Home.com: The Greatest Stories Never Told - Andrew Miller, Larry Fischer at NamesCon 2023

Summary

In this engaging session, industry veterans Andrew Miller and Larry Fisher recount their experiences with high-stakes domain name deals, including the eight-figure sales of chat.com and home.com. They emphasize the importance of confidentiality and the unique challenges of such significant transactions. The discussion also features David Laz, whose company Fairway acquired home.com, sharing insights on the strategic value of a powerful domain name in the digital era.

Takeaways

• 🎤 The session features Andrew Miller and Larry Fisher discussing their experiences in the domain industry, highlighting significant domain deals they've been involved in.
• 💼 Andrew has been in the domain business for 25 years, having founded creditcards.com and insurancequotes.com, and has been involved in various successful domain transactions.
• 🔍 Larry entered the domain business in 1997, nearly left in 1999, but a significant deal on 'portuguese.com' kept him in the industry, leading to the creation of the first parking company, SmartName.
• 🏆 Notable sales by Larry include 'messenger.com' to Facebook and 'teams.com' to Microsoft, emphasizing the importance of confidentiality in high-value domain transactions.
• 🤝 The speakers advocate for private mergers and acquisitions for significant domain transactions, stressing the need for confidentiality on both the buy and sell sides.
• 🔑 The discussion reveals details about two major deals, 'chat.com' and 'home.com', which are considered among the top five in their careers due to their high value.
• 🗣️ David Laz, from Fairway, shares the story of acquiring 'home.com', illustrating the importance of having an internal champion for a domain within a company to push through a significant purchase.
• 💰 The 'chat.com' deal involved a last-minute change due to one buyer's legal overreach, allowing Dharma Shaw, from HubSpot, to secure the domain quickly with favorable terms.
• 🏦 A humorous anecdote from the 'chat.com' deal involved a wrong bank number being given during the escrow process, which was fortunately resolved without issue.
• 🔄 The 'home.com' deal was initially rejected by Fairway's CEO but was reconsidered due to the domain's potential value, leading to its acquisition and future integration into the company's brand.
• 🌐 The speakers emphasize the long-term value of domains as assets, comparing the potential of domain acquisitions to the fleeting expense of Super Bowl advertisements.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the session that Andrew Miller and Larry Fisher are discussing?

The main topic of the session is 'Greatest Stories Never Told,' focusing on significant domain name deals that have not been widely shared in public.

What significant domain names have Andrew Miller and Larry Fisher been involved in selling?

Andrew Miller and Larry Fisher have been involved in selling significant domain names such as messenger.com to Facebook, teams.com to Microsoft, home.com, and chat.com.

How did the deal for chat.com unfold, and what was the role of Dharma Shaw in it?

The deal for chat.com unfolded when Dharma Shaw, the founder and CTO of HubSpot, decided to publicly disclose his purchase of the domain for an eight-figure sum, opening the door for further discussion about the transaction.

What was the initial offer for chat.com, and how did it eventually sell?

The initial solid offer for chat.com was three million dollars. It eventually sold for a significantly higher amount after Dharma Shaw decided to quickly accept the terms and use the escrow as specified by the sellers.

Why was the deal for chat.com considered a 'Mega deal' in the domain industry?

The deal for chat.com was considered a 'Mega deal' because it was an eight-figure transaction, which is rare and significant in the domain industry.

What was the role of David Laz in the acquisition of home.com by Fairway?

David Laz, being a top shareholder at Fairway, was instrumental in recognizing the value of home.com for the company's future and championed its acquisition within the organization.

What was the initial response from Fairway's CEO to the idea of purchasing home.com?

The initial response from Fairway's CEO was a decline, stating that they had to make hard decisions and the answer was no.

How did the situation change for Fairway to eventually purchase home.com?

The situation changed when the president of digital at Fairway expressed her desire for the domain, leading to further internal discussions and eventually the decision to purchase home.com.

What is the vision for home.com within Fairway's business strategy?

The vision for home.com within Fairway's business strategy is to use it as a central hub for all home-related services and transactions, aiming to become a one-stop destination for consumers, referral partners, and employees.

What is the significance of the domain name 'home.com' for Fairway's branding and future growth?

The domain name 'home.com' is significant for Fairway's branding and future growth as it is short, memorable, and directly related to their core business, making it an ideal platform for expanding their digital presence and services.

Outlines

00:00

🎤 Welcoming the Domain Experts

The session 'Greatest Stories Never Told' commences with the introduction of Andrew Miller and Larry Fisher, two domain industry veterans, along with a mention of David, who will join later. The host reflects on his 25-year journey in domains, his involvement in founding creditcards.com and insurancequotes.com, and his various roles as an investor, buyer, seller, and advisor. The session aims to delve into previously unshared stories of significant domain deals, emphasizing the importance of confidentiality in high-value transactions.

05:01

🏆 Reflecting on Major Domain Sales

Larry Fisher shares his background in the domain industry since 1997, including a near exit in 1999 rescued by the sale of 'portuguese.com'. He discusses the establishment of the first parking company, SmartName, which was later acquired by GoDaddy, and his significant sales such as 'messenger.com' to Facebook and 'teams.com' to Microsoft. The conversation highlights the rarity and complexity of eight-figure domain deals and the importance of being prepared for such transactions.

