Earlier this year, Skypicker made the momentous decision to change their brand from Skypicker to Kiwi.com. After starting as a two-man team in 2012, Skypicker has grown to be a phenomenally popular travel brand. Thanks to the growth of Skypicker, the company has decided that the name doesn’t suit the direction that the company is heading in, and so Kiwi.com was born.
The domain name Kiwi.com was acquired in March 2016 ahead of the May 2016 announcement that Skypicker had become Kiwi.com. The domain itself was acquired via the Uniregistry marketplace for a price of $800,000.
In this interview, we ask Kiwi.com’s CEO, Oliver Dlouhý, why the company rebranded, why they chose Kiwi.com and what their customers think of the change.
NP: Can you tell us about the company behind Kiwi.com?
Oliver: Kiwi.com is the ultimate money-saving online tool for booking flights. Its unique technology is based on data collection and a complex, proprietary algorithm that integrates low-cost flights with major airlines to create new unique routes often 50 to 90% cheaper than published fares. This technology is called virtual interlining. Many low-cost carriers do not have cooperation agreements with the big airlines, severely limiting the combination options available to travellers.
Kiwi.com removes this limitation by allowing travellers to create itineraries from nearly limitless flight combinations, as the Kiwi.com algorithm finds connecting flights in the database, the largest one of its kind, and creates completely new routes.
NP: The company rebranded from Skypicker to Kiwi.com earlier this year. Why did you change?
Oliver: There are several reasons for rebranding. The previous name no longer reflected the company and direction it is heading, as our aim is not just to cover air travel industry, but much more. Moreover, we saw our customers confusing us with some of the other companies in the industry, and wanted to remedy that issue. Our service is so different and unique in comparison with the competition that these confusions might cost us a lot of opportunities.
NP: How did you choose the domain Kiwi.com? Did you have specific requirements when choosing a new name?
Oliver: The main requirements were to find a simple, short and memorable name. There are only a few words with the same pronunciation, spelling and meaning in most global languages, and kiwi is one of them. This simplicity gives us opportunity to grow globally with a very recognizable name and premium .com domain.
NP: Your company acquired Kiwi.com for $800,000. How did you determine that the domain was worth $800k to you?
Oliver: According to everything what was said before, we considered the domain to be exclusive. Especially when it is a four-letter .com domain with a widely used word.
NP: Did you use any tools (e.g., automated appraisals), services (e.g., manual appraisals, domain brokers), or data (e.g., sales data, search volumes, search results) to determine your best offer and/or the value of the domain?
Oliver: No, we did not. We really wanted the domain, so after a couple of rounds of negotiation we agreed on the price.
NP: Has changing from Skypicker to Kiwi.com been a successful move for your company?
Oliver: Yes. Since we launched the new brand, both sales and brand awareness have seen significant growth.
NP: Have you had any feedback from customers regarding the name change? Has it been positive?
Oliver: Since changing from Skypicker to Kiwi.com, customer feedback has been positive.
NP: What would your advice be to other startups or companies looking at buying a premium domain name?
Oliver: If you want it, buy it.
—
Thanks to Oliver for explaining the reasoning behind the company’s switch from Skypicker to Kiwi.com. It’s interesting to read the requirements for choosing such a name, including the fact that Kiwi translates well into many languages, giving the brand a perfect platform to expand globally.
Inside Interviews is a blog series profiling the buyers of high-value domain names. Find out their motives, negotiation tactics, and their opinions on popular domaining topics only on the NamePros Blog.
Do you own a high value premium domain name that's being used as part of a business? Contact me to be a part of the Inside Interviews series.
Oliver Dlouhý, CEO of Kiwi.com
In this interview, we ask Kiwi.com’s CEO, Oliver Dlouhý, why the company rebranded, why they chose Kiwi.com and what their customers think of the change.
NP: Can you tell us about the company behind Kiwi.com?
Oliver: Kiwi.com is the ultimate money-saving online tool for booking flights. Its unique technology is based on data collection and a complex, proprietary algorithm that integrates low-cost flights with major airlines to create new unique routes often 50 to 90% cheaper than published fares. This technology is called virtual interlining. Many low-cost carriers do not have cooperation agreements with the big airlines, severely limiting the combination options available to travellers.
Kiwi.com removes this limitation by allowing travellers to create itineraries from nearly limitless flight combinations, as the Kiwi.com algorithm finds connecting flights in the database, the largest one of its kind, and creates completely new routes.
NP: The company rebranded from Skypicker to Kiwi.com earlier this year. Why did you change?
Oliver: There are several reasons for rebranding. The previous name no longer reflected the company and direction it is heading, as our aim is not just to cover air travel industry, but much more. Moreover, we saw our customers confusing us with some of the other companies in the industry, and wanted to remedy that issue. Our service is so different and unique in comparison with the competition that these confusions might cost us a lot of opportunities.
NP: How did you choose the domain Kiwi.com? Did you have specific requirements when choosing a new name?
Oliver: The main requirements were to find a simple, short and memorable name. There are only a few words with the same pronunciation, spelling and meaning in most global languages, and kiwi is one of them. This simplicity gives us opportunity to grow globally with a very recognizable name and premium .com domain.
NP: Your company acquired Kiwi.com for $800,000. How did you determine that the domain was worth $800k to you?
Oliver: According to everything what was said before, we considered the domain to be exclusive. Especially when it is a four-letter .com domain with a widely used word.
NP: Did you use any tools (e.g., automated appraisals), services (e.g., manual appraisals, domain brokers), or data (e.g., sales data, search volumes, search results) to determine your best offer and/or the value of the domain?
Oliver: No, we did not. We really wanted the domain, so after a couple of rounds of negotiation we agreed on the price.
NP: Has changing from Skypicker to Kiwi.com been a successful move for your company?
Oliver: Yes. Since we launched the new brand, both sales and brand awareness have seen significant growth.
NP: Have you had any feedback from customers regarding the name change? Has it been positive?
Oliver: Since changing from Skypicker to Kiwi.com, customer feedback has been positive.
NP: What would your advice be to other startups or companies looking at buying a premium domain name?
Oliver: If you want it, buy it.
—
Thanks to Oliver for explaining the reasoning behind the company’s switch from Skypicker to Kiwi.com. It’s interesting to read the requirements for choosing such a name, including the fact that Kiwi translates well into many languages, giving the brand a perfect platform to expand globally.
Inside Interviews is a blog series profiling the buyers of high-value domain names. Find out their motives, negotiation tactics, and their opinions on popular domaining topics only on the NamePros Blog.
Do you own a high value premium domain name that's being used as part of a business? Contact me to be a part of the Inside Interviews series.
