Introduction
This is part two of the Founder's Playbook, focusing on three critical areas every startup founder encounters early in their journey: search engine optimization and keyword strategy, choosing the right name for your business, and competitive analysis across multiple platforms and tools.
The first cluster of questions reflects a universal founder challenge: understanding how your target customers search for solutions and how to position your startup to be found. Keywords are the bridge between what customers want and what you offer. Whether you are building a SaaS platform, a marketplace, or a service business, keyword research and competitive SERP analysis determine whether your content and SEO efforts will generate sustainable traffic or disappear into the void.
The second cluster addresses the deceptively important decision of naming your business, company, or online channel. Your name shapes perception, affects searchability, influences memorability, and carries long term consequences. Most founders underestimate how much a good name compounds over years, while a weak name creates friction you fight forever.
The third cluster covers competitive analysis across modern platforms. You need to understand not just where competitors rank in traditional search, but how they position in AI systems, how their domain metrics compare, and which tools actually show you what matters. This section pulls together practical answers on Semrush, Ahrefs, and emerging AI visibility metrics.
Check out the Complete "How to" Series:
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 1: Startup Strategy, Funding and Business Fundamentals
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 2: SEO, Naming, and Competitive Analysis
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 3: Content, Business Models, and Growth
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 4: Finding Customers, Funding, and Keywords
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 5: Backlinks, Funding, Growth, and AI Visibility
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 6: Launching, Naming, Tools, and Fundraising
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 7: Costs, Funding, Naming, and Starting Up
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 8: Tech Startups, Tools, AI, and Keyword Research
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 9: SEO Tools, Schema Markup, and AI Optimization
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 10: 2026 Trends, AI, and Future Opportunities
How to Check Keyword Volume
Check keyword monthly search volume in Google Keyword Planner by entering your term and reading the average monthly searches column, or use Ahrefs and Semrush for more precise volume data. Filter by country and language to match your target market and compare volumes across related keywords to prioritize which terms to target first.
How to Check Keywords Competition
Enter your target keyword into Semrush or Ahrefs, note the keyword difficulty score on a 0 to 100 scale, and review the backlink profiles of the top ten ranking pages. Keywords under 20 difficulty are approachable for new domains, while scores above 50 require significant authority to rank.
How to Check Keywords of Competitors
Use Ahrefs Site Explorer or Semrush Domain Overview, enter a competitor domain, and view the Organic Keywords report sorted by traffic. Export the list to see which queries bring them revenue and identify gaps where your messaging could win.
How to Check Keywords Ranking in Google
Log into Google Search Console, navigate to the Performance report, and see your average position for each keyword you appear in SERP results for. Filter by country, device, or page to understand which content drives specific keywords and opportunities to improve ranking position.
How to Check My Competitors with Semrush
Enter a competitor domain in Semrush Domain Overview to see their organic keywords, traffic estimates, backlinks, and paid search activity. Use the Organic Research report to find high traffic keywords they rank for, then analyze their content gaps where you could rank faster.
How to Check Search Volume
Use Google Keyword Planner, which gives free monthly search volume ranges, or paid tools like Ahrefs and Semrush for more granular data. Treat volumes as estimates for relative comparison rather than absolute numbers, as search behavior changes by season and geography.
How to Check Search Volume of a Keyword
Enter the single keyword into Google Keyword Planner or Semrush Keyword Overview tool, set your target country and language, and read the reported monthly search volume. Cross reference with Google Trends to see if volume is stable, growing, or declining over time.
How to Check Search Volume of Keyword
Same process: paste keyword into a free or paid keyword tool, select geography, and note the volume range. For startup terms especially, expect smaller volumes than broad commercial keywords, but typically more intent aligned traffic that converts better.
How to Check Search Volume of Keywords
Enter a list of keywords in bulk into Ahrefs, Semrush, or SEMrush Keyword Planner to see volumes across your entire target keyword set. Sort by volume to identify your highest traffic opportunities and segment low volume keywords into long tail clusters.
How to Check Search Volume on Google
Use Google Keyword Planner by clicking Tools and Settings, then Keyword Planner, then Discover New Keywords, and entering your seed keyword. Google will show monthly search volume ranges for that term and suggestions for related keywords with their respective volumes.
