附近上门

Founders selecting a company name would prefer one that has it all: Cool, catchy, original, evocative and legally unencumbered.

But at the end of the day, a single attribute often determines success or failure, said Michael Carr, co-founder and self-described chief naming officer of Austin-based brand consultancy .

鈥淭here is only one thing that matters when it comes to a name: Can people remember it?鈥� he said.

While not everyone may agree on this point, it is inarguably a widespread mindset. Among startups in surveyed countries that raised sizable seed funding rounds in the past year, 附近上门 data shows that simple names composed of recognizable words have gotten super popular.

Increasingly, founders appear to be prioritizing recognizability over uniqueness. True, we do still see names composed of made-up words, like or . However, they鈥檙e conspicuously less prevalent these days than names consisting of common nouns and verbs like or .

New naming preferences are largely a reflection of established success stories, observed , founder of , the naming consultancy behind startup monikers like , and .

鈥淚n our experience, the only trend in naming is imitation,鈥� he said, as newer startups seek, either consciously or not, to capture the magic of an existing transformative brand.

So what are the predominant trends in this more staid startup naming era? Based on a 附近上门 survey of hundreds of recently funded startups, we鈥檝e highlighted four hip naming strategies.

A single dictionary word (especially for fintechs)

Who needs a singularly unique brand? Certainly not fintech startups, which seem to be copious adopters of short, punchy dictionary words as names.

Among startups seed-funded in the past year, for instance, you can track your crypto transactions with , issue credit cards with Power, plan your estate with , and manage your investments with . You can even run business accounting with or build automated investment strategies with 鈥� the list goes on.

Imitation may go a long way toward explaining what鈥檚 going on here. Placek postulates that the success of , (formerly Square) and in the fintech space may have influenced newer companies in the sector to pick simple word names.

Upstarts in other industries are also favoring common word names. Examples include聽, a mobile app for health data, , a cloud headquarters for scattered remote businesses, and , a developer of an environmentally friendly alternative to burial and cremation.

Notably, the vast majority of these simple names were shared by a number of other companies, often including other recently funded startups.

Branded biotechs

It used to be that biotech companies had names reminiscent of some kind of prescription drug. Typically, even the first word in their names sounded like a life science company and not a tech startup.

This looks to be the case from a perusal of recently public biotechs, which includes names like , and . But trends appear to be changing.

When looking at recently seed-funded biotech companies, their names (or at least the first word in their names) could easily be tech startup monikers as well. Examples include , , , and .

Here, imitation may also play a role, given the breakout success of , a company whose name, per Placek, could work in myriad sectors beyond biotech.

Cute misspellings

For some startups, the creative misspelling serves to create a name that鈥檚 both familiar and unique. Swap out a z for an s or y for an i, and suddenly you鈥檝e got a brand that鈥檚 pronounced like a familiar word, but has a spelling all its own.

This approach has been a perennial featured trend in prior startup naming stories. The latest survey shows it remains quite popular, as evidenced by startups like , , , and .

One more twist on this theme is to sub a number for a group of letters. This is the case, for example, with , developer of a feed supplement that reduces methane emissions in livestock.

Carr sees both pros and cons to the creative misspelling approach to naming.

鈥淚f the primary initial exposure is visual or in print, then a misspelling can draw the eye,鈥� he said. The problem is there are always some people who will just hear the name and won鈥檛 know to look for the unusual spelling.

Some random word followed by AI

Given how much money investors are pouring into AI startups, it makes sense that a company would choose to come across as one. Thus, it鈥檚 not surprising that many newish startups continue to tack 鈥淎I鈥� to the end of their names.

Among the latest crop of seed-funded companies, a common approach was to pick a common dictionary word and then add 鈥淎I.鈥� Our list includes cybersecurity provider , data infrastructure technology company , search app , and business lending exchange , to name a few.

Among naming experts interviewed, opinions on this approach were mixed.

鈥淭hat to me is a very short sighted strategy,鈥� said Carr, regarding companies adding AI to their names. He compares it to the dot-com bubble, when companies routinely put .com in their names, only to remove the suffix later on.

With AI, one particular risk factor, per Carr, is that the technology isn鈥檛 always perceived as a force for good. This presents the danger that it will carry negative connotations for a company that brands itself with AI.

Placek, meanwhile, is more accepting of this approach. It has the benefit of signaling what a startup does. And, if the company decides it doesn鈥檛 want AI at the end of the name, there is the option of dropping it.

Methodology

The survey looked at startups founded in the past three years that have raised $500,000 or more in seed or pre-seed funding in roughly the past year. The survey focused primarily, but not exclusively, on English-speaking countries and on names based on English words or words that are similar in English and other languages.

滨濒濒耻蝉迟谤补迟颈辞苍:听