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Over 200 domain investors, developers and
service providers from around the world were on hand to share
their expertise and learn from others. That mutually
beneficial environment gave attendees invaluable insight and connections
that will help them take advantage of the many opportunities that will
be opening up in the new year ahead.
A view
of the Park MGM Hotel in Las Vegas taken on opening day of the 2026
Internet Commerce Association Annual Member Meeting held there
January 15-17.
Those who arrived in Las Vegas
early were able to get a jump start on networking Wednesday night
(January 14) at a Pre-Meeting Gathering at the Alebrijes restaurant
that was sponsored by Unstoppable
Domains. At 9 o'clock the next morning the 2026 Annual
Meeting officially got under way when ICA Executive Director
Kamila Sekiewicz and President of the Board Jeremiah Johnston
(above) took the stage to welcome this year's attendees (a portion of
whom are seen below). 
Above:
The first business session at 9:40am presaged a bright future for our
industry by featuring four second generation domain pros, each of
whom has a well-established parent in the domain business.
Left to right are moderator Todd Ryan, panelists Maria Angelo
(daughter of Leo Angelo), Jeff Fischer (son of Larry
Fischer), Bret Miller (son of Andrew Miller) and
Elise Gilmour (daughter of Michael Gilmour) and co-moderator Tess
Diaz. Considering that these four have learned from some of the best
in the business, we will undoubtedly hear much more in the years ahead from
them and others in our next
generation. 
This
year's conference featured two stages, The Atom.com main stage
and the adjacent DomainNames.com stage that also served as a
multi-purpose networking lounge. As most of your know, DomainNames.com is GoDaddy's ultra-premium
aftermarket platform. Speaking of GoDaddy, Trip Briscoe, the
company's Senior GTM & Growth Marketing Leader, is seen at far right
above chatting with Australia's Dan Faber during a Speed
Networking session that followed the Next Generation panel. At
the same time, a UDRP Legal Panel was presented on the Atom.com
stage (below). It featured (left to right) Jeff Neuman, John
Berryhill, Karen Bernstein, Jason Schaeffer, ICA Board
Member Nat Cohen and ICA General Counsel Zak Muscovitch. 
Above:
During the UDRP session we couldn't help but
notice the amazing domain portfolio that DN.com's Jack Dai had
printed in the shape of a heart on the back of his shirt. The heat
was certainly
appropriate since those are domain anyone would love to have. The
opening day at ICA Annual Meetings is always devoted primarily to social
events to help attendees make new connections or strengthen existing
ones. So, after those introductory morning business sessions it was was
time to play! The ICA offered many ways to do that with options that
included the annual Kubba Cup Pickleball Tournament. This year
that event was held at a bigger venue, Chicken N Pickle in nearby
Henderson, Nevada (below), a place spacious enough to accommodate those
who just wanted to watch, mingle and enjoy some food and drinks while
the players battled it out on court. 
Above:
One the many matches played to determine this year's Kubba Cup
champion. Below: The
pre-tournament favorite, Josh Reason (at right), as expected,
earned
the Advanced Class Championship Trophy form Cup Founder, Ammar Kubba. 
Below:
The other top finishers in both divisions (Intermediate and Advanced)
were recognized during the opening night gala dinner held a few hours
later back at the Park MGM. Left to right are Braden Pollock, Josephine
Kubba, Ammar Kubba, Art Malkov and Joshua Schoen.
Art and Joshua finished 2nd and 3rd in the Advanced Division. Ryan Le
from Unstoppable Domains (not pictured) won the Intermediate competition
in which Josephine finished 2nd and Braden 3rd. 
While
the Kubba Cup is a staple of the ICA meetings, it wasn't the only great
option the ICA lined up for the social day Thursday. For the
athletically inclined they added TopGolf to pickleball. For
sightseers, a trip to the Hoover Dam, for history buffs a visit
to the Atomis Museum and for lovers of animals and the great
outdoors, horseback riding! 
