‘Move to Galooshi with Happo Carapo ’  😄

🚀 Ever wonder how the big decisions that shape a company really happen? Sometimes, they don’t come from formal meetings or expensive branding agencies—they happen in unexpected ways.

Galooshi to Happo Caroco: The Name Game

It was 2016, and we were knee-deep in building what would eventually become Happo.io, our tool for screenshot testing and ensuring front-end consistency. The product was coming along, but one thing was missing: the name.

We had some ideas—"diffooey", "pixelwatch"—but nothing felt quite right. That’s when Henric casually shared on GitHub that his 3-year-old nephew had drawn him a picture with the words “Happo Carappo”. It was funny, random, and completely off-the-wall.

Joe responded to the post: “How about just Happo?” And suddenly, the name clicked. Without a big debate, Joe and Henric agreed on the spot (virtually, on GitHub, of course). Happo had a nice ring to it, and it felt right for the tool we were building.

Lessons from the ‘Move to Galooshi’ Moment:

🔹 It’s about the journey, not just the name — Building tools like Happo for screenshot testing is important, but the story behind it matters even more.

🔹 Embrace the unexpected — You never know where your best ideas will come from.

🔹 Create a mythology with your team — The bonds you build, the shared challenges, and even the funny moments on GitHub are what really define success in front-end development.

So if you’re obsessing over getting everything perfect—whether it's choosing a name or optimizing your front-end code—remember, the best parts of your journey may come from the most unexpected moments.

Want to see how it all went down? Check out the original GitHub thread that captured the moment when Happo was born:

🔗 GitHub Issue #79