Summer is often thought of as the busiest season of the year, but that’s debatable in Boston, where fall brings with it a ton of things to do and see. For example, as other cities wind down their event calendars, Boston prepares for the world’s largest three-day rowing race, the Head of the Charles Regatta. Despite the falling temperatures, people still flock to forests and farms to look at the leaves changing colors and pick apples. Those who prefer the great indoors have the New England Patriots, Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics to root for.
Bostonians have their attention pulled in a variety of directions come fall, which is why we want to get these 12 companies on your radar before the season changes. These are a dozen Boston tech companies you need to know, whether it’s for their incredible perks and benefits, the challenges they’re taking on or because they’re hiring.
Continue reading to learn more about these companies and why you should be following them this fall.
What Cohere Health does: Cohere Health helps improve patient outcomes by digitizing the prior authorization process, which determines insurance coverage for treatment and medication.
The Perks:
- A 401(k) match and performance bonuses
- Wellness programs, a flexible spending account and pet insurance
- Generous parental leave and family medical leave
- Quarterly company retreats and company-sponsored happy hours
To the pod: Alina Czekai, VP of value-based care strategy, appeared on the Empowered Patient podcast recently to discuss Cohere Health’s use of artificial intelligence to automate aspects of prior authorization. In addition, Czekai also highlighted the necessity of Cohere’s solution.
“This is really an opportunity in the patient journey to ensure all stakeholders are on the same page,” Czekai told the Empowered Patient podcast. “We also think that tools like prior authorization can really be leveraged to understand what’s next in a patient’s care journey.”
What Quickbase does: Companies use Quickbase’s no-code platform to build enterprise applications that automate workflows and connect data sources.
The Perks:
- A 401(k) plan with a 125 percent company match of up to 6 percent of employee contributions
- Up to four days of paid time off to volunteer per year
- An annual $5,000 tuition reimbursement and $650 wellness reimbursement
- Generous parental leave and adoption assistance
Beyond Pride Month: Quickbase celebrated this past Pride Month by giving employees themed swag, hosting a volunteer day and sponsoring the Austin Pride festival. That said, Sasha Palafox, a senior account executive, told Built In Boston in a recent interview that the company’s commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community extends far beyond the month of June.
“In our Monthly Awareness Newsletter, we write an article about someone from the LGBTQIA+ community, sharing their story, successes and what they overcame to get to where they are today,” Palafox said. “This helps give employees a voice of empowerment and encouragement. Additionally, in December we hold an annual Pride holiday party for the whole company.”
What Starburst does: Starburst’s technology enables companies to query data and run analytics regardless of where it’s stored so they can make better decisions, faster.
The Perks:
- A mentorship program and access to continuing education during work hours
- Generous parental leave and a return-to-work program for new parents
- Employee unconscious bias training through the compliance training platform Ethena
- A company match for charitable donations
The right stuff: Starburst is hiring for multiple teams, and back in April, Chief People Officer Megan Maslanka told Built In Boston about the traits the company looks for in candidates.
“We look for individuals who master their craft but are not afraid to admit their shortcomings,” Maslanka said. “The humility to get to the right answer, rather than fighting for your answer, is critical. Additionally, we want individuals who are themselves. Every diverse perspective brings a better solution and understanding to the team. We need that.”
Stride Funding
What Stride Funding does: Stride Funding helps universities and bootcamps provide alternative funding options to students, including income-share loans and deferred tuition plans.
The Perks:
- Catered lunch during biweekly lunch and learns
- Unlimited paid time off and a flexible work schedule
- Company equity and a 401(k) plan
- Family medical leave
Hiring for diversity: When it comes to diversity in tech, Stride Funding walks the walk. In an interview this past May, Andrew Kenney, VP of engineering and data science, told Built In Boston about the diversity of his team and how it represents the students the company serves.
“Our team is a diverse mix of races, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities and socioeconomic backgrounds,” Kenney said. “We have employees who came from coding bootcamps, traditional computer science backgrounds and even Ph.D. programs. Some have had career pivots and others have been in the finance and startup worlds for years.”
What Tufin does: Companies use Tufin’s technology to manage and deploy security changes across firewalls and network devices.