Above:
Sedo's Mark "Mr. Premium" Ghoriafi (left) and Brad
Lemire were among around 20 riders that saddled up for a scenic ride
through the beautiful Red Rock Canyon west of Las Vegas. I pity
the poor fool that would try to ambush these two rough riders! Forget
the six-shooters, they went out armed with six-figure domains and
hell-bent on deflecting lowball offers! 
Above
& below - A couple of other shots, courtesy of Mark, that show what
a perfect day it was for a leisurely ride in the desert. 
Above: Another group I envied
headed in the opposite direction, east to the magnificent Hoover Dam.
I visited this modern miracle of engineering on a previous trip to Las
Vegas, so opted for something I hadn't done before, but this is a place
you would never get tired of. Since I wasn't on this trip, I retrieved these
photos I took the last time we were there. That's my wife Diana
on the observation deck at far right in the bottom photo.
Above
& below: I've rarely met a museum I didn't like so this time we
opted for one of the true hidden gems in Las Vegas, the Atomic
Museum, one of 37 Smithsonian affiliated museums that
were created by an act of Congress. As a child at the dawn of the Atomic
age, this one brought back a lot of memories, including drills at our
elementary school where you got under your desk to protect yourself from
flying debris in a nuclear blast. Somehow I don't think that would have
helped but no one knew exactly what to do. There were actually companies doing
good business building home fallout shelters, just as the museum depicts
in the photo above. The shot below is of an actual duplicate casing of
the one used for the Fat Man nuclear bomb that was dropped on
Nagasaki to end World War II. The U.S. only had two nuclear weapons, one
labeled Fat Man and the less powerful Little Boy that was dropped
on Hiroshima 3 days earlier. A museum docent told me attendance at the
museum has nearly doubled since the debut of the hit Netflix TV
show Fallout that is a tale of a Dystopian post-nuclear
war world. It is terrifying and a tragedy that we all still
live under that threat today. 
Above:
After a very full day of social events, everyone regrouped at the Park MGM
for the Opening Gala and Award Ceremony sponsored by GoDaddy. Below:
This was the first ever conference for an attendee whose X handle is
very familiar to people in the domain world. Tony (AKA @TonyNames),
at left below with Bar Frank, came all the way from India
and people were delighted to finally meet him in person. That's because
Tony has been posting detailed sales information and useful tips online
for several years now, earning widespread respect both online and off! 
The
ICA presents two major awards every year. The newest of those is the Trailblazer
Award that recognizes companies and individuals who innovate and
significantly advance the domain name industry through new products,
services, or ideas. Namecheap Founder Richard Kirkendall was named winner of the
second annual award (Atom.com won last year). Richard K couldn't
attend so his long-time friend, Richard Lau (above), accepted the
award on his behalf from Gala emcee J.T. Tenenbaum and ICA
Executive Director Kamila Sekiewicz. Below:
Next up was presentation of the prestigious Lonnie
Borck Memorial Award - an honor recognizing a person who has
made an exceptional contribution to fostering a sense of community within
the domain name industry. This year's winner was a very popular choice,
one of Lonnie's best friends, DomainInvesting.com Founder Elliot
Silver. Lonnie's widow Ronit (next to Elliot) was there to
personally present the award and thank Elliot for the help he gave the
family after Lonnie's unexpected passing. Lonnie was one of the most
thoughtful and giving people we've ever seen in this industry and
it is wonderful to see this award helping to keep his name front and
center as an ongoing inspiration to us all. 
Above
& Below: After the awards ceremony the attendees enjoyed a
performance by one of the best combination magician/comedians that I've
ever seen in Chad
Chesmark. The illusions that professional magicians are able
to pull off always leave you scratching your head but Chad's constant
jokes and one-liners had everyone holding their sides laughing too. It
was a thoroughly
enjoyable performance so if you get a chance to see Chad in Las Vegas or
anywhere else, take it! 
Speaking of jokes and
one-liners, the ICA closed the opening night gala with a new attraction
- a Roast of a prominent industry figure who was not named until it was
too late for him to get away! The unfortunate inaugural roastee was serial
entrepreneur, angel investor and ICA Board member Braden Pollock. 
