The blog entry about guest bloggers for Seattle 2.0 generated a way better response than I was expecting. I'd be happy if 2 or 3 people would have said they will do a guest blog entry. Heck, I'd be happy if 1 person said that.
So far, we have 7 people lined up to write blog posts! And a lot of them are going to do multiple posts! It's terrific. Subscribe to our feed or add your email address to the box on the right (under "Get updates via email") to know when new things are posted.
One of the result of this request was John Castle, a professor at UW Business School, that sent me a link to his Lecturers with lots of interesting content for entrepreneurs. I've went through 4 presentations already and I'm thirsty to read more of them.
Check it out: http://faculty.washington.edu/castlej/
[Editor Note: This is the first post of a series of Seattle guest bloggers that are entrepreneurs or experienced professionals with startups. If you want to write about your experience that can be useful to other entrepreneurs send us an email.]
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If you're starting a company, you need to name it, and you probably can't afford to hire a big naming firm. Here's some free naming advice from The Name Inspector. If you want more advice, you can always hire an independent consultant!
Naming is about coming up with lots of ideas and seeing which one sticks. The larger and more diverse the collection of names you come up with, the more likely you are to find something good. Involve people with different perspectives and try different styles of name.
A name should be distinctive. This may seem obvious, but it's so important that it's worth saying anyway. Distinctive means not too similar to any of your competitors' names, available as a .com domain, and not associated with many Google results (at least not until you launch and the web goes crazy with hype for you).
Usually the best names are not too literally descriptive of a company. You'll have other marketing materials to tell people exactly what you do. Your name is an opportunity to introduce extra concepts and feelings to people's idea of your company. It's the beginning of your brand.
Some of the best tech names are metaphorical. A good metaphor makes a complicated technology or service seem simple by representing it as something that people understand from their everyday experience. Take the name PageFlakes, for an Ajax homepage service. It represents the little movable Ajax boxes that you can put on your homepage as flakes, which people know are small and lightweight and cling to things.
Start by assembling a list of words. Most good names are built out of good words. So what are good words? Well, that's one of the tricky parts. But they're words that trigger relevant and positive associations, that sound good, and that are easy to combine with other words, word parts, and even nonsense syllables.
Why should they be easy to combine? Because unless you're willing to shell out big bucks for a .com domain name, real single word names are basically out of the question. You'll need to come up with another type of name. Take a look at The Name Inspector's 10 name types post, and try to come up with names from each category (except initials and acronyms: not recommended). Some types of name are made out of word parts. To create those kinds of names, find the good words on your word list that can be whittled down without becoming completely unrecognizable (the way the word accurate can be shortened to accu and still be recognized).
Please avoid names that end with a consonant followed by r (Flickr, Soonr, Zooomr, Flagr, Gabbr, Grazr, etc. ), and names that end with -ster (Napster, Friendster, Browster, Feedster, Dogster, Catster, Jobster, Eurekster, Jookster, etc.).
Selecting the best name is as hard as coming up with a list of names. Having in mind a clear set of criteria really helps. Some will relate specifically to your company. Is it distinct from competitors' names? Does it evoke relevant ideas? Does it just feel right for the kind of company you're starting?
Some criteria are more general. Good names tend to be relatively short, easy to remember, easy to pronounce when you read them, easy to spell when you hear them, easy to understand, and often have vivid sensory associations or interesting cultural resonance.
Good luck with your startup, and good luck with your naming!
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Christopher Johnson is the founder of Phrasetrain and writes the blog The Name Inspector.
Whether you're selling the hottest web service or alfalfa, your web site can support your brand. And it doesn't take a huge investment:
1. Accessibility: What does your site say about your accessibility? A confusing, complex site with flowery language and lots of marketspeak says "go away, loser". A simple, plain-spoken site where the visitor can find what they need says "C'mon in."
Good: Google.com. Search, and just the search.
Terrible: MSN.com. I go there and feel like I'm being attacked. Plus it loads painfully slowly.
2. Taste: Simplicity is the key. A blingarific site stuffed with unnecessary animation is a turnoff. A look and feel that's appropriate to your business, on the other hand, will draw in your visitors.
Good: LandsEnd.com. Simple. Reasonably attractive.
Terrible: ThomsonBikeTours.com. I'm a huge cycling fan. But I can't actually find any info, thanks to the highspeed slideshow, the five different colors of fonts, etc.. Slow down, guys. Give me the info I want.
3. Contact: How easy do you make it for folks to get in touch? Put your phone number on every page. You WANT them to call, right?
Good: ThomsonBikeTours.com. I complain above, but they have their phone number on every page. Perfecto.
Terrible: Microsoft. I DARE you to find a way to reach a real person, without first taking out your wallet.
4. Honesty: No hyperbole. Tell the truth. Getting someone to buy or call under false pretenses will only irritate them, and you.
I won't do any good or terrible here. I don't want to get sued.
5. Stability: Put simply, your site's gotta work. If you're starting a new company, and folks are already wondering whether you're a flash in the pan, it won't encourage them to see a huge error message when they visit you online.
Good: BasecampHq.com. The few times their site isn't working, they have a page up telling you why. Their site gets pummeled by hundreds of thousands of users, but keeps on ticking.
Terrible: Yahoo Marketing Solutions (formerly Overture). I love the new system. Now, could it work more than 50% of the time? How can I trust you to deliver your ads when I can't even use the management console?
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Ian Lurie is the author of Conversation Marketing. You can read more about internet marketing strategies at his blog
Many founders of technology companies are technologists and not sales or
marketing people. If this is you then you should take a course or a program
on strategic sales. Why? Because pretty much everything you do in running
a company is about selling. And most of you are not naturally good at this.
First, you raise money for your company. What’s this? It’s about selling equity in your dream. You have to talk to a LOT of people to get one person to invest. You have to actually ask for the order. This means closing someone by asking them to write you a check. This is really hard to do. Most founders forget to ask people to write the check-they have to be asked, they don’t naturally do it. At first it might not seem that hard because you talk to people you know. But once you start meeting with angels and VCs it becomes a lot harder and you hear NO a lot, or worse you hearing nothing back after the meeting.
Once you have money you will hire people. What’s this about? It’s about selling potential employees on your dream. It’s about making your company more compelling than Amazon or Google or Microsoft (name any big company that’s going to pay people more than you can afford to pay them). It’s also a marketing event as how potential employees view your company creates buzz in town about how good (or bad) you are.
Then you have press and analysts to sell so they write good things about you. Then you have to get initial customers and who better to get those customers than the founder who has unwavering belief in what their company’s about. Once you start selling then you raise more money and then you do more press and then you hire more people and meet with bigger and more customers.
See, most everything you as the founder do is about selling. Get good at it!
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Janis Machala is the Founder and Managing Partner of Paladin Partners.
January, 2007
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