What’s in a name?

I’ve been obsessing about the name of the company since I decided to take it from just an ad hoc, sometime-y thing to something more serious and official. I’ve spent a lot of time looking into flowers, animals, trees, things related to El Salvador, acronyms of family, you name it.

And yet it doesn’t matter according to all the internet gurus. The name doesn’t matter at all and yet it absolutely does. You can start with whatever (including making up a word and naming it after a fruit). You build the brand and people just learn to deal with it. Then again, your name should also convey what you want it to convey, how you want to be known. I knew I wanted something vague enough to expand. While transformation and equity are at the heart of what we do, I didn’t want them in the name because that felt a little too on-the-nose. After frustrating myself to no end, it hit me this morning. A name for the company.

It both means nothing to others and is simultaneously at the heart of what we do.

Ardor means excitement or passion in both Spanish and English. This work is something that drives me. That is, after all, the point. (See what I did there?) This business is built on the belief that equity is possible in my lifetime. And I pursue that as a goal with all the passion it deserves.