Congratulations on having an idea you think could change the world. Or at least one worth your time, energy, and money to pursue. Pursuing a startup is a big commitment, for it to become a success. If you’re not worried about building a successful startup, then it’s probably just a hobby. “The Startup Series” is for those who want to take their idea beyond the piece of paper and begin to build something real. Keep in mind the order these articles are published in aren’t necessarily the order you should take for your own startup, but instead touch on key points to help you consider more about what you should do.
Once your idea has a strong shape, you’re going to want to start talking to people about it. Whether it’s to test the idea with others, to hire professionals to help build it, seek investors, or even market it to customers, you’ll be having conversations. One of the first questions people will ask you is “what is it called?” If you haven’t picked a name yet, you’ll find this is something you’ll be working on pretty early in the process. And there’s a lot to consider when choosing a name. Today, we’ll dive into several factors you’ll want to consider as you give your startup idea its first name.
Code name or final name?
Many startups start with a code name to defer picking the public name for when there’s enough product to warrant the effort. As we dive into details, you’ll quickly find there’s a lot of work to do finding a good, safe name you can use publicly. Code names tend to have looser requirements, but still some restrictions. You’ll want to take your code name through some of the same due diligence we’ll explore later. But the other great thing about a code name is you know you are going to change it later. You aren’t as emotionally attached to it as you will be to the final name. So, feel free to take advantage of the code name approach during the early stages of your startup.
Branding
A startup needs to tell a story and the branding you select will be how it tells its story. Later articles will dive into branding in more detail, but the name is the core of the brand. Everything else about the brand should begin with the name. Your logo, color palette, brand statement, and more, all need to make sense with the name. The name itself also should make sense to the brand. If you’re selling watercraft, you probably don’t want to name your startup “Earthbound” or something which evokes the opposite of water. And before you start thinking it could be a “clever” brand - name ten clever brands you can think of? There are a few, but I guarantee they spend a lot of time explaining their name, rather than just selling it.
The startup I am using as my example for these articles is named “mykeep.social” and this ties back to its purpose in several ways. First, the purpose of the product is to help you keep in touch with your contacts by “keeping” their information in sync over time. And it does so in a secure, privacy-first way. Much like the stronghold of a castle - also called the “keep”. The “social” aspect ties in because it’s designed to fill the gap social networks have created where we’re all active on different sites. If I want to reach out to a friend from a few companies ago, I don’t know how to “keep” up with which network they’re using now. So, instead, I want to keep their current information in a way that’s secure, not just for me, but their information as well. And so, “mykeep.social” fills the void, and had a name which embodies the very functions it provides.
As you’re thinking about your startup, can you find a word or phrase which embodies the core of the problem-solution you are offering? And does it survive due diligence? Some companies will look to foreign languages to find a word which captures the meaning of the brand but doesn’t bump into already used names in the target market. This can be an effective technique if you are good with other languages. But it can also be an embarrassment if not. Your creative approach might end up being a word with a meaning you didn’t intend. You may have heard the much-repeated story about how the Chevy Nova had a hard time selling in Spanish-speaking markets, as its name translates to “Doesn’t Go.” (See more)
Due Diligence
None of the advice in this section should be taken as legal advice. As you’re deciding to name your startup, you are venturing into some legal areas which can come back and burn you later. It can save you a lot of trouble and money over the long run to hire a lawyer to help you navigate many of these issues. The following sections are just some of the things you should be aware of as you enter this world. Many of the other articles in this series will also suggest seeking the advice of accountants and lawyers - so you might as well find them now at the beginning and get comfortable reaching out.
Trademarks
Trademarks are a type of intellectual property which lets companies protect their brand. Your name, logo, slogan, and other key items which will be used to quickly identify your company or product fall under this area of intellectual property law. When it comes to naming your startup, you have two aspects of trademarks to worry about. First, don’t pick a name which will infringe on someone else’s trademark. Second, pick a name which can be defended as your own trademark.
You’ll need to hire a lawyer who practices trademark law to confirm both sides, but here are some examples on each to explain what I mean. First, you can’t name your startup using a name, or even similar name, to an existing brand. If you’re going to be selling colas, stay far away from anything resembling the words Coca-cola. Another example was a person who bought his name as a domain: Mike Rowe and added “Soft” to the end: Mike Rowe Soft. Microsoft did not take kindly to the “sounds like” version of their name. If you check out the story, you’ll see it has a happy ending, as the public opinion was not in favor of Microsoft’s heavy-handed approach, but they were well within their trademark law rights. (See More)
Not only do you need to avoid already used trademarks, but you also need a name which can be protected by trademark law. The basic concept is it needs to be a name which is unique and distinct from the product or service it is naming. If you are going into the tissue paper business and decide to name it “Great Tissue Paper” you probably are not going to have a good trademark. This is why “Kleenex brand tissue” is the phrase you’ll see on their box. Kleenex is their trademark; tissues are the product. So, the name of your startup needs to capture the spirit of what you’re doing (see Branding) but not be a literal description of the service. Simple, right?
