Amia
Bizet Human Asset Management
BrightScale
Cooligy
Mayer Laboratories
Mobius Venture Capital
New Routes to Community Health
Obopay
TravelSmith
TRIA
TRUSTe
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As Softbank Venture Capital, this $2.5 billion company was one of the most prominent private-equity venture firms in Silicon Valley; its portfolio has included Yahoo, Art Technology Group, and E-Loan. The company wanted a new name to reflect its independence from Softbank Corp. of Japan. The new name needed to communicate strength, dynamism, leadership, vision, and partnership; it also needed to be short, internationally appropriate, and inspirational. Most importantly, it needed to be developed quickly—within two weeks—so that it could be unveiled at an industry event. Wordworking developed and screened nearly 400 names, of which ten were selected for presentation. One of the ten, Mobius, was chosen by the firm’s partners on the first round. August Möbius was a 19th-century German mathematician and astronomer—"multidisciplinary, like us," said one of the firm’s principals. The geometric paradox known as a Mobius strip—a twisted band that appears to have only one side—suggests mobility, flexibility, infinity, and "a company with a twist." The name even embeds “us," to connote the strength of partnership.

Marketing: Momentum.