{"id":7322,"date":"2018-03-25T20:38:23","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T00:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\/"},"modified":"2018-03-25T20:38:23","modified_gmt":"2018-03-26T00:38:23","slug":"i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\/","title":{"rendered":"I paid $200 for someone to name my company Whiskass"},"content":{"rendered":"

Squadhelp is one of many companies that helps customers come up with business names, logos, and slogans through the power of crowdsourcing. I\u2019m not proud to admit it, but I recently employed Squadhelp to brainstorm some names for my recent startup venture. While I didn\u2019t end up using any of my crowd-sourced names, the experience was equal parts hilarious and infuriating.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To draw the \u201ccreatives\u201d that provide the name ideas, Squadhelp holds contests that reward the winning entrant a minimum of $100, though the contest holder can up the ante if they feel the need. For the most basic package, Squadhelp charges contest holders $199 but the prices quickly go up as you add features and additional crowd reviews.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Once the contest is live, the thousands of self-proclaimed creatives can submit ideas and receive real-time feedback from the contest holder. This particular service encourages the contest holder to rank each submission on a scale of very happy smiley face to very sad frowny. To help guide the submissions more in line with what you\u2019re after, you can tag each rejected idea with additional feedback like \u201ctoo generic,\u201d or \u201cnot a good fit for us,\u201d with the hopes that the crowd will refine their ideation process. The creatives compete within a specific contest, but also are tracked on a “leaderboard” publicly, an interesting tool to incentivize continued, high quality participation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But that\u2019s where it falls apart. While a handful of submissions are well thought out and responsive to input, volume seems to be the name of the game. After being live for only a day, I quickly found myself weeding out names of businesses that already exist, explicit names that seemed to have been bot-generated, and some real winners like “WarmBelly Couture” or\u00a0“Own My Human” (both real entries).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While a clever use of crowdsourcing, there are virtually no barriers to entry into this market – meaning price and quality of your creative community is your key differentiation factor. To that end, maintaining consistently superior quality is of key concern given the incentive for top tier creatives to multi-home and enter in competitions across all the platforms.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the growth potential is significant, as the company does a great job at extracting value from add-on products like domain name registrations, trademark searches and applications, and even going so far as to provide logo generation, slogan brainstorming, and focus groups – all available for extra charges.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Squadhelp is one of many companies that helps customers come up with business names, logos, and slogans through the power of crowdsourcing. I\u2019m not proud to admit it, but I recently employed Squadhelp to brainstorm some names for my recent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2259,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[1315],"class_list":["post-7322","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","hentry","category-crowd-sourcing-uncategorized","hck-taxonomy-organization-squadhelp","hck-taxonomy-industry-advertising","hck-taxonomy-country-united-states"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/assignment\/competing-with-or-against-crowds\/","yoast_head":"\nI paid $200 for someone to name my company Whiskass - Digital Innovation and Transformation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I paid $200 for someone to name my company Whiskass - Digital Innovation and Transformation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Squadhelp is one of many companies that helps customers come up with business names, logos, and slogans through the power of crowdsourcing. I\u2019m not proud to admit it, but I recently employed Squadhelp to brainstorm some names for my recent […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Digital Innovation and Transformation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-25-at-8.30.43-PM-300x103.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\\\/\",\"name\":\"I paid $200 for someone to name my company Whiskass - Digital Innovation and Transformation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-25-at-8.30.43-PM-300x103.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-26T00:38:23+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-25-at-8.30.43-PM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-25-at-8.30.43-PM.png\",\"width\":1191,\"height\":410},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/submission\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"I paid $200 for someone to name my company Whiskass\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/\",\"name\":\"Digital Innovation and Transformation\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"性视界Action\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-digit\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"I paid $200 for someone to name my company Whiskass - Digital Innovation and Transformation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"I paid $200 for someone to name my company Whiskass - Digital Innovation and Transformation","og_description":"Squadhelp is one of many companies that helps customers come up with business names, logos, and slogans through the power of crowdsourcing. I\u2019m not proud to admit it, but I recently employed Squadhelp to brainstorm some names for my recent […]","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\/","og_site_name":"Digital Innovation and Transformation","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-25-at-8.30.43-PM-300x103.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\/","name":"I paid $200 for someone to name my company Whiskass - Digital Innovation and Transformation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-25-at-8.30.43-PM-300x103.png","datePublished":"2018-03-26T00:38:23+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-25-at-8.30.43-PM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/03\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-25-at-8.30.43-PM.png","width":1191,"height":410},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/i-paid-200-for-someone-to-name-my-company-whiskass\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"I paid $200 for someone to name my company Whiskass"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/","name":"Digital Innovation and Transformation","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"性视界Action","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/7322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2259"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/7322\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}