I thought naming my app would be fun—a quick creative burst, a clever idea, maybe even a pun that made me feel like a branding genius.
Spoiler: it was not fun.
It was a slow descent into a naming spiral so chaotic I half expected lightning to strike my keyboard as I mashed syllables together like some deranged brand necromancer.
At some point, I fully leaned into Frankenstein mode—cutting up perfectly innocent words like vibe, loop, zen, and fy, then stitching them together into grotesque creations that groaned under the weight of bad startup energy.
“It’s alive!” I whispered, eyes bloodshot, as I landed on Zeno.
It wasn’t. The .com was taken. Hell, even the .ai was taken. The dream? Dead on arrival. The com? Owned by a corporate travel and expense management company.
And don’t even get me started on domain names.
Every time I found something remotely decent, it was either:
- parked by a domain squatter charging more than a used Honda, or
- tragically tied to a long-forgotten productivity app with a Medium post last updated in 2017.
At one point, I seriously considered giving up and just calling it “The App.”
You know… something bold. Minimal. Mysterious.
“What do you use to feel better in the mornings?”
“The App.”
—like I was reinventing branding itself through sheer apathy.
And honestly? For a minute, I convinced myself it was genius.
It’s meta. It’s disruptive.
It’s probably what an AI would name an app if it ran out of tokens halfway through a marketing meeting.
This moment of inspiration hit me while Jack Reacher was on in the background, muttering something about “the auto parts store” with his usual zero-emotion intensity. And I thought: Yes.
That’s the energy.
No frills. No branding fluff. Just brutalist wellness.
“The App.”
Naturally, the domain was taken.
I typed it in and was greeted by that ominously polite message:
“We might be able to help you get this domain.”
Which, if you’ve ever been on the internet for more than five minutes, you know is code for:
“Prepare your wallet and your first born.”
I stared at the screen, saw the “contact us for a quote” button, laughed, and just muttered to myself: “So… it’s a no on this name then.”
💧 Bruce Lee Told Me to Do It
When I’m stuck for motivation, there’s only one place I go.
No, not a productivity podcast. Not some Silicon Valley TED talk.
I go to the source of all wisdom.
Bruce Lee quotes.
What, that’s not what everyone does?
Really? Just me?
Well, suit yourself. I’ll be over here, sipping tea and whispering “Be water, my friend” to my AI sidekick.
So, in the spirit of Bruce Lee and metaphorical liquids, I set out to name this project something simple. Flowing. Peaceful.
After scrolling through a dozen app name ideas inspired by Bruce Lee’s water philosophy (two syllables only), I landed on this:
Zensui
Micro Moments, Macro Impact.
Simple. Calm.
Two clean beats that sound like peace.
No hyphens. No glitchy syllables. No chance it would accidentally redirect to a crypto exchange.
Honestly, it felt right.
Will it change? Who knows… but I need to move on.
Then I checked the domain.
It was available…
For $3,000.
I stared at the screen like I’d just been asked to pay for inner peace on layaway.
Who sets these prices—Elon’s alt account?
I half expected the checkout process to include a waiver, a chakra alignment, and a surprise visit from a domain shaman named Greg—who only accepts crypto and speaks in vague affirmations.
👀 Coming Soon: MVP, Meet Zen
So… name? Check.
Identity crisis? Mild, but also check.
Now it’s time to actually build the thing.
In the next post, I’ll break down how I’m building the Zensui MVP from scratch — using AI tools, stolen time between coffee refills, and the occasional Bruce Lee quote as spiritual glue.
We’ll explore:
- What exactly the app will do (besides vibe)
- Why “just a quote app” isn’t enough
- How I’m using micro-moments to design macro outcomes
- And yes… whether I’ll cave and buy that $3,000 domain
Stay tuned — things are about to get real(ish).