DWA Architects

What DWA Architects does

nicsell, operated by DomainProfi GmbH, is a domain backorder and dropcatching service headquartered in Osnabrück, Germany, founded in July 2014. The company enables customers to bid on domains during the Redemption Grace Period (RGP) — the quarantine window before expired domains are released for re-registration. The platform supports starting bids from €10 across 200+ TLDs, with particularly deep coverage of European ccTLDs including .de, .eu, .at, .ch, .li, .se, .nu, .pl, .cz, .me, .it, .be, .fr, .uk, .nl, .es, and .ai, and as of December 2025 the full Identity Digital generic TLD portfolio. The platform lists over 1.85 million domains in auction and reports a customer base of 4,000+ registered users.

The core technology is a proprietary catch system that attempts domain registration within milliseconds of release from quarantine, achieving a reported 80%+ catch rate for .de domains. The product surface includes a real-time Live Auction system, bulk bidding and CSV export for power users, domain alerts, post-bid and priority-bid functionality, expert/compact viewing modes, Dutch (reverse) auctions, and themed domain collections. In March 2022, the company launched nicsell Trading, a two-sided marketplace allowing domain owners to auction registered domains with nicsell acting as intermediary at a standard 10% seller commission. Direct integration relationships with major European registries (DENIC, EURid, nic.at, SWITCH, Internetstiftelsen, NASK, nic.cz, nic.it, dns Belgium, AFNIC, Nominet, SIDN, Dominios) and November 2024 ICANN accreditation formalize the company's position in the domain supply chain.

Revenue is generated primarily through transaction fees on successful domain registrations (with no charge if registration fails), a 10% commission on nicsell Trading marketplace sales, and secondary auction revenue on premium domains where reserve prices are not initially met. The go-to-market is product-led/self-serve, with content marketing (FAQ, lexicon, themes), Domain Pulse conference participation, and a customer referral program. The company is privately held, with no disclosed external funding; Martin Steinkamp serves as CEO and Marc Stepken (joined March 2022 from competitor Sedo) serves as Managing Director.

Name

DWA Architects

Legal name

DomainProfi GmbH

Website

https://dwaarchitects.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

nicsell (DomainProfi GmbH) is a German domain backorder and dropcatching service that enables bidding on expired European TLDs via proprietary millisecond catch technology and operates a 10%-commission domain marketplace, serving domain investors and businesses across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

York

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Domain Registration Commission: When a customer's winning bid results in successful domain registration, the bid amount is charged as service fee. If the domain is not successfully registered, no charges are incurred.
2. Marketplace Commission (nicsell Trading): 10% commission charged to sellers when domains are sold through the nicsell Trading marketplace platform. The company acts as intermediary in domain sales between customers.
3. Secondary Auction Revenue: For premium domains where minimum price is not met in initial auction, second exclusive auctions are conducted starting at the reserve price, generating additional registration revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

No information is available in the provided input regarding the core offerings of DWA Architects.

Product overview

nicsell is a domain backorder service (dropcatcher) operated by DomainProfi GmbH based in Osnabrück, Germany. The core product enables bidding on RGP (Redemption Grace Period) domains during their quarantine phase before re-registration. Starting bids begin at €10. The platform supports multiple European TLDs including .de, .eu, .at, .ch, .li, .se, .nu, .pl, .cz, .me, .it, .be, .fr, .uk, .nl, .es, and .ai. The nicsell Trading module extends functionality to a domain marketplace where users can buy and sell pre-registered exclusive domains. Additional features include Premium Domains (high-value domains with minimum prices), Dutch Auctions (reverse pricing), Live Auctions (real-time bidding), Domain Alerts (notification system), Bulk Bidding, and Domain Themes (categorized collections).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• nicsell Trading: Domain marketplace platform allowing customers to buy and sell domain names through auctions.
• CatchTiger

