Professional social media outlet LinkedIn has revealed its third annual Top Startups series, profiling 10 young and resilient companies where Australians want to work today.
The list is based on analysis from editors and data scientists of LinkedIn's 11 million members in Australia.
Four main metrics were used to determine the companies: employee growth; jobseeker interest; member engagement with the company and its employees; and how well the startups pulled talent from the LinkedIn Top Companies list.
To be eligible, companies must be seven years old or younger, have at least 50 employees, and be privately held and headquartered in Australia. This list has been republished with permission from LinkedIn.
1. Judo Bank
This challenger business bank, which provides small and medium enterprises with funding and services to grow their businesses, hasn't let the pandemic slow it down - it recently doubled its headcount, expanded into Perth, was labelled a unicorn with a total value of over $1 billion and hit its goal of profitability in record time.
2. Volt Bank
This consumer neobank considers itself to be the next generation of banking, offering the latest payment innovations to customers. With a range of tech collaboration tools already at its disposal, it was able to provide a smooth remote working experience for its teams and hit some critical milestones during the pandemic, such as the beta launch of everyday transaction account Volt Spend.
3. Lab3
This award-winning technology company specialising in cloud-based solutions aims to help businesses and government agencies stay competition and evolve quickly. Born in the cloud and with a culture of flexible working already ingrained, LAB3's transition to working from home during the pandemic has been seamless for employees its retention rate of 98.5 per cent speaks for itself.
4. Expert360
A skilled marketplace where companies can hire elite consultants, project managers, data analysts and developers, Expert360 met the challenges of the pandemic head on introducing its first company-wide flexible-first working model whilst expanding globally to service key clients in Europe and Asia.
5. Employment Hero
Employment Hero creates software to help small and medium-sized businesses with their end-to-end employment, including HR, payroll and employee engagement. Reacting swiftly to the coronavirus pandemic, the company launched a COVID-19 resource hub to help small businesses respond, and shifted its own team to an entirely remote model. Because it has been so successful, Employment Hero will remain a remote-first business going forward.
6. Go1
This Brisbane-based corporate training marketplace helps connect individuals and businesses globally to a range of training programs. By focusing on mental health and wellbeing, the company's teams performed "above and beyond expectations" throughout the pandemic, resulting in the most successful quarter of the year.
7. Xinja
An independent, made-for-mobile, 100 per cent digital bank, Xinja received its full banking licence in September. Its systems are in the cloud and its Xinjarati (call centre) can operate entirely remotely when needed - such as during a pandemic. The company recently announced the launch of Dabble, its US share trading platform, and plans to roll out personal lending to the public in Q4.
8. Shippit
Describing itself as the world's simplest shipping platform, Shippit uses algorithms to help retailers match with the best carriers. The company quickly transitioned to working from home when the pandemic hit and, thanks to a shift in consumer behaviour, saw its business grow at 3x growth for 2020. It's now been operating profitably for the past five months.
9. WithYouWithMe
Originally created by veterans to solve the problem of veteran unemployment, WithYouWithMe helps companies and individuals start new digital careers and deploys workers into in-demand roles. During (and despite!) the pandemic, it launched in Canada and secured a partnership with the Canadian government.
10. Willow
A tech company that works in the buildings and infrastructure (rail) sectors, Willow provides access to high-quality, real-time data through its software platform. The pandemic forced it to transition to an almost entirely remote work model which, to its own surprise, has helped it to collaborate better across its global offices thanks to a greater sense of comradery and community. The company has just released the latest version of its WillowTwin software in North America.
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