Most startup killers are obvious: running out of money, no product market fit, founder fights. But there’s a quieter one that derails deals all the time: domain negotiations.

Here’s how it happens:

You’re raising your Series A. Investors love the product, but they ask: “Why don’t you own the .com?”

You’re about to close an acquisition. The acquirer does due diligence and flags: “You don’t control your brand online.”

You’ve built a user base on <brand>.io, only to see the .com point to a competitor, a scam site, or an owner who suddenly wants six figures.

At that stage, you’re negotiating with a gun to your head. The domain owner knows your valuation. They know you can’t walk away. Prices skyrocket, and you’re stuck.

Most founders think they’ll “get the .com later.” What they don’t realize: domain owners track your growth. Every press hit, every funding round, every Crunchbase update makes the name more expensive.

I’ve seen startups lose M&A deals, botch funding rounds, or bleed users to typo traffic because they left this for later.

This isn’t about vanity. It’s about leverage. If you don’t own your exact-match .com early, you’re negotiating from weakness at the moment when you can least afford it.

That’s why I started working on BrandHunt.com, helping founders quietly acquire their brand domain before it becomes existential. Not a marketplace. Not auctions. Direct owner outreach, fair market valuations, and private deals.

It’s boring compared to product. But boring infrastructure is what keeps companies alive.