Best startup companies in California? Here are the top 10 places to work, Forbes said
A Northern California software company is the best place to work in the nation, according to Forbes.
The media company recently ranked America’s Best Startup Employers in 2025, singling out a total of 500 companies as great places to work.
“Choosing the right talent can make or break a startup,” Forbes said in a March 4 article, noting that employees “represent the heart and soul of a startup” as well as its biggest expense. “That’s why smart startups know that keeping employees happy is good for both the workers and the business.”
Cribl in San Francisco was No. 1 on Forbes’ list of the top U.S. startups to find a job, rising five places compared to Forbes’ 2024 list.
Boston tech company CodaMetrix came in second place, while Hightouch in San Francisco took the No. 3 spot.
A total of eight companies headquartered in California made Forbes’ list of the top 10 U.S. startup companies to get a job.
What make California startup companies good employers?
According to Forbes, the best startup employers are those that maintain employee engagement and satisfaction — taking an innovative approach when it comes to projects and hiring.
Lunar Energy in Mountain View, which develops solar energy solutions to power homes, was No. 4 on Forbes’ list of the best startup employers in the United States.
“A lot of companies look at statistics to fill employees, and you have recruiters that try to fill positions as quickly as possible,” Ed Franklin, head of people at Lunar Energy, told Forbes. “But (we) take our time with the people we hire.”
Lunar Energy also communicates with employees effectively, which has “helped us hit milestones,” Franklin said.
California is one of the top states in the nation to start an online business, thanks to its balance of “technology and lifestyle,” according to a new study by print-on-demand company Printful.
“The entrepreneurial spirit is strong” in California, marketing outreach organization Team California said on its website, with 141 business startups for every 100,000 residents in the state.
“This is due, in part, to the billions of dollars of venture capital available to California entrepreneurs and to California’s culture of supporting new businesses,” the group said.
What are the top 10 startup employers in California?
These are the top 10 startup companies to work for in California, according to Forbes:
- Cribl in San Francisco
- Hightouch in San Francisco
- Lunar Energy in Mountain View
- Mercury in San Francisco
- Whatnot in Marina del Rey
- Anthropic in San Francisco
- Mesh in San Jose
- Pacaso in San Francisco
- Mill in San Bruno
- OpenAI in San Francisco
What are the top 10 US startups to work for?
According to Forbes, these are the best 10 startup employers in the United States:
- Cribl in San Francisco
- CodaMetrix in Boston
- Hightouch in San Francisco
- Lunar Energy in Mountain View
- Mercury in San Francisco
- Whatnot in Marina Del Rey
- Anthropic in San Francisco
- Wiz in New York
- Mesh in San Jose
- Pacaso in San Francisco
How did Forbes come up with rankings?
Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to identify and evaluate 3,000 privately-held companies headquartered in the United States.
Each startup had more than 50 employees and was founded between 2015 and 2022, Forbes said, noting that it focused on independent companies as opposed to spinoffs of larger corporation.”
Forbes and Statista focused on three primary areas — company reputation, employee satisfaction and growth — looking at factors ranging from social media posts and online reviews to job openings and website traffic growth rates.
The 500 startups with the highest scores made the final list of America’s Best Startup Employers in 2025.
This story was originally published March 23, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Best startup companies in California? Here are the top 10 places to work, Forbes said."
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