How to Check SEO Keyword Competition
Analyze keyword difficulty score in your SEO tool and review the content quality, link profiles, and domain authority of top ranking sites. High difficulty means you will need stronger domain authority and backlinks, so focus on keywords where you can compete within your current authority level.
How to Check SERP Free
Use free SERP checker tools like SEMrush free trial, Ubersuggest free tier, or dedicated tools like SERP robot to see top ranking results for any keyword. Take screenshots or notes on top result titles, meta descriptions, and content structure to understand what Google rewards for that query.
How to Check the Rank Keywords the Competitors Use
Use Ahrefs Site Explorer to enter a competitor domain, then review the Organic Keywords report to see all keywords they rank for with current position, volume, and traffic. Focus on keywords where they rank in positions 5 to 20, as those represent near win opportunities where your content could potentially outrank them.
How to Check Website Ranking for Free
Use Google Search Console for your own site to see your positions across all keywords you rank for. For competitor websites, use free rank checking tools like Morningscore or RankTank to get snapshots of specific keyword positions without paid subscription.
How to Check Website Ranking Free
Combine Google Search Console for your own rankings with free tools like RankTank, Morningscore, or Ubersuggest for competitor research. These provide basic position checks and SERP snapshots without requiring a paid subscription, though data updates less frequently than premium tools.
How to Check Website Ranking on Google Free
Use Google Search Console for free position data on your own domain, then manually search keywords in an unbiased browser and note your position, or use free rank checker tools for automation. Remember manual checks are influenced by your location and search history.
How to Check Your Competitors Keywords
Enter a competitor domain into Ahrefs or Semrush, navigate to Organic Keywords, and view their ranking keyword list sorted by traffic. Cross reference their top keywords against your own keyword list to identify coverage gaps and high value terms you are missing.
How to Check Your Google Ranking for Keywords
Log into Google Search Console, view your Performance report, and see average positions for all keywords you rank for. Click on specific keywords to see which pages rank for them and click through to examine SERP position and featured snippet status.
How to Check Your Keyword Ranking
Set up rank tracking in a tool like Ahrefs, Semrush, or a dedicated rank tracker like Moz, then monitor your positions for a target keyword list across countries and devices. Track weekly or monthly to identify trends and link ranking changes to specific content or link building actions.
How to Check Your Keyword Rankings
Build a list of 50 to 100 target keywords in your rank tracker, set up automatic position checking on a schedule, and review reports weekly or monthly. Focus on movement in positions 5 to 30, as these represent near win opportunities where tactical improvements move you to page one.
How to Change Language in Ahrefs
Click your profile avatar in the top right of Ahrefs, navigate to Settings or Interface Language, select your preferred language from the dropdown menu, and save. The entire Ahrefs interface will reload in your selected language.
How to Choose a Business Idea
Start by identifying problems you personally experience or see in your network, then validate demand by interviewing at least 20 potential customers about their pain. Pick problems that are frequent, expensive to solve, and in markets where people are already spending money.
How to Choose a Business Name
Brainstorm 50 to 100 candidate names, then filter using these criteria: short and memorable, easy to spell, available as domain and social handles, relevant to your business, unique enough to trademark, and ideally containing a keyword if it is relevant to your category. Test top choices with 20 target customers to see which resonates.
How to Choose a Business Name Ideas
Generate names by combining two relevant words, using acronyms, taking inspiration from competitors without copying, inventing new words, or using your founder name. Test each candidate for domain availability, social media handles, trademark conflicts, and pronunciation clarity before deciding.
How to Choose a Company Name
Follow the same process as choosing a business name: brainstorm, filter by criteria (length, memorability, domain availability, trademark clearance, relevance), and test with customers. Consider how the name scales if you expand into adjacent products or geographies later.
How to Choose a Good Business Name
A good business name is short (two to three words max), easy to spell and remember, available as a domain, relevant to your market without being generic, and ideally defensible as a trademark. Test pronunciation with people unfamiliar with your business to ensure it is not confusing.
How to Choose a Good Company Name
Select a name that reflects your mission without being so narrow it limits future pivots, that works in your primary market language without unintended meanings in other languages, and that sounds professional in investor conversations and customer meetings. Avoid names dependent on slang that may feel dated in five years.
