Serial entrepreneur Chris Donnelly acquired Searchable.com for $90,000 to launch his AEO platform. Within weeks, the startup hit $1M ARR and raised $4M at a $40M valuation.
Brand marketing has entered a new era. With the mass adoption of AI comes a new way for companies to connect with customers. As search habits shift, AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is becoming the cornerstone of modern digital strategy. Serial entrepreneur Chris Donnelly spotted this shift early. To capture the market, he brought his vast experience to the fore with a new venture, Searchable—launched on the category-defining Searchable.com.
The Challenge: The No-click Future
The data is clear: the era of traditional search is fading. According to 2025 data from McKinsey, 50% of consumers now use AI-powered search, with $750 billion in US revenue predicted to funnel through these channels by 2028. With this behavioral shift comes a decline in traditional traffic.
"Brands today are losing massive traffic to AI search, ChatGPT, and Perplexity, all pulling answers without clicks."
— Chris Donnelly, Founder & CEO, Searchable
As brands scramble to incorporate AEO into their digital strategies, a new question has emerged: How is my brand performing in AI search? Donnelly, who has spent 16 years building and scaling businesses that bring brands visibility, realized the existing tools weren't enough. He put his experience to work to build the answer.
What Searchable Does (And why it's different)
Initially building under the working name Clicker, Donnelly focused on solving the visibility problem. Unlike generic SEO tools, his platform was laser-focused on AEO—providing deep analysis and bespoke roadmaps. The product approach has three distinct layers:
- LLM Visibility Auditing: To accurately see how a site performs in AI discovery.
- Deep Analytics & Roadmaps: Translating findings into prioritized, actionable steps.
- Brand-Trained Agents: An AI agent that helps implement fixes, rather than just recommending them.
In other words, Donnelly is building Searchable as a system that closes the gap between insight and execution, because in-house teams are already overwhelmed. Every great product needs a name, but Donnelly's working title, "Clicker," failed to capture the magnitude of his vision.
"Clicker was the working name, but it didn't scream 'AI search dominance.' Searchable felt different, direct, ownable, perfect for what we do."
— Chris Donnelly, Founder & CEO, Searchable
To launch effectively, Donnelly knew he needed the matching asset: Searchable.com. He turned to GoDaddy broker Richard Biekert to help secure the ultra-premium domain for $90,000.
"They know sellers, spot fakes, and close fast. The brokers negotiated anonymously, handled escrow, and there was no drama. It took weeks, not months."
— Chris Donnelly, Founder & CEO, Searchable
The Impact: "Unanimously Positive"
Did anyone object to the purchase? Yes. Donnelly admits that both team members and advisors initially challenged the bold expense. His response was rooted in pattern recognition. Every business he had previously scaled involved bold bets and strong branding from day one. He argued that competitors with weaker names struggle with perception, regardless of their feature set. The market proved him right. After the acquisition, Donnelly describes the feedback on Searchable.com as "unanimously positive." Across SMEs, enterprise conversations, and investor meetings, the reaction was consistent: the name made immediate sense. It communicated the category instantly, reducing the cognitive load of explaining what the company does. Launching on the stable, trusted foundation of an ultra-premium .com helped this AI startup achieve remarkable speed:
- Hit $1M ARR in just three weeks.
- Raised $4M in pre-seed funding at a $40M valuation.
The Takeaway: Domains as Compounding Equity
Searchable's bet is that the future of discovery will be mediated by AI answers. Its branding bet is that in a world of shifting platforms, a category-owning name is one of the few assets that stays durable. Donnelly sees Searchable.com not as a marketing expense, but as a long-term moat—a trust signal that improves every pitch, intro, cold email, and demo request.
Donnelly's Advice for Ultra-Premium Buyers
- Align Perfectly: The name should "own the category." Donnelly suggests testing it with 50 strangers to ensure clarity.
- Bet on Equity: View the domain as an asset. It is often far cheaper than the equivalent branding and marketing spend required to build trust with a weaker name.
- Use Brokers: Premium deals are complex negotiations. Brokers save time, reduce risk, and close deals that DIY buyers often lose.
Follow Chris Donnelly's journey at Searchable.com. Interested in securing an ultra-premium domain name? DomainNames.com by GoDaddy is the showroom for the world's most valuable domain names, backed by our team of brokers.