Domain Name Wire Podcast From naming brands to selling domains – DNW Podcast #551
Sep 8, 2025
Maria Cypher and Laurel Sutton, co-founders of the successful naming agency Catchword, discuss their journey from branding giants like VW and Upwork to the world of domain investing. They dive into the importance of crafting evocative names and the impact of intentional misspellings. The duo shares insights on domain registration strategies and the critical link between brand identity and online presence. They also reflect on a UDRP dispute, offering valuable lessons in ethical domain negotiations.
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Client Snaps Up Presented .Coms
- A Microsoft client in 2000 secretly registered bolded .coms from Catchword's presentation, which shocked the team.
- That incident made Maria and Laurel realize owning exact .coms was a major competitive advantage.
Naming Work Feeds Domain Portfolio
- Catchword leveraged its naming process to generate thousands of brandable .coms and built a portfolio.
- They registered names from creative lists and later sold some high-profile domains like Feastables.
Run Trademark Checks Before Registering
- Always check trademarks and avoid registering names in bad faith to reduce UDRP risk.
- Do trademark checks before registration and avoid names that clearly belong to existing brands.