Above:
Braden is seated in the middle of a Murderer's Row of roasters
(Braden is 4th from the right). I couldn't help noticing he brought his 3rd
place pickleball trophy on stage with him, a power move if I've
seen one! Still the roasters did not seem to be intimidated. They were
(left to right), Bill Sweetman, J.T. Tenenbaum, Shane
Cultra, Larry Fischer, the Guest of Dishonor (Braden),
Jeff Sass, Todd Ryan and Monte Cahn. Below:
The roasters has a wonderful time firing off a phenomenal volley of
slings and arrows at their now former friend Braden. While most
kept their insults within the bounds of human decency, I have to say
Todd Ryan did not - and that is to be commended! Successful as he is,
Todd missed his true calling as a standup comedian and had people
laughing so hard it hurt. 
Having
said that, the quick witted Braden (below) is no slouch at
repartee himself
and he obviously delighted in giving his detractors an unhealthy dose of
their own medicine. In the end, everyone kissed and made up and it was a
hilariously entertaining way to cap off a great evening. Now, it's on to
the first full day of business - Friday, January 16. 
Friday,
January 16
Friday
(January 16) at the 2026 ICA Annual Meeting opened with a
traditional broker's breakfast (above). After getting suitably
fueled for a productive day ahead it was time to get down to
business.
Above
& below: Friday began with a 930am Meet the Board session
that gave attendees a chance to hear from an outstanding group of board
members that has overseen a tremendous surge in ICA membership and
influence over the past five years. Left to right above are Board
President Jeremiah Johnston, J.T. Tenenbaum, Braden
Pollock, new board member James Bladel (Godaddy VP, Corporate
and Government Affairs) who is also seen below, Tessa Holcomb, Nat
Cohen, Ryan McKegney, Adam Wagner (who is leaving the
board with a huge degree appreciation from member work his has done on
the ICA's behalf) and Jay Chapman.
Above:
Next up ICA General Counsel Zak Muscovoitch gave members a Policy
Update with many triumphs to point to. Those who have followed ICA
developments since it was founded in 2006 have been astonished to see
how far the organization has come in a relatively short period of time.
It used to be said that organizing domain people was like trying to herd
cats but the cats finally got the picture and started working together
to protect themselves. That breakthrough was achieved because people
could see the hard work and true dedication that Zak and this leadership
team have devoted to making a miracle happen. It's hard not to
follow leaders like that.
Above:
Another highlight of this conference is the annual ICA Town Hall
Meeting where anyone can ask questions and bring any issues of concern
to ICA leaders. Board members Nat Cohen and Ryan McKegney
were on hand to listen and pass the microphone around. Here
attorney Karen Bernstein took the opportunity to contribute to
the dialog.
I
mentioned at the top of the article the the DomainNames.com Lounge was
always open when people needed a quiet place to hold meetings or just
catch up . I ran into long-time friend and eCorp Founder Chad
Folkening (at right) there. We are both transplanted Midwesterners.
Chad grew up in Indiana, and as you would expect, is over the
moon after seeing the Hoosiers win their first national college football
championship ever with a win over Miami Monday night
(January 19). Chad was quite a football player himself in high school,
earning All-State honors twice at his school near Indianapolis.
Back
at the Atom.com stage next door a Meet the Registrars session was
going on with representatives from multiple leading registrars sharing
the latest developments from their companies. Above Trip Briscoe
had the latest news from GoDaddy and below Atom.com
Founder Darpan Munjal shared new developments he is excited about
rolling out for their customers.
After
a lunch break, the action resumed Friday afternoon with the opening of
the ICA's popular Guru Tables. Over the next two and half hours
members had the opportunity to visit any of 16 tables, each
devoted to a different topic and staffed by one or more experts
on that subject matter. You could essentially craft your own custom
course to absorb invaluable information on the topics of most
interest to you. You could stay at any table as long as you liked
and ask the experts any questions you might have. The tables were set up
in both meeting rooms with 5 or 6 in operation at a time during three
45-minute sessions. We visited all 16 of them so we could share
the full range of what was offered with you. It's a good example of why
an ICA
membership and meeting attendance is such a good value. So,
let's start the table tour:
Above:
Those curious about ongoing efforts merge mew Web3 domains and
feature sets like domain tokenization with traditional Web2 crowded
around the table of D3
Founder Fred Hsu. Fred is in the gray sports coat at back center of
his table. Below: Getting a
chance to talk directly with Saw.com
Founder Jeff Gabriel, one of the most experienced and successful
brokers in industry history, drew a steady line of visitors to his
table.
