FUTURE OF WORK 100 RANKING

FUTURE OF WORK 100 RANKING

In addition to this week’s podcast with HR-TECH Crack Thomas Otter from Acadian Ventures, I also spoke to the other general partner at Acadian Ventures, Jason Corsello. The topic is the very interesting FUTURE WORK 100 RANKING from Acadian Ventures. Must read for any HR-Tech savy person. So – let’s go:

SATKORN: Please introduce yourself and Acadian Ventures to the SAATKORN readers.

At Acadian, our mission is to help founders build enduring companies that unlock human potential.  We strive to back ambitious founders that are improving the world by modernizing health, wealth & work. We invest globally.

Our investing team is led by our two General Partners, Jason Corsello and Thomas Otter. Both have decades of experience in WorkTech and HRTech as operators and investors. Jason was on the executive leadership team at Cornerstone OnDemand where he led global strategy, corporate development, and corporate venture capital initiatives. Thomas led product management for SAP SuccessFactors. More recently, he has been an angel investor and advisor to companies including Peakon (acquired by Workday), SmartRecruiters, hiBob, and 360 Learning.

SAATKORN: A few days ago, you published the first edition of the FUTURE OF WORK 100 report. This is a ranking of the leading startup companies backed by VC. What’s the idea behind the report and what criteria is needed to be included in this list?

We had seen various lists for other sectors of companies, but not Future of Work. The Future of Work 100 comprises venture-backed companies that have built work-specific solutions. These solutions are predominantly business-to-business (B2B) applications.
The Future of Work 100 is ranked based on two key metrics: valuation and revenue per employee. The last round valuation is the most recent, publicly available valuation. Revenue per employee is calculated based on estimated revenue divided by the number of employees.

SAATKORN: What kind of data did you analyze to gather your findings, what’s your methodology?

We leverage three primary sources of our data: Pitchbook, Linkedin, and our own proprietary data.  Pitchbook is our primary data source where we capture valuation, revenue, and employee data.  We leverage Linkedin as a secondary source primarily for employee data.  Lastly, as a highly-specialized venture firm, Acadian Ventures captures our own proprietary data that we use to complete our analysis.

SAATKORN: Let’s have a look at the FUTURE OF WORK 100 startups. What do these companies have in common?

The Future of Work 100 includes 64 companies currently valued over $1 billion, 20 “rising stars”, with valuations ranging from $500 million to nearly $1 billion, and 16 “up & comers”, or companies valued less than $500 million. We expect you will recognize many of the names on the list. Some of those companies have captured eye-popping valuations and continue to grow aggressively in the midst of a looming recession.

Collectively, the Future of Work 100 maintains a market capitalization of over $200 billion. The companies on this year’s list come from 16 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, and South America. The companies also span many categories including productivity and collaboration, HR and payroll, and health and wellness. What’s most exciting about the list, though, is that the companies are addressing fundamental challenges that create more sustainable work and enduring workforces.

SAATKORN: Are there any market segments that you see within this list? What kind of trends underly your findings?

We have tried to cover the broad spectrum of the future of work:

• People and Jobs
• Operations and Management
• Development and Skills
• Health and Wellness
• Culture and Engagement
• Productivity & Collaboration

The list highlights robust growth across all sectors.

SAATKORN: Looking at regions it’s a no brainer that US companies make by far the majority of your list. How many companies from Germany are included and who are they?

Personio, Staffbase, CoachHub and Zenjobs, and then beekeeper from Switzerland. We would love to see more German companies break into the list.

SAATKORN: Any surprises from your perspective when you look at your ranking?

While we spend all day looking at the space, we are constantly surprised by how many new companies are having an impact on the market. This is an exciting and innovative space.

SAATKORN: Do you plan annually for the FUTURE OF WORK 100 report?

Yes, we will. And we will publish more in depth analysis on the report.

SAATKORN: Thanks, Jason. And all the best and much fun with Acadian Ventures!

You can listen to the SAATKORN podcast with Thomas Otter, the other General Partner of Acadian Ventures, HERE. 

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