Thoughts

Andrew Miller

December 18, 2022

Reflecting on a Journey in Domain Investments

So much to say this Saturday. I have been investing in, developing, and advising on premium domain name assets since 1998. In 2021-22, my company ATM Holdings and now Hilco Digital Assets have combined for $100m+ of domain transactions, with ‘21 being an epic year. One of our differentiators is we operate stealth, confidential, one-on-one, and very often accolade-free. For this, we have amazing partners/clients who appreciate that and even require it.

In the words of Bill Belichick, we “do our job”. I guess I have a lot of Patriots in my blood. I was trained by the great Michael Milken, who certainly did things this way. With that said, others do things their way. In my humble opinion, there are very few with our credibility and track record and longevity. One of those is my good friend (who I will have lunch with tomorrow) Andrew Rosener, Jonathan Tenenbaum, and his team at Media Options. They are as good as it gets, and a huge congratulations for the number one ranking that they always achieve year after year based on sales volume at Escrow.com. We do a lot of deals in other escrow venues as well but a well-earned distinction by true leaders.

The Power and Challenges of Domain Names

I wanted to say something that is important to all domain name investors new and even OG. Domain names are amazing assets. Very few are as powerful. If you buy a premium exact match, category .com, and apply it to your successful business, your ROI will be immeasurable. I have partners who will tell you the domain added “over $400 million” in enterprise value as a buyer. If you are an investor, the ROI is also excellent.

However, domains are also challenging. They are less liquid than most assets. Sometimes, despite speaking to every possible logical acquirer, a deal does not happen. It can take years. This is the same for domains we both own & oversee. I do not want to trivialize it by saying, you win some you lose some, because these assets and returns are important to those who invested. But I think reality is also important to understand, which is why we often work with our partners for years. Sometimes we have a fast $7 million deal like we just had last month and sometimes it takes years. Even after years, the return is better than almost any other asset class.

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