When a company starts life, its domain name options are fairly limited, especially if it is branding around a common word, name, or phrase. Typically, a startup may spend very little on a domain name to begin with, justly focusing more on the product.
Further along the road, founders often choose to upgrade company domain names for, among many reasons, brand protection, brand development, or simply because they can now justify the purchase.
Domain upgrades, then, are commonplace. Here are 10 prominent domain upgrades that happened in Q1 of 2021.
Table of Contents
Detect.com
Detect, a diagnostics company building molecular COVID-19 tests, acquired Detect.com from Brent Oxley in a deal closed in March 2021. The company upgraded to the one-word domain Detect.com from the lengthier DetectNow.com, which was acquired by the company in December 2020 for $3,000.
Cope.com
Announced by Andrew Allemann of DomainNameWire in March 2021, Cope.com sold for $138,000 to CopeCart, a German invoicing service founded in 2017. As of writing, Cope.com redirects to CopeCart.com, but the domain certainly represents a significant upgrade for CopeCart.
Structure.com
Structure Studios made a splash by upgrading from StructureStudios.com to Structure.com in Q1 2021. The pool and landscaping software company acquired the domain from Sears Brands LLC, according to WHOIS history. As of writing, Structure.com redirects to StructureStudios.com.
Wise.com
TransferWise, the successful international banking service, notably rebranded from TransferWise to Wise in February 2021. The company acquired Wise.com with the help of Media Options. The acquisition happened in 2020, but the domain switch didn’t happen until February 2021.
Sushi.com
SushiSwap, a decentralized community-run cryptocurrency exchange, made a significant upgrade by acquiring Sushi.com from Brent Oxley for an undisclosed fee. The exchange upgraded to Sushi.com from SushiSwap.fi. A company called Future Fund acquired the name on behalf of SushiSwap.
Tent.com
Another crypto-related company made a major purchase recently by upgrading from Tent.app to Tent.com. Tent is the creator of a cryptocurrency wallet and a physical cryptocurrency card. As of writing, Tent is yet to launch Tent.com, with the company still operating on Tent.app. Tent.com was sold to Tent by Domain Capital, the expert domain financing company.
Beeper.com
Early-stage startup Beeper dropped 2 letters by upgrading from BeeperHQ.com to Beeper.com. Previously known as NovaChat, Beeper is building a single app for messages received from different accounts such as iMessage, WhatsApp, and Twitter. The company paid an undisclosed fee to prise Beeper.com away from Reflex Publishing’s possession.
Fairway.com
Hot on the heels of its acquisition of Home.com, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation made another notable domain purchase, this time it was Fairway.com. The acquisition, facilitated by broker Andrew Miller, makes a refreshing change from the company’s lengthy FairwayIndependentMC.com.
Ahead.com
After raising $16.7 million at the end of 2020, Ahead started 2021 by switching from ThinkAhead.com to Ahead.com. The company announced the switch in February 2021, noting that the acquisition of Ahead.com took “a few years of effort.” The name looks to have been acquired in 2020, with the move to Ahead.com happening in 2021.
Settle.com
Aptly named Settle, this fintech startup allows businesses to expertly manage bill payments. Founded in late 2019, Settle operates on Settle.co, but the company acquired Settle.com in January 2021 for an undisclosed fee. Settle raised $8 million in funding, announced just after Settle’s acquisition of Settle.com.
Thanks, James. Bookmarked.