startup naming & positioning
TRANSCRIPT
Lisa Morales-Hellebo
Lisa Morales-Hellebo
Where do you start?
PROCESSPROCESSPROCESS
Where do you start?
1. What is the product?2. Who is the customer?3. Who is the competition?4. Why/how are you different?
What is the product?
1
Hasn’t been built yetor
MVP complete
What is the product?
1. What does the product do?2. What problem does it solve?3. Who needs it?
What is the product?
$1,216.95
$489.95
1. Does? Generates variations of outfits via algorithms from multiple retailers
2. Solves? Quickly finding head-to-toe outfits, specific to your taste and budget
3. Who? Women 27-45 with money and no time
What is the product?
Who is the customer?
2
Who is the customer?
?
PERSONAS1.Gender? Age?2.Where do they live?3.Where & when do they use your product?4.What matters to them?5.Besides the problem you solve, what should they expect from your brand?
Who is the customer?
Who is the customer?
the collector_____________________________
KimiaAge: 43Occupation: Marketing Executive
Home life: Single, no kids, never married, owns a townhouse in Buckhead, Atlanta
Education: Masters in Marketing & Business from NYU
HH Income: $125k
Frequency of Shopping: Weekend shopping with friends, but only buys via sample sales
Avg Look $: $500-$2500
Shops for: Herself, her dog, mother/father, & brothers (in that order)
AGE27-45
FUNto shop
URBANinfluencers
$150item
Who is the customer?
Who are your competitors?
3
PolyvoreShopstyleOpenSkyWanelo
Who are your competitors?
FancyLystPinterestPose
CHECKLIST1.Where are they in the alphabet?2.What is the visual shape of the word(s)?3.Long or short name(s)?4.What type of name is it? Literal, Invented, Experiential, Evocative
5.How does it work in other languages?6.What is their brand voice?7.Does it have “stick”?
Who are your competitors?
Who are your competitors?
TYPES OF NAMESLiteral/Functional CheapCaribbean,
RentTheRunwayInvented Google, Shopsy
Experiential Pose, Explorer
Evocative Twitter, Apple
Why/how are you different?
4
PRODUCT POSITIONING1.What are the competition’s SWOTs?2.Who is their audience?3.What are your SWOTs?4.What feelings do they evoke?5.Where do you want to live in the competitive landscape?
Why/how are you different?
Why/how are you different?
SHE-commerceSelf-Expression
Age 27-45Age 14-24
Algorithmic Curation
Non-Scalable
Trained Curators
Crowd
LooksSingle Item
VOICE POSITIONING1.What is the company’s personality? 2.What are the company’s values?3.What is the company’s taste or appearance?
SELECT TOP 5 FOR ALL
Why/how are you different?
The #1 brainstorming tool is…
Why/how are you different?
Why/how are you different?
Here’s how to use it
NAMING BRAINSTORM1.Have every stakeholder participate2.Word association w/Post-Its3.Decider as facilitator4.Everyone presents their Post-its5.Organize into groupings6.Top 3 get weighed against previous findings
Why/how are you different?
Domains & Trademarks1.Google — Try unusual spelling, but not too crazy2.USPTO.gov Trademarks Trademarks Search3.Domains — Why domains after trademark?
.COM, .CO, ______APP.COM, GET_______.COM
4.LegalZoom vs law firm?
Securing your IP
EVERYTHING HAS MEANING.
Make it more than a name, build a brand.
