Disruptive trends: These startup patterns could be illuminating

Despite our focus on constant disruption, the startup landscape isn’t immune to developing its own trends.

Some of these might sound a little odd. For one, startups with unique names seem to attract more early funding than those with more sober titles. A study on the subject suggests that the break is between names that convey familiar subjects versus names that are just easy and interesting to say — regardless of whether they tell a potential consumer what the company actually does.

While early investments might be looking for a company that catches the eye, later investments seem to increasingly devalue that factor. In fact, as the VC process matures, some investors may even be turned off by a startup’s catchy name. Researchers think that might be due to the tendency of those investors to look more closely at financials and business plans than any hype potential.

Names are one thing, but other trends are rooted in geography.

For example, despite the cultural attention paid to Silicon Valley in California, startups in New York have in recent years edged out their San Francisco counterparts in the race for capital, to the tune of about a half-billion dollars. In both city hubs, tech startups are the number-one focus — in other parts of the U.S., that’s not the case!

You can find more information on these trends here.

There’s probably some inspiration to be found in the intersections of these broad patterns, so if you think you’ve got something, let us know! We’re here to guide you on your journey to VC from start to finish.