Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? So, we asked some very sharp folks to tell us the stories of how they came up with the names of their brands.

Brad Cato

Photography has always been a hobby of mine, and I decided when I got my first job I will buy my first professional camera and do a photography course. The industry that I worked in was closing the power station I worked at and I know I would be out of a job for a while, so I taught it would have been the perfect time to make my photography hobby a business because everyone needs a photographer for some special celebration of their life. Read more>>

James Barr

Great question! I have a past in youth leadership and was always asked to run large events. As a kid, the skating rink was like a second home. So I could use a mic, plan an event, and knew great music! But I didn’t see myself in weddings until I had my own. My marketing teacher once said when starting a business aim for 2 things: 1) Know your target market, and 2) Know what you offer that no one else is! I was lucky enough to test the waters while going back to school for some side cash. And I knew from planning my own wedding, but also dealing with our DJ, that I would at least be more welcoming. Read more>>

Sarah Puil

I grew up traveling and in my early 20s I took a trip with my Dad to Chile and we visited Vina Santa Rita. I fell in love with the vineyard and listening to the winemaker. Let me tell you, he just opened up a whole new world to me, that I just had to know more about. I’ve been learning about wine ever since, everywhere I travel, I visit wineries, vineyards, and talk to winemakers. I got my inspiration for BOXT while sitting in a cafe in Paris with my husband. I loved how easy it was to get a delicious house wine all over Europe, but whenever I tried to find one in the states, the experience just underwhelmed and frustrated me. Read more>>

Karen Hite

We created the commitment summit with one goal in mind: to provide the best and most truthful information for agency owners to help them grow and scale their business. We decided to do this event because as agency owners ourselves we realized a lot of the stuff out there is not congruent with the reality. We wanted to created an atmosphere of a mastermind on steroids where people can actually talk about what they need as a business and share their strengths too. We selected a paradise location (Costa Rica) so we can all take a break from our day to day and get to push our creative energy into brainstorming what we need for our business. Read more>>

Nichimyo Rich

I founded Amor Four Collective (A4) with a mission to elevate the voices of rebels and drive community change. Our focus on PR and advocacy allows us to share the stories that matter and spark positive impact. We’re based in NYC, and through community outreach campaigns, brand story development, and media pitching, we help our clients connect with Gen Z and Millennial audiences. Read more>>

Meagan Pa

Here’s the link to the Amphiba Baby story: https://www.amphibababy.com/about I quite honestly didn’t know if I would be successful in business. I have no marketing background and never took a business course. But I felt that this product was a game changer for parents and I had to share it. I’ve spent the past eleven years working with expectant and new moms and dads, helping them transition as smoothly as possible into parenthood. Babywearing is the single universal tool that makes everything easier. Read more>>

Sama Elbatrawy

I already own Prime Press, a children’s book Publisher based in Athens Greece and I have a passion for young learners having been a teacher and a teacher trainer all my life. During the pandemic, I came across an article about a research paper published by the University of Yale about social-emotional learning and using animals in education. I loved the idea and started digging deeper. After a lot of reading a new dream was shaped. An educational farm with trained animals that kids can interact with (not only feed) while learning some values from the character-building program, Read more>>

Jason Kane

I got the idea for my clear bag business shortly after attending a local concert. As I was on the way to the event I was reading the FAQs for the show. In the section for what is allowed into the venue, they were enforcing a strict clear bag policy for attendees. However there was one exception, “Due to clear hydration packs not being readily available, standard hydration packs are the only exception the the clear bag policy.” I didn’t think anything of it at the time but a few days later it hit me. Read more>>

Bianca Lopez

Elevated Magic is a crystal business that was born out of a deep love and passion for crystals, minerals, and rocks. I have been collecting crystals and rocks since childhood and always knew that I wanted to start a business of my own. With a natural entrepreneurial spirit and a wealth of experience in management, I was well-equipped to take on the challenge of starting a business. However, it was a life-changing event that ultimately led me to pursue my dream of starting a crystal business. Read more>>

