Ever wondered what the name of that startup you think is cool means? We did too, so we started a mini investigation. We asked the founders of startups in CEE what their startup name’s story is and we discovered some really interesting things. Go learn them below.
This article is the third of a series dedicated to exploring this theme. Check out the first here and the second here.
Ataccama
Infrastructure that creates solutions for data management and governance.
Marek Ovčáček, Field CTO: “When we were discussing the name of our company, our founders wanted to connect to tradition – their previous projects started with the letter A. At the same time, we wanted the name to reflect our services in data security and clean reliable corporate data. This led us to the Atacama, a legendary desert known for being the cleanest driest place on Earth. To distinguish ourselves from the desert, we added one extra ‘c’ to our name, which proved to work very well.”
Better Stack
Tools for developers, to ship better and more reliable software faster.
Juraj Masar, Co-founder & CEO: “Our company creates the tools we’ve always wanted as engineers. Since the beginning, we wanted to help developers ship better code faster. And we believe that with our platform, made by developers for developers, we allow people to radically improve their stack.”
Cosmic Latte
Czech tech company developing dating apps for the LGBTQ+ community.
Milan Kovačič, CEO: “Cosmic Latte is a name given to the average color of the universe, determined by astronomers. This beige color was created through a study in 2002, where astronomers at Johns Hopkins University analyzed the light from over 200,000 galaxies. This average cosmic color represents the blending of light from different stars and galaxies across the universe, symbolizing the beauty found in diversity and the vast spectrum of experiences. This name mirrors our mission to foster inclusivity and connection among underrepresented groups.”
DRUID AI
Platform deploying conversational robots with AI and business insights.
Liviu Dragan, Co-founder & CEO: “The name DRUID AI is inspired by the high-ranking class of the ancient Celts – the druids. A druid was always wise, offering advice, help, guidance, and solutions. Although hundreds of years have passed since then, the needs of people have remained the same, and we still seek the advice of those who are more knowledgeable or experienced than us. Thus, DRUID AI was born, providing users with a conversational artificial intelligence platform, hence the inclusion of AI in the company’s name.”
Foody.to
Web-app that helps food shops sell their close-to-expiration products, fighting the food waste issue.
Sissi Simeonova, Co-founder & CEO: Foody is a Bulgarian web-app that fights the food waste issue. When we started with our first MVP in April 2021 the name of the platform was different. We were called Sofia2Go after our Instagram blog for gastronomy experiences. When the platform started growing to other markets we decided we had to re-brand. The rebranding process was quite intense, but very fun, too. While having a brainstorming session we came up with the idea of Foody, but the domain .bg or .com was not free. Then we thought about how in Bulgaria we like to add the at the end of famous supermarket names or places like отиди до Билата (go to the Billa). So why not eat something tasty from foody.to (our current website domain) or in Bulgarian “фудито”?
Humans in the Loop
A tool that supports conflict-affected and displaced people with remote digital work and training in the field of data annotation for AI.
Iva Gumnishka, Founder & CEO: “Human-in-the-loop is a technical term for AI systems which include human intervention. When I was thinking about the mission of our data annotation social enterprise, I thought it would be a perfect fit to illustrate our role in the AI pipeline but also to highlight our social mission: integrating refugees in the job market. So in both senses we’re putting humans in the loop!”
Papervee
HR Management System (HRMS) that gives business owners, HR managers and employees access to a diverse set of HR functionalities.
István Domokos, Co-founder: “Papervee digitalizes the HR process, so companies and individuals get rid of unnecessary paper documentation. We wanted the name to reflect the enthusiasm our users feel when they finally throw away their old paper folders and stop paper-waste in their daily HR workflows. So we added “vee” to the end of the word “paper” which is the enthusiastic shout of victory and joy when reducing paper waste and making HR simple, transparent and fun.”
Vatis Tech
Speech-to-text technology that converts audio or video files into text.
Adrian Ispas, Co-founder and CEO: “Vatis is an acronym from Video Audio Transcribe Index and Search, the initial idea from which we started back in March 2020.”
Veridion
Platform that provides accurate and reliable data to businesses.
Florin Tufan, Co-founder & CEO: “Veridion, inspired from the Latin term veritas means truth. With this name we wanted to convey our mission of providing accurate and reliable data that can serve as a solid base for informed decision-making. With a process of sourcing and validating our data, we want to ensure that trustworthiness and authenticity are at the core of the business data sector.”
Vestinda
Community-driven ecosystem for building and automating trading.
Alin Breaban, Co-founder & CEO: “Vestinda is an anagram combined with an acronym. Vestin is an anagram for invest while DA means Digital Assets. So it’s a story of a world where everyone can invest thanks to the new technology that redefines finance. At the same time, vesting is the process of acquiring ownership of a specific asset. And Inda will be the future AI assistant that will help the new generation automate and grow their investment portfolios.”
