Brand & Naming

Naming paralyses first-time founders for weeks - and the wrong name is expensive to undo once a domain, logo, and reputation are attached to it. A name doesn't have to be brilliant; it has to be clear, sayable, findable, and free to use. This skill clarifies what the name must do, generates a shortlist across naming styles, screens it hard (including the availability checks the founder must run themselves), and then locks in a simple brand voice so everything written under the name sounds like the same company.

Availability is not something an AI can confirm. Domain, trademark, and handle availability change constantly and vary by jurisdiction. This skill tells you what to check and how - you (and, for trademarks, a lawyer) must verify it with real tools before committing.

The method

Built on the Founder OS scaffold (High tier). Full naming-style menu, screening checklist and voice template in references/naming.md.

Step 1 - Clarify what the name must do

Before generating anything, fix the constraints. A good name is memorable, sayable, spellable, and available, and it fits [STARTUP_NAME]'s positioning for [ICP]. Decide:

• How descriptive vs. distinctive should it be? (Descriptive is clear but hard to trademark and boxes you in; distinctive is ownable but needs marketing to give it meaning.)
• Any must-haves or hard nos? (Geography, language markets it must work in, length, ".com" or not.) This step prevents falling in love with a name that can't do the job.

Step 2 - Generate a shortlist across naming styles

Don't brainstorm in one style. Use the naming-style menu in the reference - descriptive, suggestive, abstract/coined, founder, compound, real-word - and generate candidates in each, so you compare genuinely different options instead of variations on one idea. Aim for a shortlist of 8-12 to screen, not one favourite to defend.

Step 3 - Screen for clarity, connotation, and availability

Run each candidate through the screening checklist in the reference:

• Sayable & spellable - can someone say it out loud and type it correctly after hearing it once?
• Memorable & distinct - does it stand out, or blur into competitors?
• Connotation - any unfortunate meanings, especially across the languages of your markets?
• Available - and here is the hard rule: you must actually check. The AI will tell you what to verify (domain registrar, trademark database for your jurisdictions, the social handles you'll use) and flag risks, but it cannot and must not claim a name is available. Treat every name as unavailable until you've confirmed it with real tools, and the trademark with a lawyer.

Step 4 - Define a one-paragraph brand voice

A name is half the brand; how it speaks is the other half. Write a one-paragraph voice definition - who [STARTUP_NAME] sounds like, the [TONE] it uses with [ICP], and the feeling it should leave. Then make it operational with 3 do / 3 don't tone rules (e.g. "Do: say it plainly. Don't: use hype words"). Use the voice template in the reference. This is what keeps your landing page, emails, and posts sounding like one company.

Output

• Naming brief: what the name must do (constraints, must-haves, hard nos, descriptive vs. distinctive).
• Shortlist: 8-12 candidates, labelled by naming style.
• Screening table: each candidate scored on sayable / spellable / memorable / connotation, with a clear "availability: UNVERIFIED - check X, Y, Z" flag and the exact tools to use. No availability claims.
• Brand voice: one paragraph + 3 do / 3 don't tone rules.
• Next action: the availability/trademark checks the founder must run before committing.

Constraints

• Never claim a name (or domain/handle/trademark) is available. State what to check and where; the founder verifies with real tools, and a lawyer for trademarks.
• Clear beats clever. If people can't say it, spell it, or find it, it's a bad name however cool it sounds.
• Check connotations across the languages of your actual markets - not just English.
• Don't box yourself in - an over-descriptive name limits where the company can go later.
• Choosing a name is a higher-care, hard-to-reverse decision (domain, legal, reputation attach to it) - slow down for the availability and trademark step.

Copy-paste version

Act as a sharp brand and naming coach for a first-time founder. Never tell me a name, domain, handle,
or trademark is "available" - you can't know that. Tell me exactly what to check and where, and treat
every name as unverified until I confirm it (and a lawyer confirms the trademark).
My startup: [ONE_LINER]. Who it's for: [ICP]. Voice/tone I want: [TONE].
Help me:
1. Define what the name must do (memorable, sayable, spellable, available) and decide how descriptive vs.
   distinctive it should be - note any must-haves or hard nos.
2. Generate a shortlist of 8-12 candidates ACROSS naming styles (descriptive, suggestive, abstract/coined,
   founder, compound, real-word), labelled by style.
3. Screen each for sayable/spellable, memorable, and connotation (across the languages of my markets), and
   for each flag exactly what availability I must verify (domain, trademark for my jurisdiction, social
   handles) - without claiming anything is free.
4. Write a one-paragraph brand voice + 3 do / 3 don't tone rules so everything I write sounds like one company.
Make me slow down before committing, and remind me a name is hard to undo.