How to Choose a Good YouTube Channel Name
Pick a name that describes your content niche, is easy to find via YouTube search, matches your brand name if you are cross promoting, and is available as a handle across platforms. Avoid generic names like "Channel One" that blend into thousands of others and do not communicate topic.
How to Choose a Hosting Provider That Supports AI Website Builders
Research hosting providers that natively support AI builder platforms like Bubble, Webflow, or Wix, check their server response times and uptime SLAs, and test their customer support quality before committing. Compare pricing across bandwidth limits and confirm they offer scalability as your traffic grows.
How to Choose a Name for a Business
Think about what you want customers to think when they hear your name: is it professional, memorable, innovative, trustworthy? Write down 50 candidates, narrow to ten finalists, test each with target customers, then check domain and trademark availability before launching publicly.
How to Choose a Name for a Company
Start with your core mission or value proposition, brainstorm variations, and test against these criteria: availability as a domain, social handles, and trademark, relevance without being generic, memorability, pronounceability, and longevity. Avoid names tied to temporary trends or inside jokes.
How to Choose a Name for My Business
Reflect on the emotional response you want from customers, then brainstorm names that trigger that response. Test finalists with at least 30 potential customers in your target market to see which creates the strongest brand perception and recall.
How to Choose a Name for Your Business
Document what makes your business unique, identify the key words people use to describe your category, then combine them creatively. Check that your top three choices are available as dot com domains and across major social platforms before finalizing.
How to Choose a Pre Seed Investor
Prioritize investors who have backed similar stage companies in your sector, understand bootstrapped growth models, offer genuine mentorship beyond capital, and share your long term vision. Avoid investors who pressure you to take capital you do not need or who expect majority equity at pre-seed.
How to Choose a Store Name
Pick a name that describes your store type or product category, is unique enough to stand out in local search, matches your brand across online and offline touchpoints, and includes your location if you are targeting a specific geography. Avoid generic names unless paired with strong branding.
How to Choose a Unique Business Name
Study your competitor names to identify gaps and position differently, use a thesaurus to find synonyms you can combine creatively, invent new words if relevant, or use metaphors that communicate your category. Test uniqueness by searching your candidate names in Google and seeing if anyone else uses them.
How to Choose a VC Partner for Early Stage Startups in Southeast Asia
Research VCs with actual track records in your Southeast Asia submarket, understand their check size and governance style, and verify they bring customer introductions and operator networks beyond capital. Meet multiple partners before deciding, as founder fit is as important as capital terms.
How to Choose a VC Partner for Early Stage Startups Southeast Asia
Same criteria apply: strong portfolio in your vertical within Southeast Asia, appropriate check size for early stage, genuine regional networks, and alignment on growth philosophy. Prioritize VCs based in your target market over remote funds, as local knowledge and intros compound your advantage.
How to Choose a YouTube Channel Name
Use tools like YouTube autocomplete to see what viewers search, pick a name that contains high search volume keywords if relevant, keep it under 25 characters so it displays fully, and make it unique across social platforms. A descriptive name like "Growth Marketing for SaaS" outranks cute names like "Growth Rocket" for discoverability.
How to Choose an AI Development Tool That Supports Multiple Languages
Evaluate platforms like Bubble, FlutterFlow, or Supabase for multi language support in their UI builder and backend, check documentation for localization features, and test with a sample project in your target languages. Confirm that switching languages does not break functionality or styling.
How to Choose an AI Search Optimization Platform
Look for platforms that integrate with GSC and GA4, provide AI powered content recommendations, offer competitive analysis, and track your visibility across both traditional and AI driven search results. Test the platform with a free trial before committing to annual pricing.
How to Choose an AI Search Optimization Platform With Competitive Analysis
Prioritize tools that show your brand mentions in AI outputs, track competitor AI visibility, offer content optimization for semantic authority, and integrate with your existing SEO stack. Compare pricing models to ensure you are not paying for features you do not need.
How to Choose Business Name
Follow a structured process: brainstorm 100 names, filter to 20 based on availability and relevance, narrow to five finalists, test with customers, and verify domain and trademark availability. Spend at least a week on this decision since you will be living with it for years.
