Brand Names Talk 2022

Intro

I've co-founded companies, helped grow startups, and worked in the startup world for over 15 years.

Since I was in college it's all I have done.

On my journey i've done all the jobs in the company from accounting to advertising, strategy to support, copywriting to coding.

But if I have one unique skill other people don't, it's naming. My father started a naming company and I worked for him for several years, naming products and companies from first-time founders to major fortune 500 companies.

I currently work at Nota, here in Kyoto and I helped name their fastest-growing product, which is called Helpfeel.

Questions

Raise your hand if you have ever named something. It can be a pet, a project, even an object.

What did you name? Do you remember why you chose that name?

Talk

Did you know that everything we know about has a name?

As soon as we learn about something new, we give it a name.

Basically, all words are names for ideas. So, you can say that names are fundamental.

Names are so fundamental and basic that we forget about them.

They work like a sign pointing to a destination. We may look at the sign, but we think about where we want to go.

How do you know if a name is good? How do you know if it is bad?

How do you decide on a name with a group of people?

How much time and money should you spend to find a name?

How do you get name ideas?

Once you have lots of name ideas, how do you pick the winner?

Names bring thoughts into existence.

Ask me questions

What's the hardest thing to name?