Our Point of View

Why I look for names I would build on

I created PremiumBrands.com to bring together names I could see becoming real businesses. I want a founder to be able to look at a name and picture the first introduction, the first customer conversation and the company that might follow. GrowBy belongs in that collection because it connects ambition with a method. It gives someone building software, advice or learning a simple way to introduce work that helps people move forward.

My own experience with a business name began well before this collection. I acquired the press release distribution business operating on i-Newswire.com in 2007. I secured iNewswire.com in 2013, then spent more than a year negotiating for Newswire.com and consulting SEO professionals before upgrading the business in February 2015. That was a decision about the business I wanted to keep building and the name I wanted the team to use every day.

The morning we switched, a prospect told one of the sales agents, “Oh yeah, Newswire.com. I've heard of you guys.” That could not have been true in the way the prospect meant it. We had just made the change. I remember that moment because it made the role of a name unusually concrete. The team still had all the work ahead of it, but we were introducing that work through a different front door.

The business I helped build was acquired by Issuer Direct in 2022 for about $44 million. That was a business acquisition, reflecting the company and the team's work. The announcement is documented in the acquisition report. My lesson from the naming decision is about choosing an identity a team can use confidently while doing the difficult work of building a company.

A small first offer can carry a strong name

GrowBy makes me think about a founder with a very specific first problem to solve. Perhaps a team has customer interviews scattered across tools and cannot connect them to the next experiment. Perhaps a founder needs an advisor who can turn a sprawling growth plan into one testable offer. Perhaps a new manager needs practice running a useful weekly meeting. Those are small enough starting points to understand and substantial enough to build a business around.

I would not ask that founder to launch every possible interpretation of GrowBy. I would ask which customer they can reach, what that customer is trying to get done and what useful work they can deliver first. A name with room in it lets the first answer be focused. Later, the same founder can introduce a second service, another course or a broader product without explaining a new company identity each time.

I bought PremiumBrands.com before I had a plan for it. I valued the name and knew waiting could mean losing the opportunity to build on it. It might have ended up with another person using it for their own business. That is how I look at the collection: would I build on this? The names I have not yet built on are the ones available for someone else's plan.

Choose the identity alongside the product

The fix-it-later mindset is understandable. There is always something pressing to ship. But changing the name later means changing email addresses, signs, materials and the name customers already use. I prefer to consider that work while the business is still taking shape. A great name won't save a bad business. It can give a good team an identity they are ready to keep using.

AI has made the act of building much more accessible. In my view, that makes the company identity more valuable to consider early: a recognizable name is one of the few things another builder cannot simply copy. Through OnlineBusiness.com I also think about the practical relationship between a name and what gets built on it. The product, the customer and the daily decisions still deserve careful attention.

If GrowBy is the name you want to build on, tell PremiumBrands what you have in mind. If your best name is elsewhere, describe it; help acquiring that name is another way to begin. I want the conversation to end with a founder able to introduce the business they intend to build. A premium .com is a trust shortcut.