Joelle Benvenuto

Well, well, well – it’s your resident adventurer and total autodidact speaking! I may not be a professional jewelry maker, but that’s never stopped me before. In fact, I prefer to do things my own way – call me an anarchist if you will. When it comes to my approach to jewelry making, I’m all about following my inspiration and experimenting with different techniques. I’m not interested in sticking to the status quo – I want to create something new and exciting. That’s why I like to think of jewelry as wearables rather than just fine jewelry. It’s all about adding a little something extra to your outfit. Read more>>

Tasia Munger

When I first started making jewelry, I wanted to make myself things that would fit me. Everytime I bought things at the store it would be too big or just not right. I started making bracelets, then went on to earrings, then necklaces etc. When I saw my friends they would ask about where I got my jewelry. That’s when it all changed. I was making jewelry for all of my friends and family while still working a 9-5 job. I never took classes or went to school for it, I am completely self taught. People started to request pieces or certain colors of jewelry. That was around 2007-2008. Read more>>

Rachel Reichenbach

I came up with the core of my business entirely on accident. For a school project, I had to code and create art for a small game. I chose to make a game where you catch falling objects, since it was the easiest to code. I decided the objects would be raindrops, and you would be a frog trying to catch them. I attempted to draw a frog without really knowing what one looks like. The resulting frog was so silly looking that he became an inside joke between my friends and I, and I began drawing him in all my artworks from then on. That silly looking frog became my mascot character, Son the Frog! Read more>>

Keisha Wilson

The business idea was birthed from passion and pain. I have been in healthcare for over 20+ years. I held various positions in large teaching hospitals and was a part-time consultant to various coding companies for the last 7 – 8 years. I thought about doing the consulting full-time and on my own for a few years but was always hesitant, wondering if I would be good enough to do it. Between 2021-2022 I had a few conversations with a friend who asked why wasn’t I doing this on my own after explaining what I did. Read more>>

Jasmine Williamson

Enjoying tea parties at home as a little girl with my parents was a favorite childhood pastime, but I never dreamed of owning a business offering loose leaf tea blends and hosting luxury tea parties. Entrepreneurship was not a part of my life’s plan until countless tea parties at home with my daughter Jaila, the ParTea Princess, rekindled my allure with its essence. Tea Rose blossomed after we decided to couple our intimate mother-daughter tea pastime and vacation tearoom experience to host tea parties in homes and event spaces across Music City and surrounding areas. Read more>>

Ximena Zamacona

Full Circle Mushrooms was born with the idea of producing food in a mindful, regenerative way. I wanted to use my skills and greenhouse growing expertise to bring to life a regenerative farm to the Southwest area. Mushrooms, as the primary decomposers of the world, can grow on a variety of carbon based materials. Here in the Las Cruces Valley, we are surrounded by pecan trees and the byproduct from farming pecans including wood trims and pecan shells. After trialing we discovered we could grow mushrooms on pecan wood, starting with this, our mushroom growing journey. Read more>>

Ryan Thompson

My whole life, I have been obsessed with pinball. It all started before I can remember when my mom bought my dad a pinball machine for his birthday, a 1975 Gottlieb Abra Ca Dabra. I played this game as a child, my dad teaching me how to trap the ball and aim. When I came back home after college, I found that my beloved pinball machine was now a mouse house! So, I lugged it out of their basement and it became my first pinball restoration project. Read more>>

Asoniti Foster

When you grow up watching multiple family members suffer with Alzheimer’s and ultimately pass away from it, you begin to question the likelihood of personally developing the disease. At least, that’s what I did. Alzheimer’s has plagued both sides of my family tree. At first, like most, I thought it was a natural progression of life, then I started doing some research and what I discovered was shocking: women are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s and African American women are twice as likely than the national average to get it. Read more>>

