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Mercu's Brand Evolution: Rising from SampleApp.co to a Global Presence with Mercu.com
By Monica Stankova access_time 2 min read

Mercu, a company dedicated to enhancing workforce productivity and retention, automates communication, development, and engagement on a large scale. Co-founded in 2021 by Elliott Gibb and Jascha Zittel, the company started as Sample, envisioned as a ‘LinkedIn for essential professionals’ in fields like hospitality, retail, beauty, warehousing, logistics and others. The team soon realised that this initial direction wasn’t gaining the traction they had anticipated. In response, the startup pivoted both its focus and name, rebranding to Mercu.

The choice of the initial domain, SampleApp.co, reflects a common practice among startups: choosing more readily available or cost-effective domain extensions when their exact brand match .com domain is taken or out of budget. While this approach has short-term benefits, it often leads to long-term drawbacks, such as potential traffic loss, missed emails, negative user experience, and security risks. Country code domains offer a wealth of available names, but they come with risks and challenges that require careful consideration.

The transition from SampleApp.co to Mercu.com simplifies brand recognition and improves ease of access for customers, leading to improved user experience and stronger engagement. Moving to an exact brand match .com domain typically marks a pivotal point in a startup’s journey, signalling maturity, stability, and a commitment to growth. It eliminates the drawbacks associated with country domain extensions and positions the company more favourably in global markets.


Ultimately, our goal is… to enable every employer of deskless employees to enable their frontline staff to reach their full potential and so growth is kind of like the underlying theme here that we’ll focus on going forward.

Jascha Zittel, Co-founder for The Asian Business Review

The acquisition of Mercu.com elevates Mercu’s market presence and broadens its reach, making it more attractive to a diverse, global audience. This can lead to new opportunities for growth, partnerships, and customer acquisition, which are crucial for a company in its scaling phase.


Premium domain names are a valuable investment that can help businesses avoid the costly consequences of choosing a compromise domain. Don’t put your brand at risk – contact us today to learn more about our premium domain name options and secure a memorable, professional domain for your business.


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