Above
& Below: The crowd around Digimedia
President Jay Chapman's table was three rows deep! As an ICA Board
Member Jay has played a huge role in helping develop the
organization into a highly effective body that has earned respect for
its professionalism in all corners of the industry and within ICANN.
Jay is the kind of quiet leader who focuses on finding good people who
want to work together to make big things happen. In turn he gives credit
to others rather than seeking it for himself. That's why you see scenes
like this when Jay whenever he sits down for a moment to share his business
and personal philosophy.
Above:
Experienced domain attorneys play an absolutely critical role in
an industry where easily preventable mistakes can put very high value
assets at risk. John Berryhill (in the black coast and tie) has
been one of the very best in the business for over 20 years. He also
gets bonus points for having a sense of humor that always make you
smile. When you can get legal advice from John it is a no brainer to
take a seat and listen (and feel free to laugh)! By
the way, you see all of that camera studio gear behind John. As
another perk of membership the ICA had a terrific professional
photographer, Jeff Brooks (who is also an ICA member), on site to
let anyone who wanted a new set of professional headshots to have them
taken at no cost! The value of that is enough to pay for a full year of basic
membership.
Above:
Dynadot
has long been one of my favorite registrars and one reason for
that is they go out of their way to please. That's why they not only
took a table to meet members, they staffed it with three people
instead of one - Vice President of Aftermarket Hallie Cao,
Director of Sales Yiqui Tao and Client Success Manager Caleb
Tweed. Below: Larry
Fischer (in maroon shirt) has long been one of everybody's
favorite brokers. Year in year out for over 20 years, Larry has been
closing sales that rank among the highest ever recorded in this
business.
Above:
Atom.com
has proven themselves to be one of the most innovative companies
in the business (they were the ICA's first Trailblazer Award Winner).
While they have primarily been know as a great aftermarket option, they
also recently became an ICANN-accredited registrar. No wonder
Founder Darpan Munjal's table was always busy.
Above:
Texas-based Domain Investor Logan Flatt (at right with Adam
Wagner), is another great source of information. Many paths can lead
to investment success (as well as lack there of) but Logan's strategy
has been consistently successful and that consistence is
something everyone wants. It's is hard to plan a budget if you never
know when or even if another sale is coming. It takes experience to keep
up with what buyers want and close sales that provide the margins you
need. Logan's level headed approach is one of the most time tested, proven
strategies you will find. Below: Snagged.com
Founder Rob Schutz, who was also a Co-Founder of Ro, is
the kind of successful serial entrepreneur that everyone wants to learn
from. Snagged is a hot domain brokerage service and Rob also stays busy
with consulting marketing, growth and sports partnerships. Having business
people with that kind of background gravitating toward domains
strengthens the credibility of the industry and gives us more proven
leaders to learn from.
Above: Kubba Cup pickleball
champion Josh Reason (at right) with table visitor Mike Cyger,
is just as successful off the court as on. Josh is a prominent domain
name investor, broker, and digital asset entrepreneur. He founded domain
sales platforms DNX.com and DNWE.com and appears regularly on DomainSherpa.com
(the popular video podcast founded by Mike Cyger and now owned by
Andrew Rosener). Below: Grit
Brokerage Founder Brian Harbin is another guy that always
draws a crowd. Brian and Grit broker Michael Law were both on
hand to answer questions about what has set Grit apart and earned them
so many glowing reviews over the years.
Above & Below: As most of
you know a round of new TLDs is coming next year and a lot of
people are interested in going after new extensions. Attorney Jeff
Neuman, veteran ICANN observer Jothan Frakes and .it.com
Domains Chief Strategy Officer Joe Alagna were on hand to
answer questions on the next round. They also had copies of the new book
How
to Get Your Own Top Level Domain that Joe Alagna and
Andrey Insarov wrote. Later, Joe (below) manned another table
solo to meet with members.
