Years ago I stumbled upon a book by Guy Kawasaki called Rules For Revolutionaries.  An extraordinary book on many levels, but I guess it only confirmed that I was indeed a fan of his writing – then later is was The Art Of The Start.  His writing style and common sense approach have left an impact on me, stuck in my head for all these years.

So today, someone approached me about his new freelance endeavor and asked me to consider the name he had chosen.  The first thing that jumped into my head was an article from Mr. Kawasaki about naming a company:

1. Begin with letters early in the alphabet.
2. Avoid names starting with X and Z.
3. Embody verb potential – A great name has the potential to turn into a verb.
4. Sound different.
5. Embody logic.
6. Avoid the trendy.

Here’s a test:  If you told your company or product name to ten strangers, would at least half of them guess what business you’re in?

Sounding different + spelling different + embodying logic = a memorable name.

Genius Guy, pure genius.