Thoughts

Andrew Miller

November 19, 2023

Year-End Domain Deals: A Thanksgiving Reflection

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is also the time of year where businesses take stock of where they are and where they want to go, both in the final weeks of the current year and in the following one. Historically, post Thanksgiving to just before Xmas has been a very strong window for premium, exact match and category domain name transactions. As I have been posting, we are in challenging times economically and especially in venture investing, so it will be interesting to see how the end of Q4 measures up this year. We are working on a handful of really significant, in some cases all time epic (for me anyway) domain asset acquisitions/sales. They are requiring patience, negotiation skill, and both sides willingness to find that ZOPA (zone of possible agreement). I am still not sure if they are 2023 deals or 2024. In many ways, it does not matter. As the advisor overseeing them, they will happen when they are fully marinated and ready to cook. If and when they do, I will share as much detail as possible. So far, it has been a really good ytd for Hilco Digital Assets and Squadhelp who had record revenues (domain sales) in Sep and Oct!

Chat.com’s 8-Figure Domain Deal Amidst OpenAI’s Upheaval

In March, Larry Fischer and I oversaw the sale and acquisition of Chat*com, a massively important domain asset and 8 figure deal, powered by the surge in AI and ChatGPT. Friday, in a shocking development that sent tremors through social media, the OpenAI board fired founders/CEO Sam Altman and then co-founder/President Greg Brockman quit. There is still a cloud of uncertainty as to why, but this story will be told soon enough. I saw this tweet dated 9/29/23 from OpenAi Board Member Ilya Sutskever, https://lnkd.in/eG4YNs8b which may have been foreshadowing yesterday. I wonder if its Ilya that needs to self reflect on his ego. Sure sounds like that “on further review”, this call is being reversed. If not, it is a massive blow to OpenAi.

From Licorice to Pretzels to Chocolate: Warren Struhl’s Success Story

Episode 2 of our Hilco Digital Assets Random Thoughts Podcast with me and larry fischer will feature an amazing case study and story, my client and friend Warren Struhl, who recently acquired Chocolate*com via us and operates Licorice*com and Pretzels*com, in his very fast growing business. It will air live on our YouTube channel on Thursday, Nov 30th, 12EST and we will again be taking video call in questions. Details will be posted soon.

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