Jason Fried is a co-founder of Basecamp, a Chicago-based software company that was formerly known as 37signals.
He is also the co-author of the book Rework, which was published in 2010. In the tech industry, Fried has gained a reputation as a contrarian due to his focus on profitability rather than growth and his “in-the-moment” approach to company management.
In 2020, Basecamp launched Hey, a premium email service that can be accessed through the Hey website or through apps for various operating systems, including macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS. When discussing the inspiration behind the name and concept of Hey, Fried shared:
For the 25+ years I’ve been emailing, I’d say close to 95% of those email began with some variation of “Hey [Name]”. So when it came time to think about a name for a new email system we’d be building, HEY was a natural.
Jason Fried, Founder of Hey.com
There were other contestants for the new brand’s name but none of them came close to Hey. The brand in fact already had a working name and the matching domain secured – Haystack.com. But it didn’t seem good enough.
Haystack.com is a domain we own, and Haystack was the working name before HEY. We also considered Volley for a brief time. Volley’s a good name for an email/communication app (since you volley information back and forth). A number of other names were tossed around too, but given that I can’t remember any of them, they really didn’t stick.
Jason Fried, Founder of Hey.com
As he searched for the perfect domain name for his brand, Jason knew that Hey.com would be the best choice. It is well-known in the marketing industry that three-letter domain names are highly valuable because they are concise, memorable, and can represent words or acronyms. Fortunately for Jason, the owner of Hey.com was willing to sell it.
Hey.com – that would be an amazing email address, and, we rightly assumed, hard to get. But what the hell – if you don’t ask you don’t get, so I sent the email, crossed my fingers, and waited.
Jason Fried, Founder of Hey.com
The effort and time that Jason put into acquiring the premium domain name Hey.com paid off in the end. It took him around 18 months to secure it, but the benefits were worth it.
A domain name is an important part of a brand’s online identity. It should be memorable, relevant, easy to spell, type and remember, as well as reflect the company’s mission and story. A well-chosen domain can positively impact a brand’s success, so it’s important to take that step of building your brand seriously, very much like the founder of Hey.com has.
While it may be tempting to save money by opting for a cheaper, compromise domain name, the potential loss in terms of brand recognition and revenue should not be underestimated. Investing in a premium domain name is a smart business move that can pay off in the long run. Contact us to learn more about our premium domain options and how they can help your business grow.
branding domain domain name domain names domains Hey.com Jason Fried naming
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