Quantifiable outcome

• 80%+ catch rate for .de domains
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DENICcoreTechnology or IntegrationGerman domain registry for .de domains. nicsell participates in .de domain backorder auctions as an accredited service provider.
• EURidcoreTechnology or IntegrationEuropean domain registry for .eu domains. nicsell offers backorder services for .eu domains in redemption grace period.
• nic.atcoreTechnology or IntegrationAustrian domain registry for .at domains. nicsell provides backorder services for Austrian domain extensions.
• SWITCHcoreTechnology or IntegrationSwiss domain registry for .ch and .li domains. nicsell offers domain backorder services for Swiss domain extensions.
• InternetstiftelsencoreTechnology or IntegrationSwedish Internet Foundation managing .se and .nu domains. nicsell provides backorder services for Swedish domain extensions.
• NASKcoreTechnology or IntegrationPolish research institute and registry for .pl domains. nicsell offers backorder services for Polish domain extensions.
• nic.czcoreTechnology or IntegrationCzech domain registry for .cz domains. nicsell provides backorder services for Czech domain extensions.
• domain.mecoreTechnology or IntegrationRegistry for .me domains (Montenegro). nicsell offers backorder services for .me domain extensions.
• nic.itcoreTechnology or IntegrationItalian domain registry for .it domains. nicsell provides backorder services for Italian domain extensions.
• dns BelgiumcoreTechnology or IntegrationBelgian domain registry for .be domains. nicsell offers backorder services for Belgian domain extensions.
• AFNICcoreTechnology or IntegrationFrench domain registry for .fr domains. nicsell provides backorder services for French domain extensions.
• NominetcoreTechnology or IntegrationUK domain registry for .uk domains. nicsell offers backorder services for United Kingdom domain extensions.
• SIDNcoreTechnology or IntegrationDutch domain registry for .nl domains. nicsell provides backorder services for Netherlands domain extensions.
• DominioscoreTechnology or IntegrationSpanish domain registry for .es domains. nicsell offers backorder services for Spanish domain extensions.
• Identity DigitalcoreTechnology or IntegrationRegistry for generic top-level domains including .technology, .bio, .digital, .studio, .life and hundreds of others. nicsell added full Identity Digital TLD portfolio in December 2025.
• PayPalcoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment service provider for processing transactions. Supports PayPal, credit card, and direct debit through PayPal Plus.
• MolliecoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment service provider for processing various payment methods. Located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment service provider for processing credit card and other payment methods. Dublin-based European entity.
• SumsubcoreTechnology or IntegrationIdentity verification service provider used for KYC procedures and compliance with Money Laundering Act and NIS-2 Directive requirements.
• CatchTigerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDutch domain backorder service merged with nicsell in November 2019, bringing expanded TLD offerings and team mascot 'catchtiger'.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Dan.com: Dan.com is a domain marketplace acquired by GoDaddy that facilitates domain sales with installment payments and broker services. It competes with nicsell Trading in the secondary domain marketplace segment with similar buyer-seller intermediation.
• Pool.com: Pool.com is a domain backorder and drop-catching platform operated by DomainPeople. It offers similar RGP backorder auctions for expired domains, targeting the same professional domain investor customer base as nicsell.
• NameJet: NameJet is a joint venture between some of the largest registrars offering domain backorder services and expired domain auctions. It directly competes with nicsell in the dropcatching and backorder space across multiple TLDs.
• SnapNames: SnapNames is a long-standing domain backorder and drop-catching service competing for the same RGP domain inventory as nicsell. It serves professional domain investors and brand-protection buyers with comparable auction mechanics and TLD coverage.
• DropCatch: DropCatch is a leading domain backorder and dropcatching platform, owned by NameBright (and historically connected to GoDaddy). It directly competes with nicsell in the same RGP backorder product category for expired domains, serving the same domain investor customer base.

Emerging players

• Undeveloped: Undeveloped is a domain marketplace connecting domain buyers and sellers with brokerage services. It overlaps with nicsell Trading's marketplace function, though its focus is more on premium owned-domain sales than RGP backorder auctions.
• Dynadot: Dynadot is a domain registrar that has expanded into marketplace and backorder services for expired domains. While primarily a registrar, it competes in adjacent categories to nicsell, particularly for power-user domain investors.

Broad incumbents

• Sedo: Sedo is one of the world's largest domain marketplaces and parking providers, also offering backorder and brokerage services. It overlaps with nicsell's marketplace (nicsell Trading) and backorder offerings, and notably employed nicsell's current Managing Director, Marc Stepken.
• Afternic: Afternic is a major domain marketplace owned by GoDaddy that lists premium and expired domains for sale. It overlaps with nicsell Trading's marketplace commission model and serves a similar domain investor and SMB buyer audience.
• GoDaddy Auctions: GoDaddy Auctions is the domain marketplace and auction platform of GoDaddy, the world's largest registrar. It overlaps with nicsell's auction and marketplace offerings but operates at much larger scale as part of GoDaddy's broader domain services portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/DWAarchitects
• Xx.com/DWAArchitects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dwaarchitects

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DWA Architects