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Great company names are worth millions.
In fact, choosing a name is one of the most important decisions you will make as an entrepreneur.
Your company's name could be a lever that separates you from your competition.
It could be the key element that helps your customers understand your value.
And it can make or break your branding.
But generating (and deciding on) the perfect name is difficult.
There's a reason why so many companies have names that are:
→ Forgettable
→ Confusing
→ Aimless
But I've been an entrepreneur for 20 years. I've named my fair share of businesses, from small projects to public companies.
In this article, I'll unveil my 7 rules for naming a company that will be:
→ Memorable
→ Brandable
→ Helpful
→ Clear
Let's dive right in.
But first, a little context
I’ve been building companies for the past 20 years.
They've all varied in size, industry, requirements, and audience.
But I've found common threads across my experiences in naming companies.And I'll never follow another set of naming rules again.
Some of the companies I've built include:
→ Vettery (Sold for $100M)
→ Archer (IPO at $2.7B)
→ Figure (Currently building)
Names aren't 100% of the equation.
My companies likely would have still been successful with different names.
But I can't ignore the power that a great company name has when pitching, funding, and marketing a business.
These rules are not the only ways to name a project, but this framework has yet to fail me.
Rule 1: Be unique in your category
These days, it's hard to stand out.
The internet has made it easier to stand up businesses in any industry.
There may 100 other companies with your same:
Concept
Industry
Audience
Brand colors
Marketing angle
And so on
You have to find ways to go against the grain — you need to stand out.
Having a unique name compared to others in your niche is a clear way to do this.
It will help you build brand equity more effectively than competitors.
A good example of this...
1st Mar 2023