Donuts
Donuts is a start-up company that was created to apply and run new gTLDs as made possible by ICANN's gTLD expansion program; it was co-founded by Paul Stahura, Jonathon Nevett, Richard Tindal, and Daniel Schindler. In April 2011, the company was in stealth mode and raising capital; based on the company's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Donuts raised $1 million equity financing.[1] Since then it has submitted 307 gTLD Applications and secured some $100 million in financing. The company's headquarters is located in Sammamish, Washington.
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| Type: | Privately held |
| Industry: | Internet |
| Founded: | 2010 |
| Founder(s): | Paul Stahura Jonathon Nevett |
| Headquarters: | 1720 205th Place NE Sammamish, WA 98074 |
| Country: | USA |
| Website: | donuts.co |
| Key People | |
| Paul Stahura, CEO Jonathon Nevett, EVP Daniel Schindler Executive Officer Richard Tindal Mason Cole, VP of Communications | |
In September 2012, Donuts was ranked #14 in The Wall Street Journal's Top 50 Start-Ups for 2012. It was also the newest start-ups on the list.[2]
New gTLD Applications
On June 5, 2012, Donuts announced that it submitted applications for 307 generic top level domain names (gTLDs), including IDN TLDs, and secured $100 million in capital from multi-billion dollar private equity and venture funds.[3]
According to Daniel Schindler, one of Donuts' four co-founders, the company originally came up with a list of 3,000 prospective domain names. He said, "We made a long list of dictionary terms, in multiple languages and character sets. We created our own proprietary way of valuing the [gTLDs], and that helped us narrow it down. But 307 is still a lot, obviously."[4]
At one point, an article from Bloomberg reported that the company plans to apply for 10 gTLDs. [5] Mason Cole, the company's Vice President of Communications and industry relations explained that the reporter from Bloomberg misunderstood or had miscommunication with Stahura. He said that at the time of the interview, the exact number of the gTLD's to be applied for hadn't been finalized. Mr. Cole also said that the company is well prepared to operate all the 307 gTLDs.[6]
Donuts signed a strategic partnership with Demand Media in pursuit of certain gTLDs. According to a press statement, under the agreement, Demand Media has the right to acquire some of the approved gTLDs applied for by Donuts.[7] Furthermore, Demand Media's wholly owned subsidiary, Demand Media Europe Limited, will serve as the back-end registry service provider for Donuts.[8]
In terms of intellectual property rights protection, the company said that it created rights protection mechanisms for new gTLDs and it will implement an open Internet philosophy. According to Stahura, "The Internet is an engine of information, ideas and commerce, and one that’s not restrictive unnecessarily. Donuts intends to preserve that openness for all users, not operate a ‘by invitation only’ section of the Internet."[9] This statement can be seen to reference the plans of other large portfolio applicants such as Google and Amazon, that are not only applying for brand TLDs for exclusive corporate use, but are also applying for generic terms with no plans to offer public registration.
In October, 2012, Donuts announced that they would use Architelos' NameSentry software-as-a-service to detect and mitigate domain name abuse. The patent-pending NameSentry application protects new gTLDs from phishing, malware, spam, botnets and other types of abuse. It is the first independent, third-party resource of its kind for the domain name industry.[10]
During ICANN 45 in Toronto, auction expert Peter Cramton outlined a private auction model as a solution for resolving 158 new gTLD contention sets. Donuts co-founder Jon Nevett says that Donuts will handle as many of its contention sets as possible via this method, as auctions will be cheaper and faster for applicants than ICANN's original method. "The cost of losing an ICANN auction is greater than the cost of losing a private auction," Nevett said. "If you lose an ICANN auction you get nothing, zero, you lose your asset... [but with private auctions] it doesn't hurt as much to lose, so the theory is the second-place guys won't stretch as much."[11]
Donuts Team
The management team of the company include:[12]
- Paul Stahura, Co-founder and CEO
- Richard Tindal, Co-founder and COO
- Jonathon Nevett, Co-Founder and EVP, Corporate Affairs
- Daniel Schindler, Co-Founder and EVP Sales and Marketing
- Mason Cole, Vice-president of Communications and Industry Relations
- Kevin Wilson, Chief Financial Officer
- Alvaro Alvarez, Vice President and General Counsel
Board of Directors
- Paul Stahura, Donuts Inc.
- Chris Pacitti, Austin Ventures
- Robert Verratti, TL Ventures
- Brian Jacobs, Emergence Capital Partners
- Thomas Ball, Austin Ventures
- Jonathon Nevett, Donuts Inc.
Investors
The company's investors include:[13]
- Austin Ventures
- Adams Street Partners
- Emergence Capital Partners
- TL Ventures
- Generation Partners
- Stahurricane (Paul Stahura’s investment fund)
Videos
Mason Cole, Dontus' VP of Communications and Industry Relations, was interviewed at ICANN 44 in Prague:
- <videoflash>ad8PwcqMn1A</videoflash>
References
- ↑ Former Demand Media exec Paul Stahura emerges at stealthy Donuts Inc., Geekwire.com. Published 30 April 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ↑ Looking for the 'Next Big Thing'? Ranking the Top 50 Start-Ups, Online.WSJ.com. Published September 2012.
- ↑ Donuts raises $100 million, applies for 307 new TLDs, DomainNameWire.com. Published 5 June 2012.
- ↑ 'Donuts' startup lands $100 million for dot-brand domains, CNN.com. Published 5 June 2012.
- ↑ Go Daddy Bets on Windfall From Web-Address Expansion Beyond .Com, Bloomberg. Published 10 January 2012.
- ↑ A tasty conversation with Donuts, which just applied for 307 TLDs, DomainNameWire.com. Published 5 June 2012.
- ↑ Demand Media to Participate in Historic Expansion of Generic Top Level Web Domain Name Extensions
- ↑ Donuts Launches Domain Namespace with 307 gTLD Applications, More than 100 Million in Funding
- ↑ Donuts applies for 307 (yes, 307) gTLDs
- ↑ Donuts To Use Architelos NameSentry, DomainNameNews.com
- ↑ Here's how Donuts wants to resolve its 158 new gTLD contention fights. Domain Incite. Published 2012 October 23. Retrieved 2012 November 13.
- ↑ The Donuts Team
- ↑ Donuts Launches Domain Namespace with 307 gTLD Applications, More than 100 Million in Funding