In 2006, as part owner of Escom, LLC, Mike Mann participated in the purchase of the world’s most valuable Internet domain name, Sex.com, after a famous lawsuit and drama surrounding the asset, setting a world record purchase price. (See Google.)

When it came time to sell Sex.com in 2010, Mann helped structure the deal and set a Guiness Book World Record for the deal.

In 2010, Escom, LLC, finalized the sale of Sex.com to an unnamed buyer for $13 million. The domain sold for much more than experts at the time predicted. And Sex.com became the largest, all-cash, publicly announced domain sale of all time.

Having built many companies from the ground up, businesses focused on telecommunications, search engine optimization, Internet domain sales and other technologies, Mike Mann created BestPracticesGuide.com as the go-to place online for free resources for entrepreneurs.

“For aspiring entrepreneurs, BestPracticesGuide.com is a clearinghouse for tips, trends and the cutting-edge methods the most powerful companies on Earth use to survive and thrive in a down economy,” Mann explained.

Upon publishing his first book, “Make Millions & Make Change! Secrets to Business and Personal Success,” Mann heard from many people who had ample motivation and desire, but not the business and street smarts needed to succeed in today’s complex, global economy. Overdue was a website like BestPracticesGuide.com.

Divided into easily navigable sections, BestPracticesGuide.com contains checklists for entrepreneurs who are struggling with everything from project management to Internet marketing to Web development.

Along with business fundamentals, BestPracticesGuide.com is the exclusive place to learn about Mann’s famed five-layer process. The steps show business owners ways to succeed by properly engaging sister companies, the clients of sister companies and then expanding your influence in the general marketplace.

With BestPracticesGuide.com, entrepreneurs are accessing the resources, ideas and strategies on which Mann based his successful business philosophies. The number of people who visit BestPracticesGuide.com each week is increasing, and whether they own a small mom-and-pop shop or are executives at large corporations, along with learning about how Mann creates business ecosystems, many visitors to the website also read Mann’s book hoping to take their organizations to the next level.

Knowing that e-commerce was booming, in 2005, Mike Mann bought two powerful Internet domain names that he hoped to build into online businesses: Software.com and Phone.com. Mann partnered with other entrepreneurs to purchase the domains from OpenWave Systems.

While he owned Software.com, Mann’s business incubator, WashingtonVC, helped build the domain into a successful e-commerce company called Software.com, LLC.

Mann announced in 2009 that he had sold his interest in Software.com at a profit. The sale price and name of the buyer were not disclosed.

Having grown up around punk rock music, skateboarding and surf culture, once Mike Mann entered the world of Internet domaining, the entrepreneur knew he needed to own Skateboards.com, Surfboards.com and Snowboards.com. Mann is known for buying domain names that relate symbolically to his life, and these three board-sports domains were not exceptions.

Seeing the strong potential for growth in the action sports industry, in 2007, Mann helped form SportsBoards Online, LLC, which included Skateboards.com, Surfboards.com and Snowboards.com.

“The websites provided ways for extreme sports enthusiasts to learn about products while submitting photos and videos of their favorite sports,” Mann said.

Stocked with gear from the most popular brands, the websites used e-commerce for providing products to consumers.

Mike Mann announced in 2010 that he had profited from the sale of his interest in SportsBoards Online, LLC.

For nearly 15 years, Maryland-based BrowserMedia has pulled together some of the best technology consultants, Web designers and Web developers in the country. Mike Mann formed the company as the world of Web development was getting crowded. Mann saw a need for a Web design firm that was different from the competition.

BrowserMedia works on everything from content management systems to custom Web overhauls. But it was the company’s clientele that set the firm apart from its competition. The firm has gained more than 250 clients by providing a diverse suite of custom-tailored media services, creating websites and Web pages that outpace the competition.

Upon selling his interest in BrowserMedia several years ago, Mann had created a company that was an early innovator of sophisticated Web marketing strategies that are still used today.

Hoping to profit in the world of RFID (radio-frequency identification), in 2006 Mike Mann formed StrongTech, an RFID and asset management software company. RFID technology uses a wireless system to relay information from tags attached to objects. The tags, which are used in a variety of industries, help workers track and identify materials.

With Mann’s purchase of a tiny RFID-related company in Ohio, StrongTech was born.