10:02

🤝 The Art of Domain Deal-Making

The discussion continues with insights into the process of selling high-value domains, focusing on the 'home.com' and 'chat.com' deals. The importance of using standard agreements and escrow services for quick transactions is emphasized. The story of 'chat.com' involves a last-minute change due to over-lawyering by a potential buyer, which opened the opportunity for Dharma Shaw, the founder of HubSpot, to acquire the domain.

15:03

🕊️ The Chat.com Deal: A Lesson in Agility

The narrative details the 'chat.com' deal, highlighting the agility of Dharma Shaw in swiftly securing the domain at 3 AM, demonstrating how even large corporations can be outmaneuvered by quick decision-making. The story underscores the importance of being ready to act on a good offer and not letting the opportunity slip away.

20:03

🔄 The Home.com Deal: Persistence Pays Off

The story of 'home.com' unfolds with initial rejections from the CEO of Fairway Independent Mortgage, followed by a change of heart recognizing the domain's long-term value. The deal was co-brokered by Larry and Andrew, who leveraged their overlapping client base to expand the market reach. The persistence and belief in the domain's worth eventually led to a successful sale.

25:04

🎥 Showcasing Home.com's Vision

David Laz, a shareholder at Fairway, shares his company's vision for 'home.com' as a central hub for all home-related services, aiming to provide a one-stop digital solution for consumers, employees, and referral partners. The video presentation illustrates the company's mission to make 'home.com' a destination for the next generation of home ownership and services.

30:06

🌐 The Future of Home.com and Fairway

David Laz discusses the strategic importance of 'home.com' for Fairway's digital transformation, emphasizing its potential to become a billion-dollar asset. He contrasts Fairway's community-based growth with the digital-first approach of competitors like Rocket Mortgage. The company's employee-owned structure and commitment to the long-term vision of 'home.com' are highlighted.

35:09

🏆 Celebrating the Success and Looking Ahead

The session concludes with reflections on the significance of the 'home.com' deal for Fairway and the domain industry. The host and Larry express their excitement about the future of domain transactions and the potential for even more significant deals. The audience is encouraged to support Fairway and engage with the industry, as the panelists look forward to the next big deal.

40:11

📝 Lessons from the Domain Auction Chronicles

In a final anecdote, the host shares a story from a past domain auction involving a Forbes 400 individual and a bankrupt company. The story illustrates the intense and unpredictable nature of domain auctions, where deals can change rapidly and the importance of being prepared for any scenario.

Keywords

💡Domains

Domains refer to the human-readable addresses used to identify, locate, and access websites on the internet. In the context of the video, domains are treated as valuable assets and the central theme revolves around the buying, selling, and monetization of domain names, especially high-value ones like 'chat.com' and 'home.com'.

💡Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)

Mergers and Acquisitions refer to the consolidation of corporations or assets through various types of financial transactions. In the video, the speakers discuss their involvement in significant domain name transactions, emphasizing the importance of confidentiality in M&A deals, especially for high-value domain sales.

💡Confidentiality

Confidentiality is the practice of keeping information private and undisclosed to unauthorized parties. The speakers stress the significance of maintaining confidentiality in major domain transactions to protect the interests of both the buyer and the seller, as seen in the deals for 'chat.com' and 'home.com'.

💡Eight-Figure Deal

An eight-figure deal refers to a transaction valued at over ten million currency units, typically dollars. The video discusses several such deals, indicating the rarity and significance of these large-scale transactions in the domain market.

💡Liquidity

Liquidity in the context of the video refers to the ease with which domain names can be bought and sold. The speakers mention that liquidity can be challenging, especially for high-value domains, implying that these assets may not always have readily available buyers.

💡Broker

A broker is an intermediary who facilitates transactions between parties. In the script, the speakers describe their roles as brokers in domain transactions, highlighting their experience and the strategies they use to negotiate and close high-value deals.

💡Escrow

Escrow is a financial arrangement where a third party holds and regulates the payment of funds required for two parties involved in a given transaction. The video discusses the importance of using escrow services in domain transactions for security and to ensure a smooth transfer of funds and assets.

💡KYC (Know Your Customer)

KYC is a process required by financial institutions to verify the identity of their clients to prevent fraud, money laundering, and other illegal activities. In the video, a lengthy KYC questionnaire is mentioned as part of the process for using a certain escrow service, indicating the level of scrutiny involved in high-value transactions.

💡Co-Brokering

Co-brokering is when two or more brokers collaborate to represent the interests of their clients in a transaction. The speakers mention co-brokering the 'home.com' domain, leveraging their combined networks and expertise to facilitate the deal.

💡Digital Transformation

Digital transformation refers to the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how a company operates and delivers value to its customers. The video discusses how companies like Fairway Independent Mortgage are leveraging domain names like 'home.com' to drive their digital transformation and enhance their online presence.

💡End User

An end user is the ultimate consumer of a product or service. In the context of domain transactions, the end user is the company or individual who acquires the domain for their own use, as opposed to buying it for resale. The video includes a discussion with an end user who purchased 'home.com' to use as their primary web address.

Highlights

Andrew Miller and Larry Fisher share the stage to discuss the domain industry's greatest stories never told.

Miller discusses his 25 years in domains, founding creditcards.com and insurancequotes.com, and his involvement in major domain deals.

Fisher shares his experience since 1997, including the sale of messenger.com to Facebook and teams.com to Microsoft.

The speakers emphasize the importance of confidentiality in high-value domain transactions.

Dharma Shaw's public disclosure of purchasing chat.com for a high figure allows the speakers to discuss the deal openly.

