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Re:CockroachDB 1.0 by andkon on Wednesday May 10, 2017 @02:26PM (#14310408)
So I do product marketing for a living, and have launched a whole wack of things with good and bad and boring names. The fact that CockroachDB is consistently on top of HN with each thing they do is pretty strong evidence that they're doing just fine with the name they have, and probably doing even better than if they had a milquetoast tech startup-esque name.

Also, they know what their sales cycles look like. They hear feedback from actual customers. They have people whose job it is to notice any advantage they could have along the way. And yet! They're still selling stuff, they're at 1.0, and they're still alive — with the name they have.

Re:CockroachDB 1.0 by gonzofish on Wednesday May 10, 2017 @02:35PM (#14310472)
I think the fact that the name isn't milquetoast is a huge bonus. People are caught off guard by the name, which gets them thinking about it.

I think the dismissal that business people won't look at it because of the name is purely opinion-based. But what do I know?

Re:CockroachDB 1.0 by frankmcsherry on Wednesday May 10, 2017 @03:22PM (#14310864)
If the name were Milquetoast it would be awesome, because that was the cockroach from Bloom County. Or, was that the joke and I'm only just getting it late? ;)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_characters_in_Bloom_Coun...

Re:CockroachDB 1.0 by Fiahil on Wednesday May 10, 2017 @03:03PM (#14310708)
Zerg players will love the name. And there might be a small intersection, somewhere, between business people and Starcraft amateurs.
Re:CockroachDB 1.0 by shepardrtc on Wednesday May 10, 2017 @02:37PM (#14310488)
Erlang posts are also consistently at the top of HN.