“This year is shaping up as a very active year for early-stage companies to receive VC funding. Backers want to get in on the ground floor.”

“This week I’m at the ThinkEquity Partners Growth Conference in San Francisco with a number of start-ups and established giants that are touting their companies. What’s truly remarkable is the collection of god-awful names on display. That’s one craze the Internet era could not kill. A bad name just puts the wrong foot forward. Conversely, a good name can help launch a company.”