When I was creating my LLC, coming up with a name was one of the hardest and most fun parts.

I considered a wide variety of bucket-of-nouns names (“Urban Data Solutions,” “Transit Data LLC,” etc.) but felt like they were too impersonal, and not very creative.

I almost went with “King Ridge Research,” which has a nice ring to it and is an homage to one of the greatest bike rides in the Bay Area, and therefore the world. But, a few problems there:

  1. I’m not in Sonoma County.
  2. The name is meaningless to anyone who doesn’t already know the road.
  3. Nothing in the name gets at what I actually do.

I very briefly considered “Funny Curtains LLC,” which is a pun on my and my wife’s last names: Levitt → Levity; Draper-Zivetz → Drapery. But I couldn’t say that with a straight face to my friends and family, much less to people I was trying to do business with. Plus, Sara isn’t involved anyway.

Then “Sourdough Data” came to me. I think it has a lot to like:

  • Short and simple
  • Mentions “data,” one of my core subject areas
  • Has a lot of personality
  • Speaks to my Bay Area heritage and expertise
  • Memorable (I hope)
  • Lots of punny tagline potential
  • I do in fact bake sourdough bread!

What do you think of the name? Praise, criticism, and (most importantly) punny tagline suggestions very welcome at [email protected].