What's in a name? A story of E&P.

I wrote this blog post for an application but I’d like to share.  My lessons learned from naming Eva and Paul, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. Enjoy.

In the world of apparel, names and branding can be the most valuable IP a company possesses.  In E&P’s field, denim, this is particularly true.  Brands like Levi’s, Seven for All Mankind, and True Religion not only trademark their names, but also their pocket designs and labels.  They spend extraordinary resources defending this property from newcomers like us. This made picking a name and designing logos particularly challenging for us. 

I learned a few main lessons about naming that I believe transcend industries:

1. Hire an experienced trademark lawyer as soon as possible and become familiar with the USTPO database.  I searched hundreds if not thousands of words in picking our name. If I hadn’t done the searching myself, it would have been extremely expensive.  But if I didn’t have a lawyer’s advice to understand the nuances of trademarks, I could easily have picked a name that wasn’t as defensible as the one we chose.

2. Pick a name that’s special but easy to pronounce and memorable - as an entrepreneur you have to tell your company name hundreds of times to other startups and investors - make it easy to understand over the roar of a busy bar.

3. Make sure it means something - Eva is my middle name and Paul is my mother’s maiden name.  I often get asked “who’s Paul” - but as soon as I explain my personal connection to the name, people approve.

4. Think visual. A name isn’t just said out loud - it’s also printed as a logo,  letterhead, a domain, a badge.  Think through how you’d like it to look.  Also, what would an abbreviation or nickname sound like?  Our’s is E&P. It’s worth wondering whether your name can and will be shortened, and, if so, what does that sound/look like?

5. Love it. You’re going to have to tell your company name to your customers, investors, employees, incubator co-workers, friends, family, neighbors. You should be proud to say it aloud - to scream it to the world.

Colored jeans? Just a passing fling?

Since my jog through Coterie, I’ve been asked about the colored denim trend. Is it going to last? ask my friends. What colors should I buy? How do I wear it?  At Joe’s Jeans, a salesgirl boasted that they are carrying 30 different shades of pastel jeans.  30 shades!  Of just pastel! Atrocious!  As if the pressure to wear white jeans weren’t bad enough - that’s 30 different shades to drop pasta, coffee, or chocolate on.  No thank you.  Grey.  Maybe.  I’m enabling photo replies.  If you disagree, I dare you to post a great picture of someone in pastel skinnies.

I’m not opposed to color, though.  While pastel is already being replaced by fo-leather, snakeskin, and the like, a few colors aren’t going anywhere. I’ve gotten second and third opinions on this one - try a red, purple, wine, forest green, or tons of shades of blue - royal, turquoise, navy.  And black denim is as basic as indigo these days.  

So you just bought a pair of red jeans and you want to know how to wear them? (I’m looking at you, Aunt Barbara)  Obviously black, white, and grey go with anything.  And those three colors striped in any combination should work too.  You might be able to pull off a navy, or at least a white with navy stripes. The absolute easiest option is colored pants and a long-ish white collared shirt.  You can’t go wrong.  Feel free to post ideas.

Pants on fire

The fashion world’s buzzing this week about a horrible factory fire in a Pakistani garment facility.  According to the New York Times, the fire killed nearly twice as many workers as the landmark Triangle shirtwaist factory fire of 1911 in New York, one of the worst industrial accidents in history.  It received a SA800 certification - a mark of high standards and conditions - just a month ago.  Clearly, the industry has more work to do with regards to international working conditions and monitoring.