Is it time to look beyond the tech company?

For the last ten or so years, it seems that being a ‘tech company’ has been a synonym for being among the most dynamic, innovative and (potentially) valuable of companies. However, it seems that we’ve now already reached ‘peak tech’.

Rani Molla writes on Recode of research that found that company documents referencing “tech” and “technology” reached a peak in August 2018. Since then, references to “tech” and “technology” in public comanies’ official communications has declined by 12%. So, despite a spate of high-profile IPOs from determinedly ‘tech’ businesses like WeWork, Uber, Slack and more, being a tech business is no longer quite as cool or notable.

This doesn’t mean that startups should no longer be focusing on the use of technology, of course. It’s hard to imagine a business that doesn’t build itself on technology. It does mean that businesses without clear value, purpose and positioning can no longer hide behind the cool badge of tech.

I think it suggests that there’s an increasing focus on utility. The most important message for the business is: what problem do they solve for people?