Random Sunday Thoughts #202
1. I often discuss, the fact that with the most valuable exact match and category defining domain name negotiations, the ones that I have conducted for almost 30 years, it is almost purely art and very little science. The challenges of this incredible asset class are the illiquidity and inefficient nature of the market, but the magic of the most premium .com domain names is also the lack of any viable appraisals and liquidity. This is largely because, as proven in case study after case study, by global brands, market leaders, founders, and CEOs, the return on investment of an exact match brand or multi-billion to trillion dollar category domain is exponentially more than most any other investment. This is why negotiation in real estate and other industries has well defined parameters and with the most valuable domains, it comes down to what that "ZOPA" (zone of possible agreement) is between a buyer and a seller. Understanding how to navigate that is so important to a successful outcome. I read a negotiation post this weekend by someone discussing the importance of leverage, and identifying "who is weaker", so pressure can be applied and weakness identified and taken advantage of. I have acquired over $40m of domains as a principal, and negotiated $650m as an advisor on both the buy and sell side, including several of the largest transactions of all time, and I cannot disagree with this approach more when it comes to this asset class. Every deal that I have overseen has been about the buyer and seller coming away feeling like they both won, the seller getting a strong and happy price for the domain name, and the buyer the same, with the opportunity to create exponential value from it thereafter. It is all about the ZOPA.
2. The 3 new major transactions I mentioned without naming last week are all closed or closing but will need to wait one more week, max two, before I can congratulate the buyers and sellers on their win-win.
3. To hear about breaking, new and valuable domain opportunities, make sure you hit up my Substack for my monthly domain news,
substack.com/@atmholdings?r…. All our domains are at
atmholdings.com ( excited for our revamped new site in March).
4. The first thing I did when I woke up on Saturday was to message my friends and domain clients in the Middle East, to check in on them and make sure they were ok. Fortunately, as of writing this, they all are. I am not sure yet how world events will affect the markets and domain assets but, most importantly, hope that the world can become as synergistic as the relationship among the people in this great domain industry all over the globe.
5. It was so awesome watching the US Hockey Teams bring home Gold over a star studded Team Canada.
Sports often are the best way to bring communities together and put aside differences. We need that right now.
Until Next Week
#domainnames
