To Public.com and a $1.2 billion valuation — From Matador
This firm built credibility with a great domain name.
In 1952, just 4.2% of Americans were firm shareholders. By 1990, that figure had risen to 21.1%, and by 2020, 55% of the population had invested money in the stock market.
As time and technology move on, stock trading becomes more accessible to more of the population. Many entrepreneurs have noticed this and have created products that capitalize on this popularity and accessibility. Firms such as Robinhood have been runaway successes with its “Investing for Everyone” tagline and an app that offers on-the-go access to stocks and funds.
A Robinhood rival that caught my eye this stretch is Public.com, an app that combines social networking with public stock investing. It disclosed an undisclosed Secondary Market investment recently.
Founded in 2018, Public.com started life as Matador, offering a social trading app, an earlier edition of the Public.com app right now available.
Matador, operating on MatadorApp.com, attracted early funding, counting a $2 million Seed round and a $6.5 million Series A round. Still, it seems that Matador wasn’t content with its name. In August 2019, the firm performed a major rebrand that included an ultra-premium domain buyout.
Matador became Public.com and naturally started to use the Public.com domain name instead of MatadorApp.com.
The Public.com domain was purchased from Anything.com Ltd., an investment firm that owns a stunning set of premium domains, counting VR.com, Design.com, and Borrow.com. Anything.com Ltd. has also sold its fair share of names, counting Teams.com, Home.com, and Marketing.com.
It’s unclear whether Matador purchased Public.com outright or whether this was a lease-to-own buyout. Representatives of Anything.com did not confirm details of the purchase at the time of publishing. Still, WHOIS history suggests that this may have been purchased using a purchase plan; between August 2019 and mid-2021, the registrant of Public.com is listed as the “Attorney Trust Account” of Ari Goldberger of ESQWire.
Post rebrand, Public.com successfully unlocks access to the stock market by offering fractional share ownership for a more inclusive trading experience.
Public.com’s concept has been a hit with clients. A Medium post details Public.com’s journey to attracting more than 1 million members within 18 months. This growth hasn’t gone unnoticed in the venture capital world, with Public.com attracting $308.5 million in funding to date, counting a $220 million Series D round in February 2021. This moved Public.com into unicorn territory, with the round moving the firm’s valuation up to $1.2 billion.
Among Public.com’s investors are actor Will Smith and legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk.
Despite Public.com’s business revolving predominantly around its app, it invested a significant sum of money in the Public.com domain name. Why?
There are dozens of reasons why a premium domain name makes sense for a financial services firm, but I think trust may be one of the biggest.
Public.com’s product is not built for an experienced financial trader or tech-savvy investors. It is being pitched to the general public as an introduction to the stock market. Trusting a firm to take your money and, in exchange, allow you to easily buy firm shares is something that many people will be hesitant to do. Especially a relatively fresh firm that seemingly only exists in the form of an app.
Owning Public.com allows the firm to present as a highly professional, trusted business that exudes longevity. You don’t get the same effect if you’re asking a mass market to trust MatadorApp.com with your portfolio of stocks.
