Six companies with local ties – though none that are formally headquartered here – appeared on Forbes’ recently published Best Startup Employers List.
The annual list is compiled in partnership with Statista and included an evaluation of 2,500 U.S. businesses with at least 50 employers on three criteria: employer reputation, employee satisfaction and growth. The final list ranked 500 employers.
Locally relevant companies include:
Tackle.io
Rank: 161
Tackle is headquartered in Boise but has strong Buffalo ties. Investor-turned-CEO John Jahnke lives in Orchard Park. As of December, 17 “Tacklers” were working in Western New York.
Read Jahnke's comments about becoming a unicorn tech company
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Torch
Rank: 174
Torch is based in San Francisco but chose to build its engineering team in Buffalo, where about 20 people now work. The company is moving into the HANSA co-working space in the coming weeks.
Read about Torch's recent move into new Buffalo office space
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KeepTruckin
Rank: 227
KeepTruckin decided to build a software team in Buffalo before it was cool. The Bay Area-based tech firm reported to Business First last year that it has 28 local employees from its Amherst office.
Check out Business First's list of top local tech employers, including KeepTruckin
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Vangst
Rank: 256
Cannabis hiring platform Vangst was founded Karson Humiston, an East Aurora native who now lives in Colorado. The company has a handful of employees in Buffalo and hopes to add more this year.
Read a recent Business First feature on Humiston
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Jerry
Rank: 314
Palo Alto-based Jerry decided to build an operations and customer service hub several years ago in Lockport. Now nearly half of its 200 employees are based Western New York.
Read about Jerry's growth in Buffalo
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Bitwise Industries
Rank: 407
Fresno-based Bitwise Industries is expanding its unique workforce/tech hub model across the country and has chosen Buffalo as one of its initial cities. The company has a few employees in Western New York and has started holding virtual classes aimed at local workers.
