Public.com's Strategic Acquisition of the Public.com Domain
Public.com, a platform for investing in stocks, bonds, treasuries, crypto, options, ETFs, alternative assets, and music royalties, acquired the Public.com domain for $900,000. This significant purchase occurred when the company had raised around $15 million.
The deal was structured to include:
- $150,000 upfront payment
- $4,000 per month over 36 months
- $606,000 lump sum payment at the end
Previous Domain and Change
Jannick Malling has said in December 2023:
We actually started with “https://hellopublic.com” - was just the cheapest among all the options we plugged into a spreadsheet during a brainstorm
But they don’t call it “internet real estate” for nothing
Just like it matters for your brand whether your store is on 5th avenue or in a random alleyway - it matters what your domain is.
If physical world is “location location location”, digital is “trust trust trust”
“HelloPublic” felt friendly, casual… Not necessarily what people want from their primary investing account. Fun, nice- sure- but not necessarily that trustworthy.
https://public.com - while obvs much more expensive - clean, simple, more serious, but still modern. And easy to remember. What’s easy to remember, becomes easier to trust.
And finally, yes, works 2x-3x better for digital ads/cvr… but for non-digital (OOH etc), more like 50x-100x better.
Structured Payment Plan
The domain was placed into domain escrow, providing security for both parties. If Public.com missed any payment, the seller could reclaim the domain and retain all payments made up to that point. The agreement also allowed Public.com to pay off the domain in full at any time.
Strategic Thinking
Public.com’s strategy was clear: they had three years to succeed. If they made it, the investment would be worthwhile; if not, the domain would be irrelevant. They successfully paid off the domain 18 months later, well ahead of the three-year schedule.
Key Collaborations
The acquisition was facilitated by Larry Erlich, introduced by the BoxGroup team, including Adam Rothenberg and David Tisch. This connection proved invaluable, as Erlich had previously assisted in acquiring a domain for a former company at a much lower price.