David Laz of Fairway discusses the acquisition of home.com for strategic branding and future business expansion.

The chat.com deal involved a complex negotiation process with competing buyers and legal challenges.

Miller and Fisher highlight the rarity and difficulty of closing eight-figure domain deals.

Laz explains how the home.com domain will be integrated into Fairway's business model to enhance consumer experience.

The speakers discuss the potential long-term value of high-impact domain names like home.com.

A humorous anecdote about a bank account error during the escrow transfer process is shared.

The importance of having a clear agreement and swift escrow process in domain deals is emphasized.

Laz shares his perspective on the long-term vision for home.com and its role in Fairway's growth strategy.

Miller and Fisher reflect on their experience co-brokering high-value domains and the unique challenges involved.

The speakers provide insights into the future of domain investing and the potential for new record-breaking deals.

An audience question prompts a discussion on the importance of seizing opportunities in domain sales.

Transcripts

um super excited to have Andrew Miller

up on the stage again with us as well as

Larry Fisher we also have uh somebody

dialing in David is going to be dialing

in in a little while

um but our our session here is greatest

stories never told super excited to have

the gentleman up here on the stage with

us and enjoy welcome Andrew and Larry

Andrew and Larry come on up

[Music]

all right

all right

hello

nice to meet you tough act to follow

okay and in the proceed

um so this is kind of a welcome back

first of all I'd give a quick background

of each of us again

um

I am uh been in domains for

as I said earlier in 25 years been a

founder of creditcards.com and insurance

quotes.com both successful exits and

investor buyer seller advisor for a long

time

um and today we're going to kind of be

able to break some ground and things we

haven't done before I've known Larry

since

you know we're old man since 1998 and uh

cannot believe I get to be up here with

him this is like epic so a little

background on you and then we'll I

started the business about a week ago

done well

um now I I actually got into business 97

learned how to uh snag domains back then

uh almost left the business in about 99

came down to uh paying the bills

um I was able to do a deal on

portuguese.com for three thousand

dollars that saved me from having to

leave this business and

was very lucky met some good people Ari

goldberger is one of them we ended up

starting uh the very first parking

company called smart name which we sold

a few years later and from there that

got rolled up to GoDaddy and I've been

involved in domains buying selling

monetizing for uh ever since then some

of the big deals done over the years

I've sold messenger.com to Facebook

teams.com to Microsoft

mention home.com which was my largest

deal along with Andrews up until

chat.com recently so we've you know just

had a lot of fun and along the way met a

lot of great friends and it's really

nice to see a lot of you guys out here

that I know and hopefully people that

I'll meet in the future so we wanted uh

this is microphone working Peter is this

okay I got bumped a little okay so we

had a um we wanted to do this today kind

of recalled it from fun the greatest

stories never told I know Ron Jackson

gave me my Grateful Dead shout out

earlier that's a The Greatest Story

there he is greatest stories ever told

uh never told a great story ever told

the Grateful Dead song so it was a

little bit of a take off on that but um

Larry and I have been part of many of

the largest deals of all time and we're

both pretty big Advocates that like

private mergers and acquisition deals

that the most significant domain

transactions really need confidentiality

on both sides and I would never buy a

domain for eight figures where I'd want

the price disclosed and we kind of

advise both our buy and side sell side

clients the same and there are a lot of

reasons for that so

I've been up for years trying to find a

productive way to like said someone shed

some light on some of these Mega deals

and today we can actually make that

happen uh by way of I know I think I can

say our two largest and most important

deals of either of our long careers

chat.com and home.com and we're able to

do this because the buyer of chat.com

the first buyer a few weeks ago uh

decided to post about the transaction

publicly which opened up the door for us

to do that it was bought by Dharma Shaw

founder and CTO of HubSpot uh and he

disclosed that he bought it for eight

figures plus and then with home.com one

of my oldest friends in the world who

will be joining us by screen which he

will take over this room he's amazing uh

is David Laz uh that uh the his company

Fairway bought that domain and he'll be

able to talk about it in really a way

that I've never seen an end user come on

and namescon and speak about an

eight-figure transaction I did post on

LinkedIn recently that I do believe we

always need to look back on these deals

carefully when one peels back the onion

and Larry you and I discussed this

recently you know I'm in the camp that

there's probably been 25 maybe 50 but

probably 25 to 50 eight figure deals

ever I think we've talked about this and

yeah we kind of figured that the home

and chat are both in the top five and I

think it's important to understand in

this room too that they are infrequent

and it's tough to make them The

Benchmark especially if an active sale

is the goal and I always tell those that

I'm advised and that are you know aim

high but you also need to be prepared to

pass the name on to your grandchildren

if you're always looking for to be in

that upper top 25 right it just doesn't

mean you shouldn't be but you be

prepared that the main could go to your

estate because as we said earlier in the

squad help session liquidity can be

challenging so I still see the like Zone

I call it the zone of possible agreement

the Zopa The Sweet Spot of these deals

are kind of one and a half to seven

million or seven and a half million and

once in a while we get one that's higher

and that flies higher and that can

happen by luck it can happen by

negotiation skill let me take some

credit it can happen in rare cases where

it is one buyer who wants it badly

enough to keep going in a I guess a

bidding war

um so any thoughts on that uh ditto

um basically doing an eight-figure CL is

not easy usually not easy

um sometimes you look back and say if

it's too easy well what the result too

cheap you just never know

um uh home.com

took many months to get involved with uh

the reason Andrew and I co-brokered the

name was for the fact that we you know

some of our clients overlap but very few

do so it gives us a wider range and

knowing that we both go after the same

high-end client has the values that we

that would really would want a name like

this it gives us the opportunity to

expend them expand the market and we

were very lucky with home on home we

actually had three people down

coming down to the wire all within a

month radius that got involved and we

actually had a deal that would have been

a little higher but it was over time and

uh the other client wasn't ready to pull

the trigger uh so it just fell into

place and uh you know that's how home

came about yeah it's a good segue into

chat so you got everyone here has

probably read something about the

chat.com deal recently and again

normally couldn't even talk about it but

darmish opened the door but I do think

you know it's an interesting story to

tell

so could I say what thing on the on

track just before we get into that end

Larry's going to say that we undersold

it that's not what we're going to say no

I'm going to say you won the soldier but

that's another point

every day every day seriously

um we bought I I by the way I was an

investor in both home and chat uh

minority investor in both

um

the

we got chat from CBS Interactive about

10 years earlier I think the price on it

was just a little over a million dollars

um

in terms of offers over the year

the only solid offer in 10 years I mean

we've had offers around a million but we

paid for it but I think we had a three

million dollar offer that we knew was

solid and then we had a 6.6 that was

sketchy but it got to a point where as

Andrew was saying do you keep this for

your kids or you keep waiting and if you

have the ability if you really believe

in a name like we did in chat we held on

to it we said you know we're not looking

to sell for uh you know a two Acts or 3x

we ended up

getting to a point where when chat GPT

was announced that first month when we

saw things take off it was incredible uh

all of a sudden we're getting offers you

know uh first from the domainers the

main is that I know and most domainers

you know they want to go low and

somebody I know who I respect very much

and it sold a lot of high-end names came

in at two million dollars and I go to

him

well first of all when he sent the email

he didn't know it was me it was going to

and when it did he goes okay I'm never

getting this

um and his thoughts were you know

he wanted to resell it for 30 to 60.

