SHEETAL DUBE: “I realized it was not only me who had a difficult to pronounce name, but a lot people actually had faced that awkward moment where they meet someone else and, you know, they don’t know how to pronounce their name.”

The service is free. Ms. Dube hopes her idea will help make introductions a little easier.

SHEETAL DUBE: “I went ahead a created a basic Web application where people can go and, you know, record their name in their own voice. And that gives them a little audio file which sits in a Web address which they can actually go and put in their e-mail signature, in their Facebook, on their LinkedIn, on their website. So any place that they interact with other people, basically they can have this audio pronunciation next to their name.”

The Portland Seed Fund chose her idea as one of one hundred twenty-six startups to receive money and mentoring support from experts. Ms. Dube left her job to start audioname.com. The site has been live since the middle of September.

Marketing specialist Larry Chiagouris is the author of “The Secret to Getting a Job After College.” He advises people with really difficult names to consider using a nickname in their job search. Sheetal Dube says she heard advice like that while researching her idea. She thinks a service like Audioname offers a better choice.

There are also sites like HearNames.com where people can learn how to say names from around the world. On our site, voaspecialenglish.com, you can find a link to VOA's own Pronunciation Guide to names in the news.