There is a difference between owning a name and activating it.
Arif Ullah is not treating Exertion.co like a trophy. He is treating it like infrastructure. The word itself carries weight. It implies output. Effort. Measurable push. That choice alone tells you something about how he thinks.
In a space where conversations often revolve around acquisition price and resale strategy, I am more interested in what happens after control changes hands. What vision gets attached to the asset. What risk gets taken. What work actually follows.
Exertion is not a passive word. It demands movement.
I wanted to understand why Arif chose it, what he sees in it, and how he plans to turn that energy into something durable. This is a conversation about conviction, execution, and what it really takes to build around a strong name.
Mike: What is Exertion.co today in practical terms, and what does it become if everything goes right?
Arif: Exertion.co is a domain name that we acquired to represent our company and brand, named simply as “Exertion.”
We continue to work relentlessly to expand its growth from small beginnings, originally starting with myself as the sole founder from the UK to hopefully something that is internationally recognised.
The domain name, “exertion.co” is one of a handful that we own. We’ve also put to use “exertion.us,” “exertion.ltd,” “exertion.co.uk” and “exertion.uk.”
Exertion is effectively the foundation and branding for all the work we release into the world. Incorporated in the UK as a software development company and for a brief period also incorporated in Delaware, US, which was beneficial during our Y Combinator application.
Our purpose with Exertion is significantly greater than software development. We are committed to our self-imposed Corporate Social Responsibility, contributing to all aspects of our society from philanthropic efforts to upholding morally oriented practices. We are always continuously exploring new means of contributing to the world around us, benefiting the lives of as many people as possible.
Mike: When you secured Exertion, what did you see that others may have overlooked?
Arif: With the work that we all undertake during our lifetime, ultimately, we’re working towards building a better life for the generations after us. I believe that the work we conduct should be aligned with our individual values and objectives, therefore building a company and brand for me has been personal.
With the consideration of the substantially unfathomable goals and visions we have, starting in a small town in the North of the United Kingdom, to aiming to become something internationally impactful in a positive direction, I knew would require exertion.
Exertion, to us defined as “something that requires physical or mental effort,” was naturally inevitable for us given our vision. When we discovered that this name was available during our time of company incorporation, we took it. Others may not have necessarily overlooked the term, but rather did not have a vision and purpose that we see.
Mike: Was this domain the starting point, or did the business concept exist before the name?
Arif: The mindset ultimately did exist before the brand name and consequently before our domain names too. However, by establishing the brand name and acquiring a matching domain enabled us to commence on the development of our brand, initiating our traction and first point of digital presence.
I do recall personally being excited in the specific acquisition of exertion.co, exertion.us and also exertion.co.uk throughout the years.
Mike: What does the word Exertion signal to you emotionally and strategically?
Arif: The term “Exertion” for us ultimately defines our philosophy in a single word, representing discipline, progress, pioneering of innovation and new perspectives of mental thinking that leave a positive lasting impact in this world for generations to come.
Strategically, it communicates momentum, activity and action, which implies embarking upon work which tackles and solves real world problems.
From a branding perspective, we’re leaving behind the world better than we found it, attracting people who are also motivated and inspired to build or improve in their lives.
Mike: Why .co? Was that a branding decision, a strategic one, or both?
Arif: Since 2010 when the registration for the .co TLD had been opened worldwide and not restricted specifically for Colombia, it was trendy, popular for use with businesses and a great alternative to the .com extension. When the chance to acquire exertion.co came around and was presented to us in 2019, we decided to buy it and begin using it as our primary domain name.
For us it works synonymously from a branding perspective, as our Instagram handle is @exertionco, which unintentionally mirrors our domain name too.
Mike: Where have you seen the most traction so far?
Arif: Most of our traction for our brand has been from in-person interactions and social media, along with a smaller amount of traffic being driven to our website through search engines.
We have our offices in the UK, outside the border of Manchester, which is Exertion branded. We’re also offering free public WiFi in the surrounding area for other local businesses, we’ve produced branded clothing and even assigned a vanity registration plate to our vehicle. All these factors combined so far have contributed to garnering attention to our vision and for the public to recognise our brand, naturally sparking curiosity and having people gravitate towards our mission, becoming something memorable in the process.
Mike: How do you define leverage inside this project?
Arif: For us being in software development, an innovative field in the technology space, we’re able to reach and serve thousands or even potentially millions of people simultaneously once we produce tangible or intangible offerings, such as software, apparel, marketing or even posting on social media.
Leverage for us is being able to reach a large audience, which ties in with our vision to be of greater service to as many people as possible whilst also being internationally recognised as a positive brand.
Mike: What role does brand authority play in your long term thinking?
Arif: Branding for us plays a key role, as we’re producing products and services to an exceptionally crafted quality. We’re more focused on quality rather than quantity, therefore when people see our name or logo in public, we’re aiming for an association to reliability, trust, enthusiasm and execution.
Even for the future, we’re expecting ourselves to look back and contemplate that the work we undertook and produced five years ago was pioneering for the time.
Mike: How do you measure whether the name itself is helping or hurting conversion?
Arif: Ultimately, I believe the market answers this question. The name plays a supporting role but initially if the services we’re offering provide value, the name tends to strengthen the story rather than solely carry it, especially early on in a company’s offering.
I also believe that if we stay convicted to our vision and remain relentlessly driven towards our purpose, the public will naturally gravitate towards our mission regardless. Exertion in name itself requires this, to not be shaken by the opinions of others whilst we primarily focus on our objectives and deliverables.
Mike: If someone offered you a strong price tomorrow, would you sell or keep building?
Arif: The domain name is one of our assets we own, which we worked towards acquiring in our portfolio therefore we would be reluctant to sell. For us, the focus is on continuing to build.
Mike: What mistake do you see domain investors make when they try to transition into operators?
Arif: Owning a portfolio of domains and building businesses which scale are two different disciplines, however trading domain names can become a lucrative business. It is a unique niche to be within and as domain names are internationally exclusive, the world is effectively the oyster.
It needs to be considered that domain name investing can be a slow market and not one expected to provide fast returns, as domains need to attract the correct buyer who are willing to pay the price. I do foresee domains becoming more exclusive as more are registered and them only continuing to increase in value.
Mike: Five years from now, what does Exertion need to represent in order for you to consider this a win?
Arif: As the purpose with Exertion is greater than ourselves, to contribute to the world and leave it better than we found it, inspire and motivate others to improve their lives and to nurture a better future for generations after us, we are relentlessly determined in our growth and impact.
Therefore, the greater the audience size we develop leads to exiting obscurity, the tremendously positive impact we can make, the more substantial the win naturally becomes as a result and conclusively an astonishing success story we leave behind. The win for us is not what we can have, but what we can give.