你新成立的公司需要起个名字，它有可能会成为你最重要的决定。公司名称对客户和投资者对你的看法有着巨大的影响力，在今天越来越小的世界里，这是个涉及全世界的决定。

    请不要再给我发送抬头位置还写着“名字待定”或“新公司”的商业计划。无论适合与否，你选择的名字都传递了大量的信息：你的商业头脑如何你对涉足领域的理解如何。下面是给公司起名的10条重要准则，在此感谢亚历克斯•弗兰克尔和其他人士提供的帮助：

    1. 独一无二，过目难忘。在生意场上，这就是所谓的“粘性”。不过粘性问题可能会变得有点棘手。每家公司都想起个与众不同的名字，简单易记，随着时间的推移依然历久弥新，令人难忘。这是个艰巨的任务，因为起名的流行趋势经常发生变化，很难找到永恒经典的名字（还记得网络泡沫时期那些名字吧）。

    2. 避免不同寻常的拼写。起一个新名字的时候，请使用客户容易拼写的单词。有些新公司的创始人打算尝试不同寻常的拼写方式，以便让企业脱颖而出，但是当客户用谷歌（Google）搜索你的企业，向别人提到你的公司时，这种做法会造成麻烦。使用传统的单词拼写方式，避开那些你在鸡尾酒会上喜欢使用的花哨词汇。

    3. 朗朗上口，好读易记。不要使用那些胡拼乱凑的单词和毫无意义的短语。为公司取一个客户好读易记的名字。避免使用缩写，这种名字对大多数人来说毫无意义。如今人们为公司或产品选择名字时再次开始青睐简洁明了的风格，而且这样一来品牌成本更低。

    4. 简单明了。名字的长度越短越好，限制在两个音节内。不要使用连字符和其他特殊符号。因为有些算法和商业目录会按照字母顺序排列，因此最好选择首字母靠前的名字。如果公司的名称可以轻松演变成动词的话，那就更好了，比如人们会说“谷歌”搜索我。

    5. 富有内涵。有时候，公司所有人会选择毫无意义的名字。古怪生僻的单词（Yahoo, Google, Fogdog），全新的商标名称（Novartis, Aventis, Lycos），都会冒很大的风险。请务必查找这个名字在国际上的含义。因为新名字而感到尴尬公司不在少数，因为有些名字在其他语言中有负面意义，甚至有下流的意味。

    Your startup needs a name, and it may be the most important decision you make. The name of your business has a tremendous impact on how customers and investors view you, and in today's small world, it's a world-wide decision.

    Please don't send me any more business plans with TBD or NewCo in the title position. Right or wrong, the name you choose, or don't choose, speaks volumes about your business savvy and understanding of the world you are about to enter. Here are some key things I look for in the name, with some help from Alex Frankel and others:

    1. Unique and unforgettable. In the trade, this is called "stickiness." But the issue of stickiness turns out to be kind of, well, sticky. Every company wants a name that stands out from the crowd, a catchy handle that will remain fresh and memorable over time. That's a challenge because naming trends change, often year by year, making timeless names hard to find (remember the dot.coms).

    2. Avoid unusual spellings. When creating a name, stay with words that can easily be spelled by customers. Some startup founders try unusual word spellings to make their business stand out, but this can be trouble when customers 'Google' your business to find you, or try to refer you to others. Stay with traditional word spelling, and avoid those catchy words that you love to explain at cocktail parties.

    3. Easy to pronounce and remember. Forget made-up words and nonsense phrases. Make your business name one that customers can pronounce and remember easily. Skip the acronyms, which mean nothing to most people. When choosing an identity for a company or a product, simple and straightforward are back in style, and cost less to brand.

    4. Keep it simple. The shorter in length, the better. Limit it to two syllables. Avoid using hyphens and other special characters. Since certain algorithms and directory listings work alphabetically, pick a name closer to A than Z. These days, it even helps if the name can easily be turned into a verb, like Google me.

    5. Make some sense. Occasionally, business owners will choose names that are nonsense words. Quirky words (Yahoo, Google, Fogdog) or trademark-proof names concocted from scratch (Novartis, Aventis, Lycos) are a big risk. Always check the international implications. More than one company has been embarrassed by a new name that had negative and even obscene connotations in another language.

    6. 提供线索，说明主营业务。为公司取的名字要清楚地说明企业从事的业务。把园艺绿化公司叫做“草坪整修”恰如其分，但是同样的名字并不适合用于修理业务。公司名称应该符合业务特点，提醒客户公司所提供的服务类型。

    7. 确保名称可用。这一点看起来显而易见，可是取名失误会导致高昂的代价。公司名称和互联网域名应该保持一致，请在全国公司网站（State Incorporation）查找中意的名称，登录网络解决方案公司（Network Solutions）查询对应的网络域名，并向美国专利局（U.S. Patent Office）咨询商标问题。

    8. 采用通用后缀。所有人都想当然地认为，公司网络域名去掉".com"或所在国域名后缀就是公司的名称。如果你喜欢的名字没有采用这些后缀，最好起一个新名字，而不是仅仅满足于使用".net" 或 ".info."等其他后缀。如果可以的话，最好同时注册三个不同后缀的网站。

    9. 不要作茧自缚。不要选择那些限制公司拓展其他业务或扩展产品线的名字。这意味着避免在公司名字中使用地理位置和具体的产品名称。如果名字含有这些特定细节，在其他地区开拓业务，或者增加产品种类时，公司名字会让客户感到迷惑不解。

    10. 咨询潜在客户。想出几个不同的备选名字，咨询潜在客户、投资者和同事的意见。不要向家人朋友咨询，因为他们知道得太多内情。拿着这些名字去问这些人，看看它们是否达到了你想要的效果。

    如果依然没有把握，应该知道市场上还有很多专业的公司，比如Igor 公司和A Hundred Monkeys公司。你的钱都是辛辛苦苦挣来的，他们要不了100万美元，就可以帮你起个合适的名字。我倒是想知道他们自己公司的名字花了多少钱？

    本文作者马丁•兹威灵是初创企业专业咨询公司（Startup Professionals Inc.）首席执行官兼创始人。

    6. Give a clue. Try to adopt a business name that provides some information about what your business does. Calling your landscaping business "Lawn and Order" is appropriate, but the same name would not do well for a handyman business. Your business name should match your business in order to remind customers what services you provide.

    7. Make sure the name is available. This may sound obvious, but a miss here will cost you dearly. Your company name and Internet domain name should probably be the same, so check out your preferred names with your State Incorporation site, Network Solutions for the domain name, and the U.S. Patent Office for Trademarks.

    8. Favor common suffixes. Everyone will assume that your company name is your domain name minus the suffix ".com" or the standard suffix for your country. If these suffixes are not available for the name you prefer, pick a new name rather than settling for an alternate suffix like ".net" or ".info." Get all three suffixes if you can.

    9. Don't box yourself in. Avoid picking names that don't allow your business to move around or add to its product line. This means avoiding geographic locations or product categories to your business name. With these specifics, customers will be confused if you expand your business to different locations or add on to your product line.

    10. Sample potential customers. Come up with a few different name choices and try them out on potential customers, investors, and co-workers. Skip your family and friends who know too much. Ask questions about the names to see if they give off the impression you desire.

    If you are still unsure of yourself, you should know that there are many dedicated firms, like Igor and A Hundred Monkeys, that can relieve you of $1 million of your hard-earned funds to come up with just the right appellation. Hmmm. I wonder how much they spent on their own names?

    Martin Zwilling is CEO & Founder of Startup Professionals Inc.