Take Note: 22 Austin Companies to Watch This Fall

Autumn is unfolding in Austin. Whether you’re throwing on a hoodie and heading to a Longhorns game, visiting a haunted house or trail, or heading to a winery for some cider in Hill Country, it might also be a good time to catch up on the movers and shakers in your local tech scene — and Built In Austin has curated 22 noteworthy companies to get you started.

With more than $114 million raised by Austin startups in August alone, many of the city’s tech employers are unveiling upgrades to the breadth, depth and inclusion of their culture and perks.

The Austin-based companies we featured are special in many ways, but all 22 have one thing in common: They are unique, people-first organizations well worth keeping on your radar in the fall season ahead.
 

 

 

What they do: Miro’s collaborative whiteboard platform can be used to brainstorm product ideas, run meetings and workshops, diagram workflows and more.

 

 

VIP at the tres commas club: Miro raised a massive $400 million Series C back in January that valued the company at $17.5 billion. The round came on the back of explosive growth during the pandemic, with Miro’s user base growing from 5 million to 30 million. Miro doubled its headcount from 2021 to 2022 and told Built In in November of 2021 that it planned to hire 200 people for its Austin office this year.

 

 

 

What they do: AdAction is a mobile performance marketing company whose technology helps e-commerce companies, brands and game developers attract users and monetize their offerings. 

 

 

Find your career here: “Leadership embraces the importance of exposing employees to different channels, especially early in their careers,” said Kevin Brogan, director of supply, in a May 2022 interview with Built In. “AdAction established a rotational program that lets new employees rotate between departments before defining what they want to accomplish in their career and add to their skill set. Alumnus of this program have grown into some of our leaders today.”

 

 

 

What they do: Restaurants work with inKind to get more diners through the door by offering credit that is as good as cash and comes with bonus credit and perks, including access to exclusive events and tastings.

 

 

Movin’ on up: Summer of 2022 was big for inKind, with the company opening its first office in downtown Austin. At the time of the announcement, the company said it had 50 employees and planned to hire an additional 20 before year’s end. The company currently has open roles across the board, with a particular focus on sales and tech teams.

 

 

 

What they do: Mothership connects companies with cargo to move to local freight carriers for last-mile deliveries.

 

 

Support to pursue new career paths: “Making the move from consumer marketing to B2B marketing is a whole new challenge and presents many opportunities to learn and develop completely new strategies for this audience,” Pete Prior, director of product marketing, told Built In this past August. “Mothership provides me with so many opportunities to learn, sharpen my skills and continue to grow at the company.”

 

 

 

 

What they do: Homeowners use Modernize to plan their next home improvement project and connect with local contractors who can assist with everything from installing new windows or security systems to updating home heating and cooling systems.

 

 

Holistic career development: “It’s been hugely impactful for my career to work for a company that understands that being the best and healthiest version of ourselves outside of work will help us bring our best selves to the workplace,” Megan Wolfe, director of enterprise account management, told Built In in February. “I think the company’s focus on personal development and work-life balance has been one of the most important factors of building a successful and sustainable career.”

 

 

 

What they do: Lansweeper’s Deepscan engine helps simplify processes for IT professionals working in ever-more complex and challenging environments. Lansweeper helps eliminate blind spots, provides centralized data and offers teams a shared vocabulary in order to improve security, automate routine tasks and offer clarity for IT teams.

 

 

Marketers wanted: Lansweeper currently has multiple openings on its marketing team. The high-powered team operates with a “work hard-play hard” culture while aiming for continual improvement. “We are on the cusp of something great, and I’ve never been more excited about leading a team,” Chief Revenue Officer David Frignoca told Built In Austin. Marketers can anticipate working alongside talented colleagues to help catapult Lansweeper’s growth to the next level.

 

 

 

What they do: Canva’s design platform is designed to be easy to use and features a wide variety of templates, a drag-and-drop interface and collaboration tools.

