Coming up with a startup name

Hello @ajayshan2004,
for 2. I have been using https://namelix.com/ which is really friendly and can give some ideas.
I hope it helps!

1. It's never too early IMO, but I would just spend a few minutes each day brainstorming and researching. Eventually, you'll hit a stroke of genius. Honestly, it usually takes me several months to come up with a name I like, where I can find a suitable domain, and it isn't trademarked. However, this is usually just a few minutes each day, a few days a week. In aggregate it isn't a ton of time, but my daily interaction with the world generally spark some ideas.

2. I generally write all the words associated with my idea and then figure out ways to combine them, spell them creatively, add prefixes, add postfixes etc... Just open up excel or airtable and add those words. If those words still aren't enough, take each of those words and look them up in a thesaurus for alternative words with similar meanings, repeat the process. Add action words, repeat the process.

3. One of my biggest hangups is often the domain name. You might come up with a good name, then get stuck with not finding a good domain name. Try alternate domain name extensions like .co, .app, .io, .ai etc..

4. Related to the previous item, make sure you do a trademark search. You don't want to name something that has been trademarked, specifically in the same industry. Initially, I'll do trademark research myself. Once the business has traction, I'll work with an attorney to get my name/brand trademarked. This process usually takes about a year.

Keep in mind that after you launch your project, if you have traction, there is a good chance you'll rebrand (has happened to me). The reason for rebranding after traction might be because:

• the name just doesn't resonate with clients/employees etc...
• the name is hard to brand
• you pivot the business and the name no longer fits
• you run into trademark issues
• you named the business very niche, but the business has expanded and you want the brand to encompass that new vision/direction.

We always research some specific keywords for our planed product and then we are using for inspiration some online name generators there are many that can combine keywords to a total new word. For Copyright stuff we have the DPMA here in Germany so you can do a quick research if the name is taken in your business field.

@ajayshan2004 This is one of my fave subjects! Naming is tough!

RE: searching for and generating names/working around used up names...I came across this amazing presentation a bunch of years back and I still love it: https://www.slideshare.net/purewest/howto-namethings

I'm also developing a "how to name" course that takes these things into consideration.

I really like using https://leandomainsearch.com/ to search .com domain names using words relevant to the project. Like if it's a travel app, I'd type in the word "travel" to get ideas of 2 word domain names that include it.

I used a lot of services, tried to think of best name, asked communities, BUT eventually I used the name I used in github repository, which I invented in a minute..

Generally the first thing I do about a project idea is to find a domain name. Its a kind of fun part for me.. Also that is the reason I have more domain names than finished products :)

I found the best place to search for domain names google.domains.. Others you better be-careful.. Check my previous posts I wrote about how I lost some nice domain names just by searching them.

1. Anytime
2. When coming up with good names, I'd suggest the following:
   resonate with target audience
   general name that is industry agnostic
   no competitors, easy to brand
   easy to remember
   easy to pronounce
   easy to spell (good test is to say it to people and see how they would spell it)
   not a lot of syllables
3. Software scales faster than hardware, use that to your advantage if you're a SaaS product. Regardless, try and achieve the startup holy grail of selling (to people you don't know) before you build - helps to validate the market and might save you a lot of time and effort.
4. Infringement will also likely mean that other consumers might be thinking of the other product, so best not to go down this path if you can (litigation is expensive).