Naming a business is hard. Even Phil Knight, the Founder of Nike, struggled. He was one short conversation away from calling his shoe brand “Dimension Six”. Hard to imagine that becoming the household name of a now $34B company!
If you want to read how Phil accidentally stumbled onto his name and logo, you can check out that story here. Otherwise, stick around for one tool and one tip we give founders in our programmes when they’re naming their startups.
One Tool: ONECheck
ONECheck is an excellent tool from business.govt.nz which allows you to check if your business name is available. You can also see:
Which website domains are taken, e.g .nz, .co.nz, .com
if your business name is similar to any existing trademark
which social handles are available on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc
When I search “Startup Dunedin” I can immediately see which social media handles are still available and which ones are already taken.
Arguably the most useful feature is being able to see which trademarks have already been registered which are similar to the name you’re searching. It can definitely save some future headaches!
If you want to dig into trademarks and other legal queries, checkout this blog from Wade Pearson on the The top 7 key legal steps to take when starting a business.
One Tip: Pass a note to a f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶ stranger.
ONECheck can help you avoid some legal/registration headaches, but it won’t save you from people getting your name wrong.
To combat that, we’ve got a 3 step process.
Write your prospective business name down.
Hand it out to at least ten strangers, target customers and friends.
Ask them to say it aloud, without you saying it first or explaining how to say it.
This test will give you a very quick indication of whether people struggle to say your name, or get it wrong entirely.
We’ve heard the name “Mimicry” pronounced “ME-ME CRY”, and the name “Lucid Us” was assumed to mean Lucid USA, and - perhaps best of all - an app for running was mistaken for an app for tracking menstrual cycles because it had the name “Phlow”.
Getting the name right isn’t easy. Publisher’s A/B test book titles by running fake ads, companies run dozens of focus groups to test their name before they release a product and sometimes they still don’t get it right (enter Witch Fingers).
So if you find yourself with a name, that you’re unsure about. Just remember, to give it time, because you never know. It might grow on you.
“What’d you decide?” Woodell asked me at the end of the day. “Nike,” I mumbled. “Hm,” he said. “Yeah, I know,” I said. “Maybe it’ll grow on us,” he said.
Maybe.
- Phil Knight, Founder of Nike.
Author: Angus Pauley