COVID-19 has not only had a major impact in many realms such as public health and education, it has also significantly affected startups and fundraising over the past few months. Beyond the usual challenges that running a company entails, many founders are finding themselves questioning how to approach the valuation, timing, and amounts of their next raise.
Despite the recent tumultuous economic climate, below is a quick look at a few companies that have raised funds during this unprecedented time and what they’re doing now and of course, we’ll take a look at the domain names they are using.
Privacy.com raises $10.2M
First up, we have Privacy.com, a virtual payment card startup. The company just raised $10.2M in Series A.
Privacy.com is an English, single, dictionary word .com domain. These domains often sell for well into the six figures. It would be interesting to know the story behind the domain as it looks like it changed hands back in 2015 and the company was just getting off the ground then.
Privacy.com offers a solution that allows anyone to generate virtual and disposable payment card numbers for free so that people can keep their actual credit card numbers private. It also puts more control in the hands of users who can cut off companies from their bank accounts.
Skydio (Skydio.com) raises $100M
Next, we have Skydio (Skydio.com), an autonomous drone startup. The company recently raised $100 M in Series C.
Skydio.com may not be a dictionary word; however, it’s a clearly brandable term that adds value to the domain. The domain was registered in 1999 and looks to have at one point been used for a webhosting company.
According to the company using the domain now, the new funding will help them with their product development efforts. It’ll also go towards helping them cover consumer applications, as well as enterprise and public sector drone technology.
In previous years, Skydio has launched consumer-focused drones with artificial intelligence technology for autonomous flight capabilities.
Klook (Klook.com) raises $225M
Finally, there’s Klook (Klook.com) – a unique name for a “world leading travel activities and services booking platform.” They raised $225 M in a Series D funding round.
Klook is a unique, short, brandable term. It just goes to show that you don’t necessarily have to have a great domain to raise money. The domain was registered in 2005. The advantage of a domain like this is that you can potentially associate the category with your name (think Kleenex or Google), but that also means that you are likely starting from scratch.
The travel industry has been hit hard by COVID-19. Klook quickly changed up their offers. They responded to the demand by offering and delivering DIY kits for baking, drink and candle-making, and more. They also partnered with other sites for virtual tours.
As attractions continue to reopen, they’re staying on top of current events to offer their services to people looking for vacation and staycation ideas.
These three sites give you a good idea of different approaches you can take to naming your business. Privacy.com is obviously one of the best possible domains the company could use. Skydio.com is a brandable, but it includes a clue with ‘sky’ to what the company is about. Meanwhile, Klook.com is trying to blaze their own trail, since the domain doesn’t tell you anything about the company. As a domain broker, you can probably guess the approach we would suggest.
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