As I type, I’ve set up my domain, email account, and branding around the name Founderside. The tagline for the site is “a marketing blog for thoughtful entrepreneurs.” I love the tagline; I think I hate the name.
Naming things is one of the most difficult parts of branding. However, for now, nobody knows this site exists. I’m afraid I’ll launch the site and then wish I changed the name. Perhaps, that’s a sign I shouldn’t ignore. It’s not about perfection; it’s about reflecting my aims and personality more accurately.
A recent podcast inspired me to rethink my approach to the name of this site. Originally, I didn’t want to name it after myself. For one, I’m not famous, and also, I have enough imposter syndrome to fill a tourist-sized aquarium.
I was on the train, returning home from the dentist. The book on my Kindle, the Mom Test, was done and dusted. Having exhausted all of the new Pivot and Prof G podcast episodes, I scrolled for something I hadn’t listened to in some time – Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield. It was episode #661 with her friend Laura Belgray, an experienced and successful copywriter.
Laura is attached to some distinctive and interestingly titled projects like The Copy Cure and Tough Titties. They spoke about how copywriting has evolved to be more personal over time. Personalization and a degree of friendly intimacy are things I love as a customer and marketer for my clients. That’s when it hit me. Why did I go with the name Founderside? Contextually, it’s the combination of ‘founder’ and ‘fireside chat.’
Truthfully, I think I stopped the search too early.
As a marketer, and entrepreneur, I’ve had to learn to overcome the trappings of ADHD. That means, going from disorganized and inattentive, to keeping tidy Notion docs and well-formatted Google sheets. Many founders, marketers and creatives are part of a disorganized, chaotic bunch with many projects and little time. I think it would be meaningful to reflect our shared experience and what makes this path unique.
It’s settled! I’m going back to the whiteboard. I want to infuse a touch of my messy reality into the branding of this project. Let’s see where I land.