April 20, 2011
Day 1: Planning
The scope of building the site is large enough for one person - let alone someone who only noodles around with HTML/CSS. Adding on top of that the branding, design, marketing, and biz-dev required to pull this off and even I acknowledge how crazy it is to do all this in six weeks.
The biggest road block right now is the brand. I’m starting a business and I don’t even know what it’s called yet. Thus far toyed with ~120 names. Some were crap, some were great, and the best were purchased over a decade ago by f*cking domain squatters.* On the bright side, my favorite brand/domain name is still available - the challenge is figuring out how to get it.
Day 2: Dependencies, Design, and Time Management
Without a name, I was anxious about starting my first task: branding. Without a name it’s very difficult to select a typeface and sketch out possible logo marks. I know what the brand represents. But without a name and an image to stand behind, it initially felt difficult to get started on other design work.
After looking at the dependencies of each piece of the project and the amount of time needed to complete everything, it really hit home that I don’t have any extra days (only 40 left!) to search Domai.nr for available domain names. In this trial by fire, I’m quickly learning that dependencies - like knowing what your company is called - aren’t always the daunting roadblocks they appear to be.
Simon Sinek’s TED Talk introduced me to the concept of Golden Circles - a leadership technique for inspiring action that works exceptionally well for creating brands. The theory is that the most successful brands come about because they start with ‘Why’ they do what they do and work their way out to ‘How’ they do it and ‘What’ it is they actually do (his example for Apple Inc: Why = ‘we believe in challenging the status quo’ How = ‘we do this by making beautiful products that are easy to use’ What = ‘we make great computers… wanna buy one?’)
I have a very clear understanding of ‘why’ I am working on this startup. It’s something I believe in and something many others are starting to agree with. At the moment I’m holding out for my dream domain name and realize I don’t need to know what this startup is called. The name is irrelevant because the ‘why’ is clear, and it’s all I need to start designing my No-Name Startup.**
*I number amongst the f*ing domain squatters so I guess what goes around…
**This seems somewhat fitting as my parents didn’t name me for a few weeks until after I was born. They called me ‘No-Name-Merdinyan’ while they debated between ‘Derek’ and ‘Mookie.’ Thankfully they made the right choice.
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