Naming Psion

In August 1980 he bought an off-the-shelf company and named it Psi.

"Psi stood for Potter Scientific Investments - or maybe it was Instruments - one or the other", recalls Potter, "I abbreviated that to Psi -  the Greek letter Psi - and I thought  that's a funny name,  a nice name, it's  terrific!"

"Then I did a trade search and found there was a company in California called Pacific Steamship Inc so I couldn't have that name," adds Potter, "so I threw in the O N. because I thought of Exxon which is a very large company, and we've got to be ambitious."

"And I thought that having ON at the end sounded high-tech like neutron, proton, electron etc", continues Potter, "when people ask me what it stands for, I joke: 'Potter Scientific Investments Or Nothing' - it's partly true, but not 100 per cent."