As part of our Sacramento Inno coverage, the Business Journal for the first time compiled a list of Startups to Watch in the new year. These startups are poised to make big moves, either in growth, funding, technology or development. We're highlighting 13 startups, generally with fewer than 100 employees, about 5 years old or less and that have raised less than $50 million. The group includes a diverse mix of companies throughout the region.
Startup to Watch: Sparck
Employee retention is one of the primary sources of pain for businesses in light of the “Great Resignation,” a phrase that was coined as many employees, for whatever reason, left their jobs in 2021.
A 2018 startup, Sacramento-based Sparck, has an app for that. It uses employee surveys paired with an easy-to-use dashboard that measures employee alignment, collaboration, fit with the company. It also has an employee recognition and reward platform that uses artificial intelligence to reward individual employees based on their hobbies, interests and goals. The premise of Sparck is that employees need to feel respected and rewarded for the work they perform, or they will seek opportunity elsewhere. With remote working, the need for managers and employers to know how employees feel about their place in the organization is even more important. Anna Straus, co-founder and CEO of Sparck, attended the San Francisco-based Founder Institute pre-seed accelerator, where she received the Women in Tech award and graduated top in her class.