How to Choose Keywords for AdWords
Start with your target customer's search intent, not just monthly volume, then build campaigns around keyword intent clusters such as awareness, consideration, and conversion. Begin with long tail keywords with lower volume but higher intent and lower competition, then expand to broader terms as your account quality improves.
How to Choose Keywords for Google Ads
Structure campaigns by intent: awareness campaigns use broad keywords and informational content, consideration campaigns target comparison terms, and conversion campaigns target high intent buying keywords. Separate exact match, phrase match, and broad match keywords to control costs and relevance.
How to Choose Keywords for Google AdWords
Identify your primary customer journey stage, then select keywords aligned with that stage: top of funnel use awareness keywords, middle uses comparison keywords, and bottom uses commercial intent keywords. Budget allocation should reflect intent, with conversion keywords receiving higher bid amounts.
How to Choose Keywords to Track Semrush
Select 30 to 50 keywords that represent your core business, mix high volume branded terms with lower volume unbranded keywords, include competitor keywords you want to outrank, and add long tail keywords with high intent. Update your tracked list quarterly as your strategy evolves.
How to Choose Name for Business
Treat naming like product development: generate many options, test with target customers, validate market demand for the name itself, and confirm legal availability before launch. The best names feel inevitable in retrospect, but that only comes from deliberate testing.
How to Choose Solopreneur Business Platforms Effectively
Identify your core workflow bottleneck, then select platforms that integrate together, prioritize your most valuable activities, and avoid feature bloat. A solo founder needs excellent documentation and customer support, not feature depth, since you will own all workflows.
How to Choose Solopreneur Business Platforms Effectively
Select platforms based on integration ecosystem rather than individual feature richness, prioritize automation and API access, and avoid platform lock in. Test platforms with real work for one month before committing to annual plans.
How to Choose the Best Business Course for Entrepreneurs
Look for courses with instructors who have actually built businesses, not just taught about business, and verify that course content is current within the past year. Request feedback from alumni and check if the course offers community or accountability as part of the program.
How to Choose the Best Keywords for Google AdWords
Combine keyword research with landing page analysis: pick keywords where your landing page is relevant, build negative keyword lists to prevent wasted clicks, and organize by theme and intent. Test bidding at different levels and measure conversion rate, not just click through rate.
How to Choose the Best SEO Rank Tracking Tool
Prioritize tools that track SERP features beyond position, integrate with GSC and GA4, offer multi location tracking, and let you track unlimited keywords at your tier. Compare frequency of position updates and the quality of competitor tracking before deciding.
How to Choose the Right Keywords for Google AdWords
Interview customers about their search journey and terminology, analyze competitor ad copy and landing pages to see which keywords they target, and use keyword match types to control relevance. Begin with long tail, high intent keywords where you can win before competing on broad terms.
How to Choose the Right Name for Your Business
Step back from the tactical checklist and ask: does this name feel right for conversations with customers, investors, and employees five years from now? If you hesitate answering calls or explaining the name to strangers, keep brainstorming.
How to Come Up with a Business Idea
Problem first approach: list ten problems you personally experience weekly, then research how many other people have that problem. The best business ideas solve problems you deeply understand because you lived them.
How to Come Up with a Business Name
Set a timer for 20 minutes and write down every name that comes to mind without judgment, then spend another 20 minutes refining your top ten. Sleep on it for a few days, then rate finalists on memorability, relevance, and uniqueness.
How to Come Up with a Catchy Business
Do not force catchiness: clarity beats cleverness in business naming. Focus on making your name memorable through use and association with great customer experience rather than trying to be cute or clever in the name itself.
How to Come Up with a Catchy Business Name
Use alliteration, metaphor, or wordplay only if it also communicates your category or mission. Test candidates with ten people who have never heard of your business and see which name they remember after a week.
How to Come Up with a Clever Business Name
Clever names work if they are also relevant to your market and easy to spell. Avoid references or puns that only work in English if you serve global markets, and remember that clever tends to age poorly as culture and language evolve.
How to Come Up with a Good Business Name
Write your value proposition in one sentence, then extract the key words, and combine them into options. The best business names feel like they were always obvious once you hear them.