Lucas Woods

I was already a certified personal trainer working at a gym near by and I had already been sharing my life experiences as a transgender man on tiktok. Many of my followers are also in the LGBTQ+ community. I started posting fitness content simply out of enjoyment and it ended up doing pretty well, I had people commenting and DMing me about training. At the time I had no experience with training clients strictly online so I started doing research on programs I could use to run my business, pricing estimates, and training options I could provide. Read more>>

Malachi Wright

The idea of Wright Graphics started my junior year of college. I had a passion for art & my major was in Digital Design. I knew I wanted to do something in my field of course professionally. At first I wanted to design my own characters that I started back in high school & their story lines but in my second semester of my junior year, I started to design flyers and a few logos for my friends. Read more>>

LeAnn & Doug Bair

Originally, we were looking for our own mountain campground and soon we purchased our first two property lots in 2005 and then another three lots. We fell in love with what we have named Rancho Arturo and wanted to spend as much time here as possible. The only issue was how to make a living in a small mountain community? Read more>>

John R. Gentile

I fell in love with whales and dolphins back in 1975 after hearing the song “critical Mass/Wind on the Water,” written by David Crosby and Graham Nash. That was the catalyst for a life long journey that put me in the company of whales and dolphins all over the world. From sea kayaking with orcas in British Columbia to swimming with humpbacks in the Silverbanks, to observing the bottlenose dolphins in Monkey Mia, Australia, to following the gray whale migration to the calving lagoons in Baja Sur, California. Read more>>

Maryam Nafari

Art has always held a special place in my heart. It all started when I was in middle school in Tehran, the capital of Iran. During summertime, my family would make our way to Shiraz, a city known for its art, poetry, and wine. It was there that I began taking painting classes with an amazing teacher. The studio was small but filled with junior and senior artists sitting around a long table, each with their own materials and techniques. The teacher would walk around, giving pointers and encouragement. It was an incredible experience and I looked forward to it every summer. Read more>>

Jonathan Stock

In 2016/17 I was introduced to the OneWheel. It was my first time riding anything electric. I was able to move quickly and how I wanted without all the wear and tear on my body. It was fun. I like fun. I was immediately hooked. I come from a heavy skateboarding and snowboarding background. In the early 90s when I started, those 2 sports were extremely counter culture. Aside from a handful of companies there wasn’t a ton of support for what you wanted to do with it. Unless you were near a skateboard shop or a snowboard shop, everything was mail order and didn’t feel real. The first time I set foot in a skateshop I knew that is where I wanted to be. Read more>>

Jessica Aubrey

I had just finished a shift at work and found a moment I was able to finally take a break. I started scrolling through my various social media feeds. As I was mindlessly browsing, I stumbled upon this super cute vintage camper that had been converted into a bar on Pinterest. I thought to myself that this was probably the most unique thing I had seen in a long time! It was then and there, in 2018, that I decided my goal of owning my own camper bar. Read more>>

Elisha L NeVille

The ideal started back in 2020 that’s when I started my painting journey. I wanted to create a concept that was relatable and original that most people can’ relate to.The name of my brand is called Unknown 3motion names speak for itself. It’s emotions that we as a human go through daily. We have the good the bad ugly and even strange. Each character that I have has it’s own characterization and it’s on identity. My goal here is to bring the emotions to life and give it personality, and let it tell its own story. Read more>>

Fehintola Bright

El Empire is a faith-based videography and multimedia company whose goal is to utilize Media and The Arts to provide a platform for, showcase, and tell the stories of our clientele, partners, and business-owners. El Empire was birthed in May of 2022, however, it was an interesting journey. The “faith based” aspect of El Empire is based off of the concept that it was only by a promise from God and a leap of faith that the founder, Fehintola Bright, manifested a vision into a reality ㅡ El Empire. Read more>>

