The right startup name can be worth millions. It supercharges everything you do.
I just went through the rebrand of South, my Latin American recruiting company.
Here is how I went about it.
How to Pick a Startup Name?
The rules for picking a startup name:
1. Easy to spell
2. Easy to remember
2. Easy to pronounce
4. As short as possible
5. Relevant to the product / service
6. Get a .com domain
You don’t have to make this complicated.
Many of the best companies ever have super simple names.
Think Apple, Amazon, Tesla, etc..
Come up a big list in a spreadsheet. This is a brainstorm so don’t be shy. Just write anything and everything down.
Narrow it down to the few you like.
Try them out. Ask friends, family, and coworkers what they link.
Do a quick search on Google and Linkedin for similarly named companies.
I try to avoid anything remotely competitive.
Then check USPTO.gov for potential trademark issues.
It is way faster to do this with chatGPT now. You can download all the relevant records on USPTO.gov, upload them to ChatGPT and then ask questions on it. Magic.
How to Pick a Startup Domain?
Rules for buying a domain name for your startup:
1. Start with a good name. Don't pick something weird just for the domain.
2. But a .com. Anything else is weird. Don’t be weird.
3. Use a relevant prefix or suffix to get a .com.
Here are some suffixes and prefixes to try:
Prefixes:
1. get[name] .com
2. try[name] .com
3. use[name] .com
4. hey[name] .com
5. join[name] .com
6. go[name] .com
7. the[name] .com
8. my[name] .com
9. app[name] .com
10. getapp[name] .com
11. weare[name] .com
12. meet[name] .com
13. start[name] .com
14. build[name] .com
15. hire[name] .com
16. grow[name] .com
Suffixes:
1. [name]app .com
2. [name]hq .com
3. [name]hub .com
4. [name]studio .com
5. [name]labs .com
6. [name]way .com
7. [name]me .com
8. [name]tools .com
9. [name]kit .com
10. [name]tech .com
11. [name]cloud .com
12. [name]works .com
13. [name]space .com
14. [name]plus .com
15. [name]pro .com
16. [name]base .com
Ask others what domains they like. You'll get surprising responses.
The team disliked many of the domains I thought were interesting for meanings I hadn’t thought of.
Then go forth and build a business! You can always change the name and domain later.
Related: how to make a great logo for $20.