Above: The impending arrival
of new gTLDs also brought many members to Andee Hill's table.
Industry veteran Andee is he Senior Director, Global Domains Division
Accounts at ICANN.
Above: Another great stop for
legal advice was Renee Fossen's table. Renee is the Director of
Arbitration at FORUM:
Domain Name Dispute Resolution. Below:
The Unstoppable
Domains crew, led by Founder Matthew Gould (in blue
T-Shirt, also welcomed a steady stream of visitors to their table.
Unstoppable first gained notice with blockchain-based domains but has
since added a rapidly growing ICANN-accredit registrar and a thriving
marketplace to a repertoire that is attracting an ever growing
user base.
Above & Below: After the
Guru Table sessions ended and an afternoon coffee break, it was back to
business with one of the most highly anticipated sessions of the Annual
Meeting - an Ask Me Anything session with GoDaddy
Domain Aftermarket General Manager Alan Shiflett. Alan, who has
been with GoDaddy for 16 years, was recently promoted to the position
but said his job would remain the same it has always been - to help customers
sell more domains. Alan discussed improvements being made at GoDaddy's
huge aftermarket sales platform, Afternic,
including enabling Lease to Own deals as high as $5 million and
revamping the company's Go Value domain appraisal system.
Above; The final Friday
(January 16) business session was a panel discussion on Understanding
ICANN. It featured, left to right, ICA General Counsel Zak
Muscovitch, attorney Mike Rosenbaugh, GoDaddy VP and
new ICA Board Member James Bladel, ICANN's Andee Hill,
attorney Jeff Neuman and Jothan Frakes.
Above: In the hallway after
the close of the business day, I ran into old friends Russ Goodwin
(left) and Howard Hoffman. Russ, Howard and I all met for the
first time at the very first major domain conference in history, the 2004
TRAFFIC conference in Florida.
Friday
evening was a free night of the ICA Meeting schedule - one left open so
people could enjoy private dinners, a show or just relaxing before
heading into the final day Saturday. However, there was still one
official late event that everyone was invited to participate in or watch
- the Anuual ICA Poker Tournament. That started at 10pm across
the street at the MGM Grand. The battle went well past midnight
before the champion was crowned. Tournament Founder Ryan McKegney
(DomainAgents.com) sent us this photo of the final table.
Coincidentally, the eventual top 3 were all sitting in the foreground.
At far left is Jackson Elsegood (3rd place), then Dan Adamson
(the WINNER!). At far right, wearing navy blue, is Steven
Kaziyev (2nd place). Saturday,
January 17 
Above:
We had great weather all week in Las Vegas and that was again in
the case on the closing day, Saturday (January 17) when I snapped
this shot shortly after sunrise from our window at the Park MGM. 
Above
& below: The ICA Annual Meeting expanded to three days this
year. Whether or not it would be worth staying over for the last day was
immediately answered in the first Saturday session at 10am - Master
the Deal: Domain Negotiation Strategies & Tactics. That
session alone was worth the cost of a ticket for the entire week. It
featured, left to right, Jay Chapman, GoDaddy's Tom McCarthy,
Logan Flatt, Atom.com's Zack Gabor and Richard
Lau (also seen below). Richard
share a particularly interesting anecdote. He received a $100,000 offer
on a domain that he felt was worth considerably more, so he countered by
sending a link to a Las Vegas condo for sale that he would like
to have in exchange for the domain. The buyer told him he was crazy and
countered with something like $110,000. Richard replied with a listing
for another condo in the same building. This went on until the
buyer finally agreed to pay for a condo to get the domain. Richard
enjoyed it for several years before selling it for an even tidier profit
at $750,000! 
Above
& below: Next up was a panel discussion about domain marketplaces,
including how platforms think about standing out and reaching buyers. It
featured, left to right, moderator Andrew Allemann (standing), Matthew
Gould (Unstoppable Domains), Brad Lemire (Sedo,
also seen below), Doron Vermaat (Efty.com), Darpan Munjal
(Atom.com), David Helgeson (GoDaddy) and Hallie Cao.
