Stoke

by antje

Stoke was the largest funded telco startup ever ($70 million to date). Why so much money? They were tackling a giant problem–how to connect the silos that run land telephones, cell phones and internet phones so a user can seamlessly roam between systems using the cheapest one available.

We wanted an identity that wouldn’t be confused with any other high tech company.

Approach

The name Stoke is a surfing term. “To catch a wave was (and is) to stoke the fires of the heart and soul. Hence the terms: to be stoked, the stoked life, degrees of stoke, and pure stoke.” (John Grissam, Pure Stoke, 1982).

“Working with A Hundred Monkeys isn’t work at all. It’s a very enjoyable process of discovery that captures the essence of what your company is and what you want it to become–with the name as the starting point.”

— Randall Kruep, Former CEO, Stoke, Inc.

Randall Kruep, the CEO called us and we met him at the rooftop café at the Art Institute of San Francisco. He is a Silicon Valley veteran, a master story teller and a man who knows how to get to the point. Renaming the company was an exercise in faith, because Randall didn’t know much about branding and he placed a big bet on our judgment. There were a lot of people around the table, but Randall knew when we hit the target.

Left: Stoke’s print identity Right: Randall Kruep, Founder & CEO

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Filed under: 2004, All Clients, All Names, Alphabetical, California, Company Names, S