Into Tech: HR Software Unicorn, Facebook of Gaming, Startups to Watch, and More
This past week’s newly funded startups, jobs, and tips
It’s happening! I just created my YouTube channel. I am excited to create some quality content on getting into the tech industry and what it’s like working in it, interviews with people in tech/building startups, different paths in the industry, how to build projects, and much much more.
To kick things off, I will be hosting a live AMA so if you have questions on software engineering, the tech industry, building projects, or anything else, subscribe to the YouTube channel so you don’t miss it and future videos.
Newly Funded Startups
Starting a new job is fun but, as you can probably imagine, all the paperwork and setup that employers have to do to onboard and manage employee details is not so fun. This is where Rippling comes in, they build software that makes it super easy for employers to handle payroll, benefits, employee apps/devices, and all the other HR needs. They just raised a $145 million Series B, officially attaining Unicorn status.
Over the last 5 or so months, as the tech industry has had to adapt to working from home, we have been seeing a lot more startups focused on helping teams be more effective. WorkPatterns is building technology that improves one-on-ones, performance reviews, work recognition, and team communication; all things that are super important when everyone is working from home. They just announced a $2.8 million Seed round.
Alright, this one is super important. Ginger is an on-demand mental health coaching service. They have an app where you can chat with a behavioral coach and work through whatever you need to and you can also schedule live video chats with licensed therapists. They announced a $50 million Series D.
Job Opportunities
FYI: if you see 2+ years of experience on a job post, apply anyway
Generalist Software Developer (SF) | OpenSpace
OpenSpace is using computer vision and AI to create seamless tools that allow anyone to capture Google Streetview style visual records of any space, indoor or out, with no effort. It looks like they are focusing on construction site mapping. If that excites you, check out this role.
Software Engineer, Fullstack (SF or Remote) | Mystery.org
Pretty cool name, huh? Mystery is helping build out new learning materials and content for students. They currently offer remote science lessons and weekly videos that answer questions that inspire students. If you are excited or passionate about helping students learn in a fun way, this could be the role for you.
Jr. Software Engineer (SF) | Base
Base is building what they are calling the Facebook of gaming. What this looks like is high-value social tools for gamers to coordinate, compete, and have more fun gaming. They are very early stage and this presents an exciting opportunity to work directly with the CEO/CTO to build the product from the ground up. If that all sounds awesome to you, check out the role.
Tips & Tricks
If you see a company you like but don’t see any available positions on their careers page, go to their LinkedIn and click See all (number) of employees. Reach out to one or more of the employees who may be able to tell you more about the company and if there are any roles available that would fit your skillset.
Techcrunch wrote this great article highlighting a bunch of great startups you should keep your eye on. Look through all of them and see if there are any that interest you. If so, you know the drill.
Top 100 Software Companies of 2020
You have probably heard of a lot of these (and maybe even applied to many of them) but I wanted to share it with you for inspiration. Spend some time reading through the list and reach out to the ones that interest you.
That’s all for this week, thanks for reading! If you liked this newsletter, I would appreciate it if you forwarded it to 3 of your friends 🙂