There’s a chill in the air, but not even December weather can freeze NYC tech growth. Despite the challenges of remote work and managing company strategy in the midst of uncertain market conditions, NYC tech companies have powered forward, collecting new rounds of investment and relentlessly building visions for the future.
To showcase an impressive 2021, we’ve rounded up eight companies to keep an eye on as we head into the new year. If you’re feeling short on stocking stuffers, a job offer for one of the hundreds of positions currently available might be the gift you’re looking for.
What they do: Caesars Digital connects with more than 20 million daily users across numerous gaming and betting platforms for everything from auto and horse racing to football, baseball, boxing and more.
Expanding horizons: Tech GM Michael Worthington recently shared with Built In how Caesars Digital is growing alongside the betting market. “Our industry is only getting larger as new states legalized sports betting and online gaming. The same is true for the product and tech organization at Caesars Digital. We’re continually hiring and growing,” he said. And it’s true — the company currently has an impressive 98 positions open.
Moving fast: Caesars Digital was recently featured in Sports Business Journal as one of the most influential drivers in the industry. Having only entered the sports betting market late this summer, it has already earned an NFL league sponsorship and a high-profile deal with Madison Square Garden.
What they do: Backed by top-notch venture capital and a roster of customers that include Twitch, Delivery Hero and monday.com, Torii offers modern SaaS management for IT and finance teams to help them solve complex challenges with their internal tools.
Remote, but not distant: Most of Torii’s team was hired during the pandemic, giving them a crash-course in remote onboarding and engagement. Some of the tools they lean on include a welcome document that outlines team culture and benefits, a virtual new-hire lunch, and one-on-one coffee meetings to replicate spontaneous connections.
Insider knowledge: Torii regularly posts to its “Life at Torii” blog, offering curious readers insight into what it’s like to work on their team, how they support employee growth and projects they’re working on.
What they do: By leveraging its technology for predictive funds availability, Orum provides enterprises with an automated, machine learning-based platform that enables fluid money transfers at any time, any day of the year.
Who they serve: While Orum is used by banks, insurance companies and lenders, money management is certainly not exclusive to enterprises. Orum’s platform also supports individual personal finance goals, as well as fast and low-cost “instant payouts” to gig economy workers.
Building diversity: In a recent blog post, Orum shared that they have teamed up with a DEI consultant, committed to auditing procedures and collected qualitative data from employees to ensure opportunity is spread equally across the team. Recognizing the influence that companies can have on their investors, Orum actively seeks investment opportunities from traditionally marginalized groups through groups like the Cap Table Coalition.
What they do: DISQO is a consumer insights platform that deciphers and connects nuanced human behavior across brand experiences. Their products enable businesses and brands to fuel growth, equipped with information on what people think and do throughout the consumer journey.
Skyrocketing growth: Named in the latest Deloitte Technology Fast 500™, DISQO ranks among the 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech and energy tech companies in North America. At 414 percent growth, and on its second year making the list, DISQO has no plans to slow down any time soon.
Hiring broadly: With so much growth, it’s no surprise that they currently have 50 positions open across engineering, sales, product, UX and more. To attract top talent, they offer a stacked list of benefits like paid industry certifications, performance bonuses and unlimited vacation.
What they do: On a mission to bring data and insights to the legal market, Bodhala has built a platform that enables corporate legal departments to efficiently and accurately track spend, giving them greater leverage to select firms and negotiate rates.
Proof in the numbers: In a field that is notoriously expensive, optimizing legal spend can save companies significant sums of money. In one case study on the company site, a top private equity firm leveraged Bodhala’s market benchmarking tools to save 17 percent (translation: over $27 million) on their rates in just the first year.
Leading solutions: With a combination of more than $20 billion worth of invoice data, publicly available data, and proprietary third-party data, Bodhala’s AI-powered platform has immense amounts of information to inform, analyze and improve decision making. That tech hasn’t gone unnoticed, and Bodhala was named winner of the Overall Legal Analytics Solution of the Year award in the second annual LegalTech Breakthrough Awards.
What they do: Since 2015, DriveWealth has been breaking down the barriers between global investors and U.S. markets to improve the financial health of traditionally underserved and underbanked communities.
Full-service guidance: DriveWealth’s cloud-based platform offers partner brands and their customers access to broader investment markets. But it doesn’t stop there. Their team comprises technology and brokerage experts who guide partners through product integration and launch, with industry experience that monitors regulatory compliance along the way.
Diversity in the numbers: DriveWealth has reached almost 300 employees, 34 percent of whom are underrepresented minorities. Its team members speak 24 languages, identify with 55 different nationalities, and come from 22 different states.
What they do: Nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. And when 70 percent of therapists don’t accept insurance, the vast majority of those individuals do not get the care they need. Headway has a different vision for the future, and is building the first software-enabled national network of therapists who accept health insurance.
Connecting care: Since it began, Headway has facilitated 803,722 therapy appointments, serving 64,900 patients, and bringing 12,199 therapists and psychiatrists to people who may not previously have had access to mental health care.
Raising funds: Last spring, Headway raised a $70 million Series B funding round. The funding was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Thrive, GV and Accel. The round brought the company’s total funding raised to $103 million and valuation to $750 million.
What they do: AvePoint provides an advanced platform for SaaS and data management to optimize SaaS operations and secure collaboration. More than 8 million cloud users rely on its solutions to manage, migrate and protect digital data.
Spotlighting success: AvePoint’s recruitment practice seeks out candidates across the spectrum of identities, qualities and characteristics. With employees located across the globe, AvePoint has cultivated a workforce that it proudly showcases regularly through what they call talent spotlights.
Fully remote, fully engaged: Chief Customer Officer Tom Lin recently shared with Built In how AvePoint’s team uses virtual tools to stay connected. “Our people team has done a great job introducing virtual happy hours, remote exercise challenges and numerous other fun activities to keep employee engagement and morale high,” he said.
