Tokens.com
Interview with CEO and Co. Founder Andrew Kiguel
INTERVIEWS
Bassir.io
We spoke with CEO and Co founder of Tokens.com Andrew Kiguel to learn more about his thoughts on domain names and how he came to use Tokens.com for his brand
Why Tokens.com?
When we started the company, we wanted to be a publicly traded staking entity. One of our initial co-founders owned the domain names matador.com and tokens.com. We thought tokens.com was one of the strongest domains available in crypto. Simple and clear. Our objective is to build a world class entity that needed a strong name, so the investor vended the domain in. He had acquired it several years back for $500k. We bought it from him for $1.5M.
Can you share the story of the acquisition process, did it take a long time? was the domain on the market when you decided to buy it?
It didn't take a long time because the co-founder was invested in the company and interested in maximizing its use. We debated for a long time if we should use Matador instead.
Has owning Tokens.com impacted your brand and growth in a positive way?
Investors and interested parties recognize that it is a premium domain name. We've had offers to buy it. We instead bought other related domains. We also own tokenstrade.com, tokenstrading.com, tokensart.com and tokensgaming.com. My hope is that one day, this portfolio of domains will be valuable to a company seeking retail exposure and we can sell the group for a premium.
If Tokens.com was not available would you have chosen something like "MyTokens" or "GoTokens" or changed the brand name all together?
If Tokens wasn't available, we would have gone for a more specific name that isn't right away identifiable as crypto. For our business, really any name would have worked because we're not retail focused. Interestingly, about 6 months ago, I reached out to FTX to see if they were interested in buying. SBF said he'd pay $100k. We obviously passed on that deal.
In your professional opinion how important are domain names to a company moving forward into 2023
A strong domain name signifies strength and credibility. I'm surprised how often people comment that they love the domain and want to know how we got it.
What message would you give to other founders looking to buy a premium domain name as a brand?
If you're retail focused, it's crucial. It signifies strength in being able to get a relevant asset, which is how we see it, a valuable asset.