that was what he was going to do if he

had it and bought it and whether that

would have happened I have no idea but

having chat GPT come out opened the door

for I mean our original Target price in

the name was 10 million that's what we

thought the name was worth

that changed all of a sudden with the

chat gbt and then when you get a very a

very solid offer through outbound and a

number of orifice came in very quickly

but when you get a very solid offer

sometimes you have to say

okay the strategy of saying no and

continuing to get a higher price is a

nice thing but

do you really want to pass up a stupid

amount of money and that's what it came

down with chat.com we decided that the

offer that came in we were happy with

could have we gotten more

yes I believe we could have if we pushed

and or possibly waited for other buyers

stuff like that but one thing you have

to realize if an offer comes in that

you're truly happy with

don't it up don't pass on it

because you never know

there have been people here I'm sure

there have offers and you get that first

offer and it's like oh my God this is

great I'm gonna you know do great and

then you never get an offer again for

three years and then when you go back to

that guy he's either no longer

interested or uh he'll give you half the

price or a third the price that it was

so yeah that I just want to lead into

it's an interesting segue into the story

so

I'm gonna say what I can say carefully

so we

um we had a

obvious company that was at the table

and um I'm not going to say who it is

but you can all use your imaginations

big company well if we can use the name

chat and other people can think of it

um and you know we're talking you know

them and it was actually a Wednesday

afternoon and

um they were at a really good number

um and by I told them that we had

another serious buyer and there were two

factors the price the timing and the

process and I want to come back the

process was as important I would say as

the price at this point and I said

you're going to use my agreement you

know our hilco purchased and sale

agreement as is and we're going to use

either escrowdomains or escrow.com

period and we're going to move quick and

they're like no problem great buy I got

a phone call about doing errands that

afternoon with a we're so concerned we

had another buyer they upped it about a

million dollars and you know just to say

that this was our largest deal ever so

you guys can put that in perspective but

it was much more than the 10 plus that

you know darmish posted much more

massively more in a percentage basis so

um

around three o'clock the afternoon

we got a uh I I got back a call and they

said hey we have some small changes to

your agreement we're going to send over

our version of the agreement can you do

a call with our La lawyers in three

o'clock Eastern time well I get back a

36 our agreement's about 8 10 pages

pretty standard use it for all my big

deals we get back at 36 page asset

purchase agreement as if they were

buying an 800 million dollar company

with multiple layers of assets and I

said this is a problem

in this thing we got in the same breath

they said oh we're going to have to use

Citibank

for escrow

and I'm like well that's a problem so we

get on a phone within 10 minutes with

their attorneys all of us me not Larry

and you know by the end of the call

they're like all right give us till

tonight we're going to send you a

revised scale down agreement but we

really have to use

someone other than escrow.com or

escrow.domains

I get they get on an hour phone call

with my good friends who are probably

here I mean at escrow.com who did an

amazing job and they called me back and

said not going to work for us it's too

we don't it's not enough of a kyc

process and a bunch of nonsense so now

it's around nine o'clock that night and

I get a um

back a new agreement which is my

agreement with about eight pages of

changes but better than the one that was

sent earlier and a six page kyc

questionnaire for the seller Larry's

partner uh to fill out in order to move

forward with Citibank is escrow.com and

this is a seller who's well known at

escrow.com and already kyc don't forget

about they wanted to leave the money in

escrow for a year well there was that

but that was going to go away I think

but there was some there was other stuff

and I texted darmish who I know well who

was the other bidder now I can say that

and I said there's a crack and by the

way just to say one thing I don't like

to play one bit off another I said to

either party whoever comes first with

the number we're looking for willing to

sign our agreement as is and use escrow

we'll get the domain I won't bring it

back to the other side right we're not

gonna I believe you lose deals by

playing one off another even if you can

try to squeeze out the highest possible

price I think that is not how I role so

but the window opened up because of this

over lawyering let's call it and I

texted darmish and he was in San

Francisco at a HubSpot board meeting and

he said I said there's a window if you

if you can do this fast sign DocuSign

the agreement and accept the escrow

terms there's a window and he's like I'm

in a board meeting and then at dinner

till 2 30 a.m Boston time where he lives

but he was in California and he goes

send me the I can sign the DocuSign at 3

A.M except the escrow on wire tomorrow

and I'm like I'll be up at 3am let me

know when you're back and

and

um sure enough 3 A.M 2 50 a.m I get a

text and he's like I signed the DocuSign

except for the escrow did we have a deal

and I go we have a deal and he came in

and you know this was a great example by

the way of um what I would say is a you

know very successful billionaire right

founder entrepreneur who was able to

