One thing I see business startups do that sets them back a good deal, and perhaps kills the project, is choosing a name that conflicts with another business name. The name of the company is often going to be used on a product, so it's really a trademark. Something is a trademark if it is used on a product or services to identify the source of the product. So often, a startup will choose a name, and not do a trademark search on the name. A year or two later, they get a cease and desist letter from me, because I have a client that has a Federal trademark registration on that name. They may have invested a lot of time, money, and effort in promoting the trademark, and that investment will be lost. They will have to change the name.
When choosing a name, it must be cleared of conflicting Federal, state (all 50 of them) and common law uses, and it must have a domain name available. Don't proceed without checking for conflicts in those areas, and then secure the domain name and file a Federal trademark application.
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