LightSail – A Great New Name for Green Energy

When I first heard the name LightSail I thought it was a great, open, simple name, but perhaps a name for a company in stealth mode which did not want to reveal what they were really up to. My fellow naming colleague, Rosie, had the opposite position from the get-go. And because she gushed about what a great name it was for a clean energy company, I just had to write about it. She saw right away that an energy company puts the lights on, and a sail is powered by wind energy.

Now I am not sure this is the official story, but it sounds right. However, there is more to the story, which is why I am blogging about it here and not on NameAwards.com, our sister site – though indeed it does deserve an award. And the rest of the story is that a very learned engineering friend told me whatever I do, do not invest in this company. His strong opinion was storing energy via compressed air had been tried before and never works.

Though I know little about the technology, I do have an eye and ear for top management teams, and if I had a spare million or two lying around, I would have backed this team regardless. Turns out they didn’t need my help, not when Bill Gates, Peter Thiel, Khosla Ventures and some other VC’s ponied up $37 million to bring the solution to market. Thanks to some very bright, and one very young engineer, they have proven it can work. Ironically, it is a big heavy looking device…. despite the company name. See picture here provided by the company and via the Wall St. Journal Blog article on them.

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