This morning, TechCrunch reported that “Mode, a five-year-old collaborative analytics platform based in San Francisco, has raised $23 million in Series C funding led by Valor Equity Partners.” In total, the company has raised $50 million in funding. Smartly, Mode acquired the brand match Mode.com domain name prior to the announcement of the most recent round of funding.
Mode Acquired Mode.com Before Series C Funding
Google Acquires Loon.com
Google has privately (and quietly) acquired the Loon.com domain name. A current Whois record shows the domain name is now publicly registered to Google at MarkMonitor. The acquisition was reported by Jamie Zoch of DotWeekly, in a Twitter post earlier today:
Google acquires ultra premium #domain name Loon(.)com from long time owners Loon Systems for undisclosed amount. This is very likely for Project Loon, which is currently using Loon(.)co. Amazing domain, lots of $$! #google #loon #internet #asset pic.twitter.com/vnLkRRvhc8
— Jamie Zoch (@yofie) January 30, 2019
Replying to an Offer with a Text Message
When I receive an offer to buy a domain name through one of my landing page inquiry forms, I reply to the offer with a stock email that changes depending on the specific domain name. Shortly after I send this email, I follow up with a text message to the prospective buyer. I have found this effective, and it looks like Efty co-founder Doron Vermaat does the same:
I recently started to get on the phone and communicate with buyers via calls and text. It has significantly increased my closing rate. Not having access to buyers this way is a major disadvantage of using marketplaces vs your own landing pages.
— Doron Vermaat (@doronvermaat) January 22, 2019
There are a few reasons for why I send a text message after sending an email:
Domain Names: Personal Use vs. Commercial Use
I receive many inquiries from people who specify that they want to buy a domain name for personal usage. I am not sure why they feel the need to tell me this, but I assume they think they might get a better price if they are using it in a non-commercial manner rather than if they are going to use it for commercial purposes. Suffice to say, it doesn’t matter how the buyer is going to use the domain name, the price will not change.
Domain Name Sales: Publicity vs. Privacy
Some domain investors and investment companies prefer to keep their domain name purchases and sales private. Others like to share their deals publicly. Some people don’t care either way. I thought I would discuss what I see as the advantages of publicly reporting domain name sales as well as the advantages of keeping domain sales private:
Publicity Advantages:
Firefly.com Acquired by Firefly Aerospace
A few weeks ago, I read an article about a company called Firefly, which had just raised $21.5 million in seed funding. I knew the matching Firefly.com domain was forwarding to MediaOptions.com and likely being brokered by Media Options, and I visited Firefly.com to see if this company acquired the matching domain name before the funding news hit the press.



