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We used to have a term software company. That was unambiguous. At what point did the nebulous "tech company" take over?
by wiseleo 7y ago
We used to have a term software company. That was unambiguous. At what point did the nebulous "tech company" take over?
- nightfly 7y agoWhen places like Uber and Airbnb became "cool".
- flukus 7y agoSoftware companies sold software, now most seem to lease it at best, but generally just allow people to use it through a browser front end.
- wiseleo 7y agoSoftware companies employed predominantly software engineers and ancillary staff to support them. Many sold mandatory recurring billing "support" packages, which really is no different from SaaS, just framed as a separate invoice line item. I call my startup a software company because that is what it is. Tech is abbreviation from "high tech", which was the hardware and biotech equivalent.
- pbreit 7y agoBecause tech extends beyond software.
- Cthulhu_ 7y agoWhen companies no longer did exclusively software; Amazon and Microsoft to name a few stepped into the hardware space some time ago. Of course, with Microsoft we're talking what, 30 years ago already? It's a bit more nebulous with e.g. Uber though; they don't really sell software, they sell a service and act as a middle man via software instead.
- joefourier 7y agoDo Amazon and Microsoft make a majority of their revenue from selling hardware? Tesla sells t-shirts and hoodies but that doesn't mean they're a clothing company.
- Traster 7y agoTesla is absolutely not a software company, it's a tech company. Software is a very concrete term which doesn't describe the category of companies we reasonably want to talk about.
- manderley 7y agoI consider them to be a "car company", a company that makes and sells cars. Even though technology is involved in producing said cars.
- wongarsu 7y agoHow are they a Tech company? Is every car company with in-house developed self driving a tech company? Does that mean eventually most car companies will be tech companies and the term car company will fall out of use?
- Spooky23 7y agoTesla is defined by its technology. Most importantly, it’s valued based on its technology.
- manderley 7y agoI'd assume that's true of pretty much any car company.
- navigatesol 7y ago>Most importantly, it’s valued based on its technology. And other car companies are not? The modern internal combustion engine is a technological marvel, and getting better every year.
- Spooky23 7y agoNo. They are mature companies with conservative valuations. Tesla has a bigger market cap than Ford, isn’t profitable and is always one deal alway from insolvency. The value is it’s tech and potential.
- PavlovsCat 7y agoEvery person who no longer can meaningfully describe what they're doing, or doesn't want to, because it's not something to be proud of, probably helped with this transition. But it can't be technology as such, for example we never called car manufacturers "tech companies" AFAIK.