The name: Mistakes I made so you won't have to

Hi all!

When kicking off a new venture, the name is necessary to launch.
I've been there several time and learned the hard way big mistakes.

Let me share a few lessons to hopefully save you from the same pitfalls.

1) Avoid what feels like a typo

Take "Feedbask" for example, a playful twist on "Feedback" and "Ask," perfect for customer support.
Perfect, really? No… not according to Google. It considers "Feedbask" a typo for "Feedback."

So when users search for us, they end up being directed elsewhere by Google's auto-correct. If we're not on the first page, clicking to the second automatically changes it to "Feedback," making us invisible 😭😭😭

I’m seriously considering changing the name. Let me know if you have a similar experience to share, or solution 🙏

2) If your audience is worldwide, think global
Before "Feedbask," the name was "Pollaas,”, short for "Poll, as a service."
That is until a Spanish friend pointed out its unfortunate resemblance to a slang word for male genitalia in Spanish. 😅 Ooops, you don’t want that.

3) Again, think global
Then there's IACrea, my real estate marketing software. It’s super natural in French, but in English? Not so much. It’s a tricky one for international listeners and speakers. “IA” means nothing, and is super complicated to pronounce.

These errors taught me that while a name might not be the ultimate factor for a project’s success, considering international markets and linguistic nuances from the beginning can truly smooth the journey as your project scales. Names might not carry your project, but they are definitely part of the journey!


See you soon,

Pauline


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