understand the nuances and beat out you

know a large venture-back multi-billion

dollar venture-backed Corporation who I

think was a bunch of I don't want to say

this because I'm dating myself but I

hear a bunch of young people working for

the VCS who were scared to tell their

lawyers no yes and what to do where

dharmers looked at the agreement he's

like great I've bought domains before

I'm good and you know he came in and

swooped it you know literally at three

in the morning but but one thing I do

want to add you had to talk to domus

Earl in the week

he had said I love it but I really don't

want to pay that yes and gave lower

numbers no that won't work so he you

didn't go back really to ask for more

money or play I mean you just told him

the window was the windows open that's

all and um it was an amazing turn of

events and you know I didn't look

forward to the uh you know Larry's like

you have to call them I'm like I'm not

calling them I'm sending him a quick

email a message that we went to the

agreement with the other terms because

process was a big part of it and you

know let the other company know and you

know the deal closed in a matter of and

we never had four hours we never got a

phone call back from them no eventually

got an email they didn't respond to

anything but you know it was an amazing

um

scenario where obviously to at least two

um

groups people entities wanted it now I

also know it's been well publicized that

it was darnished resold the domain last

week posted about that I I know a little

bit about that but I'm not going to

really get into it I didn't I was not

involved in the resale I don't think

that would have been it would have been

hard for me to go back and resell it and

then have Larry in his

Partners say well do you already have

that in the back door you know that you

have that did you know it was going to

happen so I felt like it was just better

to stay out of it my gut feeling is you

will see it was not sold to the other

company we were negotiating with

although we'll see and it was likely

um a company that darmish has

significant long-standing Equity or

upside in as my guess down the road

versus a major cash windfall I mean I

don't think you know there's no amount

of cash that would change his life but

he loves the domain and thought it was

instrumental to the future of this

business of and I think we'll find out

that it was yeah I think it's AI related

I just can't see it be it not being in

an AI based business because he made it

publicly now do you want to tell them

one of the stories about what happened

with escrow as a funny story no you tell

it oh okay so

everyone's excited

we just did the deal

we keep refreshing escrow the money's in

escrow okay holy right so we you

know the escrow starts Distributing the

funds I talked to Andrew about a half

hour later I said hey did you get yours

yet oh yeah I got it right away right

afterwards come looking about an hour

goes by I said let me check something

and then I'm looking at the escrow I'm

looking at this holy we gave the

wrong Bank number

so needless to say the next 45 minutes

were very intense

we were very lucky the a number was

added not a number change so because of

the wrong digits it turned out that the

bank it went to had automatically kicked

it back but we didn't know that at the

time but uh

the accounting aspect can be very

important done deals so don't don't end

until it's it's over and I don't know if

Molly or Emanuel are in the room but I

mean escrow.com you know did an amazing

job they did you know handling what

because it could have been I mean not

for me fortunately but oh yeah a very

very stressful situation

um for Larry you know when he figured

out what was going on I would have

blamed you anyway it doesn't matter so

yeah of course so we you know when

things move this fast you have to be

careful yeah so it was an amazing I mean

you know for as long as we've been doing

this this was you know

um felt good a pretty epic deal and you

know felt pretty good and but like I

said it's not I don't think it's the

standard sometimes you know you get a

Powerball ticket right and um but not

they don't come around very often and

you know you have to recognize that and

I think it's important for domain name

owners for Brokers everybody on every

side to understand that these are not

again I think there's been under 25 ever

personally so and when I say real true

cash above 10 figures yeah above uh yes

and

um you know I think it's also okay to

play in a lower Zone and still have

great wins

um so that's a you know I thought I

thought in 2000 in late 2021 when we

soldhome.com together I thought that was

going to be the I'm like we're never

going to do one bigger than this or

better then of course Chuck came along

but home.com is an amazing story I don't

know

um when this

my uh my mic just fell so hang on one

second I don't I'm good I got it and

then I don't know when um yeah is that

are we is David ready oh Paul so we're

going to bring on um Dave there he is

do we have volume on you guys

what's up Mills how are you what's going

on so hang on one minute so I can

introduce you and so um

David Laz is an incredible person and an

incredible story but he's an old lungs

one of my oldest friends and is a great

example and I've talked about this last

year and before I think I don't know who

I was talking to before I came in but of

both letting a domain name kind of

marinate with a buyer that wants it

until it was white and makes sense and

having an internal Champion or Champions

at a company where it makes sense so

backing up from chat.com

um

I was helping Larry sellhome.com in late

early 2021 and

um we were in as he said there were two

or three parties that had already made

really serious offers and

