The best companies to start a career in tech

Every time someone, and especially a new grad, asks me for recommendations of companies they should apply to, I point them to the excellent yearly “Career Launching Companies List” from Wealthfront.

It’s become somewhat of a truism in the Bay Area that the best companies aren’t the super early startups (too likely to fail and probably terribly mismanaged) nor the big companies (too strong a pressure to specialize, which is good for the company but not necessarily for you; often moving too slowly; teaching skills that only apply to that specific company; and less room for growth both financially and career-wise), but the ones right in the middle — those getting out of startup mode and on their way to become huge.

Every year, Wealthfront puts out their list of startups falling into this category, and I find that’s an excellent starting point for anybody starting a career in tech.