Written by Lauranne Rivière
Translated by Alisa Kazinets

What to name your Greentech startup?

By working through the 3 examples, 2 of which are Nomen’s creations: Baqio and Nooco, let’s analyse the pathways that lead to a successful naming of a Greentech company. Before diving into the specifics of naming a Greentech brand, let’s recap the basics.

The golden rule of naming is that the name must stand out to you! It must be memorable and easy to remember.

Naming is like getting a song stuck in your head

The first way to give yourself a head start in this task is to pick out short brand names. This is the case with the previously mentioned Baqio, which, in just 5 letters, succeeds in establishing at least 3 associations. The same goes for Nooco.

If a name doesn’t become memorable by its concision, a good way to bring to mind a brand name that is easy to remember, is to ensure that it quickly evokes a story. For this one, a wordplay tool turns out to be useful. This is the case for Icosystème which cleverly translates the idea of a digital and intelligent ecosystem.

The name Nooco is another example. The triple repetition of the letter O creates an interesting visual, but also a simple and round sound effect, that makes the brand name easy to remember.

Brand naming reflects a feeling of solidarity

The Green ambition embodies an active desire to face the challenges of the modern-day society. Much more than starting a startup, setting up a Greentech start-up is giving birth to a key society player. It is interesting that this dimension of solidarity has a say in the naming of your company name. It helps to create a dimension that involves the different players, bringing them together around a common cause.

How can brand naming represent a feeling of solidarity?

By not directly including a word that comes from a lexical field of solidarity, the chosen expression can express it.

For example, we can see that in the names Icosystème and Nooco, where the prefix co- comes from latin –cum, which means ‘with’. This reiterates the idea of doing something together, which is already present in the paronym ‘noo’, for nous, which means ‘us’ in French – present in the name Nooco. In a more discrete way, in Icosystème, the prefix co- which is integrated within the expression, relays the concept of systemic organisation. For Baqio, brand naming uses paronymic association. By echoing the English expression ‘to back’, the phonetics create a message that stimulates the cognitive sphere and conveys the value of solidarity.

Naming conveys technicality

It is clear that what we expect from a startup,and a fortiori, a tech startup,is that it incorporates an innovation dimension. Its know-how technique is at its core. To give it a headstart and also position itself as a tech player, a Greentech startup can assert its know-how through its name.

The name Baqio incorporates an acronym of the intellectual quotient: ‘IQ’, to express the agility of the platform. In the same way,  Icosystème reflects a technical dimension by associating the letter ‘l’ and the word system (système). In other words, linking the idea of digital intelligence and adaptability.

Nooco includes a technical aspect through its association between the letters [O ; C ; O] laid over the two-tonal graphic design which further supports its connection to tech. The link between these last letters brings to mind the CO ₂ formula: O=C=O, in an oval shape of the two letters: [N ; O], affirming the fight against the CO _{2 gas emissions.}

Nooco conveys a scientific aspect by using an adapted chemical formula. Moreover, the watermark conveys the specificity of the software’s purpose.

Indeed, nurturing the desire to get started and conveying across the notion of expertise, should not put aside the importance of having a distinct name which represents the company’s business concept.

Brand name reflects the type of commercial activity.

As we have seen with Nooco, it is possible to translate precisely the core of the company activity by focusing on their work using the brand name or their product name.

Nooco, consists of a software platform that fights againt CO ₂ ; Nooco’s name emphasizes this from the outset.

Baqio – a management software for wineries, makes a subtle reference to‘Bacchus’, the Roman equivalent of the Greek God Dionysus, who is known as the God of wine, but also fruitfulness.

In different ways, those two brand names create a subtle reference to their area of expertise. In this way, they differentiate themselves at the same time as they start the concept narrative of their vision and their aim for creation.

Their narrative can be accompanied by a graphic dimension. Baqio and its love for wine, Nooco and its connection to chemistry, Icosystème and its computer mouse which conveys e-learning. To sum up, many different ingredients are needed for a perfect recipe, that will  convey precisely the exact taste that you want to create! We offer you a couple of ideas, but above all, listen to your own voice of creativity!