As you would expect from that lineup, members got a great overview of
some of the best selling options and how each approached the the
challenge of making more sales. 
Above:
A cross-section of the Saturday audience at the 2026 ICA Annual
Meeting. 
Above
& below: In the final morning session Saturday, Super broker Larry
Fischer (GetYourDomain.com)
brought back a game he and Ari Goldberger invented several years
ago - Taken or Not Taken? The game would begin with
everyone standing. Larry would throw out a domain name and the audience
had to to guess whether than domain was available to register or had
been taken. He made it difficult with wacky names like
HorriblePlumbers.com that you might assume were available but often were
not. You put up your right hand if you thought it was taken, your left
if available. If you were wrong you sat down and were out of the
game! Larry kept throwing out names until only one person was left
standing as the winner. It wound up being a doubleheader with Ammar
Kubba winning one game and Trillion.com Founder David Warmuz another.
Everyone actually won because there was so much fun and laughter along
the way, especially when audience members began making up absurd names
of their own (many a bit too off color to print here)! 
Above:
After the lunch break a session on Domain Monetization (Alternatives
to Ads for Domains like Google Adsense) was presented. It featured,
left to right, moderator Richard Lau, Dr. Gregg McNair, Davd
Warmuz, Adam Wagner and ParkLogic.com Founder Michael
Gilmour. The panelists presented an overview of how monetization
specialists are rethinking their models in response to recent changes
instituted by Google that disrupted existing systems. 
Above
& Below: An excellent addition to the ICA agenda was a session on Succession
Planning, led by Ryan McKegney (above). With people in
this business having portfolios they began building more than 30 years
ago, the matter of what happens to those valuable assets when they pass
is becoming more pressing. Ryan distributed a sheet with tips and
audience members, like Bill Sweetman below, shared their
experiences in this area as well. It was a very valuable, thought
provoking session that will prompt many to start planning for a problem
that we will have to face sooner or later. 
Above
& Below: In the final business session of the 2026 ICA Annual Member
Meeting, the topic turned to the industry's hottest current topic - artificial
intelligence. The AI Panel featured, left to right, George
Hong (Guta.com), Alan Shiflett (GoDaddy), Darpan Munjal
(Atom.com) and Prakhar
Bindal (Name.ai). Veteran investor K.W. Boswell asks a
question from the audience in the photo below. The panelists covered how
they are incorporating AI into their own operations and how it can help
automate tasks and improve domain search results. The AI boom has also
created a huge surge in value for quality domains related to AI and in
the .ai TLD. 
Above:
With another ICA Annual Member Meeting in the books (and the best
one to date), ICA Executive Director Kamila Sekiewicz and Board
Member Ryan McKegney thanked everyone for coming and noted that
planning for the 2027 Meeting is already underway! Kudos to the entire
ICA team on a job extremely well done. 
Above
& below: One last thing! While ICA business day was done many had an
open evening still to fill. Richard Lau (at far right above)
jumped in to fill that void by organizing an open to all karaoke
club outing to one of the most popular spots to sing in Las Vegas,
the Smelly Cat! Around 30 ICA members joined in. 
Above:
Richard snapped this shot from the level above the main floor. Counter
clockwise from top left are Diana Jackson, Ron Jackson, Ryan
McKegney, Eric McKegney and Kina Merdinian.
At front in the lower left are Jack Dai and George Hong.
Not long after Nat Cohen, Nena Hajikhani and Yiqui Tao
joined us in the stage-side tables. 
Above
& below: Now the real treat was seeing one of our own, Ryan
McKegney, take the stage to sing Green Day's "Basket
Case!" Ryan absolutely killed it too - making the ICA
proud by bringing down the house - fellow members and dozens of unaffiliated
club goers alike! 
It
was a great way to conclude an unforgettable trip to Las Vegas for
ICA. It concluded for us anyhow. About half of the group went on to
a second karaoke club to let the good times continue rolling! We had to
catch an early flight the next morning so thought we had better get some
rest so we could live to fight another day. After all, the 2027 ICA
Annual Member Meeting will be here before we know it! |
