Branding in the Modern Day and Age (Transmission #300)
Curious? Additional examples.
Proptech's Leader has Been Crashing Our Couch the Whole Time // Stock in Down Payments // Banking Real Estate in the Clouds
[Adapted from Naming Your Real Estate Startup & with learnings from GEM’s recent re-branding workgroup.]
You figured out the next breakthrough in the real estate industry. The product idea has been bubbling around in your head for months. You validated the problem and solution with customers. You’re 75% SURE (nothing is ever 100%) your startup idea will work.
Over the next decade, you’re going to pour your heart into this. It will make you cry. It will bring you joy. It’s your baby. And like all babies, it needs a name.
Naming your company something you’re proud of, something other people can easily remember, spell, and search for is quite the challenge. It might seem unimportant (let’s just call it John), but that would be misguided. Just imagine if Jeff Bezos named his company Abracadabra instead of Amazon. The thought is almost sickening.
Over the last twenty years in proptech, I’ve seen a lot of names. I’ve seen startups turn into lifestyle businesses, startups fail, and startups go from unknowns to brand names talked about at kitchen tables across the country (and world, in the case of Airbnb). I’m not saying the name was the reason, but it certainly has an effect.
This is the 300th GEM Transmission and we have easily referenced 750+ startups over the past seven years as we dive deep into all the issues and ideas in proptech. Every startup mentioned has been unique (or should have been) with differentiators making it stand out in the crowded real estate marketplace. But every single startup founder shares one commonality: They have all undergone the arduous task of branding their startup baby.
Here are some of the themes and best practices I’ve noticed that lead to the best names.