valuable "internet real estate" portfolio's made up of one word "generic" domain names that he monetizes via Google including: MutualFunds.com, Bachelor.com, Photographer.com, HeartDisease.com, BeautyProducts.com, Proof.com, MortgageCompanies.com, InsuranceCompanies.com, Psychlogists.com, Consulting.com and 100's of other assets in the .com, .biz and .info top level domain name market.

Ostrofsky founded five high tech Internet and telecommunications magazines and a dozen technology trade shows, which were later sold to Advanstar Publishing for $8,000,000. He then created and sold Multimedia Publishing Corporation (another firm holding magazines, trade shows and web sites) to Primedia (NYSE: PRM) for $35,000,000.

He currently owns operating web sites including SummerCamps.com, eTickets.com, CuffLinks.com and is a major shareholder and board membeer in Blinds.com, a $50 Million a year web site selling window blinds and window coverings. Blinds.com was ranked #186 on the Internet Retailer 500, and was the 10th fastest growing site on the list.

Ostrofsky has two books coming out in 2010. The first is "Get Rich Click" which can be seen at www.GetRichClick.com and the second is called "Word Of Mouse" which can be seen at www.WordofMouse.com.

He was one of the early pioneers and founders of the voice mail/voice processing market, the private pay phone market, the operator services market, the telecom reseller & VOIP market and the prepaid telephone card market in the United States.

Ostrofsky purchased a world class sculpture and then worked with the Mayor of Houston to donate the piece to the City of Houston that now resides at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Termaina B, Houston, Texas. The plaque on the statue says: The "Star" of Houson's Cow Parade, a fundraiser for Texas Children's Hospital, this masterpiece represents the merging of the arts with aeronautics and depicts Houston's spirit of mingling creativity with opportunity. A dynamic interaction between businessman marc Ostrofsky, the City of Houston and airport officials made it possible for moonwalker to take up permanent residence here at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Mr. Ostrofsky has donated this fun sculpture to the City of Houston on behalf of his daughters, Kelly, Shelly and Tracy Ostrofsky for all to enjoy. Please feel free to take a photo with "Moonwalker".

Prior to these ventures, Ostrofsky organized several internet and telecommunications magazines and technology trade shows. The assets of Information Publishing Corporation were later sold to Advanstar Publishing, and the assets of his next venture, MultiMedia Publishing Corporation were later sold to Primedia.

He also founded www.idNames.com, an international domain name registry service that was sold to Network Solutions, and is now a division of VeriSign.

He has been interviewed on major television networks, newspapers and wire services. He is a professional speaker domestically and internationally on entrepreneurship on the internet. He was a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA) and was the initial creator of the Internet Commerce Association (ICA).

Ostrofsky has identical twin daughters, Kelly Ostrofsky and Shelly Ostrofsky, who graduated co-valedictorians of their high school which got them on the front page of the Houston Chronicle and USA TODAY with President George Bush Ostrofsky has a third daughter who is a few years younger. Ostrofsky is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a major in Marketing.

Conflicts with the Domain Registrars / Trademark Owners

In 2006, the owners of ask.com and Ask Jeeves! were approached by Ostrofsky about whether they would like to purchase ask.eu:

The Complainant goes on to explain that in March 2006 Mr Ostrofsky approached a representative of the Complainant's ultimate parent company, InterActive Corp., to enquire whether there would be interest in buying the disputed domain name from him or his company. In support of this point the Complainant produces a witness statement from Michael Filippone, formerly Director of Digital Assets IP for InterActive Corp., which provides that he met Mr Ostrofsky at an Internet conference in New York City during March 2006, whereupon Mr Ostrofsky mentioned that he had registered the disputed domain name, that a German entity had expressed interest in its acquisition and requested that given the Complainant's ultimate parent company's use of the ASK brand Mr Filippone might ask his employers if they were similarly interested. Mr Filippone goes on to allege that after this meeting Mr Ostrofsky forwarded to him a copy of the enquiry from the German entity by email.

While the owners of the domain (the "respondent") later denied that Ostrofsky had the rights to sell the domain and that the conversation was strictly casual, the Arbitration Center for .EU Disputes states:

In the absence of anything but a denial on the question of authority the Panel infers that Mr Ostrofsky was indeed connected with the Respondent and as a bare minimum had ostensible authority to deal on its behalf.

The domain was stripped from the respondent and awarded to the complainant with the following statement: "In light of the above together with the approach by Mr Ostrofsky which the Respondent has not adequately explained, the Panel finds that the disputed domain name was both registered and used in bad faith."

On March 23, 2007, iREIT, the domain holding company founded by Ostrofsky, was sued by Verizon who stated that iReit held and were profiting from more than 90 domain names that infringed on their trademark, including verizonwirelessgames.com. iReit turned the domains over to Verizon with the statement that they were unaware that they held them (their domain portfolio was too large for them to keep track of) and settled out of court.

iREIT was also named as a codefendant in a suit filed by Vulcan Golf against Google stating that Google's click through ad services encouraging violations of trademark through cybersquatting. The suit is currently seeking class action status.

External links

• Forbes Interview
• The Name Game by Robert A Mamis, Inc. Magazine, May 15, 2000