Brand, web & content

Naming your startup & domains

A name you can spell, say, and own.

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How do I come up with a good name for my startup? Pick a name you can spell out loud once and have someone type correctly. Short, easy to say, and not a clever misspelling beats 'meaningful but con... Beginner 3 resources → Do I really need a .com domain, or is .io / .co / .in fine? For a serious brand, fight for the .com, it's still the default people type and trust. If the exact .com is taken or absurdly expensive, a modified... Beginner 2 resources → What kinds of startup names exist and which type should I pick? Names fall into buckets: descriptive (Dropbox), invented (Kodak), and evocative (Amazon). Descriptive is easiest to understand but hardest to trade... Beginner 2 resources → How do I check if a name is legally free to use in India (trademark)? Before you fall in love with a name, do a quick free knockout search on the Indian trademark registry (IP India public search) in your class, plus ... Intermediate 2 resources → How do famous startups actually get their names, any real examples? Most iconic names started as jokes, placeholders, or happy accidents, not committee outputs, the product earned the name meaning. Look at how India... Beginner 2 resources → Should I buy a premium domain or just use a cheaper workaround? At pre-revenue, don't drop lakhs on a premium domain, a clean workaround domain (tryX, getX, X-hq) costs a few hundred rupees and you can upgrade l... Beginner 2 resources → How do I check if a startup name is already taken before I fall in love with it? Do a fast five-minute sweep before you get attached: search the exact name plus your category on Google, check the domain, look up the handle on In... Beginner 3 resources → Should my startup name describe what we do or be an abstract word I give meaning to later? Descriptive names help early when nobody knows you (a customer instantly gets "Instamojo" or "BookMyShow"), but they box you in when you expand and... Intermediate 3 resources → My perfect .com is taken but the owner wants a huge price. What are my real options? You have four honest paths: negotiate quietly through a broker (owners often settle far below the asking sticker), tweak the name (add a prefix, a ... Intermediate 3 resources → How do I test a startup name on real people before I commit to it? Say the name out loud on a phone call and see if the other person can spell it back without help: that's the single best test. Beyond that, put thr... Beginner 3 resources → What are the most common naming mistakes that hurt early startups? The usual traps: names nobody can spell after hearing them, clever misspellings that leak traffic to competitors, names too close to a bigger playe... Intermediate 3 resources → Should I register a company, buy the domain, or lock the trademark first? Practically, grab the domain and the key social handles the moment you've shortlisted a name, because they vanish fastest and cost the least. Compa... Intermediate 3 resources → Does my startup name matter for SEO, or is that overrated? A name with your category word in it ("CarDekho", "Housing") gives a small early SEO nudge and instant clarity, but it's a weak long-term moat and ... Advanced 3 resources → Will my English startup name work for customers across India who speak different languages? If you're selling beyond metro English-first users, say the name aloud to Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and Marathi speakers and check it doesn't ... Intermediate 3 resources → Should I name my product the same as my company, or keep them separate? As an early founder with one product, keep them the same: it concentrates all your recognition in one word and saves you managing two brands with a... Advanced 3 resources → How much should I actually spend on naming and domains as a bootstrapped founder? Almost nothing on the name itself: you don't need an agency or a naming firm at the idea stage. Budget a few hundred to a couple thousand rupees a ... Beginner 3 resources → Is it a bad idea to name my startup after myself or use my own name? It's fine for consulting, personal brands, or solo creator businesses where you are the product, but it gets awkward the moment you want to raise m... Intermediate 3 resources → How do I brief a designer or an AI tool to generate name ideas that don't all sound the same? Give constraints, not vibes: state what you do in one line, name three brands whose feel you admire and three you'd never want to sound like, list ... Advanced 3 resources →

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