It’s no secret that San Francisco is a hub for tech companies. With big funding rounds, experienced leadership teams and a never-ending thirst for tech breakthroughs, the Bay Area is constantly growing, developing and innovating.
CBRE’s 2021 Scoring Tech Talent report saw San Francisco retain its first place ranking among all North American tech markets for its ability to attract and develop talent. The area also took the top spot as the largest tech talent labor pool in the United States, seeing a 16.4 percent increase in jobs from 2015. In fact, tech talent employment accounts for 10.9 percent of total jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area, well above the 3.9 percent national average.
Built In San Francisco’s featured companies — Torch, Reddit and Caterpillar — are focusing on people and expansion this year. The best part? Hiring goals are a priority!
What they do: Reddit is a community of millions of users engaging in the creation of content and the sharing of conversation across tens of thousands of topics. The company prides itself on innovation and uses real-time marketing for effective engagement, and also employs people from a variety of backgrounds, including the military.
In the news: Reddit was recently valued at $10 billion, and filed with the SEC to go public in December. Investors are eagerly awaiting an IPO, and recent news suggests that they might seek a valuation of up to $15 billion.
Quality perks: With cross-functional training, educational stipends and promotion from within, Reddit focuses on the career growth of its employees in exciting ways.
What they do: Caterpillar is a popular brand focused on autonomous and robotic equipment for mining, construction and beyond. As a leader in innovative tech, robotics, and autonomy for over 30 years, Caterpillar has a concept-to-market timeline of two to three years, and many concepts in the dirt within six months.
In the news: In December 2021, Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation announced a $1 million donation to the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) to support and promote the museum’s focus on education and youth outreach in the Nashville area.
Quality perks: Not only does Caterpillar provide family medical leave, flexible work hours and generous parental leave, the company offers adoption assistance for its employees. Caterpillar also prioritizes learning and development, with tuition reimbursements, dedicated learning time, paid industry certifications and online course subscriptions.
What they do: Torch assists organizations with building, managing and measuring flexible learning and development programs. The company combines human knowledge and oversight with technology to deliver digital leadership training, encouraging business acceleration through personal growth.
Big funds: In February 2021, Torch secured $25 million in Series B funding led by Obvious Ventures, bringing the company’s total funding to $40 million. With this capital, Torch continues to invest in expanding its platform and ramp up go-to-market operations.
Quality perks: Torch offers employees remote work options with a home office stipend, as well as flexible working hours and unlimited PTO. The company also offers its team health, dental and life insurance benefits, as well as 401K matching and company equity options.
