How to name your startup
joel.is
How to name your startup
1–10 of 60 posts
Re: How to name your startup
#2I would add:
- Distinctive
- Easy to spell
- Easy to pronounce
- Fairly unique on Google
- Abstract is better than meaningful
I love the suggestion that the domain name doesn't matter. A big mental shift for me, but the examples are compelling. Most people find sites with a Google search and not by direct navigation anyway. Easy to spell and pronounce are really important. If people aren't comfortable talking about your company, they wont talk about it. We named my first company Voila! Software, and that was a really dumb name. People were afraid to say or even type it.
Quantcast is the best company name I've used, and that was actually suggested by Godaddy. Imagine that.
Re: How to name your startup
#3[deleted]
Re: How to name your startup
#4The most crucial point is to not obsess over names.
Obsess over product, not name. Companies prosper or fail because of their product, not their name. Consider Amazon. It outshines competitors in e-commerce, even though one rival -- Buy.com -- owns the perfect name for online shopping. Would you care if Google renamed itself to Moogle? Probably not. Google's search engine is the best, independent of name. To paraphrase billionaire investor Vinod Khosla, brands are nothing more than proxies. Meaning, great names cannot hide poor products -- especially in the information age.
There are many examples of ordinary names representing extraordinary businesses. Apple. Four Seasons. Amazon. These names evoke excellence because the underlying services are excellent. Strong brands today will fade tomorrow once quality suffers. Think GM, Dell, and Sears. In short, search for a cool domain, but remember a name is nothing more than a proxy. Build something people value, and value will flow to the name.
Re: How to name your startup
#5I would add: - Distinctive - Easy to spell - Easy to pronounce - Fairly unique on Google - Abstract is better than meaningful I love the suggestion that the domain name doesn't matter. A big mental shift for me, but the examples are compelling. Most people find sites with a Google search and not by direct navigation anyway. Easy to spell and pronounce are really important. If people aren't comfortable talking about y…
Unique on Google I would see as sufficient, but not necessary. But, as was commented earlier, don't name & spell your project after something extremely common (e.g. Rastafarian).
Given that, Python seems to have done remarkably well given these constraints. Having a superior project speaks volumes, apparently.
Re: How to name your startup
#6The most crucial point is to not obsess over names. Obsess over product, not name. Companies prosper or fail because of their product, not their name. Consider Amazon. It outshines competitors in e-commerce, even though one rival -- Buy.com -- owns the perfect name for online shopping. Would you care if Google renamed itself to Moogle? Probably not. Google's search engine is the best, independent of name. To paraphra…
> Companies prosper or fail because of their product, not their name. Consider Amazon. It outshines competitors in e-commerce, even though one rival -- Buy.com -- owns the perfect name for online shopping.
While true, I would hesitate investing with a group called "Bernie Madoff Groupies" or purchasing a DVD from an Ebay company called "KnockOff".
Re: How to name your startup
#7I would add: - Distinctive - Easy to spell - Easy to pronounce - Fairly unique on Google - Abstract is better than meaningful I love the suggestion that the domain name doesn't matter. A big mental shift for me, but the examples are compelling. Most people find sites with a Google search and not by direct navigation anyway. Easy to spell and pronounce are really important. If people aren't comfortable talking about y…
> Abstract is better than meaningful
I think this point is lost on a lot of first-time founders.
Finding an abstract name that flows well and is unique is so much better than looking for random synonyms of a word you wanted (or even worse, mis-spellings of said word).
> Most people find sites with a Google search and not by direct navigation anyway.
As a technical person, it always throws me for a loop to see so many people open a web browser and type either domain names or the full URL into a search bar. I think that as browsers like Chrome continue to gain popularity, the line between the "address bar" and the "search engine" will continue to blur, until there's no difference at all.
In the startup world, a name isn't everything -- you can't succeed just because you managed to snag `awesome.com`.
That said, if you think "cinerjie.com" will ever work out, you're sadly mistaken. [1]
[1] It's supposed to sound like "synergy." I'm lame, and I apologize :)
Re: How to name your startup
#8The most crucial point is to not obsess over names. Obsess over product, not name. Companies prosper or fail because of their product, not their name. Consider Amazon. It outshines competitors in e-commerce, even though one rival -- Buy.com -- owns the perfect name for online shopping. Would you care if Google renamed itself to Moogle? Probably not. Google's search engine is the best, independent of name. To paraphra…
> Companies prosper or fail because of their product, not their name. Consider Amazon. It outshines competitors in e-commerce, even though one rival -- Buy.com -- owns the perfect name for online shopping. While true, I would hesitate investing with a group called "Bernie Madoff Groupies" or purchasing a DVD from an Ebay company called "KnockOff".
Great point. "Or fail" should be removed from the line.
Re: How to name your startup
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Companies prosper or fail because of their product, not their name. Consider Amazon. It outshines competitors in e-commerce, even though one rival -- Buy.com -- owns the perfect name for online shopping. While true, I would hesitate investing with a group called "Bernie Madoff Groupies" or purchasing a DVD from an Ebay company called "KnockOff".
Great point. "Or fail" should be removed from the line.
Wow--I didn't even consider that. Now I completely agree with the point.
Language is lost on me sometimes.