Could Xoopit, which has yet to launch its service but promises to rethink how we organize e-mail, grow into a serious company with such a name?
Concerns were so great that a venture capitalist who considered investing in Marashi's business said he wouldn't do so unless the name was changed.
Marashi suggested Phr332 (pronounced like Freak), but that was quickly shot down. So was Flume.
So Marashi conducted market research. He approached 10 strangers in various San Francisco neighborhoods and asked them to read the name "Xoopit" aloud. Most could. He reported his findings to the start-up's eight employees and sought the advice of friends and family.
Marketing experts assured him that X was the new Z.
In July, Xoopit decided to stay Xoopit. The company plans to embrace it in a marketing slogan that, using Xoopit as a verb, suggests its users will become smarter: "Don't be stupid. Xoopit."
"Once you pick a name, you have to stand by it," Marashi said. "The baby is born and you have to sign the birth certificate."
--
michelle.quinn@latimes.com
