In this episode of WP Legends, we chat with Grant Polachek, Chief Growth Officer at Atom (formerly Squadhelp) the world’s #1 brand naming platform and a 3× Inc. 5000 company. With nearly a decade of experience helping founders create, launch, and protect their brands, Grant shares how naming and domains shape business success in the AI era.
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From Martial Arts to Marketing and Branding
Grant’s journey began far from domains in the martial arts industry, where he led programs and learned the ropes of grassroots marketing. His entrepreneurial spirit soon led him to co-found boutique branding agencies at the dawn of social media marketing, when brands were just figuring out how to use platforms like Twitter and Facebook. This mix of creativity and strategy set the foundation for his future in brand naming and digital growth.
The Evolution from Squadhelp to Atom.com
Grant joined Squadhelp early in its growth phase, working alongside founder Darpan Munjal, who originally built the platform as a side project to crowdsource brand names. What began as a small naming contest community evolved into a powerful platform connecting entrepreneurs and creatives from around the world.
As the company scaled, Squadhelp transformed into Atom.com, reflecting its expanded vision from naming contests to an AI-powered registrar and trademark platform that helps businesses find, validate, and protect their brand identities.
Naming in the AI Era
While AI has disrupted how we design and brainstorm, Grant emphasizes that human creativity remains irreplaceable. Atom recently launched an AI logo generator, but every design is still refined by humans. “People don’t just want AI to decide — they want AI to inspire,” he explains.
For Grant, the future of naming lies in human-AI collaboration where AI accelerates ideas, and human creativity adds the finishing touch.
Why a Great Name is Worth the Investment
Grant believes that names and domains aren’t just branding tools they’re business assets that directly impact growth. Even a slight mismatch in a domain name can cause “a 3% drag on revenue,” which adds up to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars over time.
With Atom’s marketplace, founders can discover curated, brandable domains that align with their vision and stand out in crowded industries. From short, premium domains to emotion-driven names, Atom helps bridge the gap between creativity and commerce.
Domain Discovery and Differentiation
Unlike traditional registrars that focus on DIY hosting upsells, Atom’s approach is discovery-first. The platform curates only the top 8–10% of submitted domains and organizes them by emotion, tone, and industry making it easy for founders to find names that “feel right.”
Grant compares the process to buying shoes: “You may not know exactly what you want, but you know your style, and we help narrow it down.”
Marketplace and Community
Atom operates like Etsy for domain investors a global marketplace where sellers list premium names and buyers explore brandable options. The platform serves over 50,000 customers, from startups to enterprise clients, and supports leasing, appraisals, and branding services.
What sets Atom apart is its community-driven ecosystem where domain investors, creatives, and founders collaborate to build the brands of tomorrow.
The Launch of Trademark.io
Atom’s latest venture, Trademark.io, extends its mission beyond naming to brand protection. It helps founders check availability, avoid conflicts, and secure their trademarks efficiently. Grant sees this as a natural next step: “Finding a great domain is only half the journey validating and protecting it completes the circle.”
The Business of Branding
From single-word English names to creative abstract brands like Kiss the Hippo or Liquid Death, Grant loves how bold naming choices transform ordinary ideas into memorable movements. He believes modern founders should think like storytellers using names and domains not just as identifiers but as strategic assets that drive trust, recognition, and emotional connection.
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