Why Your Weirdest Ideas Are Often the Right Ones

We’ve seen it more times than we can count.

A client blurts out a name idea that feels a little “out there.”

Something personal, unexpected, even odd.

Then they laugh nervously and say,

“Forget that. It’s probably too weird.”

But here’s the truth:

That idea usually didn’t come out of nowhere.

It came from their Origin Story.

And that’s why we don’t brush it aside.

We always start with your story — not the search bar.

In our 7-step process, naming doesn’t come first.

Your story does.

By the time we get to Step 2 — Choose a Name — we’ve already spent time digging into the experiences, language, and turning points that shape who you are and why you do what you do.

We don’t sit down with a spreadsheet of keywords.

We sit down with you — and the story you’ve just uncovered.

We listen for unexpected phrases.

Little metaphors that slip out while you’re explaining your work.

Moments that feel charged with emotion, even if you don’t know why yet.

That’s where the naming begins.

The ideas that feel risky? Those are often the real ones.

We’re not talking about being weird just to stand out.

We’re talking about being specific enough to be remembered.

There’s a big difference.

Plenty of names sound polished, professional, and completely forgettable.

What we’re looking for is resonance — something that sounds like you, even before someone knows what you offer.

Sometimes that means following an idea that feels a little raw.

Or deeply personal.

Or like a phrase only you would say.

That’s when we know we’re close.

The name isn’t the whole story. But it should carry a piece of it.

We thought naming our brand would be easy.

It wasn’t.

We brainstormed everything from Storyscribe to UpriseOrigins Collective — and yes, there’s an actual sticky note to prove it (see below).

Each option had something going for it. But none of them felt quite right.

It wasn’t until we came back to our own origin story —

Two strangers who met online during a marketing challenge, connected through storytelling, and realized we both had a sunrise in our personal brand logos —

that the real name revealed itself.

StoryRise.

It was already there, in the way we talked.

In what we valued.

In how we wanted our clients to feel.

We didn’t pick it because it was clever.

We picked it because it meant something.

That’s the moment we try to create for every client —

Not a name that sounds good on paper, but one that sounds like them.