In August, we published the news that the domain name Monkey.com had been sold in a deal worth $500,000. The sale, verified independently through an Escrow.com sales agreement, listed Daniel Mark Harrison of Monkey Capital as the buyer.
Daniel was scheduled to submit payments at regular intervals, but it seems that the buyer defaulted with the domain name being returned to the ownership of Eric Gould Bear, Founder and CEO of MONKEYmedia, Inc.
Monkey.com is an incredible domain name that, since 1994, has attracted significant attention with many high value offers being presented to the owner. So why did Eric opt to work with Daniel Mark Harrison? The answer is that to make a deal more compelling, it needs more than a dollar value.
This week, we had the opportunity to speak with Eric Gould Bear to hear his story of Monkey.com and see exactly why he decided to work with Monkey Capital. Here, we get a rare insight into the mindset of an ultra-premium .COM domain name to see what makes a deal attractive.
NP: When did you initially acquire the Monkey.com domain name?
Eric: I personally registered the domain monkey.com in 1994 when MONKEYmedia was establishing its initial web presence as a user interface design firm. Then, in 2001, the company pivoted to independent R&D, to focus on inventing and licensing its own user-friendly technologies. As we were using the domain, we never intended to sell it.
NP: Have you received any significant offers in the past?
Eric: We’ve been declining generous offers for many years because dollars alone aren’t motivating without an underlying vision for use.
NP: Why did you opt to work with Daniel Mark Harrison of Monkey Capital?
Eric: We were intrigued by the prospect of supporting a fellow monkey in his crypto-currency venture, and negotiated a lease-to-own type deal to be managed by Escrow.com. The team at Escrow.com is professional and friendly, maintaining a high-quality operation of unbiasedly supporting parties on both sides of a transaction. Unfortunately, the buyer in this deal was repeatedly late on his payments. After extending deadlines several times, he ultimately defaulted and the domain was returned to us.
NP: Do you regret agreeing to this deal?
Eric: I have no regrets about the process, as I got to meet interesting people along the way and make quick study of learning about crypto-currency. That education led my partner and me to invest in the Austin-based Multicoin.Capital venture fund and we’re very excited about its potential. That wouldn’t have happened, had we not traveled this path.
NP: What are your current plans for the domain?
Eric: MONKEYmedia has been preparing to launch a new body of patented technologies for navigating virtual reality and piloting drones without motion sickness. We had been planning this launch with a different domain, but the unexpected availability of monkey.com is opportune
NP: Would you consider entering into a similar deal in the future?
Eric: In the future, anything is possible. We’re always open to working with fellow entrepreneurs, but prospective buyers will need to have a great pitch for how the domain would be used to make the world a better place.
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It’s obvious from Eric’s responses that by owning a high-value domain name, significant offers are a regular occurrence. In many cases, it takes more than a dollar value to close a deal.
We’ve seen many domain investors take advantage of their premium domain names by forging successful relationships with companies. Rick Schwartz, for example, has famously negotiated many cash plus equity deals when he sees a company with an interesting idea.
We look forward to seeing what is in store for monkey.com in the future.
Update on Nov 17, 2017: Monkey Capital have opted to use M0NK3Y.com after defaulting on their deal to purchase Monkey.com.
Daniel was scheduled to submit payments at regular intervals, but it seems that the buyer defaulted with the domain name being returned to the ownership of Eric Gould Bear, Founder and CEO of MONKEYmedia, Inc.
Monkey.com is an incredible domain name that, since 1994, has attracted significant attention with many high value offers being presented to the owner. So why did Eric opt to work with Daniel Mark Harrison? The answer is that to make a deal more compelling, it needs more than a dollar value.
MONKEYmedia's Logo
NP: When did you initially acquire the Monkey.com domain name?
Eric: I personally registered the domain monkey.com in 1994 when MONKEYmedia was establishing its initial web presence as a user interface design firm. Then, in 2001, the company pivoted to independent R&D, to focus on inventing and licensing its own user-friendly technologies. As we were using the domain, we never intended to sell it.
NP: Have you received any significant offers in the past?
Eric: We’ve been declining generous offers for many years because dollars alone aren’t motivating without an underlying vision for use.
NP: Why did you opt to work with Daniel Mark Harrison of Monkey Capital?
Eric: We were intrigued by the prospect of supporting a fellow monkey in his crypto-currency venture, and negotiated a lease-to-own type deal to be managed by Escrow.com. The team at Escrow.com is professional and friendly, maintaining a high-quality operation of unbiasedly supporting parties on both sides of a transaction. Unfortunately, the buyer in this deal was repeatedly late on his payments. After extending deadlines several times, he ultimately defaulted and the domain was returned to us.
NP: Do you regret agreeing to this deal?
Eric: I have no regrets about the process, as I got to meet interesting people along the way and make quick study of learning about crypto-currency. That education led my partner and me to invest in the Austin-based Multicoin.Capital venture fund and we’re very excited about its potential. That wouldn’t have happened, had we not traveled this path.
NP: What are your current plans for the domain?
Eric: MONKEYmedia has been preparing to launch a new body of patented technologies for navigating virtual reality and piloting drones without motion sickness. We had been planning this launch with a different domain, but the unexpected availability of monkey.com is opportune
NP: Would you consider entering into a similar deal in the future?
Eric: In the future, anything is possible. We’re always open to working with fellow entrepreneurs, but prospective buyers will need to have a great pitch for how the domain would be used to make the world a better place.
---
It’s obvious from Eric’s responses that by owning a high-value domain name, significant offers are a regular occurrence. In many cases, it takes more than a dollar value to close a deal.
We’ve seen many domain investors take advantage of their premium domain names by forging successful relationships with companies. Rick Schwartz, for example, has famously negotiated many cash plus equity deals when he sees a company with an interesting idea.
We look forward to seeing what is in store for monkey.com in the future.
Update on Nov 17, 2017: Monkey Capital have opted to use M0NK3Y.com after defaulting on their deal to purchase Monkey.com.