 

 

Supporting women in tech: “As a member of our Austin hub, I help lead the women in sales network by hosting quarterly events and sparking community within the U.S. sales and success team,” Julie Flodr, U.S. enterprise CSM lead, told Built In in August. “Recently, our group brought in an external career coach to talk us through overcoming imposter syndrome. All the women on the team shared their examples of imposter syndrome and how to overcome it. I still use these techniques.”

 

 

 

What they do: Indeed Flex is a platform for finding flexible employment in a wide variety of industries, including retail, hospitality and industrial.

 

 

Connected culture: Lead Talent Acquisition Specialist Miya Clark described Indeed Flex’s company culture as “extraordinary.” For Clark, Indeed Flex’s internal support network and caring approach to relationship-building stand out. “Indeed Flex offers a collaborative culture defined by transparent communication, positive feedback, flexibility and fun,” she told Built In Austin.

 

 

 

 

What they do: AffiniPay builds payment technology for lawyers, architects, CPAs and others in professional services industries.
 

 

Addition by acquisition: AffiniPay added a new company to its portfolio in June, acquiring legal practice management software company MyCase for an undisclosed sum. According to a press release, the MyCase acquisition expands AffiniPay’s reach in the law industry to more than 65,000 firms and 200,000 professionals between the United States and Canada.

 

 

 

What they do: Brinqa’s Cyber Risk Graph offers a wide array of tools for cybersecurity professionals including relevant security and business data, a common data ontology and cybersecurity insights and outcomes

 

 

Extra-special offsites: In 2021, Brinqa announced a $110 million institutional investment from Insight Partners that has powered tremendous growth over the last year, with more on the horizon. “When evaluating potential new team members we always look for individuals who best reflect our company values of innovation, collaboration, excellence and passion,” an employee told Built In Austin last year. “We want to make sure that we grow the company in the most effective, efficient and responsible way possible by leveraging the most cutting-edge tools, practices and processes.”

 

 

 

What they do: Companies undergoing digital transformation or adopting new technologies use Apty’s no-code software to help educate employees on how to use their new tools.

 

 

Who they want to hire: Our team is full of sharp, driven and — most importantly — compassionate people who understand why their work matters without discounting the value of having fun while doing it,” Will Caro, senior director of revenue operations and enablement, told Built In in May of this year. “When considering prospective colleagues, mindset, humility, intellectual curiosity and grit outweigh bullet points on a resume. We are building something special and want to invest in people with high potential and the hunger to succeed.”

 

 

 

 

What they do: RapidDeploy is an open and integrated emergency response platform, supporting 911 call centers across the U.S. Their software tools support increased responsiveness when it matters most, and their company culture reflects their commitment to continuous improvement, even while shifting to a virtual-first environment. 

 

 

Remote-first culture: “When we first went remote, we had little choice in the matter, but we have moved into embracing it fully,” People Operations Specialist Martine Friedland told Built In Austin in July. “This had its challenges, but with a regular cadence of virtual team meets and check-ins we have managed to navigate this new remote world and still create a culture of cohesion in sync with one another.”

 

 

 

What they do: Companies and government agencies use Hypori’s technology to enable employees to safely access highly secure cloud applications using their personal devices.

 

 

Turning expertise into leadership: “I’m co-leading a cross-functional team focused on resource automation and optimization,” Doug Palmer, senior DevOps engineer, told Built In back in June. “Sharing what I’ve learned from previous projects and seeing our team’s skill set expand has been a fulfilling experience. I enjoy being seen as a technical expert, and as we continue to grow our team, I look forward to future mentoring opportunities. I believe our team’s growth will lead me into more technical leadership roles, and I love that we promote from within.”

 

 

 

What they do: Enboarder’s people activation platform is designed to provide new hires a more personalized onboarding experience and to increase employee engagement with HR programs.

 

 

Raise the (funding) roof: Enboarder closed a $32 million Series B back in February, bringing its funding total to $50 million. CEO Brent Pearson told Built In that the round would go toward growing its platform and team. Pearson said the company would nearly double headcount in the next year, which would amount to making around 130 new hires. Austin is Enboarder’s U.S. headquarters and the home of its sales, marketing, HR and finance teams.