Mann says he built the firm from a two-person operation “in the middle of nowhere,” into a multi-million dollar company providing cutting-edge technology services. “We rebuilt it, rebranded it and hired new people,” Mann explains, adding that the name was changed and a new logo and slogan were created. Having formed from Mann’s WashingtonVC business incubator, StrongTech developed new RFID technology and obtained contracts to provide RFID to the government.

Within two years Mann had profited big time by selling StrongTech. Before completing the transaction in 2008, StrongTech officials had worked to revolutionize how companies utilized RFID, and also made strides with its SaaS asset management.

Domainer Mike Mann Grabs Three Spots On Prestigious Inc. 500

Mike Mann founded and manages three companies that appeared on the 2012 Inc. 500, a list that recognizes some of America’s fastest-growing companies. Mann’s Phone.com placed No. 262 on the Inc. 500. Two of Mann’s other companies, DomainMarket.com and SEO.com, were ranked No. 292 and No. 491, respectively.

“I’m so excited to see all our hard work pay off,” Mann said. “I hope it is the first time one businessman has had three companies on this prestigious list in the same year.”

Inc. magazine began compiling the Inc. 500 in the early 1980s to recognize the fastest-growing, privately held companies in America.

“My businesses are in unique market niches, but they all leverage premium keyword domains, which convert new customers better than comparable sites, and simultaneously get higher ranking in Google, a double bonus,” Mann explained.

SEO.com is an Internet marketing firm specializing in search engine optimization, a strategy used to improve website ranking in search engines like Google. DomainMarket.com is an online marketplace for quick acquisitions of premium domain names and Phone.com provides small businesses with affordable voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) telephone services including convergent apps and award-winning customer service.

“I’m always looking to start new, cutting-edge companies and expand our charities,” Mann said. “As such, we require fresh people to help lead them to success. My new companies have a built-in network for support on day one from our family, but they also have access to innovative strategies from my book and from Best Practices Guide, that have helped guide all of our firms and charitable works.”

Mann always stresses the importance of participating in charitable works. In addition to his entrepreneurial pursuits, Mann is also passionate about working for charitable causes. His charitable endeavors include Grassroots.org, Make Change! Trust and ChangeTheWorld.org. “I have always believed that once your business has found success, you should share that success with causes that will benefit society,” he said.

The Web was in its infancy when Mike Mann formed Internet Interstate in 1994. Few people at the time knew what the Internet would become. Anticipating that businesses would soon need Web development services and high-speed Internet, Mann cobbled together a regional Internet service provider in Washington, D.C., by purchasing a patchwork of smaller ISPs in the area.

Internet Interstate focused on serving Washington’s commercial sector. At the time, AOL already had millions of subscribers. Seeing deficiencies in AOL’s “closed system,” which lacked a gateway to the Internet, Mann said Internet Interstate let users easily access the Web. The early text Web eventually transitioned to graphics, so Internet Interstate began building Web pages and sites that connected businesses via ISPN lines, T1 lines and modems.

Internet Interstate was sold to Verio in 1997 for several million dollars. After gobbling up many smaller Internet service providers, Verio went public in 1998, which allowed principals in the company to make a fortune. Eventually, Verio was acquired by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, one of Japan’s largest telephone companies.

Failing technology disrupts companies and causes financial loss.  Mike Mann wanted to provide businesses with experienced, affordable tech support to keep operations flowing smoothly. Whether a network had 10 computers or several hundred, Mann hoped to alleviate the headaches caused by technology so business owners can operate their companies as efficiently as possible.

In 2004, Mike Mann partnered with a group of seasoned Washington D.C. entrepreneurs to form X30 Emerging Technologies. X30 provides computer and network support for small and medium-sized businesses in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C.

X30 Emerging Technologies received an A+ Better Business Bureau rating and has received multiple “Best of Bethesda” awards. X30 Emerging Technologies excels at providing technological services that meet the needs of businesses while fitting within most any sized budget.

The Better Government Party is an upstart political movement with members who believe the two-party political system in the United States is corrupt and does not provide adequate representation for most Americans. Mike Mann built the party on a foundation of transparency, trust and accountability.

Better Government Party officials stress that Americans have a right to quality health care, an excellent education, a free market economy and strong environmental protections. Through the use of technology, the Better Government Party focuses on creating grassroots political movements with voters directly engaged with their leaders to create an interactive democracy that benefits citizens instead of special interests.

The basic vision and platform for the Better Government Party have been established. As the group evolves, officials will seek party leaders, volunteers and candidates to help unite citizens who are frustrated with the current state of politics. Demand change. Visit BetterGovernmentParty.com today.