How to Come Up with a Great Business Name
Research naming case studies of companies in your category and adjacent categories, identify what makes their names work, then apply those principles to your brainstorm. Study naming books like "The Brand Gap" by Fred Van Allsburg to understand naming strategy.
How to Come Up with a Name for a Business
Start by defining what your business actually does and who it serves, then brainstorm ways to express that in simple language. Avoid cute references that only your inner circle will understand.
How to Come Up with a Startup Name
Pick a name that ages well, describes what you do without being generic, and sounds professional in investor meetings. Test pronunciation with people from different language backgrounds to avoid unintended meanings.
How to Come Up with a Store Name
Communicate your store type or primary product category in the name, include location keywords if you serve a specific geography, and make the name memorable enough that customers can find you by searching your name plus "store." Avoid generic names like "The Shop" unless you have massive brand presence.
How to Come Up with a Tech Startup Idea
Identify broken workflows or outdated processes in industries you understand, then talk to practitioners about their workarounds. The best tech startup ideas solve problems that talented people will do manually rather than wait for a solution.
How to Come Up with a Unique Business
Do not copy competitors: study the category to understand positioning gaps, then own a specific niche or perspective rather than trying to be everything to everyone. Unique comes from clarity on who you serve and what problem you solve better than anyone else.
How to Come Up with a Unique Business Name
Research every competitor and adjacent business in your category to see which names are already taken, then brainstorm variations that occupy different positioning or messaging. Use a thesaurus and synonym generator to find related terms you can combine.
How to Come Up with Business Name
Create a list of 100 candidate names quickly without filtering, then rate each on memorability, relevance, and availability. Your best option is often hiding in the middle of your list, not the first name you thought of.
How to Come Up with Business Names
Brainstorm in thematic clusters: founder names, descriptive names, aspirational names, and invented words. Generate at least ten names in each cluster before narrowing to finalists, as volume leads to quality.
How to Come Up with Company Name
Start with your mission statement, extract key words, and combine them in new ways. Test whether the name sounds professional in job interviews, investor pitches, and customer conversations.
How to Come Up with Company Names
Use naming frameworks like compound words, portmanteaus, acronyms, founder names, or invented words. Brainstorm at least 50 options before narrowing down so you have choice to work with.
How to Come Up with Electronics Business Names
Reference the type of electronics or problem you solve, such as "Smart Home Solutions" or "Tech Repairs Pro," then refine for uniqueness and domain availability. Test whether tech savvy customers will find your name credible.
How to Compare Domain Metrics in Semrush
Use Semrush Domain Comparison tool to enter up to five domains and compare metrics like domain authority, total backlinks, referring domains, and organic traffic estimates side by side. Filter by country to understand domain strength in specific geographies.
How to Compare This Year to Last Year Ahrefs
In Ahrefs, navigate to your Site Explorer dashboard, select your domain, and use date range filters at the top to compare year over year. View your organic traffic, keyword rankings, and backlink growth across the same month in consecutive years.
How to Conduct Competitive Analysis in Generative AI Visibility
Track your brand mentions in popular AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude by running test queries related to your product category and logging which brands appear. Create a scorecard showing how often you appear compared to competitors.
How to Conduct Keyword Research in Ahrefs
Enter a seed keyword in Ahrefs Keyword Explorer, then review keyword ideas ranked by search volume, difficulty, and traffic potential. Use the Parent Topic analysis to understand topical clusters and identify low difficulty keywords where you can rank quickly.
How to Connect Make to X
In Make.com, create a new scenario, select X or Twitter as the trigger or action, authorize your X account credentials when prompted, and configure which account or mentions you want to monitor. Build workflows such as capturing trending keywords or auto responding to brand mentions.
How to Connect with Funds Supporting Women Founded Tech Startups
Identify funds with actual portfolios of women founded companies by checking Crunchbase and PitchBook, attend female founder events and accelerator demo days, and leverage warm introductions from existing portfolio founders. Most early stage funding for women founders comes through personal networks.
How to Connect with Funds Supporting Women Founded Tech Startups
Research the most active female founder VCs in your region, understand their sweet spot for company stage and sector, and get introduced by portfolio founders. Many funds supporting women founders also offer founder mentorship and customer introductions beyond capital.
