When is it time to rename your baby? Find out from these startups who just did

When a business evolves and expands into new markets or domains, the name it started life with can feel ill-suited or constricted. This is even more likely in the fast-moving world of startups – as was the case with these two Indian companies.

AdNear, now headquartered in Singapore, started out with a unique modus operandi for gathering location intelligence without having to rely on GPS. It went around mapping mobile towers, wifi hotspots, and other geographical signposts which would let it track mobile devices. This location data enabled targeted mobile advertising for its clients, who now include Volkswagen, Toyota, Samsung, and Coca Cola.

AdNear has scaled fast since its series B funding of US$19 million in October last year from Global Brain, Telstra, Sequoia, and Canaan (which later sold its stock to JPM Private Equity Group). Now, it does a lot more with its expanded location intelligence, beyond advertising. From delivering custom audiences to real-time consumer insights, it encompasses everything to do with data-driven marketing. So it was time to drop the word ‘Ad’ from the name which had so well described the AdNear business until recently. From today, the name stands truncated to Near.

Anil Mathews, founder and CEO of Near, says:

This was a big step for us, but it is also a natural progression as things have changed tremendously over time. Location data has always been at the core of everything we do, our products, and our brand identity.

The renaming is not without pain. While AdNear was a unique name, Near is a common word. You can imagine what that does to SEO, for instance. There is also an everyday services marketplace in India called Near, even though that’s in a different space. But these trade-offs were obviously worth it for Near, to give new clients and even the existing ones the right perception about its business. “We lose a lot of brand equity with the name change, but we do think the new name reflects where we are, and our direction,” says Mathews.

His advice to entrepreneurs considering a name change is to take a long-term view and not limit one’s brand equity with an outdated name. “Post PC devices and internet connectivity have had a massive impact on numerous industries. As the company evolves, you would want your name to reflect your true potential and not restrict your growth. If this requires a name change, so be it.”

Shorter and broader

It’s hard to know how a business and its space will evolve, which makes it tricky to name a startup. It has to convey what the business offers, without being vague. It should be easy to pronounce and create the intended impression. And it has to also take into account future diversion into different segments.

News in Shorts is the second case in point. This is another fast-growing Indian startup, which raised US$20 million in series B funding last month, just five months after a US$4 million round from Tiger Global and Rebright Partners.

As its name suggests, News in Shorts started up with the idea of giving busy readers 60-word summaries of news organized in different categories. This is useful for those who skim newspapers and media sites to get up to date quickly.

Earlier the better