Wordfence Is Now Defiant
Toda
y we are announcing that our company name is changing to Defiant Inc. Over the past 5 years we have grown significantly and have expanded beyond WordPress. As a security organization, we now have a stable of products and services to offer our customers. To reflect this change, we are changing the name of the company that produces Wordfence to Defiant Inc.
Our new corporate website will be defiant.com. We have written a full announcement with more details on the Defiant.com blog. I recommend you head over there and read about this exciting change and where our company is headed.
I know that some of you may have questions about this change, so to put your minds at ease, I’m including a short FAQ about the name change below:
Why are you changing your company name?
For legacy reasons, until this point our company name has been Feedjit Inc. But that name has nothing to do with security or the products and services we offer. It is related to an old business we were in many years ago that provided real-time analytics services.
We have been growing so fast since the 2012 Wordfence launch that we never got around to changing our corporate name. Today, we are finally doing that, and we are very excited to announce our new company name, Defiant Inc., and our new corporate website at defiant.com.
Why didn’t you change the name to Wordfence Inc?
Our team provides a growing stable of products and services. You can read more about those on the Defiant website in our announcement. Some of those security products are not just for WordPress – they support Joomla, Magento and other platforms.
As we grow, and, in some cases, expand beyond WordPress, we need a company name that can be an umbrella for all of our products and services. Defiant Inc is that name and that umbrella. The defiant.com website is a jumping-off point where you can learn about everything our company does, get corporate news and learn about openings if you want to join our team.
Will this affect the Wordfence security plugin and the service I receive from Wordfence in any way?
Wordfence is our core business and our biggest source of revenue. It is therefore our main focus in everything that we do. Wordfence will continue to grow, and we will continue to deliver the amazing product development and customer service you have become accustomed to.
Did Wordfence just raise funding or close some kind of investment round? Did you get bought by someone?
Hell no! We are still an independent, profitable and growing company. The Defiant name should give you a clear picture of how independent we are and want to remain. We aren’t run by bankers, and we aren’t run by some mega-corp with tacky Super Bowl ads.
Kerry, Dan and I are still an independent and highly capable executive team. Along with our incredible engineering team and customer service team, we will continue to deliver awesome security for your website, your customers and your assets.
Can I be Defiant?
Yes you can. If you use any of our free or paid products, like Wordfence, Gravityscan, our site cleaning service, our security audit or if you chat with our customer service team on the free forums or in our Premium support system, you stand Defiant alongside us in protecting your website, your customers and your assets from hackers.
As always, I will be around to answer any questions you may have in the comments.
Mark Maunder – Defiant CEO.
Comments
11:57 am
I'm interested to know how you arrived at the name. What was the process?
1:26 pm
Hi David,
Naming products and companies is hard. We actually considered engaging the services of a name lab, but they start at around $12k which is a hefty opportunity cost. So we decided to go it alone.
We evaluated a large number of names. Dan, our CMO, tends to take a data driven approach to just about everything. I just asked him to remind me how we did this (we actually came up with the name some time ago). Here's what he says:
"We did a “cloaking” exercise with the team and came up with a massive list of names. In the exercise we asked them to name a spaceship - and we gave them a list of attributes that describe the space ship. We then went through the list and did a high level assessment of trademark and domain viability and then the three of us rated all the options in a spreadsheet. I pinged you two a few days later with a list of the ones that were really working for me, with Defiant at the top. And both of you agreed."
[The 'both of you' above is referring to Kerry and I, the company founders. The three of us make up the executive team]
Defiant was a name that we felt reflected our passionate approach to working with our customers to stop hackers. We have a history of putting our customers first, even if it is a little controversial in the eyes of others.
We have also been pioneers in the WordPress security space. The research we publish also tends to focus on what is in the interests of our customers who are trying to understand who hackers are, what motivates them and how to protect themselves against attacks.
So we felt (and feel) that Defiant is a brand that reflects those values and captures those sentiments. We also think the name is kinda cool.
We love the concept that we stand Defiant alongside our customers, working to protect their site, their customers and their assets from attacks. That is really the core concept of the brand. Defiant is both an adjective and a proper noun. It is something that you are and is also a company name. I like to think that Defiant is something that you are part of.
Also, Dan just reminded me that James Yokobosky, one of our engineers, is the one who suggested Defiant as a name when we asked the team for suggestions. Thankfully we have a smart team and we can work together to solve problems like this and end up somewhere awesome.
That reply became a bit longer than I intended, but I hope that helps explain it.
Regards,
Mark.
1:43 am
Whoa, interesting!
Congratulations, your new name rocks.
12:00 pm
I expect t-shirts at WCUS?
12:33 pm
Good luck guys!
1:09 pm
Oh ok, as long as Wordfense is intact and working as before, go ahead change your name to whatever you want.
I love you no matter what you call yourselves. :)
1:10 pm
Thanks Ana! :)
3:29 pm
Congratulations. I love the new name!
7:07 pm
Great new name! Congrats.
10:08 pm
Super cool name + congrats on acquiring the .com :)
2:14 am
Great move Guys! All the Best!
11:54 am
Congratulations on the move! Your team is outstanding.