Interview with the Founder of BustAName and HostSearchr: Ryan Stout

I’ve had a chance to interview Ryan Stout, Founder of BustaName.com and Hostsearchr.com. Ryan is a graduate from Franciscan University in Steubenville Ohio, its a small catholic college, where he studied computer science and theology. He was only able to answer only few of my questions as he is keeping some information confidential (He’s apparently working on something really promising, can’t wait to find out). I’ve covered his website BustAName (here) before). Here’s the interview:

So Ryan, What made you both pursue a Tech career?

I’ve been programming since I was a little kid.  Being able to build applications and useful tools is something I’ve always enjoyed and if you build the right things, it can be profitable.  So it made since as a career choice.

How do you see web startup’s perform during this time of recession?

The main thing I see is that if companies have high startup costs, or no business plan, then its going to be harder to keep things going.

How much funding does a web startup need to build a website?

I’ve had quite a few successful sites without ever taking funding. All you need is a good idea and the skills to make it happen.  For those without the skills, funding can be a good option to find the needed skills, but even now finding people with the right talent is a challenge.

What’s your advice / suggestions / recommendations to other tech entrepreneurs out there who are wanting to start something online?

Build things you would use.  If you’re building something that you wouldn’t use (because its a good market, or whatever the reason), be sure to bring someone on board who would use it.  Market research can only take you so far, ultimately someone who will use the product needs to be involved in the design process.

———– End of Interview ————-

Although Ryan wasn’t able to provide much information, as he’s busy with his new project, at least he gave the time to answer and impart knowledge with us. With his previous websites, I’ve noticed really amazingly done websites which were really a good sign that he must be doing something even better. His earnings seems to be thru affiliate marketing thru different domain / hosting providers, and with a powerful tool and being a one stop shop for all providers, affiliate marketing will be an easy sell.

Thanks Ryan for the time and I hope you all the best with your websites.