Forces in the workforce

13 Dallas-Fort Worth companies plug into Forbes' first-ever best startup employers list

Thirteen DFW companies are among the best startups for employees.

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You might call them the lucky 13. Thirteen businesses based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area appear in Forbes magazine’s inaugural ranking of the best startup employers.

Forbes teamed up with market research company Statista to identify up-and-coming companies that are liked most by those who work there. Researchers evaluated 2,500 U.S. businesses with 50 or more employees on three criteria: employer reputation, employee satisfaction, and growth. The result: Forbes’ first-ever ranking of the country’s 500 best startup employers. (It should be noted that the report was released March 10, before coronavirus-related restrictions started in Dallas-Fort Worth.)

To create the ranking, Statista looked at articles, blogs, and social media posts about each employer; employee reviews on job websites like Glassdoor and Indeed; and website traffic and employee headcounts for each startup over a two-year span.

Dallas-Fort Worth leads Texas metro areas for the most startups on the list. Ranked 25th, Fort Worth-based Koddi garners the top ranking among all Texas startups. The company provides marketing software for advertisers in the travel industry. In 2019, the Digiday Worklife Awards program named Koddi the tech company with the most collaborative culture.

“Koddi gives its employees the ability to shape the direction of their own careers and empowers them to succeed,” Zachary Rector, associate director of account services, said in a 2017 release. “Every day at Koddi offers a unique challenge to overcome and the opportunity for personal growth. All of your coworkers are fully committed to one another’s success and help each other learn. Koddi is a fast-paced, ever-changing, and engaging place to work.”

Here are the 12 other Dallas-Fort Worth startups that appear in the Forbes ranking:

No. 50 — Bestow, Dallas
No. 59 — Veryable, Dallas
No. 118 — Sector 5 Digital, Fort Worth
No. 149 — Stryve Biltong, Plano
No. 231 — PestRoutes, McKinney
No. 265 — Titus Industrial, Dallas
No. 275 — Student Success Agency
No. 271 — Meritize, Frisco
No. 272 — Defi Solutions, Westlake
No. 305 — Crystal Clear Concepts, Grand Prairie
No. 325 — WellKept, Arlington
No. 411 — Tap Water Watch, Dallas

San Francisco-based footwear retailer Allbirds snags the No. 1 ranking on the Forbes list.

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin has 12 businesses appear on the list. At No. 87, Austin-based SchooX is the top-ranked startup in the Central Texas region. The company provides a workplace learning platform.

“Working at SchooX provides an awesome environment with great people that changes the way people learn,” employee George Litos says on the company’s website. “SchooX is shaping the future of e-learning, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

Here are the 11 other Austin-area companies that claim spots in the top 500:

No. 97 — Iris Telehealth, Austin
No. 201 — Jungle Scout, Austin
No. 226 — RigUp, Austin
No. 301 — TrustRadius, Austin
No. 315 — Shipwell, Austin
No. 399 — AlertMedia, Austin
No. 430 — Everlywell, Austin
No. 451 — Innovetive Petcare, Cedar Park
No. 457 — SubjectWell, Austin
No. 463 — ScaleFactor, Austin
No. 478 — Outdoorsy, Austin

In a release, Jeff Cavins, Outdoorsy’s co-founder and CEO, says the workforce of the RV rental marketplace is the startup’s “most vital and important investment.”

“We want each of our employees to feel personally invested in the company and personally committed to our mission and our customers,” Cavins says. “Our eyes and ears are always open for new ways we can give our team a more positive environment to innovate and be creative — a culture where they will be most comfortable and confident to express their ideas and values and where they will always have their voice heard, understood, and valued.”

Rik Avalos, Outdoorsy’s vice president of people and talent, says that despite the startup’s rapid growth, “our core values and the level of priority we place on company culture has remained the same since day one.”

Three Houston-area startups also are ranked: Houston-based 2nd.MD (No. 280), Pearland-based Code Ninjas (No. 350), and Houston-based Onit (No. 463).

rankings lists

career hotspot

Dallas excels as one of America's best cities to start a career

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Dallas is the second-best Texas city to start a career.

College graduates staying in Dallas are in the right place, according to a new WalletHub study. Dallas has made the top-15 on a new list of the best places in America for starting a career.

Dallas ranked 12th out of 182 U.S. cities based on its quality of life and vast opportunities for new college graduates transitioning into the workforce. The study compared each city based on 25 relevant metrics, like the availability of entry-level jobs, each city's annual job growth rate, workforce diversity, median annual income, housing affordability, and others.

Atlanta, Orlando, and Austin respectively comprised the top three best places to start a career.

Dallas ranked No. 11 nationwide for its professional opportunities for new college graduates, and appeared 69th overall for its quality of life. Whether its starting a new business or entering a high-earning job field, Dallas has many more opportunities than the vast majority of other cities on the list.

"The best cities for starting a career not only have a lot of job opportunities but also provide substantial income growth potential and satisfying work conditions," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "It’s also important to consider factors such as how fun a city is to live in or how good of a place it is for raising a family, to ensure life satisfaction outside of your career."

Three more North Texas cities made it into the top 100 best U.S. cities for early career professionals include Plano (No. 32), Irving (No. 42), and Fort Worth (No. 64).

Other Texas hotspots for early career professionals
Austin boasts the best quality of life out of all 182 cities in the report, and the 10th best professional opportunities. The state capital also outperformed all other U.S. cities with the highest monthly average starting salaries for early career workers after being adjusted for the city's cost of living. Austin also offers the 15th highest number of entry level jobs per capita, the report said.

"In addition, Austin’s median annual household income is the 10th-highest in the nation, providing strong earning potential for those starting a career or a business," the report said. "Austin is also the sixth best city for singles, offering a vibrant social scene alongside strong career opportunities for young professionals."

Elsewhere in Texas, Houston ranked 51st on the list, Amarillo ranked 73rd, and San Antonio was No. 85.

The top 10 best cities for starting a career are:

No. 1 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 2 – Orlando, Florida
No. 3 – Austin, Texas
No. 4 – Tampa, Florida
No. 5 – Miami, Florida
No. 6 – Charleston, South Carolina
No. 7 – Pittsburgh
No. 8 – Knoxville, Tennessee
No. 9 – Salt Lake City, Utah
No. 10 – Columbia, South Carolina

wallethub reports innovation jobs