Guy Morris

Every one of my thrillers is deeply rooted on a true current event, history, technology, politics or religion. Most often, I discover the inspiring premise during research. While characters and plots are fictional, the world in which they exist is largely factual. Art does imitate life. For example, my historical thriller ‘The Curse of Cortes’ came from researching Henry Morgan’s raid on Panama City in 1672. With a 30-ton, billion-dollar plunder, Henry Morgan cheated his own men and disappeared with five hundred slaves on three ships. Months later, Morgan returned to Jamaica with an empty ship and a starving crew. Read more>>

Malia Alvina

My business sales handmade Handbags & Custom Camo Jackets. I started sewing after a divorce, sewing was so therapeutic for me. Sewing is something that I had a desire to do and never took the opportunity to learn. I finally decided to just do it, and I went and bought my first sewing machine and start sewing. I learned from YouTube and from reading books. Once I learned to sew I began making handbags, I posted those to social media and and received positive feedback, so I began to market myself as a bag maker. Read more>>

Brittani Robertson

Travel has always been near to my heart as I have had the opportunity traveling starting at a very young age. I know the importance of experiencing things with your own senses firsthand. Life is hard. Life gets busy. I personally feel like travel should always be carved out into your schedule. Travel makes you happier. You are able to disconnect and recharge. It is proven to relive anxiety and stress. It also exposes you to new things and can even help your creativity. Read more>>

Caeland Mosley

I was in a art class and the class that I took was very difficult. The class was a a painting class and it taught me a lot about design elements, repetition, atmospheric pressure, rhythm and simplicity. I had always paid attention to how designers did there designs but I struggled with coming up with a name for the brand. I came up with at least twenty names. I didn’t have a purpose for the brand or why the brand existed. At the time I was into streetwear. The names that I came up with were not something I would consider buying from. I later acquired the taste for high end clothing .Then I decided name the brand Natrl Kngz. Read more>>

Haylie Sigler

Naming a business can be a daunting task, but I was fortunate to have my mom’s creative input in coming up with the perfect name for my sugaring hair removal business. She had the brilliant idea to incorporate my initials into the name, which ultimately became Hay Suga. The name Hay Suga uses the same initials as my first and last name, Haylie Sigler, which makes it a personal and creative concept. I loved how the name reflected who I am and what I do, while also being catchy and memorable. Read more>>

Andi Willis

Back in the early 00s, I was on a girls’ trip to Pittsburgh. Just outside of town, we passed a highway sign that stated that that particular portion of the road was sponosred by the Livinggood family. We spent the rest of the trip joking about wanting to be the Livinggoods. Surely that family had a wonderful life with a name like that and enough money to sponsor a highway. Fast forward to 2010, when I decided to start my residential organizing business, I struggled to find a name that captured the essence of what I wanted to provide my clients. Read more>>

Danielle Wade

Gia Como is Italian for James (Giacomo). Named after my late grandad, Gia Como was born after I mispronounced the original translation.


 I spent ages coming up with a name and it felt right honoring him. I wanted to keep his name and his pride alive. Read more>>

Tracy Tydeman

My company is called Spots of Joy and the inspiration around my company and the name was my Dalmatian, Faith. I adopted Faith as a puppy and even though she was deaf, she truly lived life to the fullest and didn’t let her disability get in her way. So when Faith passed away in 2019, it took many weeks for me to start to recover from the grief, and one night I had an idea to share her with the world through a children’s book. Once I started that process, I eventually chose the self-publishing route. Read more>>

Andrea Rodriguez

The name of my company means a lot to me and is also my why. My LLC is under Sunshine Rose. I chose this because that was supposed to be my name. My Dad and Mom are super cute with each other and my Dad has always called my Mother, Sunshine so when I was born, they wanted to name me this. They thought this all the way until the lady came to have them sign the birth certificate and at this time they changed my name to Andrea Rose. They thought that kids would make fun of me and didn’t want this to be the situation for me. Read more>>

Tique Chandler

Chandler is my last name, and we have roots to beekeeping since 1937. Having my last name on the jar also keeps me super accountable to the quality of my honey products – I wouldn’t want to be so closely personally associated with something I wasn’t 100% proud of. Read more>>

