Our firm at Grit Brokerage helps clients buy or sell premium domain names. Online sales in 2023 ended around $6.3 TRILLION and it's projected that more than 21.2% of all retail sales will be transacted online this year. As more sales, corporate branding, and advertising happen online, the value of a short premium one word domain is increasing everyday. One of the most satisfying parts of being a domain broker is helping match the perfect owner with their perfect domain - the one domain that really puts the stamp on their mark and credibility. Selling Wasserman.com to Casey Wasserman and TeamWass was one of those satisfying moments.
TeamWass is a sports agency led by Casey Wasserman - an entertainment and sports agency executive with deep family roots in Los Angeles. In fact, he is also President of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for Summer Olympics 2028. Casey's sports agency has used the domain TeamWass.com and had unsuccessfully tried to acquire Wasserman.com before 2010 from the long time domain owner who has used it for his accounting firm for over 20 years. Fast forward 13 years and that's when Grit comes into the equation. The owner of Wasserman.com hired Grit Brokerage to liquidate his long term asset, but he needed the funds from the sale within a few short week’s time. It was time to get to work fast.
After researching, then establishing contact with the most logical future owner of the domain with TeamWass, we quickly discovered their offer to buy the domain was much lower than the owner would accept. But after understanding the opportunity and urgency of the situation, Casey Wasserman and TeamWass came to understand how owning Wasserman.com was actually a simple decision. Here are a few key points on opportunity & urgency that we walked them through understanding, and why Casey was a genius to jump on this acquisition:
Surprisingly, there are dozens and dozens of companies using the name Wasserman and there are over 24,000 people with the last name Wasserman. This domain has been taken for over 2 decades and the next owner will likely be its last for several more decades. All it takes is one of them to buy it, and it's gone forever. There is an emotional attachment to 'name' domains that make them harder to come by and even harder to acquire
Not only in business, but also as you know in sports and with NIL, the direction is going to personal branding. If college athletes are already making millions with their own name, we know it will only continue to increase as they become pro athletes and coaches. Here at Grit Brokerage, we have influencers, athletes, and business people calling us wanting their first or last name or both. In this case as a sports agency, TeamWass would have more credibility with the people they represent, essentially saying: "We get it. We bought our own name too so we understand the value. That's exactly why you should work with us" etc
A domain name's value is more than monetary. If I were to contact Casey today telling him I have a buyer for Wasserman.com and is willing to pay whatever he wants for it, then what's the price he would give me? $1 million, $2 million, $10 million, or go kick rocks? I can almost guarantee there is probably no reasonable number he would sell it for, and/or it would certainly be a large multiple of what he paid for it. What asset can you go out and buy that has that type of instant value?
Everything gets easier with a premium domain. I can tell you from experience that one of the first thing successful entrepreneurs do after an exit (and before another venture) is to go buy a premium domain for their next business. They understand how much further marketing dollars go by having their exact brand name in the .com. Buying Wasserman.com is the genius move that none of Casey's ancestors had the opportunity or foresight to acquire, and he would be the guy to do it for the family…further cementing his own path and family legacy.
Having a premium domain that is your brand name in the .com is like controlling the sun. You determine where it sheds light. Point it to TeamWass.com, point it to your Twitter after a big announcement, point it your YouTube for something promoting the Olympics, etc. Follow the sun with Wasserman.com. People will be googling 'Wasserman' over the coming years with the Olympics coming up in LA, and owning the exact match .com gives Casey control of the narrative. Don't be just one of the 24,000 Wasserman’s, be THE Wasserman by owning the .com. When you own Wasserman.com, you control the narrative for that brand name, period. 'Follow the Sun' is the theme for the 2028 Olympics in LA, so it's appropriate that Casey and team now control Waserman.com.
For me personally as a domain broker, it's extremely rewarding to see more companies, founders and individuals understand the power—that opportunity and urgency— of owning the premium online version of their brand name. If you need help in acquiring yours, have a question or need consultation, or if you own a premium domain you want to sell, then reach out to us at GritBrokerage.com.
Comment below your opinion on why this domain was a genius acquisition for Casey Wasserman and team. The comment with the most ‘likes’ in the next 30 days will receive some Grit Swag!
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