 

 

 

What they do: Elevate Brands helps leading Amazon brands reach their full potential by supporting their growth across global markets. After experiencing tremendous growth in 2021, the company raised $317.5 million in funding.

 

 

Collaborative culture: “Hard-working and collaborative” is how Human Resources Coordinator Paige Cacace described Elevate Brands’ culture. “We’re all working together toward one goal, so everyone wants to win.” The remote-first team has no-meeting Wednesdays, strong communication and a culture of “paying it forward” to help their peers succeed. With that support, it’s no surprise that Elevate Brands employees are growing with the company with promotions and performance bonuses.

 

 

 

 

What they do: Overhaul is a logistics software provider whose technology is designed to help companies mitigate supply chain risks, maintain regulatory compliance and cut insurance costs.

 

 

A holistic approach to employee wellness: “BAMM, or body and mind movement, is blocked daily on every employee’s calendar, and people BAMM by stepping away to walk, run, meditate, do yoga and more,” said Amy Campbell, chief people officer, back in February. “We also have a boosted employee assistance program that includes a wealth of health and life services, like direct access to mental health practitioners, nurses, attorneys, financial professionals, dependent care specialists and a library of community resource information.”

 

 

 

What they do: Companies use Imprivata's third-party remote access platform to control who from outside the organization can access what critical systems and data.

 

 

Evolving via acquisition: The next chapter in Imprivata’s story will be written as part of Imprivata, a Massachusetts-based IT security company. The company acquired Imprivata for an undisclosed sum in a deal completed in April 2022.

 

 

 

What they do: Dental practices use Membersy’s subscription management and billing platform to offer patients a new way to access and pay for dental care.

 

 

The time is now (to apply): “Now is the time to join,” Jake Carlson, head of product, told Built In in March 2022. “We are making key hires in various departments to build out high-performing teams. As one such hire, I’ve been given autonomy that I’ve never experienced before in my career. Management hires competent people and lets them decide and drive what success looks like in their respective departments.”

 

 

 

What they do: Homeward helps people secure their dream homes via the power of cash, with the company fronting the funds for homes and then selling them back to the original buyer.

 

 

According to Forbes: Homeward is one of the best startup employers in the country. As one of only five Austin companies to make the cut, the company ranked 121 out of 2,500 startups   evaluated by Forbes and market research firm Statista for their 2022 list of America’s Best Startup Employers. Companies had to be founded between 2012 and 2019 and have at least 50 employees to be in consideration and were ranked on employer reputation, employee satisfaction and growth.

 

 

 

 

What they do: Redgate Software provides tools for use on the Microsoft Data Platform. While their software is complex to build, it is simple to use and powers work at 91 percent of Fortune 100 companies.

 

 

Giving back: Redgate Software’s commitment to community engagement reflects its team culture. The “Give Something Back” initiative finds ways for Redgate to engage in philanthropic efforts, outreach and community inclusion activities, Built In Austin learned in 2019. Past partners have included Blue Santa, Austin Pets Alive!, The Trevor Project and Drive a Senior.

 

 

 

What they do: Ibble is a social media company whose app enables people to join interest-focused communities and chat back and forth with their members and friends via videos, text, audio and images.

 

 

Everyone makes an impact: “We operate in pods with a flat organizational structure,” Raymond Kaminiski, CEO and co-founder, told Built In. “Every employee from intern to CEO is empowered to find ways to improve our product. This starts with listening to our users and employees so we can develop repeatable tests. We learn together through every moment, allowing every person at the company to develop creative solutions.”

 

 

 

What they do: Saatva is a direct-to-consumer mattress and luxury home goods company.

 

 

Challenging, rewarding work: “My vision for Saatva engineering is to be the place where you can do the best work of your career,” Scott Harger, VP of engineering, said. “Due to our unique market opportunity we have the unusual combination of a 10-year track record and tremendous growth. Growth brings significant challenges, both technical and professional, but it rewards those willing to work together.”