This is the Tech Jargon Every Founder Needs to Know Today


“We need to do some A/B testing on our CRM so we can better calibrate our CPC CTAs.”

If that sentence made you say “huh?” then you probably need to brush up on your business lingo.

Startups today are filled with jargon. Since startup culture today evolved from the tech scene, coder jargon and other technical terms have worked their way deep into its DNA.
 
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It can seem like a nuisance and maybe even a way of speaking designed to keep industry outsiders out of an exclusive club. However, many of the concepts surrounding these terms are important for understanding the modern tech industry and the trends that shape it today.
 
Here is our list of some terms you are likely to stumble upon in an average silicon valley “stand up” and what they mean.
 

CRM

 Customer relationship management is a process in which a business reaches out to customers. 
 
Typically the term CRM is used when discussing the data analytics side of marketing. Many companies use a tool called “CRM software” that helps them track things like the open rates on email campaigns or which call to action was most effective at generating leads.
 
CRM is all about creating large-scale marketing plans that work again and again based on data about what has worked many times before.

 

CPC

CPC aka Cost Per Click is a way of measuring spending for ads on websites like Google or Facebook. 
 
Usually, websites will work out a rate to charge advertisers that averages the cost over the number of clicks their ads get. A CPC of $5.00 means a company charges $5 every time the ad is clicked.
 
Ads that are run online are usually dubbed “CPC ads” or just “CPC campaigns”.

 

Industry 4.0

AKA the fourth industrial revolution – it is a relatively recent trend focused on a couple of areas:

  • The automation of practices that used to be done by hand. For example, robots working in factories.
  • Large-scale machine-to-machine communication
  • IoT (more on that below)
  • Improved abilities to collect data on things
  • The creation of machines that can analyze data and create solutions without consulting people (robots/AI)

Some key examples of companies that fall squarely into industry 4.0-focused businesses are major tech giants like Amazon, Facebook, or Google.
 

Internet of things (IoT)

The Internet of things describes a network of physical objects – “things” — that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies. This tech is used to connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet
 
Some prime examples of IoT technology working its way into everyday life are smart watches and at-home helpers like Alexa or iHome. When you yell at your smartwatch to turn your radio on, you are using IoT technology. When your phone starts recommending sales nearby it is using IoT by picking up GPS data regarding your location.
 

Net neutrality

Net neutrality is the idea that governments and internet providers should treat all data on the internet the same way, no matter where it comes from, where it is going, or what it contains.
 
The internet has sprung up so quickly that we are still scrambling to regulate it. Many companies and governments today feel that the lines in service provided should be clearly drawn based on countries and regions.
 
For example, Netflix limits what you can see on its service based on which country your IP address says you’re in. In a more extreme example, internet users in China are unable to access most websites on the normal internet from within the country.
 
Net neutrality proponents would say both of these practices work against the goals of the internet. They would also likely say that they discourage innovation online and diminish the internet’s ability to equalize outcomes worldwide. For example, say a major website that lets bloggers make money from their writing blocks Vietnamese IP addresses; a whole nation is now denied a way of generating an income from a commonly available tool.
 

Data mining

With all the data floating around today there are a lot of insights waiting to be discovered. Over the past decade, data mining has quietly grown into one of the most in-demand sectors in tech.
 
Data mining is the process of extracting and discovering patterns in large data sets. It’s more than simple data analytics, however. Data mining involves skills at the intersection of machine learning, statistics, and database systems specifically to find hidden data.
 
It is currently being used actively in fields ranging from surveillance to investment to HR.
 

Big data

Big data is what we call the entire industry of analyzing, extracting information from, and generally dealing with large data sets. Data mining and IoT technology are sub-categories of big data.
 

API

API stands for an application programming interface. These are programs connecting computers or computer programs to each other. They are considered a software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software.
 
You know when you log on to a webpage and they make you solve a puzzle to prove you aren’t a robot? Most of these are provided by a service called “Captcha” even though Captcha frequently has nothing to do with the website you are visiting. This is because Captcha provides an API to web pages that want to use Captcha’s services.
 

SaaS

Software as a service is a business model where software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. It is sometimes referred to as “on-demand software”. Saas is probably the hottest area of tech at the moment due to the massive amounts of profit possible with little overhead cost.
 
One easy example of software as a service is Microsoft Office. Today you must have a regular subscription to Microsoft Office if you want to use the updated version of tools like Microsoft Word.
 

The future of work

One of the largest changes in the modern tech industry over the past few years is a change in how people are employed. With a growing number of people worldwide working remotely and a steadily increasing number of “gig” workers, the borders for work are beginning to crumble.
 
Today, businesses can access talent around the globe, not just whoever happens to be nearby.
 
We created Virtual Internships because we believe interns around the world want experience working with businesses like yours: small, agile, flexible, and ready to change the world – and businesses like yours don’t want to be tied down by only selecting regional talent.

Our interns are students and graduates from top universities as well as professionals looking to upskill. They specialize in everything from IT to marketing to design and work completely remotely for programs ranging from 1-3 months.

Unsure how to create a great internship? We have a staff of dedicated professionals there to help you create your perfect internship – and we charge no fees to businesses that work with us.

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