House of Who

What House of Who does

House of Who is a boutique naming and brand strategy agency headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area (Berkeley), founded in 2016. The firm is structured as House of Who Inc., operates with 1–10 employees, and is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors or funding rounds. Its core capability is the creation of brand names, nomenclature systems, and naming strategies specifically for technology companies — a positioning the firm explicitly stakes out on the premise that 'if you can name for tech, you can name for anyone.' Service offerings span Naming Sprints (a two-week rapid engagement model), full naming processes, naming governance and guidelines, brand positioning, brand architecture, visual identity, site design, packaging, and copywriting.

The firm makes money exclusively through project-based professional services engagements, with disclosed project budgets ranging from $10,000 to $200,000 depending on scope, complexity, and duration. Distribution is direct-to-client: engagements originate through the firm's website contact form, proceed through scoping calls and collaborative project planning, and either resolve as discrete projects or convert into ongoing retainer relationships. The agency's named client roster includes Google, ByteDance/TikTok, Ciena, Juniper Networks, Nautilus/Bowflex, Onduo, Enchroma, Mainstay, Adobe, HP, and Stanford. Multi-year agency-of-record retainers are confirmed with Google (across multiple internal groups) and Juniper Networks. Marketing is limited to the firm's own website and a 'Thinking' content blog; no paid acquisition, social, or partnership distribution channels are disclosed. The agency's competitive differentiation rests on a craft-based, people-centric methodology combining language expertise with organizational psychology, rather than any proprietary technology platform.

Name

House of Who

Legal name

House of Who Inc.

Website

https://houseofwho.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

House of Who is a boutique Berkeley-based naming and brand strategy agency that creates brand names, nomenclature systems, and brand identities primarily for technology companies, serving enterprise clients such as Google, ByteDance, and Juniper Networks through project-based engagements and retainers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Brand Naming Services

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAFAEAB

Naming & Verbal Identity

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Brand Strategy & Creative Services

SECONDARYMPAAAEAB

Naming & Verbal Identity (Taglines, Messaging)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Advertising, Marketing & PR Services/Branding & Design (Brand Strategy, Graphic/Packaging)

Keywords

• Brand naming services
• Nomenclature systems
• Brand strategy consulting
• Product naming
• Brand identity development

Headquarters

HQ city

Agoura Hills

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Project-based Consulting: House of Who generates revenue through project-based consulting engagements for naming and branding services. Projects include naming sprints (2-week rapid engagements), full naming processes, nomenclature development, brand positioning, and brand identity work. They also offer retainer arrangements for ongoing client relationships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

House of Who is a full-service naming and branding agency that develops brand names, nomenclature systems, and brand strategy for tech-driven organizations. The agency offers three core capabilities: Naming & Nomenclature (individual name creation, systematic naming frameworks, and rapid two-week naming sprints), Naming Management (guidelines, governance, and process audits for naming practice across organizations), and Brand Development (positioning, brand architecture, and identity development).

Product overview

House of Who is a people-centric naming and brand strategy agency specializing in serving tech companies moving at speed. The core offering centers on Naming & Nomenclature capabilities, supported by Naming Management and Brand Development service modules. The portfolio includes individual service offerings such as Full Naming Process, Naming Sprint (delivered in two weeks), Brand Messaging, Brand Positioning, Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Naming Guidelines, Naming Strategy, Nomenclature systems, Verbal Guidelines, Brand Platform, Brand Voice, Site Design, Visual Guidelines, Visual Identity, Rebrand, and Packaging. The agency uses an agile work style that adapts to client operations, with project budgets ranging from $10,000-200,000. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, House of Who serves global tech companies including Google, ByteDance/TikTok, Ciena, Juniper Networks, Nautilus/Bowflex, Onduo, Enchroma, and Mainstay.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Naming & Nomenclature Core naming service covering individual name creation and systematic naming frameworks for tech companies. Includes full naming processes, accelerated naming sprints, and nomenclature system development for complex product portfolios.
• Naming Management Service focused on managing naming practice across organizations, including naming and nomenclature guidelines, governance frameworks, and naming process audits and development.
• Brand Development Extended branding service including brand positioning, brand foundations, brand architecture, and identity development with guidelines for tech companies and growth-stage organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ability to deliver globally-vetted names in under two weeks (ByteDance project)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Catchword: Catchword is a long-standing naming and branding agency with a similarly specialized focus on brand name creation, trademark vetting, and nomenclature for technology, consumer, and B2B clients — directly comparable boutique peer.
• Lexicon Branding: Lexicon is one of the largest dedicated naming consultancies globally, offering name creation, linguistic screening, and brand strategy — the most established direct peer in tech and consumer naming.

Broad incumbents

• Pentagram: Pentagram is a design-focused partnership with partners who handle naming, identity, and verbal identity work; comparable deliverable set but a designer-led model rather than a naming-specialist one.
• Landor: Landor (now Landor & Fitch) is a large global branding and design consultancy providing naming, identity, and brand strategy — a scaled incumbent with overlapping naming capability for enterprise clients.
• Siegel+Gale: Siegel+Gale is a global brand strategy and design firm offering naming, verbal identity, and brand architecture as part of a broader portfolio — overlapping capability with House of Who but operating at enterprise scale across many verticals.
• Wolff Olins: Wolff Olins is a global brand consultancy offering naming, identity, and brand strategy with a strong tech and challenger-brand portfolio — comparable deliverable set to House of Who at greater scale.
• FutureBrand: FutureBrand is a global brand consultancy with naming, brand architecture, and identity capabilities, serving enterprise clients across multiple sectors — comparable in deliverable set to House of Who.
• Interbrand: Interbrand is a global brand consultancy with naming, brand valuation, and identity services; competes for the same enterprise naming briefs as House of Who but as part of a full-service global offering.
• Lippincott: Lippincott is a brand strategy and design firm with naming and verbal identity practices; comparable in offering to House of Who but with a much larger enterprise footprint and broader portfolio.
• R/GA: R/GA is a global brand and experience design agency with naming and brand strategy capabilities as part of a broader digital and innovation offering — competes for tech naming briefs at enterprise scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/house_of_who
• Facebookfacebook.com/houseofwho
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/house-of-who

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about House of Who