So, I recently reviewed the a16z Marketplace 100 report written by Bennett Carroccio and Andrew Chen of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and disseminated to me about a week ago via Angel List. According to the a16z report, the Marketplace 100 is “a ranking of the largest and fastest-growing consumer-facing marketplace startups and private companies.” The Marketplace 100 report focuses on startups and private companies rather than “the most successful and established companies” in their respective industries. The a16z report does an outstanding job of mapping the current state of affairs or rather the economy created by the marketplace companies identified in the Marketplace 100 report.
Bennett Carroccio and Andrew Chen cite a wealth of information and fascinating insights in The Marketplace 100 report. A few insights from the report are below:
They indicated how surprised they were by the number of startups that made the Marketplace 100 list which included a plethora of startups that were unfamiliar to them;
Four startups accounted for 76% of the consumer spend;
The largest categories consisted of startups in the travel, food and grocery industries;
Fitness memberships, celebrity-shout-outs, streetwear and car washes were among emerging categories; and
The fastest growing marketplaces are increasing at very demonstrative pace year-over-year.
So, without further ado here are my 15 favorite generic names of startups or companies included in the Marketplace 100 report.
1. Rover.com: According to its website, Rover is an online platform that allows pet owners to “book trusted sitters and dog walkers who’ll treat your pets like family.” I love the name Rover because it is an exact match generic name for this platform. The name implies that the company has something to do with dogs and it rings true. It’s hard not to like a generic name like Rover.
2. Cameo.com: Cameo is a new discovery for me. It is a celebrity video messaging platform. Cameo allows everyday people to buy “video messages from their favorite” celebrity personalities. I like this name because it is perfect for what this startup does and is a very cool concept.
3. Ritual.com: According to its website, Ritual is an online marketplace that provides “essential vitamins for women.” I like this name because it connotes doing something occurring over and over again like women taking or in this case purchasing “essential vitamins” from the Ritual marketplace.
4. Zola.com: I have always been enamored with the name “Zola.” It’s just a short and sexy name although I don’t believe that its sexiness is an attribute that influenced the founders of this startup to choose the name Zola for their business. In any case, Zola is an online wedding planning marketplace. So, with Zola—love is in the air.
5. TalkSpace.com: I first encountered TalkSpace.com a year or so ago and immediately loved the business model. In a world where people live lives replete with complexity, stressors and mental health issues—I believe this concept is right on time—and so is this name. I really like this name because it connotes creating a space or line of communication that is available whenever one needs to talk. TalkSpace is a great generic, two-word name.
6. GetAround.com: “Round, round, get around, I get around—I get around . . .!” Who doesn’t like a name that has a tie in to one of their favorite groups of all time—the Beach Boys? Ok, sorry, I had to go there. Seriously though—Get Around is a great name for a car rental startup. I mean who doesn’t this name appeal to? After all, GetAround is a nice generic two-word moniker that connotes moving from Point A to Point B. In addition, GetAround offers convenient car rentals at very affordable rates.
7. Via.com: Via is a travel marketplace. This name is short and sweet. It is hard to beat a name comprised by three letters. This is a great name.
8. ThredUp.com: ThredUp is another two-word startup name in the Marketplace 100 that I am feeling. This is a good name choice for a startup that resells second-hand clothing. However, I will admit that this name would be an even better name for a 21st century tailor, lol.
9. Raise.com: is an online marketplace that saves you money on a plethora of things. It goes without saying that Raise is a great name and it would have been ranked higher on my list if it was more descriptive of the service provided by the startup. Nevertheless, Raise is a great, short name that I’d take any day.
10. Goat.com: Goat holds itself out as the “global platform for style.” I checked out their website and it was sneakers, sneakers, everywhere sneakers! According to a16z’s marketplace report, Goat is killing the game. Similarly, so is their name. Their name is so sweet that Goat may eventually be the greatest streetwear platform of ALL time (in my Muhammad Ali voice!)
11. Skillshare.com: Skillshare is an online platform that allows its visitors to do what else—share their skills! I absolutely love this concept and how perfect this name is for a startup that matches up members of its community based on their skillsets.
12. DoorDash.com: DoorDash is another great two-worder. I love this name because it is short and memorable; and I love the alliteration.
13. Classpass.com: is another great two-word name in the Marketplace 100. I like this name because it’s a great name to describe the business concept and I am enamored with the rhyme scheme which makes the name easy to remember.
14. DeliveryDudes.com: a competitor of Doordash—I like the DeliveryDudes moniker for the same reason that I like DoorDash—I love alliterative names.
15. GameTime.com: I like this name for the same reason that I like the other two-word names in this list; however, I also like it for another reason—it’s an awesome sports-evoking name or in this case—a name that answers the question: What time is it? GAMETIME!!!
In closing, I highly recommend that anyone who is affiliated with a startup, works in the tech space or is an aspiring entrepreneur review or read the Marketplace 100 report—it’s definitely a very interesting report!
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