BW Online | July 27, 2000 | The Web Tag That Nearly Got Away

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JULY 27, 2000

TECHNOLOGY

The Web Tag That Nearly Got Away
To get his new address, Graham Balch had to track down a fugitive

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Internet entrepreneurs will do whatever it takes to secure that oh-so-right Web name. "Names are tremendously important," says Julie Cottineau, naming director at New York corporate-identity consultant Interbrand. "They're the tangible hook for the brand with consumers."

But few Netrepreneurs go to the lengths that Graham Balch did in his quest to secure the rights to "ChangeAddress.com." After the 26-year-old ex-Bain & Co. consultant conceived of an Internet-based change-of-address service, he found that his dream URL, ChangeAddress.com, was owned by a Detroit consultant, Thomas Byxbe. In October, Balch sent Byxbe, who claims he once held rights to 900 Web names, $2,000 of the $3,000 selling price.

Then, says Balch, Byxbe dropped out of sight. A panicky Balch flew to Detroit in January and gave himself 48 hours to find his man. "There was no way I wasn't going to follow through," he says. A neighbor told Balch that Byxbe had been evicted. Byxbe's nephew said Byxbe hadn't been working, following a life-threatening auto accident two years before; the nephew added that Byxbe had had some brushes with the law. He'd been convicted of switching license plates and driving with a suspended license and a concealed weapon, court records show. He'd also missed his probation hearings. His probation officer warned Balch that if he found Byxbe, he could be charged with harboring a criminal.

Then, suddenly, Balch's cell phone rang. It was Byxbe, calling from the suburbs from what his nephew called an "escort service." (Byxbe's story: "I was babysitting a friend's apartment.") Balch drove there after first instructing his brother in Atlanta to call the police if he didn't hear back from Balch in an hour. When Balch finally found Byxbe and handed him the final $1,000, he received a C-note from the mysterious Mr. Byxbe in return. "He said he understood all the trouble I'd gone through," Balch explains.

Balch was scheduled to find out if his wait has been worth it on July 24, the date of ChangeAddress.com's debut. Name maven Cottineau questions whether the name gives Balch enough flexibility to expand into other services. And Byxbe? He's in jail in Pontiac, Mich., until at least Aug. 4. "You do the crime, you do the time," he says. At least he is $2,900 richer.