um I had another one as well a big name

public company and I sent it over to Laz

Laz is um I'll let him introduce himself

on his own but Laz is a top shareholder

in mover and Shaker at the third largest

mortgage company private League owned

company called Fairway Independent

Mortgage and

you know I I can't tell you how many

business things I bring the lads over 20

30 years of friendship and none of them

we never really do anything and he's

like this is interesting and that

accelerated into kind of back and forth

conversations suddenly I'm on a call

with you know Fairway calls their people

teammates right and they have a very

unique culture and suddenly I'm a

teammate like I'm on the call with like

40 people in management and the CEO who

owns 54 of the company and and this is

starting to pick up steam and

um

December 29th

uh Steve Jacobson the CEO and founder of

Fairway says

my team really wants to do this but I

have to make hard decisions and the

answer is no and the deal is dead in the

water

and I said all right we'll carry on it's

December 29th let's go have a new year

and a holiday and January comes around

and we're into the second you know first

week of January while this is going on

I'm also trying to help Fairway by

fairway.com which they did not own

from the Golf Channel from NBC Universal

who I represent for a lot of their

domains so I knew them well and

um I remember Larry is saying to me if

you if they buy fairway.com they'll

never want home.com and I said actually

Larry it's the opposite if we get

fairway.com it will help with home and

December 29th it's dead I've never told

Larry any of this by the way I

completely lied to Larry I'm like oh

yeah they're thinking about it we're

going to get back in the new year we'll

see where things are and friendship

friendship 20 something years that's

what it does and uh and then on January

first second week of January I got a

phone call from a woman who was the

president of digital at Fairway laza's

works with Laz and she says what I think

were the magic words which is I'm losing

sleep at night knowing I can have this

domain name

well if we talk about championing right

you know now you have a champion so I

decided all right I'm going to start

working with her to help her understand

you know help her internally get this

Soul through and I'm like Laz was

amazing in that in that process and you

know fast forward we buy um

we buy fairway.com

um

a few weeks later successfully and get

that over and they're happy and that was

important to the founder of Fairway who

in last could say more but who was a

former division one college basketball

player right last at Wisconsin

he was walk-on basketball player at

Wisconsin so I said I texted with laz's

permission I texted the owner and I said

or the CEO and I said uh all right we

just got Fairway now let's go get

Michael Jordan

dot dot dot home.com

and three minutes later he said let's do

it

and we went from dead on December to a

done deal in February

um with that said Laz I want you to uh

come in and say hello to a lot of people

watching introduce yourself

um I want you to talk a little bit about

both the transaction that we just I just

described the deal process and obviously

last is a video to show you guys of

where they're going with the domain and

um other stuff so it's amazing to have a

um an end user join us this doesn't

happen very often about openly talking

about these transactions so I'm I'm

pretty excited about that we have made

it happen

yeah hey thanks uh pleasure to be here

uh Larry nice to see you I know we've

chatted uh last week for the first time

same here uh but good to see you on on

the screen uh good to be here with all

of you uh I uh I've known Andy uh our

very first jobs on Wall Street uh right

out of college is where we met and we've

uh been been fast friends ever since

that uh very first day we met so it's uh

and it is true it's brought me a lot of

transactions over the years that I have

not participated in but this was uh

interesting because of where we're

taking our company and what we're trying

to do uh within the space uh so it

really uh was special for us and is a

valued asset for us going forward as we

we develop it

um I feel a little like second fiddle

because like chat.com is totally

replaced us I thought we were like a big

deal for you now we're just like you

know whatever but

yeah

but uh congrats to you both on that

transaction that sounds like that was

pretty amazing it it

um our transaction was a little bit

different in our transition our

transaction is more of a lesson in never

think it's no it just might not be not

now because when we first started

talking about it although it sounded

interesting uh it's just multiple

conversations with our CEO

um it was definitely a no at first but

it was one of those names that we think

is so powerful that once you see it you

can't not see it especially as you start

uh thinking about the potential and we

have a problem to solve going forward

because our interest at Fairway is to

solve for the next generation and really

mortgages are going more and more

digital uh you're seeing AI coming to

the mortgage space so we wanted

something that we could solve for our

next generation and our website was not

something that was user friendly I mean

Fairway independ

thenmc.com is a mouthful so uh but

home.com

is just incredible and what that does

for us

um you know I think a good way to look

at it Andy and how we're thinking about

I'd love to I want to play the video

early on in this because I want people

to get a flavor for what we're thinking

as an investor with this asset so if

we're able to queue that up I'd love to

do yeah Peter can we get the video

queued up now

foreign

[Music]

[Music]

what's up

[Music]

