Hey Reader,

My worst business name ever was Unattended Media.

The logic made sense to me at the time since I was building websites and software that ran automatically even when I wasn’t sitting in my desk chair.

I laugh when I look back on it now, but the logo I made was actually an empty chair.

The name meant freedom to me, but to a potential customer, their impression was that nobody worked there. Imagine a conference put on by “Unattended Media”.

Kit used to be named “ConvertKit”, which had a similar problem. In 2013, I needed a name fast and searched for domains under $10. I tried combining a bunch of different words and of the ones that were available, I liked ConvertKit the most. I felt like the idea was clear: a kit of tools to help you convert visitors into customers.

I still remember saying the name to Jason Cohen from WP Engine at a conference. He immediately said, “That’s a great name!”

But one of our earliest customers, Leo Babauta of Zen Habits, told me he didn't want the name to appear anywhere on his site. He didn’t want his audience to feel like they were in a marketing funnel or being converted into anything. Even though the name made complete sense to me, it wasn’t received well by the people we wanted to reach.

There was also a smaller problem that bugged me. If you say "ConvertKit" out loud, you’ll notice the t and the K create a kind of speed bump. It feels awkward to say. That might seem like a minor thing, but it’s a big deal when it happens every time someone says or hears your name.

What I really wanted was to name the company Kit. But that domain didn’t become available until 2023, more than a decade later.

When I think about naming a company, these are my criteria:

• One word
• Carries a positive connotation
• No awkward sounds when said aloud
• Easy to hear and spell over the phone

My friend Nick Huber bought a company called Shepherd. And Shepherd is a great name—it has a positive connotation and good feel. But he ended up renaming it. In fact, he ended up paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to acquire Somewhere so he could rebrand. Why? Because almost nobody can spell shepherd correctly on the first try. Spelling problems are easy to miss until customers have trouble finding you.

Derek Sivers wrote that ideas are a multiplier on execution. A mediocre idea with great execution can go further than a brilliant idea executed poorly. I believe names are similar in that they’re also multipliers that either work for you or against you.

In my opinion, ConvertKit was 1% worse than a neutral name. Kit is at least 1% better than neutral. Those don't sound like significant numbers, but 1% applied across every impression and conversion point over a decade adds up. A name working for you compounds exponentially faster than a name working against you pulls you down.

In Atomic Habits, James Clear shows what 1% improvement looks like over time, contrasted with 1% decline.

You can see in the graph that while the 1% decline isn’t terrible, the 1% improvement is significant.

You may not be naming a company right now, but naming decisions come up throughout building a business, whether that’s a new course, newsletter, or product.

Before you commit to a name, do a quick check and say the name out loud to a few people who know nothing about what you're building. Do they immediately get it? Can they spell it back to you? Their first reaction is likely the same one your future customers will have, thousands of times over.

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PODCAST

How To Build a Mass Movement

I sat down with Russell Brunson to break down how to build a movement. He co-founded ClickFunnels and grew it past 100,000 users without a dollar of outside funding.

He built his framework by studying successful movements across history, politics, and religion. We dig into what separates a true movement from a loyal customer base and how to build the conditions for one.

Learn the three things every movement needs.

​Watch or listen to episode »​

BOOK

The Courage to Commit

My friend Andrew East and his wife Shawn Johnson just released The Courage to Commit today.

Shawn is an Olympic gold medalist and Andrew played in the NFL. In the years since, they've built a family and a following in public. This book draws from their many highs together as well as failures.

Their argument is that narrowing your focus and going all in on fewer things is where true freedom comes from. If you've been chasing multiple things without fully committing to any of them, check it out.

​View book »​

—Nathan

P.S.

Craft + Commerce is this week, and I'm excited to see everyone.

We're also making our biggest product announcement on stage at the conference and you can watch me deliver it live Thursday at 11:15am ET.