Change Your Name
2 days ago
- If a US startup lacks the .com domain matching its name, it should consider changing its name.
- Not having the .com domain signals weakness and marginality, unless the company is already well-known.
- Founders often deny this issue due to identity attachment and lack of imagination in naming.
- The attachment to a name is mostly from it being associated with the company, not intrinsic quality.
- Naming is a separate skill from founding; founders can be bad at naming and should seek help or explore alternatives.
- Many good, cheap or untaken domain names exist; systematic search can find them (e.g., Stripe's approach).
- Evidence from YC companies: 100% of top 20 by valuation have the .com of their name, but only 66% of current batch do.