Whether you\u2019re christening a brand-spanking-new business or rolling-out a minty fresh new product line (or heck, pivoting into an fertile new space?), eventually you\u2019ll face the question of what to name that baby.<\/p>\n
And as you may well know, there are no easy answers.<\/p>\n
With virtually every decent name already taken, and all the dumb ones spoken for as well (uh, you know who you are), the options are slim to none and dwindling fast. That\u2019s why you have to dig extra deep to find a great name, and most importantly, to avoid making a serious blunder.<\/p>\n
By blunder we mean names like Frigidaire (nice for their initial line of freezers and refrigerators, but not so brilliant when rolling out perplexing Frigidaire Ovens and Frigidaire Dishwashers). Or Chevy Nova (which when marketed in Latin America translates to \u201cno va\u201d \u2013 or \u201cno go\u201d). Not to mention names like Xerox, which mean absolutely nothing to anyone in this or any other known universe.<\/p>\n
But whatever you do, please do not use these names.<\/p>\n
Like grunge bands and twerking, the practice of dropping random consonants from names had its 15 minutes of fame. The information super highway will soon be littered with red-faced startups wishing they had listened to their grade school grammar teachers.<\/p>\n
The Cloud? It\u2019s here to stay. The name \u201ccloud\u201d itself? Not likely. It\u2019s pretty much a given that your product is internet based, so adding \u201cCloud\u201d to the name is akin to a winery adding \u201cgrape\u201d to its name or a software company adding \u201csoft\u201d to its name (don\u2019t tell Bill Gates we said that).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a global world. While you may think your target market is in your backyard, the fact is to accelerate quickly it\u2019s critical to expand internationally. There\u2019s no reason to pigeonhole yourself into a corner with a name that\u2019s too centric to any given region or local custom.<\/p>\n
Save bad puns and inside jokes for your holiday party, not for your name. If your potential clients can\u2019t easily connect the dots, chances are you\u2019re only talking to yourself.\u00a0 You\u2019re much better served with a name that resonates with the masses.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a mouthful. A virtual tongue twister. Simply put, it\u2019s too complex for anyone\u2019s good. Avoid a name that no one could ever remember or type into a Google search bar. Keep it simple and memorable. Shorter is better.<\/p>\n
Last but not least, please don\u2019t create a name that\u2019s blah. You need one that your team (and customers) can get excited about and rally around. Also find a name that allows you to build visual elements around it. If it\u2019s blas\u00e9, there\u2019s nowhere to go with it.<\/p>\n
OK, so we\u2019ve touched on what NOT to name your company. That\u2019s the easy part. Now, what should <\/i>you name your startup? Given the notes above, it may not be enough to roll-up your sleeves and come up with a winner all by yourself.<\/p>\n
If you have the bankroll, it will probably pay-off in the long run to bring in a third party who has a more objective perspective. Of course you can hire a naming agency (which probably has a catchy name of its own). Or if you want ideas on a faster timeline and tighter budget, consider freelance branding experts you\u2019ll find in online marketplaces.<\/p>\n
Good luck, and if you\u2019re flying solo, don\u2019t forget to dust off that ol\u2019 thesaurus from the bookshelf.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Whether you\u2019re christening a brand-spanking-new business or rolling-out a minty fresh new product line (or heck, pivoting into an fertile new space?), eventually you\u2019ll face the question of what to name that baby. And as you may well know, there are no easy answers. With virtually every decent name already taken, and all the dumb […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":975,"featured_media":7426,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n