What was interesting was how we named it, because it goes back to our
research roots. We decided to do it very scientifically. We went out and found
one of the leading naming companies at the time, called Lexicon, and we
worked with them for 6 months to come up with the name. It was probably the
most expensive word I ever bought.
BlackBerry ended up being one of the all-time most famous brands worldwide.
It works everywhere. We tested it around the world. It was one of
40 names that were on the list that we narrowed it down to. We did a lot of testing
to see what it meant to people. Could we build a brand, an experience,
around it? There was a lot of thought around that name.
Livingston: As a Canadian founder, do you think there’s anything that readers
should know about advantages to being in Canada? Were you ever tempted to
move to Silicon Valley?
Lazaridis: I have to tell you, we were so busy that we never really thought it
made a difference. One of the great things about being in Canada is that there’s
this education that is available to everyone at the highest level, and that’s really
what helped us. There was never a thought in my mind as to “should I put it
somewhere else?” Regardless of whether we should put RIM in the United
States or not, even the idea of where I should put it in Canada. There was never
any hesitation. I had to have this company next to University of Waterloo and
Wilfrid Laurier, a university down the street, because I knew that we needed to
draw this talent to grow. There’s something about having the proximity to the
students and university in terms of brand awareness.
In fact, when we first leased our building here right next to the university,
we could put a sign up, and I remember they were asking, “Do you like this
sign? Do you like that sign?” I said, “Actually, I don’t care about that. What’s
important to me are the signs on the back of the building.” Of course, everyone
recoiled from that. I explained to them, “I don’t really care if anyone else knows
where the building is. All I want is the students to know where the building is.”
From then on, all our buildings have had signs in the back, toward the university.
One of the things I realized was that to get strong co-op students, you had to
start early because, by the second year, you’ve lost them already to some other
company. So we started hiring first- and second-year students, knowing that
they were not really going to be full-time employees for 3 to 4 years after that.

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