Success Chronicles: The story of Teem.com

If you have a domain name needed by a company, you could strike a deal that will get you top dollar!

In the Domain Name industry, everybody knows who Rick Schwartz is. Since 1995, the self-proclaimed King of Domains had enough vision to understand the incredible potential and market value of Domain Names. With an initial budget of merely 1,800 dollars, this man built one of the most profitable business empires in cyberspace by investing in Domain Names.

Among the most well-known properties of Schwartz were the domains candy.com and men.com, the latter acquired for only $ 15,000 and subsequently sold for more than $ 1.3 million. During the course of 23 years, the King of the Domains has built a portfolio that exceeds 6,500 domains, with an investment of almost 10 million dollars. A worthy collection that according to Schwartz himself, is constantly increasing “faster than any stock, commodity or land in history.”

Having the right domain is the key that opens the doors to growth, expansion and the ultimate success of your business or your brand. A fact that did not go unnoticed by Schwartz, nor by the companies EventBoard and WeWork.

In 2014, EventBoard.io was a small company focused on the development of an application that scheduled and organized office meetings to improve productivity. Its sustained growth led the startup to go beyond the limiting walls of conference rooms and calendars to expand their offering of work-related cloud-based solutions. In order to achieve this goal, a rebranding process was set in motion, which included (yes, you guessed it!) a change in their Domain Name.

EventBoard founders understood the significance of having a brand name capable of representing a more ambitious vision of the company. But the domain they wanted, Teem.com, already had an owner. And yes, you guessed again, it was Rick Schwartz.

The negotiation for the sale of Teem.com went on for months. Although the final terms of the agreement were not exposed by any of the parties involved, when the news was announced in October 2016, it was revealed that as part of the deal, Schwartz received not only cash but also an equity component.

“This is a great example of a company that wishes to grow and in doing so understands that one of the steps in that process was moving from a longer .io extension and upgrading to a short, memorable and brandable .com extension.”Rick Schwartz, DomainKing.com

The evolution from EventBoard.io to Teem.com was another case in point reflecting the importance of owning a .com domain for a brand or business.

“We changed our company name from EventBoard to Teem, to reflect our expanded focus on optimizing the digital workplace. We’re no longer confined to developing software for conference room displays. “ Shaun Ritchie, CEO and Co-founder Teem

Having the authenticity provided by the .com extension and a more representative name gave this company new wings to expand its influence and reach greater visibility in the competitive business world. So much that it was not long before they were on WeWork’s radar.

This September, WeWork announced the acquisition of Teem for 100 million dollars and after the news broke out, one of the big players that were caught by surprise was Rick Schwartz himself. As part of the acquisition, his equity stake at Teem was sold and he received a payment of 642,751.92 dollars, which combined with the amount of his previous deal with former EventBoard totaled 800,000 dollars for a domain purchased 20 years ago that he never thought it would be sold.

It is, without a doubt, a great success story of how an investor could approach the sale of a domain name when you have a company or third-party interested in buying your digital property. In Schwartz’s case, being an industry expert surely helped him to negotiate and work out a satisfactory deal that paid off way beyond his wildest expectations.

For others, the story might seem like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, a winning lottery ticket. Not necessarily! If you have a valued domain name and you are interested in selling it to a company that needs it, you could consult with experts who will guide you through the whole process and explain the advantages and disadvantages of the agreement you are being offered, who will protect your interests and ensure you get the best possible deal.

If you are interested in learning more, don’t hesitate to give us a call and we will answer any questions you may have!