Guide to finding a killer new brand name
Tags: productivity, startup, motivation
Published: 2020-05-20 00:15:54

Coming up with a strong brand name is no easy feat. This article will introduce you the process we used to end up with the expressive brand name of Liteflow

Check out the original post [here](https://blog.liteflow.com/2020/05/18/liteflow-name/): 

## The challenges of finding a strong brand name
When you're creating a new company, finding a good name will probably be the step that is the most difficult. You don't want to end up with a name that another company already uses, with a meaning completely different from what you thought or even worse a name that nobody can pronounce (hello Ikea's furniture). Not spending enough time brainstorming a brand name, or going with the first choice that feels 'ok' will be a big mistake. You're risking having to change your brand after months of work, and once your communication is already on track. You will lose time and money, for sure nobody wants to be in this situation.

### Why is it the most difficult step?

You will find quickly that most of the names you already thought are already taken. Every year it's thousands (if not more) businesses that are created. And they all have the same issue: finding a name.

So after thinking of some fancy ones that you will likely find are already taken, you will start trying to find some that describe your business. After that, when you will have no hope left, you will try to invent one to be sure that at least this one will be available.

And even after that desperate move, you will probably run to the closest bar with the other founders to try to find the inspiration inside a refreshing and cold glass of beer. Or alone if you are the only founder, that's way sadder.
Let me tell you a secret, your process sucks. There are way more techniques than just guessing that you should add in this complex equation.

Before making the mistake to jump into this leap of faith, let me introduce you to the process we used with our team. I created it after spending hours gathering information on the subject.

## Our magical process
When I got ownership of creating a process for our team to find the name of our new company, I was not sure where to start.

Because of the Covid-19, our team was working remotely and split between different countries and time zones. That's sucks when you have to organize a brainstorming session and being able to exchange feedback on proposals quickly.

To be able to do so we needed a simple, strong, and efficient way to exchange ideas, give feedback, vote, keep track of the proposals, etc. So forget about a chat system, terrible idea... We also wanted to include everyone into this task, and not just a few people or only the founders, so the brand name will be something meaningful for everyone.

Also, we didn't want to spend months to find our new brand name, and we all had a lot of work to do on the other hand. So each of us was having only a few hours here and there to work on the task.

Our goal: find a name in a week. SPOILER, we nailed it!

## 1- The list of resources
I started by creating a list of a few resources to provide context and inspiration to the team members who didn't use this exercise.

### Here is the list:

- Great article on how to create a brand name:
   - [How to create an amazing brand name - by Clicked Studios](https://www.clickedstudios.com/how-to-create-an-amazing-brand-name/)
- List of the best Global brands per years:
   - [Best global brands 2019 - by Interbrand](https://www.interbrand.com/best-brands/best-global-brands/2019/ranking/)
   - [Best global brands - by Interbrand](https://www.interbrand.com/best-brands/best-global-brands/previous-years/)
- Interactive Thesaurus which creates word maps that blossom with meanings and branch to related words:
   - [Visual Thesaurus](https://www.visualthesaurus.com/)
- Free Thesaurus (not interactive):
   - [Thesaurus.com](https://www.thesaurus.com/)
- The power of sound symbolism:
   - [The power of sound symbolism in your business name - by Brandroot](https://www.brandroot.com/resources/item/49-the-power-of-sound-symbolism-in-your-business-name)
- The story behind Apple brand name:
   - [How did apple computer get its brand name - by Branding Strategy Insider](https://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/how-did-apple-computer-get-its-brand-name/#.V1cjzJErJhE)

## 2- Spreadsheets are your best friend
The second step was to create and fill a spreadsheet about what's describe the company and what the company wants to share and represent.

Everyone collaborated on this, it helps us to make sure that the company values and core concepts were clear. That was very helpful for the next step of this process as a list of inspiration and guidelines.

Check out our spreadsheets, and [finish the 6 steps on the Liteflow blog](https://blog.liteflow.com/2020/05/18/liteflow-name/)