Josh Lake, co-founder of the 532 Development Group.
Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series chronicling the triumphs, challenges, failures and questions facing one Orange County startup, the 532 Development Group, written by the founders themselves with as much openness as competition allows. If you’re new to the series, start here and come back.
As every startup begins, it inevitably faces a somewhat unimportant, yet fun question: What do you name the company? I say somewhat unimportant because although Nick and I both feel that the ultimate success or failure of our company does not hinge on the name, we do want the name to meet a few criteria. When you look at some of the most successful companies or brands of our times, there are several prevailing models. Three of the most prolific are:
- Simple names that include their industries and/or location (i.e. British Petroleum and Bank of America)
- Inclusive names (i.e. General Electric and Home Depot)
- Unique (or even fabricated) names (i.e. Microsoft or Google)
This list was a good start, but we decided that our name must also create personal accountability (something we take pride in as entrepreneurs). In other words, it should be something that we have a vested interest in. This concept is a fourth prevailing model where the names of the founders are often used (i.e. Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, Disney).
So, we set off with a single criteria: “simple, inclusive, and unique, yet creates accountability.” At first we pursued the simple laundry list of superlatives and common names including Alta, United, Global, Apollo, and Beacon, but these definitely weren’t unique. Possessing the last names of “Lake” and “Haschka,” we decided that while it was great to have some “skin in the game” with our names (and dignities) on the line, this was not a simple or aesthetically pleasing moniker. Names like “renewables, “clean tech,” and “energy” while inclusive, were anything but unique. Finally, we thought back to our days at MIT, where numbers literally create a way of life (even the majors are referred to by number!). As roommates, we referred to our residence as 532 (our street address). Perfect! Afterall, this was where we frequently discussed our latest business pursuits and built our passion for entrepreneurship. After a bit more noodling over whether we would be 532 Management Services, -Consulting Services, or -Technology Group, we decided to go with the latter since it seemed the most broad and ambiguous. Afterall, we weren’t quite sure what we were going to do anyhow. And with that, 532 Technology Group was born!
How important is a name for the success of startup?
Did we follow the right “criteria?”
What other “criteria” should we have followed?
How much time is too much time to spend in naming the venture?
