Meet Tim Schumacher, CEO of Sedo.com LLC. Sedo.com is the largest domain name marketplace in the world. Sedo sold 4 of 2009’s top 10 domain sales, Fly.com $1.76 mil, Russia.com $1.5 mil, Call.com $1.1 mil and Server.com $770k.

Q. Who founded Sedo and a brief background?
A. Sedo’s was founded in Cologne, Germany in 1999 as a student project among three friends, Tim Schumacher, Ulrich Priesner, and Marius Würzner, who distributed computer games through the website offensiv.de. After the business was phased out, the three students had to ask themselves what to do with the domain name. “Keep it or let its registration lapse?” Of course, then the question became, “Why not just sell it?” This laid the foundation for Sedo which stands for “search engine for domain offers.” Starting a “real company” in 2001 out with only 5 employees working in a small office in downtown Cologne, Germany, Sedo has grown to an international company with just over 150 employees in offices in Cologne, Germany, Cambridge, US, and London, UK.

Q. Who picked the name Sedo and why?
A. Sedo is an acronym which stands for “search engine for domain offers” – we had a long list of names, but then came down to this name because you can pronounce it in any language (see below), it keeps the business objective flexible and open, and it’s short and memorable.

Q. How is Sedo pronounced?
A. The American pronunciation is “see dough.” The German pronunciation is closer to “zay dough”, but with the usual harsh German “s”

Q. Who is Tim Schumacher? Before Sedo
A. I studied business at the University of Cologne and the School of Economics, Sweden. Other than that, I founded Sedo straight out of university, so my CV’s quite short. While I was always interested on the business side of things, I have coded tons of programs, dating back to when I got my first computer – an Apple II – when I was 13.

Q. What is your educational and employment background?
A. I hold a diploma in business administration from the University of Cologne, Germany, a major in finance from the Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden, and a CEMS-Master of the Community of European Management Schools. I have worked as a consultant and conducted and advised various Internet and software projects, and I’m a co-author of “Domain-Namen im Internet”, Germany’s definitive guide to domain names.

Q. Can you share some Sedo.com stats?
A. As of November 30, 2009:
Number of domains listed: 14.9 million
Number of domains parked: 6.8 million
Member accounts 985,000 (we’ll have 1 M soon!)
Number of domains sold per month (in most months) >4,000

Q. What do your brokers do to sell so many high end domain names?
A. Process

Q. Why is Sedo so successful at selling high end domain names?
A. Over 7,000 businesses relied on Sedo brokers last year. While this represents only a fraction of the activity on our marketplace, it shows that our brokers are experienced sales professionals that know how to work with business owners and domain investors.

As the largest global, full-service domain marketplace, Sedo is an expert at communicating the value of domains to large and small businesses, entrepreneurs, and end users. More than any other domain company, we’ve been educating the public on how quality domains improve advertising conversions, ROI, and search engine rankings and strengthen an online brand presence. Through public outreach, advertising, attending the right industry events, and even redesigning the front end of our website, we are spreading the word about the power of owning the right domain portfolio.

We make it easy for buyers to find what they need, as end users can choose from the world’s largest inventory of domains in more than 2,000 categories. Sellers benefit from the industry’s most active marketplace, as Sedo offers the largest audience and distribution network. Since we already have a proven track record with the top recorded sales in the industry, buyers and sellers alike find comfort in working with Sedo. We ensure a secure and easy buying process which protects all parties involved.

Q. What does the future hold for Sedo.com?
A. Utilizing sophisticated technology, personalized service and local expertise, Sedo will continue to the gap between domain owners and the global community to help everyone find their voice – and their perfect name! – on the web. We’ll expand our offerings in the world of domain names, and make sure domain names will reach the end user even easier and faster – for example through our latest SedoMLS (www.sedoMLS.com) offering, which is tightly integrated with many of the world’s leading Registrars.

For any advertiser who wants reliable and well-converting traffic, Sedo will offer innovative advertising products to help businesses get customers onto their web site – some of them directly, some of them together with Affili.net, which is among Europe’s leading Affiliate platform. As the CEO of the group combining Affili.net and Sedo, my goal is now to push both businesses, independently as well as together.