Top 50 Startups to Work for After College

By Trish Reed | Mar 13, 2012

Finding a great job is tops on the minds of most college students as they near graduation, and for good reason. Discovering and landing that post-college job that truly excites and challenges is a great way to set your career path in the right direction early on. Luckily, today's batch of promising startup companies offer plenty of opportunities for achievement and growth across a wide range of industries, ranging from design to web development to health care.

The top 50 startups to work for after college were selected on a number of factors. These include the startup's mission, company culture and tendencies toward innovation and creativity. Many of the startups on this list offer competitive salaries and benefits for employees, as well as great work environments emphasizing teamwork, collaboration, and a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. Some offer extra perks like free lunches, in-office ping-pong tables, JSS (jeans, sneakers, sandals) dress codes, and even European work retreats. But the real heart of any company is the talent they acquire, and the startups on this list place the most emphasis on acquiring the best and brightest to help their companies move forward.

• Zillow.com is a Seattle real estate startup that emphasizes collaboration, innovation, and a great company culture that includes competitive benefits and a casual work atmosphere.

• PopCap Games, known for its award-winning games like Bejeweled and Zuma, seeks "whip-smart" and creative gaming people and offers opportunities worldwide.


• Outbrain seeks to help online readers find the best personalized content, and touts a great work environment with current job openings in U.S. and international locations.


• LightSail Energy emphasizes "regenerative air energy storage", and states an ongoing desire for "truly exceptional people" to join its exclusive team of engineers and scientists.


• BrightSource Energy, Inc, a startup focused on clean energy through thermal power systems, seeks "people of passion, ingenuity and integrity" to work with them.


• Scoutzie promotes the best mobile designers in the world, and as a relatively new startup, is currently building its "dream team" of employees.


• Kiva is a non-profit focused on alleviating poverty through microloans. Current job openings are listed on the organization's website.


• Diaspora, "an open-source and distributed community of social networks run by users", relies on its contributors to keep content fresh and diverse.


• GrubHub helps users find delivery and take-out food choices near their location, and lists available job openings on their company website.


• ClearSlide, a San Francisco-based sales communications platform, is "aggressively hiring top talent" in engineering, finance, marketing and sales.


• GoGrid, a fast-growing company that specializes in Cloud Infrastructure solutions, lists a variety of job openings in San Francisco.


• Manilla lets its users manage bills and accounts in one place, and promotes a fun, highly collaborative work environment.


• Splunk, a company with a vision to make machine data more accessible and usable, has its headquarters in San Francisco, as well as eight offices worldwide.


• crowdSPRING offers an online marketplace for logos and design, with more than 27,000 clients around the world.


• BringIt, a social gaming Virtual Currency Casino/Arcade, is "always looking for talented people" to join the San Francisco-based company.


• Lynda.com provides software training videos in a range of subjects. The fast-growing company lists current openings for its Ventura and Santa Barbara, Calif. offices.


• CrowdStar is one of the world's top social gaming companies, and states a need for "smart individuals" to join its rapidly growing team.


• BillShrink, a free cost-savings tool that helps users save on bills and expenses, lists current job openings for its headquarters in Redwood City, Calif.


• TerraCycle seeks to eliminate hard-to-recycle or non-recyclable waste, and posts career opportunities on its website.


• Square, a company that seeks to "reinvent how people pay and get paid", currently shows a number of open positions in areas ranging from creative to engineering.


• Warby Parker creates "boutique-quality" eyewear at a "revolutionary" price point, and its website lists open positions with the growing company.


• Bump offers users simple ways to interact with the real world via their mobile phones, and offers their employees a fun work atmosphere with competitive salary and benefits.


• Zipcar is "the world's largest car sharing and car club service", with more than a dozen locations in the US, UK, and Canada.


• Foursquare, a quickly growing company with offices in New York and San Francisco, builds products that help people and places connect more easily.


• Tech Cocktail curates a unique blend of technology news and information for tech enthusiasts, and currently seeks content creators for the site.


• SimpleTix is one of the fastest-growing startups in the US. The e-ticketing company seeks new talent for sales, marketing, engineering and operations.


• Grubwithus, a social dining network that connects real people over delicious food, lists a number of openings in its Venice, Calif. offices.


• HelloWallet, a startup based in Washington, D.C., helps members manage and improve their finances, and posts current job openings on its website.


• Badgeville, "the world's first Behavior Platform", seeks people who are interested in game mechanics, analytics, and social media.


• Razoo is an online fundraising site that touts a great work environment and an ongoing need for talented individuals.


• Opower, a "customer engagement platform for the utility industry", lists current job openings in San Francisco, Texas, Virginia, and the U.K.


• Gemvara allows the customer to play a part in designing pieces of jewelry, and shows job openings in its Boston and New York offices.


• Yerger Tech, a web development and smartphone app company, currently seeks website developers, smartphone application developers and social media managers.


• Fashion Playtes, a custom-design web clothing company for girls 5-12, offers career opportunities in marketing, technology, and site experience.


• Scoutmob offers users the best up-to-date deals for local businesses, and lists current job openings in a number of major U.S. cities.


• Stitcher, an Internet radio and mobile tech startup, has multiple job opportunities for its San Francisco-based offices.


• Koofers, Inc. is a student-driven social learning company for higher education, with a desire for "dedicated individuals" to join its growing team.


• Wanderfly provides personalized travel recommendations, and is looking for "people who thrive on new challenges".


• Zendesk helps growing companies manage customer support, and believes that great people are essential to making a great product.


• Uniiverse, "the world's marketplace for collaborative living", has current openings in San Francisco, Boston, Montreal and Toronto.


• Blurb allows users to make their own photo books online, and shows several job openings for its San Francisco offices.


• HealthWarehouse.com, an online pharmacy based in Florence, Ken., is looking for people who want to help "build the pharmacy of the future".


• Simplee, a platform for tracking and paying health care bills, offers users a simple way to understand and manage medical bills.


• FeeFighters, a comparison-based shopping site for credit card processing, helps businesses save 40 percent on average on processing fees.


• StumbleUpon is a rapidly growing company that helps users discover great Web content, and the company provides a number of "amazing" perks and benefits for employees.


• ParkingPanda, a young and fast-growing startup, needs help revolutionizing parking, currently hiring for their Baltimore and New York offices.


• Ember helps control energy usage through wireless networking tools, and seeks talented people for its U.S. and U.K. offices.


• Zaarly is an online, buyer-powered marketplace, currently hiring in their business, marketing and mobile divisions.


• Geekli.st was conceived as a platform for developers to show off their talents, outside the traditional resume format.


• Pinterest seeks to connect people through shared interests, and the fast-growing company lists a number of open positions on its website.