The Strategic Acquisition of Wove.com: A Personal Investment Story

In 2021, Jay Edlin acquired the domain Wove.com as a personal asset for $25,000. At the time, he had no clue what he was doing, but he confidently says it was worth it for the credibility factor alone. It also proved to be a good financial investment.

Background and Acquisition Process

Wove.com, an AI-powered rate management platform for freight forwarders, was originally acquired by a company via their acquisition of another company called Wove in 2019. They no longer needed the domain and trademark, so Jay reached out cold via the Contact Us page on their website, not expecting any response.

To his surprise, a few weeks later, Jay received an email from the company’s General Counsel, who was interested in brokering a deal. They seemed excited about a direct sale, avoiding the need for a broker who would likely take a 10-15% cut. The General Counsel offered to sell the domain for $25,000, and Jay agreed, confident he was getting a good deal.

Financial and Legal Considerations

Understanding the potential value of this asset, Jay opened an LLC to facilitate the transaction and secured a line of credit against his brokerage account to finance the purchase (which he has since paid off).

Impact and Valuation

As for the domain’s impact on Jay’s company, it’s hard to say definitively. He believes the domain provides immense credibility, though its importance is somewhat less critical than for consumer-facing companies like Loom, Whop, or Friend.

Whether it was a good financial investment? By nearly every estimate, Jay likely paid 4-10x below fair market value (and that’s probably being conservative).