Change Your Name

August 2015

If you have a US startup called X and you don't have x.com, you
should probably change your name.

The reason is not just that people can't find you. For companies
with mobile apps, especially, having the right domain name is not
as critical as it used to be for getting users. The problem with
not having the .com of your name is that it signals weakness. Unless
you're so big that your reputation precedes you, a marginal domain
suggests you're a marginal company. Whereas
(as Stripe shows)
having x.com signals strength even if it has no relation to what you
do.

Even good founders can be in denial about this. Their denial derives
from two very powerful forces: identity, and lack of imagination.

X is what we are, founders think. There's no other name as good.
Both of which are false.

You can fix the first by stepping back from the problem. Imagine
you'd called your company something else. If you had, surely you'd
be just as attached to that name as you are to your current one.
The idea of switching to your current name would seem repellent.
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