IT’S PRONOUNCED “SEE-ER”

FOUNDER / CEO ANDREW MCNAUGHT SHEDS LIGHT ON THE COMPANY NAME

Along Interstate 90 in rural western Montana, lies Interstate Exit 70, marking the tiny township of Cyr (pronounced “SEE-ER”). Every June, July & August, Cyr comes alive as whitewater enthusiasts arrive from all directions to access the mighty Alberton Gorge section of the Clark Fork River using the Cyr Bridge Fishing access point.

From 2003 to 2007, I kayaked this beautiful stretch of river 100+ days a year.  Whether temps barely broke the freezing mark or it was pouring rain, it was always a great day to go paddle. This era of my life, all though fun, wasn’t as smooth sailing as one would think. I encountered some bumps along the way– both on and off river. And ultimately learned some hard lessons.

Fast forward to 2013. My wife & I were living in Salt Lake City. I left my day job working as an SEO analyst/project manager for a small tech startup to pursue consulting on my own. My accounts grew pretty quickly. When it was time to come up with a company name, paying homage to the Alberton Gorge seemed like the right thing to do. Even it if meant going against the grain on modern branding trends. The challenge was coming up with options, which proved especially difficult considering the really attractive Alberton Gorge phrase was taken (“Tarkio” – the township where the take-out resides). Aside from “Cyr” I was left with names of rapids such as Tumbleweed, Fang, Punisher, Ralph’s. Obviously not the right time nor place.

For the remainder of 2013, I continued to kick around ideas – some river-related, some not, but nothing really jumped out at me. In early 2014, a number of new opportunities came to light so it was time to incorporate. A name (and almost more important, a domain) had to be chosen. “Cyr” was still the best candidate however domain options were limited. And because my passion is building interactive things on the web, Interactive was appended, the domain was purchased, & a company was born.

Takeaways

If there’s one thing to takeaway from my story, it’s the importance of trusting your gut. Pursue your dreams & never look back. When it comes to naming your business ventures; do your homework, play off of what inspires you, choose a solid domain (keep it simple stupid) & as it currently stands “.coms” are still the gold standard.

Have anything to add? What inspired the name of your company? What sort of process did you go through? Please share or thoughts via your preferred outlet. Use our contact form if you’d like to share in private.