Marylin Muro

Impact Visuals came from a lot of trial and errors. I came to the conclusion that my biggest mission in life is to make a positive impact in this world and leave the world a little better than I saw it. I took some time to figure out the best name because I want this name to be known at first glance. Read more>>

Michelle Rose

Busy Mom Playdates™ was inspired by the nostalgia and carefree childhood playdates we have all had at some time in our lives. You remember those moments of scheduled or unscheduled play with other children to simply just run around and have some good ol’e unadulterated fun? The beauty of those moments was that they were unscripted. You simply would show up and at the end of the playdate you got what your soul desired…you may have learned something new or met a new friend. Read more>>

Matt Maenpaa

What’s in a name, right? It’s a short story, but also kind of an elaborate one. There’s this cliché that when you try to make art – whether its painting, writing, design, photography – as a whole living, people ask when you’re going to get a real job. Our culture, though we are quick to consume creative products, has a habit of denouncing art as a “real job.” I’ve had variations of the “real job,” done a lot of time in the service industry and explored my options, but I really wanted to do something that I love. I love writing, I love creating, I love photography especially, and all the different ways those crafts can be combined and applied to benefit other people. I wanted that to be my real job, creativity in service to others. Read more>>

Shantel Vassell

The name was derived from my first name, which is Shantel. Telly has been my nickname since I was little girl. My family members often tease me about my childhood. They say I used to talk a lot and tell everything . I could not keep a secret. Later years, I attained different variations of Telly, (Tells, Tellz). When I began brainstorming names, I thought of my favorite dessert which is a Poundcake. I use my Great Aunt Annie Bell’s recipe. Every time I bake and taste this, it brings a since of nostalgia. Immediately I asked myself why not put Tells and Cake together and I came up with Cake Tells. Read more>>

Andrea Tarwater

Back in the 90’s I was obsessed with British music – especially new and unknown bands. I found a band called “The Unbelievable Truth” and one of their albums , released in 2000, was called “Sorrythankyou”. I thought that phrase was perfectly suited to me because it was a phrase I used often at the time. I still find myself saying it fairly often. I started using Sorrythankyou as my online name prior to knowing about Instagram or having a shop. Read more>>

Ilenia Arias

My goal is one day to have a flowers truck, I think it is the physical way to have a business, which would work for me. that’s why I named it Florist on wheels Read more>>

Audrene Dias

Interestingly, I hail from the beautiful island of Jamaica, where I grew up surrounded by Rastafarian culture. Within this culture, the word ‘Ital’ is commonly used to describe food, and is derived from the word ‘vital’ with the removal of the letter ‘V’. This term signifies natural, organic, fresh, and pure food. Inspired by this concept, I have applied it to my products. Read more>>

Lindsey Bradshaw

Haylan is a combination of my 3 kids names, Hayden, Rylan and Lynden. They are the reason I picked my camera back up. I wanted to capture all their milestones. They are a reason we specialize in birthday parties! They pushed me to take the leap and do what I truly love to do, events and photography! They push me to be a better version of my self every day. I knew I needed to show them they are capable of doing whatever they put their minds do! Read more>>

Danielle Curtis

My name is Danielle but people have called me Dani all of my life. Like many people, I had gotten to a point where I was more focused on carrying for others that I forgot about myself. A good friend said to me, “Dani, girl you need to start living!” And that’s how DaniGirl Living was born! Read more>>

Byron Edwards

Wellness For Creatives™️ is a collective dedicated to maintaining lifestyle rooted in wellness, fitness, mental health, and creativity. The name was derived out of the mission to support creatives and creators toward a healthier holistic lifestyle. By providing wellness for creatives we help creatives live a better life, so they can show up as their best self. Read more>>

Katharine Dreier

DryerDays is sort of a spin off of my last name, but also refers to a big part of my life that I share proudly. I have been sober for 11 years so the “dryer days” kinda plays in there. Read more>>

