公司起名10大黄金法则

    你新成立的公司需要起个名字，它有可能会成为你最重要的决定。公司名称对客户和投资者对你的看法有着巨大的影响力，在今天越来越小的世界里，这是个涉及全世界的决定。

    请不要再给我发送抬头位置还写着“名字待定”或“新公司”的商业计划。无论适合与否，你选择的名字都传递了大量的信息：你的商业头脑如何你对涉足领域的理解如何。下面是给公司起名的10条重要准则，在此感谢亚历克斯•弗兰克尔和其他人士提供的帮助：

    1. 独一无二，过目难忘。在生意场上，这就是所谓的“粘性”。不过粘性问题可能会变得有点棘手。每家公司都想起个与众不同的名字，简单易记，随着时间的推移依然历久弥新，令人难忘。这是个艰巨的任务，因为起名的流行趋势经常发生变化，很难找到永恒经典的名字（还记得网络泡沫时期那些名字吧）。

    2. 避免不同寻常的拼写。起一个新名字的时候，请使用客户容易拼写的单词。有些新公司的创始人打算尝试不同寻常的拼写方式，以便让企业脱颖而出，但是当客户用谷歌（Google）搜索你的企业，向别人提到你的公司时，这种做法会造成麻烦。使用传统的单词拼写方式，避开那些你在鸡尾酒会上喜欢使用的花哨词汇。

    3. 朗朗上口，好读易记。不要使用那些胡拼乱凑的单词和毫无意义的短语。为公司取一个客户好读易记的名字。避免使用缩写，这种名字对大多数人来说毫无意义。如今人们为公司或产品选择名字时再次开始青睐简洁明了的风格，而且这样一来品牌成本更低。

    4. 简单明了。名字的长度越短越好，限制在两个音节内。不要使用连字符和其他特殊符号。因为有些算法和商业目录会按照字母顺序排列，因此最好选择首字母靠前的名字。如果公司的名称可以轻松演变成动词的话，那就更好了，比如人们会说“谷歌”搜索我。

    5. 富有内涵。有时候，公司所有人会选择毫无意义的名字。古怪生僻的单词（Yahoo, Google, Fogdog），全新的商标名称（Novartis, Aventis, Lycos），都会冒很大的风险。请务必查找这个名字在国际上的含义。因为新名字而感到尴尬公司不在少数，因为有些名字在其他语言中有负面意义，甚至有下流的意味。

    Your startup needs a name, and it may be the most important decision you make. The name of your business has a tremendous impact on how customers and investors view you, and in today's small world, it's a world-wide decision.

    Please don't send me any more business plans with TBD or NewCo in the title position. Right or wrong, the name you choose, or don't choose, speaks volumes about your business savvy and understanding of the world you are about to enter. Here are some key things I look for in the name, with some help from Alex Frankel and others:

    1. Unique and unforgettable. In the trade, this is called "stickiness." But the issue of stickiness turns out to be kind of, well, sticky. Every company wants a name that stands out from the crowd, a catchy handle that will remain fresh and memorable over time. That's a challenge because naming trends change, often year by year, making timeless names hard to find (remember the dot.coms).

    2. Avoid unusual spellings. When creating a name, stay with words that can easily be spelled by customers. Some startup founders try unusual word spellings to make their business stand out, but this can be trouble when customers 'Google' your business to find you, or try to refer you to others. Stay with traditional word spelling, and avoid those catchy words that you love to explain at cocktail parties.

    3. Easy to pronounce and remember. Forget made-up words and nonsense phrases. Make your business name one that customers can pronounce and remember easily. Skip the acronyms, which mean nothing to most people. When choosing an identity for a company or a product, simple and straightforward are back in style, and cost less to brand.

    4. Keep it simple. The shorter in length, the better. Limit it to two syllables. Avoid using hyphens and other special characters. Since certain algorithms and directory listings work alphabetically, pick a name closer to A than Z. These days, it even helps if the name can easily be turned into a verb, like Google me.

    5. Make some sense. Occasionally, business owners will choose names that are nonsense words. Quirky words (Yahoo, Google, Fogdog) or trademark-proof names concocted from scratch (Novartis, Aventis, Lycos) are a big risk. Always check the international implications. More than one company has been embarrassed by a new name that had negative and even obscene connotations in another language.