I was reading a story over at TechCrunch.com about a social networking site iPhone app that allows you to see which bars your friends are at. When the site started they used the domain name PlayFoursquare.com . After a $1.35 Million injection of venture capital, the site dropped the "Play" from the domain and purchased the exact match domain Foursquare.com .
In another story from BusinessInsider.com talked a little bit more about the switch to the new domain name.
We assume foursquare.com wasn’t excessively expensive, but not free, either. (Update: Foursquare cofounder Dennis Crowley declined to disclose the purchase price or previous owner, but says the company couldn’t have bought it before it received financing.)
Well, the previous owner was Foursquare Solutions Inc. since Mr Crowley didn’t feel like sharing, I did 
Since the company that owned Foursquare.com before, owned "the perfect domain" for their company, I am going on a limb and saying a Large Portion of the VC money that came in ($1.35M), went to the purchase of the domain! Very likely in the Six Figures IMO.
Foursquare Solutions Inc. is a software development firm and will Not have the chance to own their perfect domain name again. Consider the marketing done with the domain already, the good deal of traffic the domain already was getting (XX,XXX monthly), search engine ranks and much, much more… that is going to take some serious cash to convince the past owner to sell and very likely the reason Mr. Crowley stated:
the company couldn’t have bought it before it received financing
Foursquare Solutions Inc. may have "the money" from the domain sale, but they switched from the perfect domain to a dumpster domain…. 4Square.net!
Foursquare.com changed ownership on 9-3-2009 and was put in use by the new owners approx 9-8-2009. Foursquare Solutions Inc. owned the domain name since its creation in 2001.
Another smart move for the new Foursquare.com owners would be to purchase the alternative spelling of the domain name FORsquare.com. That domain is listed for sale at BuyDomains.com for $2,088.
owen frager
Smiling…
Apps- that’s the biggest area to cash in on the need for names
All that silly search criteria most base purchases on means squat for these sales, and may even work against you by creating a name that isn’t easy to pronounce or remember when used on product packages and tv ads- where lettering and logos and symbols count for something in a small space like a iPhone app icon (ie- apple is an apple, phone is a handset) Can your domain be described in an image?
Jason at GoDrops.com
“dumpster domain” — love it!
Available Domains
Good deal for the buyer and a smart move!
nSathees
The seller sold it for a reason! Any one to comment on that?
Jamie Zoch
@nSathees
Money!