Spend the money on due diligence now and you’ll save all the money later when you discover you can’t use the name you’ve just printed on thousands of t-shirts…
If you think you have a name which isn’t someone else’s and is distinctive enough, you’ll need to do a trademark search. You could do a basic one for free at the U.S. Patent and Trademark office - but all that can tell you is you have picked a name someone else has used. So, you can rule out names there. But it can’t tell you the name you have selected is safe to use. The USPTO only has federally registered trademarks. This will include most major companies’ brands, but trademark law exists outside of this registry. Another company in your market using the name could sue you for trademark infringement even though they’re not on the list. So, this is why you must pay for the search before you get too excited about a name. Your trademark lawyer offers this as a service, and there are some other online services you could consider. But I recommend using the lawyer’s service, as they will also be able to tell you whether your chosen name is a protectable trademark. Why waste the money on an online search for a name which can’t even be protected?
Domain Names
An easy way to find out if someone else is using the name you selected is to see if it is available as a domain. But just because the dot com version of your name is taken doesn’t mean you can’t use the name. If you’ve cleared a trademark search and want to try a different use of the name as a domain, this might be perfectly fine (after you consult with your trademark attorney). You’ll also find a lot of domain squatters may have taken the good versions of your name. You can decide whether it’s worth buying from them or just looking for something else. Also, they’re not allowed to squat on existing trademarks. There’s a whole resolution process for getting domain squatters to release a domain when they have bought an existing trademark.
Company Names
In a different article, we’ll talk about the value of having a company to “own” your startup. But when deciding what to name the startup, it’s important to consider whether or not that will also be the name of your company. Every state has a registry of company names and there’s no reason why names might not be duplicated in different states. And there can also be “trade names” recorded in the state as well. Just as with domain names, a company name shouldn’t infringe on an existing trademark, but if it doesn’t, then you might end up with two companies of the same name in different states. So, you should consider a multistate company name search as well.
It’s also important to remember the public brand of your startup doesn’t have to also be the name of the company which owns it. Most brands don’t match their legal entity name. So, if you want to name your company something easy and unique, and then name the public brand something else, go for it. Just make sure you do the same due diligence on both names (including hiring the right legal counsel to guide you through it).
Google It!
The easiest way to understand whether a name you’ve come up with is a good one is to simply type it into Google or your favorite search engine. What do you get back? Is the name you’ve selected the name of someone’s Instagram account? Is the word used in random ways you never thought of? Check sites like Urban Dictionary as well too, to make sure you haven’t accidentally picked some unfortunate slang as your startup name. When I chose my company name “Mirability” many years ago, the Google search was favorable. There was a definition of the word related to metals, and I believe it was someone’s ICQ handle. But nothing caused me to think I’d chosen poorly. The Internet is more crowded now than it was 20+ years ago, so it’s easier to find hits to names. I also checked “my keep social” and am okay with the search results of it as well.
Usability
Normally, you are thinking about usability when it comes to the design of your product. How are the screens laid out on a mobile app? What is a physical product shaped like? But the usability of the name matters too. There are a couple of different perspectives you should consider when thinking about the usability of your brand name. First, is your own usage. You’re going to need to buy a domain (see “Due Diligence”), type the name on letterheads, imagine the name on store fronts, billboards, business cards, or wherever you market your startup. If you’ve named your business “The World’s Best Way to Slice a Cucumber” - you’re going to run into all sorts of usability challenges.
How long of a name are you willing to put up with before you give up?
The other side of usability is with the rest of the world. How usable is your name to them? Difficult to pronounce or spell names will cause you all kinds of problems. Businesses which intentionally misspell a word to create a unique name then spend valuable advertising time telling people how to spell it. Long names will also cause public problems. If they must type thirty characters to visit your website, will they give up after twenty? If they mistype one of them, they probably will. So, you end up with a problem of picking a name which is short, simple to type, and spelled like it sounds. And which hasn’t been selected already by anyone else.
Wrapping Up
Naming your startup is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Based on the name you select, you are going to invest a lot of money in assets using the name. It’s important to spend the money on due diligence to make sure later money is well spent. Often, you’ll even want to bring in outside expertise in the selection process of good names to help meet all of the requirements we’ve discussed here. The topics covered here are the major concerns in picking a name. There are plenty of others you’ll be considering as well. A name is like a cornerstone of a building. If it’s set correctly, you are on the path to building something great!
Feel free to share your own thoughts on this topic in the comments section. What did I miss? What areas should I dive into deeper in future articles?