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).

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Drive time

Tesla’s driverless Cybercabs are preparing to hit the roads in Dallas

X/Tesla

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Tesla’s self-driving Cybercabs, already on the roads of Austin, will be roaming the streets of Dallas in the near future.

In an October 10 post on the X social media platform, Tesla’s vice president of AI software, Ashok Elluswamy, said Cybercabs are coming “soon” to Dallas. He offered no timeline.

The futuristic Cybercab differs significantly from Tesla’s more laidback Model Y Robotaxi, which cruised into the Dallas area this spring.

Both autonomous electric vehicles are manufactured in Austin, where Tesla is based. The Robotaxi Tracker website shows 319 Cybercabs and 420 Robotaxis are registered in Texas today.

Perhaps the most striking difference between the Cybercab and Robotaxi is the absence or presence of driving controls.

The Cybercab — made especially for driverless ride-hailing trips — lacks a steering wheel, gas pedal, and brake pedal, among other typical fixtures. The vehicle uses camera vision and sensors to navigate streets, highways, parking lots, and more. The Robotaxi features a traditional steering wheel and pedals.

Another difference: The Cybercab’s bench-style seating accommodates only two passengers. Depending on the configuration, a Robotaxi can carry up to four or five passengers in the front row and rear row. Touchscreens are installed in both rows. The Cybercab comes with a single touchscreen.

A Cybercab’s exterior color stands out — either a matte or glossy golden shade — and comes with two butterfly doors. The Robotaxi has a less-flashy paint scheme and a more conventional four-door setup.

Also unlike the Robotaxi, the Cybercab isn’t equipped with side mirrors, a rearview mirror, or a back window.

Inside the Cybercab, you’ll find a large interactive touchscreen, and enough cargo room for large items like luggage, golf clubs, and scooters.

Elluswamy’s comment about Dallas came in response to an X post saying Austin had more than 300 Cybercabs. The cars, which launched in Austin last month, were spotted throughout the city during the just-concluded ACL Music Festival.

In Tesla’s July call with Wall Street analysts, Elluswamy praised the Cybercab as “a phenomenal product.”

“Anyone who rides in it instantly falls in love with the experience,” he said.

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) may not be in love with the Cybercab, though. It has launched two investigations into them.

In September, NHTSA opened an investigation into data that Tesla supplied to obtain federal certification of the Cybercab. Investigation paperwork notes their lack of a steering wheel, gas pedal, brake pedal, and mirrors.

This month, the federal agency opened an investigation into reports that Cybercabs and Robotaxis had exceeded posted speed limits in active school zones.

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