[Applause]

so the notion of all roads lead home for

us

takes care of our next Generation we

think about all the people we touch so

for us it's the consumer

it's the people that work at our company

we're a company right now of just about

7 000 employees

we're in all 50 states we had we have

650 branches and we're the largest

lender that no one's ever heard of

and that's because we work typically uh

by referrals and within the real estate

community so when we say all relatively

home we wanted a destination that we

could use for our consumers of course

our referral partners and our employees

and we view this asset as something that

will take us there eventually you'll

probably see our name uh be replaced

although that will take some time

but we will be home.com eventually and

that opens up the door

for ancillary businesses for us really

anything that has to do with the home uh

certainly anything that has to do with a

real estate transaction and that's

everything from title companies to

insurance companies uh it is a place

where a consumer can go in and store all

of their home documentation everything

from their appraisals to their

inspections and then be connected

through AI with local representation in

each community that were present so

imagine you go to your

um to your home page you go to home.com

and everything that has happened from

your home is located there and that is

as the inspection report comes due and

you've got things like a roof that needs

to be replaced or windows that need to

be done which you know about from your

inspection it will direct you to local

service people that we will have

relationships with so that's part of the

bigger picture of home com in addition

to the ancillary businesses that come

from it it's almost like a benzo box is

how we're viewing this and each each

room in a house will will bring you a

different value and that's how we're

looking to develop this asset

um in talking about the transaction a

little bit Andrew it wasn't quite as

exciting as the chat uh GPT and I'm

really glad we got the correct bank

number right off the bat because that

would have been stressful for sure

um but it was more about hey you know we

did say no but then it got to a point

where we realized the value of this

asset to us for the Next Generation we

said no I think it was two times the CEO

turned me down the third time

um he really understood that we're not

we're not spending money on a Super Bowl

ad we're buying an asset that no matter

what we do with it or how long it takes

us there's value here

uh and I think that was a turning point

in conversation yeah and I think I mean

you know we talk about this all the time

right I know that you know my team I

mean I love the Super Bowl ad analogy

right because you're gonna go spend

six seven million yeah six seven million

for a couple Thirty second spots another

2 million for production 10 million it's

over in a you know a few little PR if

you do well it's over in a week and you

either worked or it didn't work and if

it didn't work which it doesn't

sometimes you know that's a your p l you

just write off the 10 million and off

you go you know it whereas you know this

is an asset for life that could in

theory become the name of your company

the main address of your company I mean

maybe talk a little bit about the Gap

you know the difference between you guys

and and Rocket right and you know the

desire to close that Gap

yeah so it listen rocket is uh invested

uh a lot of money over the years in

their name the way we started as a

company we've been in business for 27

years

um but our approach was much different

than a rocket right we we started off as

a company by meeting people in

communities we're very Community Based

uh charitable organizations we've grown

uh with what I'll call hand-to-hand

combat in communities uh so the way that

we've grown to 650 branches is by

meeting good people very organically and

growing that business over the last 27

years that's a Grime and it's very

effective there's some power in having

that type of presence throughout the U.S

but as the saying goes what got you here

won't get you there and what we need to

be conscious of is moving uh towards a

digital world that we're in still being

involved in communities this is still an

amazing amazingly large transaction and

people want to drive it digitally to a

point but they love that we have the

best of both worlds so you can do the

transaction digitally but we also have

boots on the ground and that's our

unique value proposition is being

involved in communities but also having

the digital presence for those that want

to drive that way yeah and I think you

know I mean I think that we'll find

Tesla to come over time but um I think

we'll find that you know when we look

back on this in five years that this was

a billion a billion dollar transaction

for Fairway

um ultimately and what's the downside

right the downside is it it didn't

happen that way and we go re you know we

resell the domain name maybe for 25 PM

maybe 5 million more maybe for 2 million

less whatever but the upside is probably

in the billions and you know we've seen

that Mike talked about some earlier I

mean we've seen that with other

companies and you know I don't think you

get it more as great as chat is you know

there's not a more powerful word than

home right and um you know arguably the

most powerful happy you know not always

happy I guess but the most powerful

world world uh you know word there can

be to most people and um you know well

home just crosses everything right

because home has become uh especially as

what we've learned through covid uh the

home has never been more important to

people and we realize that so for us uh

we do believe it has the potential to be

a billion dollar idea

um it is something we are approaching

very methodically it will take time and

realize that but it's an extremely

exciting project for our group to be

working on

um we feel that we are positioned

because of the volume that we do just to

give you a little bit of scope

um Fairway last year closed 42 billion

dollars in residential transactions the

year before we did 72 billion dollars in

residential transactions

um this year we're on Pace to do

somewhere around 30 billion given the

inventory challenges uh in the overall

Marketplace and the move that you've

seen in interest rates and by the way we

should all support take do your do your

finances with more Fairway because we

should always support those who support

our industry that's my take

um but sorry lastly you can find us you

can find us a lot of ways but the the

quickest way is just to go to home.com

right now and that's how you'll find us

as well as fairway.com so thank you for

that Andy

um that was significantly less than

home.com but also very important to us

um you know when we think about this URL

um we believe that it takes us to a

place that we could not have gone before

and our employees are more excited about

working at this company because of that

so it's not only an asset that's

important for us in our future it gives

it gives the people that work here a

vision that they could buy into so we're

also an employee-owned company so we

don't have a hedge fund we are not

supported by private Equity we are owned

by the employees 100 so to give this

type of asset to the employees as a

vision to work on is is extremely

exciting and that's another thing we

don't have we're not looking to flip

this name we're not looking to go public

uh that's not rml we want to have the

best place to work for our next

generation and that is what the CEO

wants uh that is the vision this company

um

to pass this on to the next Generation

we believe home.com is part of what

we're passing on and actually it's funny

I come back to the Super Bowl thing

um if you're going to spend 10 million

dollars on a Super Bowl commercial

at least stick in like the category

generic rememberable never forget it

domain name and it

might as well spend another you know 10

million looking at UMR

um but uh you know to be you know that

that's even a more reason that if you're

going to bother doing that at least take

the asset that goes with it and plug it

in so

um yeah really appreciate Laz joining

today and being even willing to talk

about a transaction at this scope in

this space

um so thank you first of all happy uh

happy to be here and and I would put I

know there's a lot of smart people in

that room uh my email is Laz l-a-z at

home.com so if anyone has any insight uh

love to connect with you happy to answer

any questions privately uh about this

but it's Laz at home.com

I love giving out that email address by

the way

[Laughter]

