David Hieb

Schuham has combined efforts with Internet entrepreneur David Hieb to launch Namewise, a Web-based naming service that was scheduled to go online this past week at www.namewise.com.
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"Traditionally, naming has been done, in terms of professional naming, through naming agencies," Hieb said."They provide a lot of value for the companies that can afford them and use them."Such an exercise, however, can cost "tens of thousand of dollars" and take weeks to complete, he added.In addition, smaller companies may want a process that brings in their own expertise to the naming process.

"There does exist a great underserved market – in too much of a hurry, not enough money or (that) want to do themselves.They need a service that's economical and quick."Which is what Namewise now provides at its site: methods for taking your comrades through a creative naming process and quickly checking those names against registered domain names.It's easy, interactive and fun, but most of all, for at least a short time, most of it is free.
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"It's the power of ideas and networks -- a collaborative effort using the power of human thought," Hieb said.

However, if you are not so inclined, or perhaps better funded, Word for Word will put their own "thinkers" to work for $950 and deliver 100 strategic names in three business days.

The company is partnering with Verisign, the new owners of Network Solutions, the largest providers of domain registration today.Another early source of cash flow will be revenues from domain registration.

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Hieb said they currently are looking for about $100,000 in angel financing to take them through an initial marketing and expansion plan after which some services on the Web site will be on a pay basis.

"We are not just a pure (dot-com) play," said Hieb, noting the business is very much leveraging the reputation of Word for Word, which has worked with companies such as Nike, Levis and Hewlett-Packard on naming programs."Our business model is not fictitious in nature.Every business must address this.Every day more and more names are being taken."That is especially true for domain name registration, for which new extensions, such as .biz, .info and .pro will soon be available.Hieb noted that Silicon Valley's Zaplet recently registered 55 associated names, extensions or spelling modifications for itself, more and more a common approach.

"Companies need to secure a trademark and protect their brand, and they need to take charge of these efforts to do so quickly and economically," he said, adding that he often meets small company executives who are renaming their companies or products."The feedback on the street has been overwhelmingly positive," he said.

Namewise has plans to soon bring online market research services, which will test a name's effectiveness in different markets and cultures as well as enhanced trademark searches.A little farther down the road, the company will bring a linguistic database online to add a computerized touch to the naming process.

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By the time I got there, everyone was already seated, so I grabbed the first available chair, which turned out to be next to David Hieb of Namewise (http://www.namewise.com).He's part owner of Triana....

Among the others at our table were David Hieb, CEO of NameWise, Liz Shields, account executive for co- location provider ViaWest, Jesse Young, a principal with Catalyst Partners Executive Services, an offshoot of the Colorado Springs-based VC firm, and Matthew Messter, CEO/president of eProbe, which develops online communities for outdoor recreation enthusiasts.
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And I talked to David Hieb, CEO of NameWise, who wasn't presenting but was happy to explain his company to me.

Among those representing local companies were David Hieb, CEO of Namewise, Aloke Guha, president of DataVail, Gretchen Jahn, president/CEO of Aegis Analytical, Steve Swoboda, CFO of Ereo, Robert Welch, VP of business development for Tango Technologies, Tim Hoogheem, CFO of ChannelPoint, and Alan Kaplan, CEO of clickPLAY.

The most recent partner is Dave Hieb, who in 1993 founded Internet One, a first generation web services firm that developed and managed client web solutions.In 2000, he founded Namewise, an online corporate naming and branding company.He joined AM in April.

According to Mangat, their shared STS HotelNet experience is a major plus."There is inherent value in the smooth inner-workings of an experienced team that works well together.The old ‘whole is greater than the sum of the parts' adage applies.We believe this is one of our competitive advantages."

And as experienced entrepreneurs, they have learned from those lessons: "Stay focused.
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We have two Colorado State graduates (Kahn and Barger), a Colorado College graduate (Mangat), and a University of Colorado graduate (Hieb).

"The vast majority of companies use ad hoc committees or naming contests to generate new name candidates," says David Hieb, CEO and co-founder of Namewise."The Brainstorm Tool simply facilitates this de facto naming methodology with efficiency and elegance.Instead of sitting through a series of brainstorming meetings, participants can do their brainstorming online, at their convenience, with all the necessary exercises and tools at their fingertips."

Professional namers (dubbed the Namewise Thinkers) are also available through the Brainstorm Tool.The Namewise Thinkers provide 100 strategic name candidates in three business days for a fee of $950.They inject a quick hit of naming creativity that can be used as a supplement to in-house participants, or as an exclusive out-sourced solution.
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"Savvy companies that want to protect their brand names often register a dozen or more related names so that they control all variations -- good, bad, correct and incorrect," says Hieb.