What’s in a name? The origins of Mahi
Naming a company is a daunting task, and it’s easy to see why - a business’ name is the first thing people see or hear when considering working with you, it’s the foundation, the identity of everything you do.
However, it goes beyond this too. It can contribute to the way a company adapts and evolves. Hopefully, it also stays with you for decades. So, how did we decide on our business name, and what influences did we consider?
Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, we wanted a unique but memorable name that set us apart from other organisations in our industry. Looking at existing successful company names, we knew that it needed to be relatively short, simple, and convey a sense of sophistication that reflected our products, services and ethos as a whole.
With a kiwi co-founder and office in New Zealand, we began to realise we wanted a strong connection to our Māori roots and the place where our business began. As we continued to brainstorm ideas, we started to incorporate options that encapsulated these thoughts, looking at the meaning behind them and how they looked as a presentation of our brand.
It wasn’t long before ‘Mahi’ caught our eye, quickly becoming a strong contender as a possible name. Not only did it fit all our criteria perfectly, its meaning was also reflective of our values and culture. You’ll often hear All Blacks player, Dan Carter, talk about “doing the Mahi”, meaning to put the work in:
As a small business with big ambitions, we built Mahi to be a company that has a clear identity and culture: we do the mahi by working hard, innovating and accomplishing. And, of course, we get those treats at the end. With a definition that matched our values so well, it was hard to imagine calling ourselves anything else!
