{"id":2453,"date":"2021-09-29T14:35:48","date_gmt":"2021-09-29T20:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:10043\/?p=2453"},"modified":"2025-05-12T09:09:21","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T15:09:21","slug":"lets-get-a-little-technical-with-the-definition-of-tech-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atiba.com\/lets-get-a-little-technical-with-the-definition-of-tech-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s get a little technical with the definition of ‘tech company’"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared in\u00a0The Tennessean<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Believe it or not, there was once a time when being a nerd wasn\u2019t all that cool.<\/p>\n

Often shunned by the popular kids, our big thick glasses and obsessions with things like “Star Wars,” Dungeons and Dragons, and computers, sometimes made life difficult.<\/p>\n

But somewhere along the line, something changed.<\/p>\n

With the dawn of the dot-com era in the 90\u2019s, entrepreneurs and investors started seeing that technology was more than just a weird hobby for us geeks.\u00a0 Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and a slew of pocket-protected-billionaires showed the world that starting a \u201ctech company\u201d could make you super rich.<\/p>\n

This was good news for me and my fellow tech geeks.<\/p>\n

For the first time, nerdiness was popular.\u00a0 Companies began to embrace tech not only as a critical component of their success, but also as a core part of their identity.<\/p>\n

With the dawn of the dot-com era in the 90\u2019s, entrepreneurs and investors started seeing that technology was more than just a weird hobby for us geeks.\u00a0 Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and a slew of pocket-protected-billionaires showed the world that starting a \u201ctech company\u201d could make you super rich.<\/p>\n

This was good news for me and my fellow tech geeks.<\/p>\n

For the first time, nerdiness was popular.\u00a0 Companies began to embrace tech not only as a critical component of their success, but also as a core part of their identity.<\/p>\n

Is Uber a tech company or a transportation company?\u00a0 Is Peloton in the technology business or is it a fitness company?\u00a0 Is Netflix a tech company or an entertainment company?<\/p>\n

Some argue that it doesn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 And others point out that it\u2019s not an either\/or description. But given that a company\u2019s identity has a significant impact on everything from raising money to recruiting employees, understanding who you are is essential.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most well-known corporate identity crisis in recent years is the case of the shared office space rental company WeWork. \u00a0WeWork raised billions of dollars positioning itself as a tech company.\u00a0 Despite billions of dollars per year in losses, the firm was valued as a big tech growth player at $47 billion before investors began to realize that the company was really in the real estate rental business.\u00a0 As a real estate company, WeWork\u2019s value dropped to less than $3 billion\u2014turning it into one of the worst investments of all time.<\/p>\n

But claiming the tech company label when you\u2019re not a tech company can hurt more than just wealthy investors.\u00a0 It can threaten small and medium sized businesses<\/a> as well.\u00a0\u00a0 For those without deep pockets, managing limited resources is even more critical. Understanding who you are and how you generate revenue drives how you spend precious time and money. \u00a0Understanding your identity ultimately can be the difference between success and failure.<\/p>\n

So, what is a tech company?<\/p>\n

Most companies are technology users, and many companies depend on technology to run their business.\u00a0 But true tech companies have at least one of the following characteristics:<\/p>\n