and that does not mean baraging with

third tier domain names for sale

but uh there was uh

yeah he's got a lot of that since his

deal right yeah

um so um

thank you for joining that was awesome

obviously as I said support Fairway in

home.com because you know obviously it's

all the best thing that could happen is

for this company to make this worth a

billion billions of dollars as a brand

um anything else that Larry and you're

in to add I mean I think I just will say

that um we need to find the next one for

next year well I think we did we're

close we're close

um I just wanted to add that it was

funny and I mentioned this to Andrew

that a couple of months after uh your

deal happens that the person who had

offered a little bit more money over

time came back and it said to us do you

think there's ever a chance that they

would sell the name and as Laz just said

a few minutes ago they have no interest

they have too much going on that this is

their future so it's it's good to see

that

um how strongly they believe in the name

and how it works for them so as a

pleasure and hopefully we'll meet in

person one day down in Boston and there

we go I hope so great to be here uh keep

doing what you guys are doing the future

is bright very exciting and uh Mills

thanks for having me on always good

thank you for joining us we'll wrap up

and we'll go from there thanks

so we got four minutes we're not

supposed to take audience questions so

no so

um why not I don't know okay

wrap it up

oh we can take audience questions all

right anyone have any questions

oh I just said for next next year

we're working on one we're close we're

really close uh I have a Blog that I

don't keep up anymore but if you go to

directnavigation.com and do a search for

the auction I think it was the auction

nobody knew about it's a five-part Blog

I wrote about some crazy auction that I

was involved in and I found out about it

at one of the main shows and it just

goes back and forth but basically quick

quick synopsis I find that about this

auction uh some amazing names these

names are owned half by a company and

the other half are owned by the person

who at one time was on the Forbes 400

list and who's attended many of these

shows and it turned out that the company

was going bankrupt and he was about to

buy all these names relatively cheap in

killer names and I remember I went in to

their uh to the board directly and I

found out what the offer was I said

we'll give you 20 of it it's it's

material we feel that this should change

things and it did he had another auction

um they had another auction which we won

but then they said well technically we

have to do the auction again and when

they did the auction the third time they

changed the requirements that all funds

had to be in within 24 hours in cash and

I'm like okay we TR we we then had to

call up everyone we knew to figure out

how much cash we can get quickly but we

realized that this other guy no matter

what we did would not sell and uh it's a

little bit more detail in there in the

blog if you go into it but it it was it

was funny because uh yeah sorry no I'm

sorry

oh I tried teaching him things he really

doesn't know much

learn everything I know from them

um I think I think it's a good question

though so I'm gonna yeah we're we're

very sarcastic with each other but uh to

answer it honestly I mean look first of

all

um there's no one I'd rather I mean

Larry's good people so there's no one

I'd rather work with that helps right

um but I think you know he has access to

some amazing names and I think we have

different skill sets and we work well

together and we're he's patient and um

you know he's I'll never I'll hear for

the rest of my life every day that we

should have got more money for Chad that

will happen Forever Until but um you

know you have to live with those

consequences but I mean look some I do a

lot of deals with people in this

industry a lot of people in this room

and I'm you know

um I learned very young from Michael

Milken if those who know who he is the

financier who said

fifty percent of something's better than

zero percent of nothing so help have

other people help you and write your

tickets is how he described it in the

wall Street's world and I've kind of

carried that forward I'm going to get

you because I actually was calling you

but that's okay

either way we're good it was a great

question

we sold teams.com

uh no

well I will tell you it was cope I was

another co-broker with um Amanda Amanda

you in the room she was up here uh a

little while ago so uh so I like working

you know both on my with myself uh and

also with other Brokers because it just

so depending upon the broker every

broker has their skill and um there was

a reason at the time I worked with

Amanda and um it just worked out well

and um another complete complete sale so

we got one minute on the clock so we can

do one more question I think

if there isn't one we can probably just

wrap it a minute early and yeah hey

uh

uh basically uh regret that he didn't

buy it

uh he realizes how scoring the name was

and like any transaction it takes two it

takes a buyer and a seller and this is

right it can only be one and once that

name's gone it's gone and he realizes

afterwards that name was so powerful for

his business that

he basically would have given probably

about another 30 percent to what they as

we also know in life people want what

they can't have yeah exactly so yeah in

anything right so I think there was

always a little bit of that yeah you

know oh damn you know well he should

have done it when it was you know we're

pretty transparent with people about you

know if there's someone else there well

which you said that when you were

talking in the chat you told those guys

I you know I said I'm there is another

buyer and they're ready to go right

did they didn't believe me or they

couldn't get out of the way of their

lawyers and then with that said we got

eight seconds so I think we keep you on

track because we got a big speaker

following here who don't want to make

them late so

I think we're good right awesome good

thank you guys appreciate it

[Applause]