Spelt it wrong? You got it right

Kabbage, Deliveroo, Sprinklr, AvidXchange and Flipkart, all have something in common. They are all start-ups, unicorns and would all be red-inked by an English teacher, as wrong spellings. However, mis-spelling is no more an evil with millennial-founded and run start-ups. The concept of many start-ups challenge the concepts of right and wrong with their out-of-the-box approaches. Start-up founders, hence, consider it necessary to name their companies that gel with short-form text-loving youngsters who or refuse to fit into regular conventions.

“I think, in today’s day and age, it’s more about ‘walking hand-in-hand’ with the millennials and following their trend to fall in their likeability and trust factor. Millennials like to converse using short names for almost everything, FOMO, LOL, etc., hence, keeping ‘surname & sons’ as a brand name for start-ups today may not be as appealing to millennials as much as a one-word-long, quirky brand,” says Rahul Garg, the CEO of Moglix, a Ratan Tata-funded B2B e-commerce company. This startup’s name is a version of fictional TV character Mogli. The name treads on the lines of Alibaba, which is world’s most well-known e-commerce company.

Start-up founders want to market their ideas and companies as groundbreaking and disruptive, which overturns the way current market or processes work.

The cool factor that start-ups carry comes first with their names. Very few start-ups have two-word names and are a far cry from long brand names of established players across sectors. While trying to break the trend of adhering to spelling forms, start-ups have created their own trend.

“Start-ups are trying to create a unique identity, to stand out in the marketplace. This can be done in two ways, the name can be quirky enough for people to raise curiosity or a self-explanatory name which talks about its offerings. The idea is to build a brand recognition with their target audience,” says Garg. The most popular form of naming start-ups is removing vowels or replacing a similar sounding letter, say replacing K with C, to indicate that they are bringing a fresh approach to naming.

Sqrrl is one such financial services start-up, which wants to sell its products with a fast moving consumer good (FMCG) company approach. “The challenge in financial services has been that financial services have traditionally taken a serious, pin-blue striped approach when it comes to branding and communication. Squirrel is a highly energetic, nimble, prudent and an intelligent animal. It hoards food for winters. Our brand name ‘Sqrrl’ (pronounced as ‘Squirrel’), exemplifies our beliefs, values and what we want to stand for in the personal finance space,” explains Samant Sikka, CEO, Sqrrl Fintech.

Millennials and youngsters are very conscious of the brands they associate with.

The cool factor of an app goes down on the millennial scale once it gains wide acceptance amongst those of all ages.

Many social media networks have been spurned by youngsters who refuse to be a part of those which is popular for all ages. Start-ups which are looking to cater to the youngest of the population are, hence, under tremendous pressure to retain the novelty.

“The whole concept of branding is not just limited to the brand but its logo, colours, user experience and interface. We did not want to be in the commoditised business of selling financial products. So we took it to the next level, by branding our offerings as well,” says Sikka.

Their offerings are named Squirrel Away for savings products, Bring Your Own Dreams (BYOD), a mutual fund product and AxeTax. For start-ups, their exceptional names become their calling card to advertise their unusual mode of problem-solving to consumers and investors, alike.

THE COOL FACTOR

• The cool factor that start-ups carry comes first with their names.
   
• While trying to break the trend of adhering to spelling forms, start-ups have created their own trend
   
• Very few cos have two-word names,  are far away from long names of established ones