Understanding Technical Terms in Digital Startup Business and Products

Continuing the discussion on terms that are often used in startup-themed conversations, this time DailySocial trying to explore the startup business categories that are widely developed in Indonesia. Also technology variants that are often used as jargon in digital startup products or services.

Based on the business sector they work in, startups are grouped into the following business categories:

• agtech(Agricultural Technology); also often called agrotech, which is a term for startups that develop solutions in the agricultural sector. Products for livestock and marine are also often included in this category – although the term has appeared aquatech but not very popular. There are various forms of services, some of which offer management systems, monitoring, sales, to funding. Startup examples: Aruna, Eden Farm, TaniHub, etc.
• E-commerce; category of business actors related to the commercial sector. online marketplace can also be included in this category, although in terms of business processes are often considered different. E-commerce identical to B2C – brand selling products to consumers, while online marketplace synonymous with C2C – consumers act as sellers and buyers. Along with its development, platforms such as Tokopedia, Shopee etc. accommodate these two models.
• edtech (Educational Technology); also often called edutech, is a term for startups working on solutions around education, both for formal and non-formal levels. Variants of services include digital materials, online courses, to search for learning teachers. Examples of startups: Bensmart, Ruangguru, Zenius, etc.
• Fintech(Financial Technology); which is a term for startups that provide digital financial services. Product types include online loans, digital wallets, payment platforms, investment applications, and crowdfunding. In Indonesia every player fintech must be registered with Bank Indonesia and/or the Financial Services Authority. Examples of startups: Seeds, Dana, Modalku, etc.
• Healthtech(Health Technology); often also called medtech (medical technology) and recently the term sticking out wellness, which is a startup product that targets health services and fulfills a healthy lifestyle, such as online doctor consultations, purchasing medicines, ordering queues for health clinics, to management software for health institutions. Startup example: Halodoc, Medigo, SehatQ, etc.
• Insurtech(Insurance Technology); is a business that tries to digitize insurance product management, in the form of information channels and product comparisons, service orders, and insurance claims. Startup examples: Premiro, Qoala, Futuready, etc.
• Legaltech (Legal Technology); some often mention lawtech(law technology), namely digital startup products that increase access, convenience, and efficiency in the implementation of legal services, both for the community and service providers, including advocates and paralegals. Besides that, there are also regtech (regulatory technology) as a digital startup segment that provides access, improves convenience, and efficiency for business actors to comply with various applicable laws and regulations. Examples of startups: PrivyID, Justika, Lexar, etc.
• Loyalty Platforms; a startup service that facilitates a membership system to increase customer loyalty for a brand or business. Usually records total user transactions for brand and then converting them into points that can be exchanged for prizes. Startup examples: GetPlus, Tada, Pomona etc.
• New Retail; often referred to as online-to-offline (O2O), which is a startup that transforms traditional retail with a touch of technology without losing the existing business model. For example, equipping a grocery store with products from e-commercee or facilitate retail stores with applications that enhance the shopping experience. Example: Kopi Kenangan, Warung Pintar, Wahyoo etc.
• On Demand; namely a startup that packages ordering services through an application. For example, ordering and delivery services for food, ordering services for laundry services, and so on. Examples of startups: Sejasa, Mr Jeff, Kulina, etc.
• OTA(Online Travel Agencies); namely a startup that provides travel accommodation products through applications, including travel tickets, hotels, and shows at tourist attractions. Example: Airy, Tiket.com, Traveloka, etc.
• POS (Point of Sales); namely a startup that provides retail business support products, helps record transactions and manage cash flow. Example: Cashlez, Moka, Qasir, etc.
• Proptech (Property Technology); is a startup that provides digital services around the property business, which can be in the form of consulting channels, buying and selling services, rental services, and others. Startup examples: Travelio, Rumah123, 99.co, etc.
• Ride Hailing; a startup that provides applications for ordering transportation services. Example: a pillion, Gojek, Grab, etc.

However, sometimes one applies a business model that combines several of the above categories. For example what iGrow did, they are an agricultural startup (agtech) that provides services through mechanisms fintech. Or 99.co, serving service proptech through a -based approach marketplace.

Startup technology products

In addition to the business category, there is quite a lot of terminology that is now emerging regarding technology products that startups are working on. Here are some that are popular in Indonesia:

• AI(Artificial Intelligence); translated into artificial intelligence, is a mechanism for making systems smart working computer like humans. The system is programmed to be able to make decisions independently by studying activity patterns and previously recorded data. An example of how it works is like this, for example AI applied to the recommendation feature in the app E-commerce. The AI ​​program will observe the user's behavior over a period of time, noting the dominant behavior of the user – for example, user X prefers branded goods over price, so that when the user returns to using the application and is looking for something, the system will recommend related items based on brand popularity, making it more suitable and making users feel helpful. Term "automation" is also often embedded in digital products, basically it is an AI-generated process and working mechanism.
• AR(Augmented Reality) and VR(Virtual Reality); this term refers to virtual content, both of which have different way of working. AR is virtual content combined with reality using an image capture device (camera). For example, interior design applications that are widely circulated on the Playstore or App Store, through mobile users can simulate the placement of furniture in the house – the furniture is a virtual 3D object, while the place is a real picture and real-time from camera capture. The once popular Pokemon-Go app also uses this approach. While VR is completely virtual reality content that is served to users to present something. For example, to make users feel the experience of being in the game world – thus requiring additional devices.
• Big data; that is data processing in large quantities, usually collected from continuous, non-stop processing, for example from user activity on social media; it includes activities of retrieval, sorting, learning, translation, to data visualization. One of the derivation terminology that is also popular is data analytics (analysis activities from the results of data processing, usually after being visualized) and data science (science that specializes in data management).
• Blockchains; that is a revolutionary system that connects computer networks in a decentralized and distributed manner. It means like this, with the mechanism blockchain data transactions can be carried out directly – as simple as person A can directly send something to person B without an intermediary. It is said to be revolutionary because so far most systems are still centralized. For example, when sending a message through an application, in a more detailed process, the message does not reach the recipient directly, but must pass through the application server and then be delivered to the recipient, so basically the message will have several copies – on the sender's device, on the application server, and on the receiving device. Blockchain trying to change all that, no more recipients and no more duplication, the message that is sent actually moves from sender to recipient – ​​just like when one person gives a physical object to someone else, the object is completely transferred.
• chatbot; often referred to as virtual assistant, which is an artificial intelligence product that is applied to a messaging application, allowing computers to understand and respond to every message sent. Usually integrated with business applications owned by the developer company, so that they can perform actions automatically.
• IoT (Internet of Things); is a concept connectivity between devices via internet connection. An example of its application as being done in the eFishery product, they developed a fish feed device equipped with a sensor. The sensor is in charge of transmitting data and operating the device. Connected via internet connectivity, users can monitor and control their performance through a dedicated application.
• Machine Learning; is one of the most important components of AI, namely computer algorithm to study data, recognize patterns, and build models based on historical data.
• NLP (Natural Language Processing); is one of the AI ​​products, works with machine learning to help computers analyze, understand, and derive meaning from human language. Service chatbot utilize NLP in its performance.
• SaaS, PaaS, and other ... as a Service; which is a type of internet-based application or platform that can be used quickly with simple configuration. For example, Software as a Services (SaaS) for cashier applications, allows users to have a store management system without having to develop their own, manually install on the device, and provide a server for data storage. Or Infrastructure as a Services for server systems, allowing developers to create and manage servers without having to buy a computer and install an operating system manually. The subscription fee is also flexible, depending on the intensity of use.