ML Cribs – Inside .XYZ Headquarters

ML Cribs

So TechCrunch does a regular series called TC Cribs where they visit the offices of a cool tech startup. It’s 2013 and that means it’s about darn time we do the same thing for the domain industry. Every month I’ll be visiting the offices of a cool domain company and sharing the experience with all of you.

For this very first edition of ML Cribs I thought it would be fun to take you inside a company that is thinking outside of the box and pushing the limits of what’s been done before. I’m talking about .XYZ, so without further ado come with me as we head to Beverly Hills and check-out .XYZ’s crib.

Inside .XYZ

One of the first thing’s you’ll notice about the .XYZ offices is the awesome giant guitars. If you don’t know about .XYZ’s founder, Daniel Negari then I highly recommend you read this DNJournal article about him. Daniel wanted to make the office fun and give it some real character, these giant guitars really get your attention, heck he even has one in the middle of the office right next to a giant tree that actually grows out of the building.

dotxyz-tree-guitar

Yes, this isn’t your typical office, Daniel wanted to make the space fun and creative and this vibe definitely flows into the work that they are doing. Of course it doesn’t stop there, unlike most offices Daniel has done-away with boring white walls and added some artistic flair that really stands out:

DotXYZ Wall

No, someone didn’t break in and spray paint the walls, this is a completely custom design done just for .XYZ and it’s the first thing you see when you walk in. It’s not your grandfather’s office and that makes sense since Daniel Negari is the youngest gTLD applicant at the age of 27, and he’s not afraid to do things differently which I think is one of the things that’s helped make Daniel so successful.

Okay, but I know what you’re saying now, where the heck do all the people work? The office layout is a lot like a house with a central area with rooms surrounding it. Here’s a quick look at two of the offices, yes there are more people and more offices but this will give you a nice taste of what it’s like:

dotXYZ OfficesdotXYZ Offices 2

It really feels like the fusion between a home and an office making for a very comfortable work environment that doesn’t feel corporate at all. Compare this to many of the new gTLD applicants that work out of massive building stacked with cubicles and you can begin to see what really makes .XYZ something different.

Last but not least is a fun fact about Daniel that really needs a picture to accompany it. Daniel loves tea. He loves it so much that he has just about every tea on the planet and hot water always ready to go!

dotXYZ-tea

Oh and to answer your question, yes, I did enjoy some a nice pot of tea while I was there, just don’t ask me what kind, only Daniel knows that! As you can tell from the photos, the .XYZ office is incredibly unique, full of art and color, comfortable workspaces and an open environment makes it easy for everyone to work together and gets the creative juices flowing.

Of course there’s a lot more to .XYZ than the offices and I’ll be going deeper over the next few weeks to introduce you to the team and show you the real magic behind the TLD, as usual, it’s a great team that makes all the difference. Now you’ve seen the photos, you’ve heard my impressions of the office, let’s end the first ML Cribs with a Instagram video walkthrough of the offices, ready? It’s time to head-into .XYZ, here we go!

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton