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But we don't call, say, banks tech companies. A huge portion of their business requires sophisticated technical infrastructure they create themselves, but we ju

But we don't call, say, banks tech companies. A huge portion of their business requires sophisticated technical infrastructure they create themselves, but we just call them banks. And there are plenty of normal taxi companies with similar systems to Uber's.

afarrell 7y ago
People call Monzo a tech company.
- novok 7y ago
  'fintech' specifically. It's almost a style designator.
ulfw 7y ago
There's a ton of tech involved in all kinds of companies: hotels, airlines, hospitals, insurance companies, anything really. None of them are "tech companies". Neither is Uber/Lyft/Grab
jasode 7y ago
>But we don't call, say, banks tech companies. A huge portion of their business requires sophisticated technical infrastructure they create themselves, but we just call them banks. I understand your criteria for classification but I'll attempt to explain why others think of Uber as a "tech company". Others' viewpoint: Yes, virtually every company uses technology but not every company is birthed by technology: - the Uber founders (Travis K and Garrett C) were software programmers, not taxicab owners. - the product they worked on was a smartphone app instead of buying a car with a taxi medallion and driving around for fares. - the type of investors that funded them (e.g. Benchmark Capital) were VCs that specialize in the tech sector. - the type of companies Uber has acquired[1] so far are tech focused (e.g. machine learning, geospatial, etc). Yes, 100-year-old banks always have ongoing modernization with evolving technology (e.g. Citi and Chase have developed smartphone apps) but Uber's birth was programmers playing around with smartphones. Another example of the perception difference is eBay vs Sotheby's/Christie's. eBay is typically called a "tech company" but Sotheby's/Christie's are called "auction houses". If eBay brings together buyers & sellers in a marketplace... and Sotheby's/Christie's also has an auctions marketplace... why is "tech company" more often attached to eBay rather than Sotheby's/Christie's? (Both Sotheyby's & Christie's have websites for users to place bids so they develop technology as well.) Probably because eBay was born on the internet by a software programmer named Pierre Omidyar. I'm not saying you have to agree with all that but just trying to explain the "hidden taxonomy" that some of the others (including the news media) use to label certain companies as "tech company". [1] https://acquiredby.co/uber-acquisitions/ https://acquiredby.co/uber-acquisitions/
- mamon 7y ago
  >> - the Uber founders (Travis K and Garrett C) were software programmers, not taxicab owners. And if a software programmer opens ice cream cart on a beach, would you call that "tech startup"? >> the product they worked on was a smartphone app instead of buying a car with a taxi medallion and driving around for fares. Smartphone app is something a bright high schooler can make, I would expect a company to do some more advanced tech before we call it "tech company"
decafninja 7y ago
One description I’ve heard is that “tech companies”, as the term is often used nowadays, are organizations where software engineers and their work are respected and considered first class citizens. As compared to a company that might heavily use tech, but only as a necessary evil cost center. Never mind that the company would absolutely fall apart without its tech. As someone who has worked in banks most of my career, I would classify most banks in the latter category.
- denton-scratch 7y ago
  Hmm. I worked for a web development company; it called itself a "digital agency". It was once pointed out to me by a director that the purpose of the firm was marketing, not making websites. The developers were generally treated as fungible resources; graphic designers, on the other hand, were stars. This director was a smooth salesman. He fancied himself as a graphic designer, of course; his major technical accomplishment was the ability to make Flash websites.
novok 7y ago
In many ways, banks were the original hybrid tech companies. VERY early adopters of software, mainframes, databases and so on. But because they were so early we don't call them tech companies, probably because there wasn't a concept of a 'software tech' company back then and they were evolutions of older companies that didn't use software to run their businesses.

afarrell 7y ago

People call Monzo a tech company.

novok 7y ago
'fintech' specifically. It's almost a style designator.

ulfw 7y ago

There's a ton of tech involved in all kinds of companies: hotels, airlines, hospitals, insurance companies, anything really. None of them are "tech companies". Neither is Uber/Lyft/Grab

jasode 7y ago

>But we don't call, say, banks tech companies. A huge portion of their business requires sophisticated technical infrastructure they create themselves, but we just call them banks. I understand your criteria for classification but I'll attempt to explain why others think of Uber as a "tech company". Others' viewpoint: Yes, virtually every company uses technology but not every company is birthed by technology: - the Uber founders (Travis K and Garrett C) were software programmers, not taxicab owners. - the product they worked on was a smartphone app instead of buying a car with a taxi medallion and driving around for fares. - the type of investors that funded them (e.g. Benchmark Capital) were VCs that specialize in the tech sector. - the type of companies Uber has acquired[1] so far are tech focused (e.g. machine learning, geospatial, etc). Yes, 100-year-old banks always have ongoing modernization with evolving technology (e.g. Citi and Chase have developed smartphone apps) but Uber's birth was programmers playing around with smartphones. Another example of the perception difference is eBay vs Sotheby's/Christie's. eBay is typically called a "tech company" but Sotheby's/Christie's are called "auction houses". If eBay brings together buyers & sellers in a marketplace... and Sotheby's/Christie's also has an auctions marketplace... why is "tech company" more often attached to eBay rather than Sotheby's/Christie's? (Both Sotheyby's & Christie's have websites for users to place bids so they develop technology as well.) Probably because eBay was born on the internet by a software programmer named Pierre Omidyar. I'm not saying you have to agree with all that but just trying to explain the "hidden taxonomy" that some of the others (including the news media) use to label certain companies as "tech company". [1] https://acquiredby.co/uber-acquisitions/ https://acquiredby.co/uber-acquisitions/

mamon 7y ago
>> - the Uber founders (Travis K and Garrett C) were software programmers, not taxicab owners. And if a software programmer opens ice cream cart on a beach, would you call that "tech startup"? >> the product they worked on was a smartphone app instead of buying a car with a taxi medallion and driving around for fares. Smartphone app is something a bright high schooler can make, I would expect a company to do some more advanced tech before we call it "tech company"

decafninja 7y ago

One description I’ve heard is that “tech companies”, as the term is often used nowadays, are organizations where software engineers and their work are respected and considered first class citizens. As compared to a company that might heavily use tech, but only as a necessary evil cost center. Never mind that the company would absolutely fall apart without its tech. As someone who has worked in banks most of my career, I would classify most banks in the latter category.

denton-scratch 7y ago
Hmm. I worked for a web development company; it called itself a "digital agency". It was once pointed out to me by a director that the purpose of the firm was marketing, not making websites. The developers were generally treated as fungible resources; graphic designers, on the other hand, were stars. This director was a smooth salesman. He fancied himself as a graphic designer, of course; his major technical accomplishment was the ability to make Flash websites.

novok 7y ago

In many ways, banks were the original hybrid tech companies. VERY early adopters of software, mainframes, databases and so on. But because they were so early we don't call them tech companies, probably because there wasn't a concept of a 'software tech' company back then and they were evolutions of older companies that didn't use software to run their businesses.