4 ms·

> 100% of the top 20 YC companies by valuation have the .com of their name. 94% of the top 50 do. But only 66% of companies in the current batch have the .com o

by rjvir 11y ago

> 100% of the top 20 YC companies by valuation have the .com of their name. 94% of the top 50 do. But only 66% of companies in the current batch have the .com of their name. That's not a straight comparison. A better stat would be, what percentage of the top 20 YC companies had the .com while they were in the active YC batch?

blazespin 11y ago
No, because his thesis is "change your name", not "start out with .com"
- timtamboy63 11y ago
  But he's implying that having a .com correlates to success - so % starting with a .com would be a more apt comparison.
  - bmelton 11y ago
    Except for the spate of domain names that are .coms but are not the company's actual name, ala "Bootstrap" and "getbootstrap.com".
    - rory096 11y ago
      rjvir said the .com though. getdropbox.com doesn't count, but they managed to get dropbox.com after they raised enough money for lawsuits. http://techcrunch.com/2009/10/13/dropbox-acquires-the-domain-everyone-thought-it-had-dropbox-com/ http://techcrunch.com/2009/10/13/dropbox-acquires-the-domain...
- ThomPete 11y ago
  Change your name isn't enough you have to first find a name that you can afford. And so while it's true your current name isn't that important it doesn't mean that you can find any "good" .com names that are affordable.
jlarocco 11y ago
I think a lot of the comments here are missing the point. If somebody is already using the <yourname>.com domain, then that name is already being used for something and creating a new business with the same name is a bad idea. I guess in the worst case scenario they could file a lawsuit claiming that you're infringing their trademark. People can try to justify it by saying everybody just searches anyway, but if the .com name is already established it'll be a never-ending battle to keep your name in the top search results. I mean, nobody would try to use ford.io or yahoo.tk for their startup, doing the same thing but with a smaller company is an equally bad idea.
- creeble 11y ago
  Yea, I would agree that this is really the key point. If it's a fallow .com name (that you can't afford), then maybe you'll be lucky with an alternative TLD. But it's probably a poorer choice than changing your name.
- abalashov 11y ago
  In principle, agreed, but you are neglecting the huge role played by domain squatters.
GlennS 11y ago
The correlation might be backward: the top 20 YC companies by valuation probably have enough cash to buy the domain name that matches their company name.
alexandros 11y ago
It's also wrong because it implies that having the .com today is as important as when those companies got their .com. Anecdotally, many (most?) developer tools companies go for .io, so much so that a .com sounds strange these days.
kfor 11y ago
Exactly. Maybe it's because the top 20 stuck around in YC long enough to be badgered by Paul Graham into getting a .com? That said, I don't disagree with him on .com, I just don't think this particular factoid adds anything to the argument.
- ricree 11y ago
  And for at least some these, it's definitely come post-success. Twitch.com redirects to twitch.tv, but was a music site as late as the end of 2014.
scosman 11y ago
Dropbox was GetDropbox.com < at least 1 counter example.

by rjvir 11y ago

blazespin 11y ago

No, because his thesis is "change your name", not "start out with .com"

timtamboy63 11y ago
But he's implying that having a .com correlates to success - so % starting with a .com would be a more apt comparison.
- bmelton 11y ago
  Except for the spate of domain names that are .coms but are not the company's actual name, ala "Bootstrap" and "getbootstrap.com".
  - rory096 11y ago
    rjvir said the .com though. getdropbox.com doesn't count, but they managed to get dropbox.com after they raised enough money for lawsuits. http://techcrunch.com/2009/10/13/dropbox-acquires-the-domain-everyone-thought-it-had-dropbox-com/ http://techcrunch.com/2009/10/13/dropbox-acquires-the-domain...
ThomPete 11y ago
Change your name isn't enough you have to first find a name that you can afford. And so while it's true your current name isn't that important it doesn't mean that you can find any "good" .com names that are affordable.

jlarocco 11y ago

I think a lot of the comments here are missing the point. If somebody is already using the <yourname>.com domain, then that name is already being used for something and creating a new business with the same name is a bad idea. I guess in the worst case scenario they could file a lawsuit claiming that you're infringing their trademark. People can try to justify it by saying everybody just searches anyway, but if the .com name is already established it'll be a never-ending battle to keep your name in the top search results. I mean, nobody would try to use ford.io or yahoo.tk for their startup, doing the same thing but with a smaller company is an equally bad idea.

creeble 11y ago
Yea, I would agree that this is really the key point. If it's a fallow .com name (that you can't afford), then maybe you'll be lucky with an alternative TLD. But it's probably a poorer choice than changing your name.
abalashov 11y ago
In principle, agreed, but you are neglecting the huge role played by domain squatters.

GlennS 11y ago

The correlation might be backward: the top 20 YC companies by valuation probably have enough cash to buy the domain name that matches their company name.

alexandros 11y ago

It's also wrong because it implies that having the .com today is as important as when those companies got their .com. Anecdotally, many (most?) developer tools companies go for .io, so much so that a .com sounds strange these days.

kfor 11y ago

Exactly. Maybe it's because the top 20 stuck around in YC long enough to be badgered by Paul Graham into getting a .com? That said, I don't disagree with him on .com, I just don't think this particular factoid adds anything to the argument.

ricree 11y ago
And for at least some these, it's definitely come post-success. Twitch.com redirects to twitch.tv, but was a music site as late as the end of 2014.

scosman 11y ago

Dropbox was GetDropbox.com < at least 1 counter example.