| Hot Startup Companies |
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StartupBUSINESS.COM set out to find the young companies that are blazing new trails in their respective markets. We found hundreds of very cool companies that are, well…hot. Innovation is flourishing in all sectors, driven by new thinking and new opportunities. Times have changed and today’s startups have changed with them. Even in this deep recessionary time, smart people are pursuing their passions and are hell-bent on controlling their futures and on changing the world. What makes a startup company hot? In a word…..uptake. The founders are quick to learn from their customers and quick to get traction in the marketplace. They may not be profitable, but most are seeing double-digit growth each quarter. A hot startup is one that has a unique insight. It fills a need that is not being offered by any other company in the space. It is not a one trick pony. Its products or services are really useful -- even critical -- to its customers. The industries that these companies compete in are depending upon them to bring a new era of prosperity. A hot startup’s position in the market is defensible, either with proprietary technology, superior features, an engaging user interface, or with relentless customer service that spawns an unshakeable loyalty among its users. A hot startup is poised for growth. It has a solid business model and the business is scalable, with the goal of reaching a global market and generating significant profits. But perhaps most importantly, a hot startup company is never resting on its initial success. It is constantly innovating, improving its products and developing related products to expand its customer base. Not all of the companies that made the list share all of these attributes, but they are well on their way. These are not house-hold names. In fact, we suspect you probably have not heard of most of these companies. That’s one of the things that make them hot. They are becoming successful and growing steadily, not on hype, but on results. How was this list of startup companies compiled? According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there are more than one million new businesses started in America each year. Many of them are lifestyle businesses and locally-oriented. The focus of this list is on growth companies that are working to serve a national or global market. While it is impossible to identify and assess all worthy startups, we did our best to cast a wide net. We asked our network of entrepreneurs, investors, journalists and public relations professionals for submissions. (A special thanks to HARO, a really useful service that generated many high quality submissions). We also tapped the various professional and social communities that cater to entrepreneurs. We received more than 300 submissions from every U.S. state, every Canadian province, London and Israel. If you know of other promising startups we should put on the list, please submit them here. A few data points about the submissions: Where are the startup companies located? While many of the startup companies that submitted an entry serve a national or global marketplace, most of them are based on the west coast or the east coast. Predictably, California is home to most of the startup companies that were submitted, followed by the New York / New Jersey area. Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington are also home to a high number of the startup companies that submitted an entry.
Most of the startup companies that were submitted were founded 2-3 years ago. Not surprisingly, the companies that were founded more than three years ago reported that they were profitable, or operating on a break-even basis. The companies that have been in business less than two years expect to be profitable this year. All of the companies that submitted an entry have launched and have revenue.
How are the startup companies funded?
Most of the companies that submitted an entry are self-funded, with the startup capital having been invested by the founders. Slightly more startups received capital from angel investors than venture funds, followed by friends and family. Not surprisingly, those that reported receiving angel or VC funding were more likely to be profitable, and more likely to have made our list of hot finalists.
Information technology, web services, mobile applications and services are still hot fields. Social media and eCommerce are spawning more consumer goods companies. Business-to-business services are strong, especially when combined with new-age advertising and marketing companies. New innovations have been introduced in the entertainment/gaming, travel, health and beauty sectors. Energy/clean tech is coming on strong, as you might expect given the times we live in. Life sciences startups are not well represented on our submissions list. Although there is undoubtedly a lot of startup activity in this sector, many of these startups are in a class by themselves. Because of the nature of this sector, many of the startups are in the pre-launch stage. Our criteria excluded companies that were not launched, or did not have customers.
The finalist at a glance: There is no predetermined number of companies that made the cut. Our objective is not to market the "Hot 100" or some other arbitray number of startups, but to identify any number of good companies. If a company met the criteria as outlined above, they made the cut. Only about 10% of the companie that submitted an entry made the final list. We hope to update the list regularly. The companies are listed in alphabetical order. To get more in-depth information about a company, click the “Read the profile” link in the last column. To see the list of companies we felt were worthy of honorable mention, click here. P.S. If you like a company, vote for it (click 1 to 5 stars above its logo), and add a comment. The founders would appreciate hearing what you think. Thanks!
For more information about these companies, or other companies, please checkout our affiliate partner, Small Business Reports.
Don't forget to checkout the Honorable Mention's List. These are some of the up-and-coming startup companies.
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When were the startup companies founded?
What industry sectors do the startup companies serve?
STARTING OR GROWING
A NEW BUSINESS?