Picked a name!

How is picking a name still one of the most difficult tasks for a startup??

Every good domain is already registered. So it's nearly impossible to find a name that's good AND has a good domain available.

I spent probably 20 hours over 20 days on just the name, which is waaay more than what I was expecting. But eventually I came up with Browse AI which I really like, and registered the .com domain.

A few tips for people stuck on the name like me:

• Coming up with a name requires a lot of creativity, and if you're like me your ideas could change with your mood! So I recommend allocating small chunks of time during several days to this instead of spending one or two full days on it. You'd be surprised how your ideas improve over a few days and how they vary from day to day.

• I heard on a podcast (I think it was IH) that YC recommends instantdomainsearch.com for looking up domains. It's the fastest one I've found, but BE CAREFUL! sometimes it shows false positives or negatives. I found Namecheap.com to be quite reliable, but not as fast. With other services like GoDaddy, I've heard a lot of people saying they search a domain there and it gets bought by the provider shortly after. So I wouldn't use them.

• Instead of pushing yourself to come up with a domain or name first, try to come up with some keywords that you want most associated with your product. Then enter them on namelix.com and go through a hundred results.

• Enter your keywords on Google like "define [the keyword]" and see what synonyms show up.

• Document all your keywords and names that have a good domain available. I used Notion for this. Don't rely on your memory. Our memories as human species living in the age of Google really suck.

• Once you pick a name, don't forget to Google it and make sure there's no other company (at least in the same space or region) using the same name.