How to Connect X to Make.com
Open Make.com, start a new scenario, select the social media module for X or Twitter, click the account section to connect your X credentials, and authenticate when the X login screen appears. You can now use X as a trigger source or action destination in your workflows.
How to Copy Transcript from Vimeo Video
Right click the Vimeo video, click Inspect or Developer Tools, search the code for "text" or "transcript," or use Vimeo's native transcript feature if available under the video description. For videos without transcripts, use a tool like Rev or Otter.ai to generate transcripts from the audio.
How to Craft a Mission Statement
Start with why your business exists beyond making money, capture the core problem you solve and for whom, and keep it to one sentence. Share drafts with customers and team members to ensure it resonates and feels authentic.
How to Craft a Problem Statement
Describe the problem specifically, explain who experiences it and how frequently, quantify the impact if possible, and distinguish your angle from how competitors describe the same problem. A strong problem statement makes the solution feel inevitable.
How to Craft a Vision Statement
Paint a picture of the world after your business succeeds, describe the outcome for customers and the impact on your industry, and make it inspiring enough to motivate your team through hard times. Keep it to 2 to 3 sentences.
How to Create a Business from Scratch
Define the problem you will solve, interview at least 20 target customers to validate they care, build an MVP that tests core assumptions, sell to early customers before perfecting the product, and iterate based on real feedback. Speed of learning beats perfection.
How to Create a Business Idea
Identify an industry you understand, talk to people in that industry about their biggest frustrations, and look for solutions that do not exist or work poorly. The best business ideas come from lived experience of the problem.
How to Create a Business Model
Document how you acquire customers, how much they pay you, what costs you incur, and what margins you achieve. Refine this model as you talk to customers and learn which channels work and which do not.
How to Create a Business Model Canvas
Use a simple one-page template with sections for key partners, activities, resources, value proposition, customer relationships, channels, customer segments, cost structure, and revenue streams. Fill in each section based on your current assumptions, then validate against customer feedback.
How to Create a Business Model Canvas in Word
Create a nine box grid in Word and label each box for the BMC nine components, or download a pre-built BMC template from business model generation online resources. Fill in each section with your current business assumptions and share with advisors for feedback.
How to Create a Business Model for a Startup
Start with customer segments and value proposition, then map channels and customer acquisition costs, define revenue model and unit economics, and identify key activities and resources. Build multiple scenarios and test which model sustains unit economics at scale.
How to Create a Business Model for Startups
Document your assumptions in a lean canvas or business model canvas, then test each assumption through customer interviews and pilots. Update your model based on evidence rather than opinion, and be prepared to pivot if the model does not hold.
How to Create a Business Name
Brainstorm at least 50 names, narrow to ten finalists based on availability and relevance, test with customers for memorability and brand perception, then verify domain and trademark availability. Take at least a week to sit with your top choice before committing.
How to Create a Business Strategy Solo
Identify your unfair advantage or unique strength, pick a narrow target customer segment, and define your product positioning relative to alternatives. Allocate limited time and money to 2 to 3 channels that reach your customers most effectively.
How to Create a Business Using AI
Identify a workflow that takes you or potential customers significant time, find or fine tune an AI model that can automate it, build a simple interface that makes the output useful, and charge for speed, convenience, or the reduced labor. Start with AI as a tool inside your service before building pure AI products.
How to Create a Catchy Business Name
Focus on clarity and memorability over catchiness: a clear, boring name you remember beats a clever name you forget. Test finalists by hearing them once and remembering them a week later.
How to Create a Company Name
Follow a structured naming process: brainstorm 100 options, filter to 20 based on criteria such as domain availability and relevance, test ten finalists with customers, narrow to three choices, then decide. Document why you chose your final name so you can explain it to customers and employees.
How to Create a Moz Report
Log into your Moz account, navigate to Reports, select the report type you want (Rank Tracking, Link Explorer, or Keyword Explorer), configure your parameters such as keywords and date range, and click Generate or Schedule. Moz will email you the report or make it available in your dashboard.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
Violetta likes to write about Startup News in Europe, Best startups of the year, Latest Startup News, Building your first startup, Startup News for Female Founders in Europe, News for Female Entrepreneurs and Engineering News
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
