Sometimes it’s more than you imagine.

When I first launched this publishing company in July 2008 I named it Wasabi Media Group. I chose this name as I had been an entrepreneur in residence at Wasabi Ventures and thought it could be beneficial to be known as part of that family.

Over the next four-ish years, I made three discoveries. First, because I had an affiliation with Wasabi Ventures and shared their name, many people assumed my company was venture-related. Second, using the phrase media group, newcomers thought that my business involved music, entertainment, and more. From a purely business aspect, my company name was not a good choice.

My third discovery was personal and reflective. I was the key builder of this business; its name should be related to me. With that idea in hand, I decided to create the name PeKu, a blending of my two last names. Since that time, PeKu has become my persona on many levels. PeKu, the company, was my baby that I nurtured and grew. PeKu, the name, has become my social media handle and how I refer to myself at times.

However, this history lesson on my company’s name doesn’t stop here. Over the weekend I received a middle of the night email that seemed spam-like, but I read it nonetheless. The author let me know that peku means bake in Slovenian. Using an online translator, the meaning was confirmed, and I was astounded.

As I read the translation I was in awe. I initially built this publishing company after spending a year developing Think Tasty, my food blog. While it was never my intent to have a second meaning to PeKu, there had been one hidden there all the time. How crazy! To think, my passion for baking and cooking, which started this publishing company 13 years ago, was unknowingly wrapped in the meaning of its name.

Kismet, karma, mere happenstance, whatever you want to call it; this double meaning in PeKu is priceless.