What’s in a name?

When my parents named me Anat, I don’t think they realized the ramifications it would have on my life and my ongoing obsession with names. Anat is a biblical name, very popular in Israel but not so much anywhere else. The actual pronunciation isn’t Annette, A-knot or A-nat. It’s A- nut. Yup, like a nut. So you see the problem. It started when my family moved to Montreal when I was 10 (after a stint in Tehran where it hadn’t been an issue). Kids can be cruel and so they (predictably) were.

Even as an undergrad I was taunted with “Anat is a nut”. I won’t get into whether they were right; suffice to say that I decided to turn it off. So now when people ask me how to pronounce my name, I tell them: “anyway you want.” I tune it out. Problem solved.

Having an unusual name has had its advantages in recent years. There aren’t too many namesakes on Google. It’s easy to get an email address, Twitter handle etc. And people tend to remember the name once they see it. And despite all that, if I had kids I’d give them short, easy to pronounce and spell names.

So what does this have to do with startups? Everything. Because branding starts with a name. In my past (ad)ventures the name always came to me first. Travel Fanatic, Perfect Man For Me, Beer Wars − everything started there. The name helped tell the story.

My latest company − StashWall − did not start out that way. It began with a germ of an idea and the name, it took months to create. I went through every reference book at the Beverly Hills library. I spent weeks online researching everything from ancient gods to plant species. I lived on Visual Thesaurus. At times I wondered if not finding a name was a sign. That maybe the idea was flawed and I should run from it. But I couldn’t. I was hooked and so I persisted.

It’s not that I couldn’t find great, descriptive names. The problem was WHOIS – every name I fell in love with was already taken as a domain name. So I had to get creative and build my own. I decided to amalgamate 2 words I’d been playing with: “Stash” – which basically describes what you do with your stuff and “Wall” – which tells you where you’re putting it.

We’re still in private alpha so it’s early on but the response to the name has been positive overall. Detractors (you know who you are) are in the minority. Ultimately, great companies are built on great ideas created by great teams. The name becomes secondary once the company is successful. Check back with me in a few years.

May 14, 2012

Is raising money like dating?

This is my second start up so I’m about to begin the fund raising “dance” again. I’m starting to believe that meeting investors is a lot like dating.

Here’s why…

It’s best to be introduced through a friend or colleague – no “cold” meeting
You’re encouraged to meet for coffee – non-committal
Superficial small talk – basically the scratch and sniff test
Is there attraction? – you’re potentially entering into a relationship
“Not for me but I have a friend” – great opt out
Google is your best friend – research leads to fewer surprises

Why the New Tech is like the Old Hollywood

At a tech event the other night, I heard someone describe their company as “LinkedIn for writers.” Really? It reminded me of pitch meetings at the studios when I first arrived in Los Angeles. Original ideas? They were too hard to explain but Gone with the Wind meets The Terminator, the executives got it. It was a quick yes/no. (OK, no one ever pitched that but you get the idea…)

I’m sorry to say that we’ve arrived at the age of “derivatives” where original ideas are shunned in favor of “high concept.”

I get the idea of an elevator pitch. After all, I was a development executive and a producer so I’ve been on both sides. But sometimes, good ideas, the really original kind, take time to explain. And to find their way.

Reading scripts, you can usually tell if it’s any good by page 10. With consumer web companies, sometimes it takes time for the idea to catch on. Look at Pinterest for example. It’s no overnight success and yet it found millions of (addicted) users.

The moral of the story? Sometimes you just have to keep going. Even if no one is getting it.