As if having an awesome¹ product isn't hard enough: A study published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Venture Capital has found that a startup's name can seriously affect how a company is perceived by investors².

 

拥有一款出色的产品似乎还不够难，同行评议学术期刊《风险资本》上刊登的一项研究发现，一家初创公司的名字会影响投资者对该公司的印象。

 

Names are easily pronounced, such as Uber and Lyft, are preferred by both early and late stage investors. They tend to be offered more money, whether its through crowd funders, angel investors, VCs or IPO investors.

 

Uniqueness is also virtue³, but only with early-stage investors. The study found that since very little is known about a company in the early stages, unique names give the impression there is something special about the company.

 

Difficult names "evoke⁴ cues of unfamiliarity⁵ and create a perception of high novelty, which is valued by these pre-venture stage investors," according to the study.

 

But don't go registering for that unintelligible⁶ URL just yet: The novelty wears off by later stages, when unique names can make investors feel uncomfortable.

 

Think about now-shuttered companies like Xobni, which was purchased in 2013 by Yahoo for $60 million, before being shut down just one year later. Then there are other departed startups like Oooooc, and Bawte.

 

There is just not much of a benefit to having a unique name in later stages, according to the study. Investors looking at a company after it's proven to be successful -- around the time of an IPO, for example -- care more about accurate valuation, so linguistics⁷ have less of an impact on financing outcomes.

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