Michael Santiago · Founder
The builder behind
the names.
I love the beginning. The right name, the first design, the first words and the moment an idea starts to feel real.
I’m Michael, founder of PremiumBrands.com and OnlineBusiness.com. I’ve been starting and building online businesses for more than two decades. I'm a builder first. I select names for their business potential and explore what can be built on them. PremiumBrands brings that perspective to the names in this collection.
Michael Santiago
Founder, PremiumBrands & OnlineBusinessWhy this collection exists
I buy names I’d build on.
Every name in this collection passed one test: would I build on it myself? That’s how I bought PremiumBrands.com in January 2024, before there was a business to put on it, and GoPR.com before my PR agency existed. “Go” is personal; my last name, Santiago, ends in it. The names I haven’t built on yet are the ones I’m happy to see someone else build on now.
I believe a premium .com is a trust shortcut. It’s a head start, not the business: you still have to build something worth choosing. But when anyone can build almost anything, the name you start with helps people take you seriously from day one.
Experience behind the perspective
A premium domain
gives you a head start.
A memorable name, an exact-match domain, a stronger first impression. A premium domain can give a business a head start but you still have to build something worth choosing.
The Newswire experience
In 2007, I acquired a press release business that ran on I-Newswire.com. In 2013, I finally secured iNewswire.com, a name I’d been after for years, and soon after brought on a partner who invested to grow the business. We both knew our vision called for the best name in the industry. It took more than a year of negotiating and well over six figures, and in February 2015 we moved to Newswire.com, after consulting SEO professionals to confirm we were handling the move the right way. That same morning, a prospect told one of our sales agents, “Oh yeah, Newswire.com. I’ve heard of you guys.” We’d switched hours earlier. In my view, the upgrade played a pivotal role in the business’s trajectory.
The business was acquired for $44 million in 2022. That is part of my prior business experience, alongside the work of the team. It is not a PremiumBrands customer result or a valuation of the domain alone.
Read the domain upgrade storyThe studio behind the collection
Good beginnings.
Practical next steps.
OnlineBusiness.com is my boutique strategy and execution studio. It builds the sites that present each name in this collection and helps entrepreneurs evaluate ideas, develop businesses and find appropriate growth support, with AI assisting execution.
PremiumBrands is where you acquire a name, or get help acquiring one. OnlineBusiness is where you can discuss bespoke advice and optional paid development. Each is separate, separately priced and entirely optional.
An optional personalized roadmap is included with a purchase. You can use your own team and do not need to purchase further services.
How both paths workYour next beginning
What do you want to build?
Explore the names, or tell me what you have in mind. If the name you want isn't in our collection, I can help you find out whether it can be acquired.