Bennett Stehr

My original company name was B&B automotive Detailing and I did not care for it that much. It was not very catchy and did not stand out. I was brainstorming ideas for names and I wanted to make it a little bit of a tongue twister but keep the same consonants to start each word. I really wanted it to stand out so I decided on Professor Pressure and I absolutely love the name! Read more>>

Nicole Brandt

My company is called “Mesopotamian Art.” I was in a PhD program for Assyriology, the study of ancient Mesopotamia, at the University of Chicago when I decided to try and turn my art making hobby into a business. I am an unknown name in the art world, no one would think to seek out art by my name, so I decided to use keywords related to what I make to garner interest instead. A lot of the artwork that I make is inspired by my studies and I wanted a business name that reflects that. Read more>>

Genesis Dominguez

Graduating college with a Finance degree felt like a step closer of my dream to becoming a business women. After college, I began my career as a professional technical recruiter and during the Covid pandemic I saw myself unemployed for the first time in 6 years. Like many other people I had a lot of down time during the uncertain moment we were all dealing with. With time, I found myself researching ingredients and creating my own beauty products at home. That was the start of an idea to an online hair care store; Honey Beauty. Read more>>

Bailey Thibodeaux

Honeywave Creative was birthed in the most unnatural way… It all started with Potato Pets. You read that right, Potato Pets. You are probably thinking, “Bailey, what the heck are potato pets?” Potato Pets were my invention that I just knew was going to be a breakthrough and make me millions. It was my whacky idea of combining the pet rock with Mr. Potato Head, and I figured there was no way I could fail with it. So with an idea and a dream of making it big, I began creating my own collection of unique Potato Pets. Read more>>

Stefanie Philpott

About ten years ago, I was on the bus headed to meet my group for one of my Grad school classes. I was in school for Marketing and had long given up on becoming a screenwriter and filmmaker, or so I thought. A woman next to started talking to me and in the conversation, she asked where I was off to next. I thought she meant where I was getting off of the bus, but she was referring to my next city I would live in. I told her “New York”, even though I had no idea how I was going to get there because I had tried a couple of years prior. She said, “What season?” Read more>>

BRANDON Phillips

Our name is in honor of Col. John Rodgers who operated a local tavern in the late 1700’s. Rodger’s tavern was located in Perryville MD, directly across from our brewery sits today. During the Revolutionary period, figures such George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were known to frequent the Tavern. During the war, Col. Rodgers raised a militia, called the ‘The 5th Company’. Read more>>

Jennifer Zach

I felt like a best-kept secret. I started my coaching practice in 2009 after graduating from the world’s first coaching school, Coach U. I limped along pursuing my business while keeping my day job as a data analyst for ten years. When I first started, I found myself not only marketing my business but also needing to educate people about what coaching was outside the realm of sports. Coaching beyond athletics was a foreign concept for many. It was hard. Read more>>

Doris Butler

Starting in 2003 in Atlanta, Georgia, I created DMA Designs LLC. The name comes from combining my first initial and my son’s Michael and Andarrio. My mother, Mary Wilson, love for fruit carving started many years ago in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Her expertise and crafty creations encouraged me to design and extend the business to Georgia. I started very small, creating fruit displays for my friends and family just to get a feel of their reactions. I have completed several designs for weddings, baby showers, office parties, birthdays, banquets, and other events. My theme is, ” If you can dream it, I can make it.” Read more>>

Milan Crump

When we first decided we were going to start a balloon and floral boutique, our company was named by one of our friends. We sat on the couch for a while brainstorming before our friend blurted out “A-lay-ven” Designs. It fit the vibe we were going for perfectly. We knew we wanted the name of our company to give a luxurious, Parisian vibe, and it did. However, we and our customers kept pronouncing the name wrong, calling the brand “Eleven” Designs. So we made the executive decision to roll with that and call our brand “A’LEVN Designs”, pronounced as “Eleven”. Read more>>