Career-Launching Companies: These are the Companies You Should Work For
To win in the career market, you need to work at the best companies. These are the one's to know.
One of the most important things to do as a professional is to keep track of the companies worth working for.
If I hadn’t joined thredUP in 2014, I wouldn’t be sitting in the multimillion-dollar house that I’m writing to you from.
It’s because thredUP went public that I could afford such a thing.
(Let’s be honest: have you even heard of it?)
I want that for you — as well. To know the under-the-radar companies.
Besides money, there’s another huge benefit of working at these places: career growth. There is no other place I could have made Director at that age.
So, I wanted to compile the ultimate list of companies you need to track:
Career Launching Companies
🔒 Companies Hiring Aggressively
🔒 Companies That Have Recently Raised
🔒 The Market-Intelligence Based Job Search
🔒 The Ultimate Company Database
Let’s get into it.
1. Career Launching Companies
Your choice of company is more important than your job title, your pay, or your responsibilities.
—Andy Rachleff, CEO of Wealthfront
Wealthfront used to have this list, the “career launching companies list.” I used to track it closely. But they discontinued it way back in 2021.
With that hole in the market… I’m bringing it back.
The rules?
The company has to be private (so you can benefit from an IPO)
There needs to be a clear 10x potential from here
Should have a low risk of equity going to zero
These are the 214 pre-IPO companies that you need to know.
The Top 12
And what about a narrower list?
These are the top names you should know from each sector:
Now, I know what’s fashionable right now is to go work for a bootstrapped company that’s never going to IPO.
But, they are not going to give you the income opportunity of a company set to IPO.
And even if you are focused on bootstrapped companies and hate VC (like most of LinkedIn these days), I still think you should know a bit more about the top company in each sector.
So, let’s cover each one:
Core AI & Models - OpenAI
Who They Are: Behind ChatGPT, but you already know that.
Why You Want In: With $7.9B funding already locked in, PPU (profit participation unit) payoff with a blockbuster IPO is almost inevitable. You can quote me on it.
Job Board: OpenAI Careers
AI Applications - Runway
Who They Are: The leader in AI video tools, reshaping creative workflows.
Why You Want In: Sure to carve out the market cap once dominated by players like Adobe. As close to a sure thing as you get in this layer of AI.
Job Board: Runway Careers
Biotech & Pharma - Altos Labs
Who They Are: The most ambitious anti-aging moonshot on the planet.
Why You Want In: $3 B raised in stealth. Jeff Bezos on the cap table. This isn’t just an IPO bet—it’s a shot at curing aging and walking out rich and young.
Job Board: Altos Labs Careers
Digital Health - Devoted Health
Who They Are: Reinventing Medicare Advantage with a tech-first, patient-centric approach for seniors.
Why You Want In: Over $2B raised to disrupt a multi-trillion dollar industry. Get in before they become the next healthcare giant.
Job Board: Devoted Health Careers
Fintech - Stripe
Who They Are: The infrastructure layer for the internet’s money.
Why You Want In: $65 B valuation and a ticking time bomb of an IPO. The moment they file, this becomes the best decision of your career.
Job Board: Stripe Careers
Climate Tech - Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Who They Are: MIT-backed fusion startup chasing limitless clean energy.
Why You Want In: $2 B+ raised and a working magnet that changed the game. If they spark a net-positive reactor, your shares will explode.
Job Board: Northvolt Careers
Enterprise SaaS - Databricks
Who They Are: The platform that every serious data team is already using.
Why You Want In: $80 B valuation, massive AI play, and IPO rumors swirling every quarter.
Job Board: Databricks Careers
Consumer Tech - Fanatics
Who They Are: The sports merch empire you didn’t realize was a tech company.
Why You Want In: $31 B valuation and exclusive deals with every league that matters. They’re building the Amazon of sports. Get in before Rubin cashes in.
Job Board: Fanatics Careers
Cybersecurity - Netskope
Who They Are: Zero-trust security for a cloud-first world.
Why You Want In: $1B in funding, Gartner love, and IPO filings coming soon.
Job Board: Netskope Careers
Robotics & Autonomy - Zipline
Who They Are: The only drone company actually saving lives.
Why You Want In: $4.2 B valuation and signed deals with Walmart, Ghana, Japan. This IPO is close to guaranteed.
Job Board: Zipline Careers
Space & Defense - SpaceX
Who They Are: Launches rockets and connects the globe with Starlink, but you already knew that.
Why You Want In: $200B valuation already, and upcoming spinoff IPOs could redefine your career. (Even if you hate Elon.)
Job Board: SpaceX Careers
Frontier Tech - PsiQuantum
Who They Are: Building a million-qubit quantum computer from actual photons.
Why You Want In: $700 M raised to leapfrog Moore’s Law. If this works, it could be the NVIDIA of quantum.
Job Board: PsiQuantum Careers
2. Companies Hiring Aggressively
So that was the VC-backed, potential IPO candidates.
Now, what about the broader set of all companies that are hiring a lot of PMs right now?
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