For years GoDaddy was better known for loud Super Bowl ads than for anything it sold. What it sold was the internet's addresses. Millions of small businesses bought their domain names there, then added hosting, email and website tools. When GoDaddy filed to go public in 2015, a new leadership team under Blake Irving was trying to change that image. It wanted the company known for serving small business owners.

Jomax Becomes GoDaddy

Bob Parsons started the company in 1997 as Jomax Technologies, after he sold his accounting software business. He renamed it GoDaddy in 1999, partly because the name was easy to remember. The bet was that the growing web would need cheap, simple domain names and hosting for everyone. Bold marketing, low prices and support around the clock made GoDaddy the biggest registrar.

The Second Try Works

GoDaddy priced at $20 a share in April 2015. Years earlier it had withdrawn an attempt to go public. KKR, Silver Lake and other investors bought control in 2011. As a public company GoDaddy dropped its old ad style and built more software for small businesses. It later bought several hosting businesses abroad. GoDaddy remains public on the New York Stock Exchange.

Cover: Wind and Thunder God Playing Go, Unknown artist. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for gods playing a game of Go.