The music thumped, the drinks went down and the 10 coolest companies in town were crowned at Austin Fest Wednesday night.
We hope you didn’t miss the party, the dancing and the bean bag tossing. But, if you did, let’s get you up to speed (and show off a couple dozen fun photos).
After looking closely at 100 coolest company nominations, our judges took on the daunting task of picking the eight coolest companies. Meanwhile, readers racked up hundreds of thousands of votes (seriously) for two reader’s choice coolest companies.
Here are the winners:
Reader's Choice
WP Engine: This company offers free lunch to employees every day and promoted over 13 percent of their employees in the past year. Also, they miracuosly racked up hundreds of thousands of votes.
FloSports: A developers dream, this startup pays for employees' code training and gives them time to do their own R&D work, while the company covers the cost.
Judges Picks
Aceable: This startup has their CEO's high school yearbook photo in office and get down with Fleeky Fridays. One employee even described it as “kind of cultish, but the fun kind.”
BigCommerce: They have a Street Fighter arcade game and plenty of other fun. They also have a wellness room for massages, and their employees use the company tech to build their own online e-commerce sites.
BuildASign: This company gives employees time off to volunteer and donates matching funds to employee's favorite charities. And they even rented out a waterpark for a company party last year.
Certain Affinity: There's never a shortage of beer or tacos here, and these game developers even have a Street Fighter Fight Club. Some of their work is in hot games like Halo and Call of Duty.
GasPedal: Their campus sits on 44 acres of hikable land, including a guest house for visiting friends and family. They have a full basketball court and employees get an unlimited book budget.
Square Root: This startup is spread across several cozy bungalows on West Sixth and gives employees $3,000 per year to use on personal development. At their Jaws boat party, their CEO went all out and dressed up as a shark attack victim.
TrendKite: New hires start by sabering off the top of a champagne bottle and hanging the cork from the gong. It's one of Austin's fastest growing companies, but the team takes a breather on Fridays for its Hall and Oates happy hour.
The Zebra: They may have the best views of Lady Bird Lake in town, which made their 4th of July party on the rooftop patio the bomb. The the company pays for 100 percent of employee healthcare premiums as well as a monthly maid service for their workers.
Congratulations to all the winners!
Now, let's get to those party photos...
All photos via Kandid.ly.
