Startup 取名的附加威力

研究發現，新創公司的名字對投資金額影響甚大，不同名字取法還可能關乎早期或晚期投資金額多寡。怎麼取名字最有利?

進入本文前，請先想想以下單字怎麼說：(A) 融資 (B) 新奇 (C) 估值

A startup's name can hugely affect investors' perception of the company, according to a study published in Venture Capital Journal. "A company name could be linguistically fluent, that is whether a name appears to be realistic and familiar, or phonetically fluent, that is whether a name is pronounceable. These variations could lead to varying (A) nancing outcomes."

新創公司的名字可能大大地影響投資者的觀感，創業投資期刊發布的研究這麼說。「一個公司的名字可能語言流暢，也就是看來實際、親切，也可能語音流暢，也就是好發音。這些變化可能導致不同的融資結果。」

High phonetically fluent names", which means easily pronounced names such as Uber and Lyft, are preferred by pre-venture investors. This is because such names could elicit favorable impressions. "Low linguistically fluent names", which means unique or difficult names, are also preferred. According to the study, difficult names "evoke cues of unfamiliarity and create a perception of high (B) novelty, which is valued by these pre-venture stage investors."

早期投資者偏好「語音流暢度高」，也就是好發音的名字，像Uber，Lyft，這種名字可以獲得有利印象。「語言流暢度低」，也就是獨特或晦澀的名字，也受早期投資者青睞，此研究中提到，晦澀名字「暗示著陌生，創造出新奇的印象，而新穎度正是早期投資人所重視的。」

Easily pronounced names stay popular among late stage investors. However, there is not much benefit to having a unique name in later stages. "The novelty (1) wears off by later stages, when unique names can make investors feel uncomfortable," says Business Insider, "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 (2) departed startups like Oooooc, and Bawte." When a company is proven successful, say around the time of an IPO, what investors care about more is an accurate (C) valuation.

容易發音的名字也受到後期投資者的歡迎，不過獨特的名字到後期就沒多少好處了。「新奇感到後期逐漸消失，此時投資人反而對這樣的名字感到不安。」Business Insider提到，「想想已倒閉的公司，Xobni 2013年被Yahoo以六千萬買下，一年後就被關閉。還有其他往生的新創公司像Oooooc、Bawte。」當一間公司已證明成功，比如即將上市，這時投資人更在意的是估值準確與否了。

The results above came from a two-part study conducted by business schools at Stony Brook University, Drexel University, and Villanova University. The study analyzed how names affected funding. 131 crowd-funded projects and 1681 IPOs were analyzed.

以上結果來自石溪大學、卓克索大學、維拉諾瓦大學商學院所組織的二階段研究，分析公司名字對融資的影響。分析針對131個群眾募資專案和1681間上市公司進行。

延伸片語

1. Wear off 磨損;逐漸消失

The medication is wearing off.
藥效開始減弱了。

2. Departed 逝去的

比 dead( 死了 ) 委婉的說法，意思是靈魂脫離肉體， 往另一世界去了

We're all gathered here for our departed friends.
我們為了已逝的朋友聚集在此。

參考資料: by Chien-Sheng Richard Chan, Haemin Dennis Park and Pankaj Patel; Business Insider 

文/Nikki Lu

本文收錄於英語島English Island 2017年10月號
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