Choosing a name

A company name is more than just a label - it's the first impression, the seed of a brand, and a reflection of a company's ambition and aspirations. At Germane Advisory, our journey to find the perfect name was a blend of creativity, strategy, and a lot of trial and error. Let's take you behind the scenes of our naming process and share some insights into why we ultimately chose "Germane."

The criteria: beyond relevance

When we set out to name our new firm, we knew we needed a name that would tick multiple boxes:

1. Relevance: Relevant to a firm helping clients with cyber security, privacy, crisis management, and data/AI governance issues.
2. Memorability: Easy to remember and distinctive in our industry. The shorter the better.
3. Flexibility: Able to encompass our range of services and future growth. A key consideration here was making sure the name was flexible enough to cover some of the non-cyber security services we offer.
4. Brand potential: Something we could build a strong visual identity around.
5. Availability: Availability for trademarks, domain names, and business registration. Domain names in particular proved a real blocker.
6. Subjective vibes: Some names ticked a lot of boxes but just didn’t feel right.

We created a spreadsheet with what became exactly 100 potential names, scoring each against these criteria. It was a meticulous process, but also quite laborious.

Availability turned out to be the most regular blocker. Once a name’s .com.au domain was unavailable, or the name was trademarked in our classes of activity, that ended its potential as a contender. Most single words we came up with were blocked in this sense, and a lot of word pairs were too. 

The contenders: a mixed bag of brilliance and blunders

There were some intriguing options. "Contemporaneous" scored high on relevance but fell short on memorability and practicality - imagine trying to spell that out over the phone! "Critical Spark" had a nice ring to it, but it could also have negative connotations to it too.

We explored a few themes - nearby stars, famous thought experiments, and even multi-dimensional objects! Glome, a four-dimensional sphere was on the shortlist, but ultimately didn’t feel that relevant and was, well, a bit gloomy. 

Then there was "Catalytica." On paper, it looked perfect - dynamic, scientific, with a hint of transformation. It was in the final three, but then someone pointed out its uncomfortable similarity to "Cambridge Analytica". Suddenly, our perfect name evoked memories of one of the biggest privacy scandals in recent history. Not exactly the association we were aiming for in the cyber security and privacy space!

The winner: Germane (Advisory)

As we narrowed down our options, "Germane" began to stand out. Here's why it ultimately won out:

1. Relevant: "Germane" literally means relevant and appropriate - exactly what we strive to be for our clients.
2. Memorability: At just seven characters, it's succinct yet impactful. It's not a common word in everyday language or in our industry, so it’s distinctive.
3. Flexibility: Its meaning allows us to operate the selection of services we offer without being limited by our name. 
4. Brand potential: As you can hopefully see from the branding around this site, Germane lends itself to a vibrant, future-focused brand. It’s also extensible - we can be descriptive about what our focus is (Advisory), but also other things - insights, and particular service offerings.
5. Availability: We were able to secure relevant domains, trademark, and business registration. 
6. Subjective vibes: It has a fun lineage - thanks Shakespeare! And ultimately it just felt right - professional, sophisticated, and in the conversation.

There are some drawbacks to the name, the biggest being that germane is a word that’s pretty infrequently used - less than once per million words of English - and not everyone has come across it before. But if that means we’re having more conversations about our identity, it’s a place we’d like to be.

The starting point

Our journey to becoming Germane Advisory taught us that choosing a company name is both an art and a science (and quite a challenge). While our systematic approach helped us evaluate options objectively, we also learned to trust our instincts and value the subjective vibes as well.

We're proud of the name we chose and the process behind it. "Germane" encapsulates our commitment to providing relevant, appropriate, and cutting-edge solutions in the complex worlds of cybersecurity, privacy, crisis management, and data/AI governance.

As we move forward, we're excited to build our brand around this name, always striving to be germane to our clients' needs and the ever-evolving challenges of digital resilience.

We recognise that our name is just a starting point. It’s now on us to breathe life into the name, give it the meaning and relevance it promises, and make a difference for those we work with.