ABOUT

LETTER FROM THE EDITORs

In the past century, the American conception of work has shifted from jobs to careers to callings—from necessity to status to meaning. (Source: The Atlantic)

While there is a dark underbelly to workism - trying to realize our full humanity in work - we do want to celebrate 100 early-stage companies who are radically on-mission and creating human-first cultures that contribute to their employees’ sense of meaning, value, well-being and belonging.

Some missions worth highlighting:
- A.Team: Unleashing superpowers with cloud-based teams.
- BeMe - Supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of all teens.
- Mystery - Connecting morale to a company’s bottom line.
- Patch - Scaling the carbon removal industry.

We are living in uncertain times - full stop. It’s our personal conviction that human-first culture is the antidote to fear.

We hope you’ll take a minute to learn more about the 36 Seed and 64 Series A companies who are raising the bar for what it means to be an employer in 2022 and beyond.

Warmest,
Hannah Yeargan + Kristen Song

METHODOLOGY & ELIGIBILITY

Out of 500+ companies that raised Seed & Series A rounds over the past year, Will Reed selected the Top 100 with the following criteria:

Location - Your company is based in the US. At least one of the following must be true:
a) Your HQ is in the US.
b) You have a significant “hub” in the US or are actively building one.
c) The majority of your workforce is located in the US.
Early-stage - You are currently a Seed or Series A company.
Employee Count - Your company has at least five (5) full-time employees.
Business Model - Your company is a B2B company. We are not currently accepting applications for B2C companies.
Human-First Culture - Your company's application will be anonymously scored by the Top 100 Judges' Panel. The judges will be evaluating your company's responses to the nine (9) questions related to culture.

FAQS

What is this award for?

At Will Reed, we believe early-stage founders are creating our future. The Top 100 was created to shine a spotlight on Seed and Series A companies who are building great products and creating human-first cultures. We also know every little bit of employer branding support helps and we love showcasing exemplary companies to the world through this annual award.

Who is Will Reed?

Will Reed is a go-to-market executive search firm and talent destination built exclusively for early-stage founders. We partner with early-stage founders to build out stellar teams, human-first cultures and enduring talent infrastructure so that you can find, win and retain top talent.