The Perks:
- Generous parental leave
- A culture that prioritizes promoting from within and professional development, which includes access to mentorship programs and continuing education
- A home office stipend for remote workers
- A 401(k) plan, company equity and performance bonuses
Time to give back: Tufin gives all employees four hours per quarter to volunteer, with the Boston team volunteering together twice per year. The Boston team has volunteered at Community Services, which provides meals made specifically for those with critical illnesses, and worked to preserve and restore wetlands with the Boston Nature Center.
What Vestmark does: Financial institutions and their advisors use Vestmark’s platform to build and manage custom portfolios for their clients.
The Perks:
- Twelve weeks of paid parental leave for primary caregivers — including for adoptions — and two weeks of paid leave for secondary caregivers
- A 401(k) program with a 50 percent match of up to 8 percent of employee contributions
- Up to $250 per year in charitable donation matches
- Monthly lunch and learns and leadership development meetings
Simply the best: In May, Vestmark was named a 2023 Best Place to Work by the Boston Business Journal. The company was named to the list as the result of an anonymous employee engagement survey that asked about work-life balance, job satisfaction, compensation and more. Vestmark CEO Karl Roessner commented on the award in a press release announcing it.
“Our employees are our greatest asset, and we are committed to fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration and innovation that enables them to thrive personally and professionally,” Roessner said.
What Corvus Insurance does: Corvus Insurance uses artificial intelligence to enable commercial insurance brokers to provide coverage for cybersecurity threats.
The Perks:
- A diversity, equity and inclusion employee resource group and dedicated DEI staff
- Generous parental leave, company-sponsored family events and childcare benefits
- A home office stipend for remote employees
- Customized professional development tracks and stipends for continuing education and earning paid industry certifications
AI-assisted underwriting: In June, Corvus Insurance announced generative AI features for its underwriting solution, Corvus Risk Navigator. The features are designed to save underwriters time by automating time-intensive data entry and research tasks. “Corvus aims to equip the team with technology that automates routine tasks and enables each underwriter to spend more time on activities that drive value for their partners, leading to higher growth and greater book value,” Chief Underwriting Officer Mike Karbassi said in a press release announcing the features.
What Dispatch does: Dispatch connects brands, home service providers and consumers on one platform to simplify logistics and communication.
The Perks:
- Up to 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave and a return-to-work program for new parents
- A 401(k) plan with a 50 percent company match of up to 3 percent of employee contributions
- $300 for wellness expenses, $200 for “adventure” spending which includes lift tickets and national park passes and $100 for monthly personal Uber credits
- Catered lunches in the office and Grubhub credits for remote workers
Discover your ambitions: Jackie Madden joined Dispatch in 2019 as an integrations engineer. Fast forward to 2023 and she’s director of engineering. In a December 2022 interview with Built In Boston, Madden said her desire to climb the career ladder and become a leader was ignited after joining the company.
“When I started at Dispatch, I never thought I would want to be a director — but it has been a place of discovery for me,” Madden said. “I have learned that I am a leader, a mentor and capable of learning new languages. When opportunities don’t come to me, I create them for myself by taking chances.”
What Indigo does: Indigo uses a mix of science and technology to help farmers grow profits and maintain soil health, increase yields and quality, and reduce greenhouse gasses.
The Perks:
- Generous parental leave and PTO
- Stipends to attend job training and conferences and for fitness expenses
- A 401(k) program, company equity and performance bonuses
- A flexible work schedule
Funding to level up: Built In Boston spoke to Bennett Garner, a staff software engineer, back in May to learn more about Indigo’s learning and development stipend. According to Garner, tech team members are given $2,000 per year to spend on books, courses and conferences like PyCon, which Garner attended this year.
“The conference was in Salt Lake City and included four days of workshops, keynotes and discussion panels,” Garner said. “I made a lot of professional connections and heard from important people in the ecosystem, such as the steering committee and open-source maintainers. I attended talks about the language’s features, its future and interesting ways Python is being used to solve new problems.”
What DUST Identity does: DUST Identity makes it easier for companies to track and identify physical objects via custom tags made out of diamond dust that have a unique digital identity.
The Perks:
- Remote-friendly with a flexible work schedule
- Company equity and performance bonuses
- An office with free snacks and drinks, some catered company meals and free parking
- Opportunities to volunteer in the local community
Taking flight: In February, electric aircraft battery manufacturer Mobius Energy announced a strategic partnership with DUST Identity. The partnership will see the Newton-based company’s technology used to track Mobius’ batteries and provide information on their performance history and maintenance logs. Ophir Gaathon, DUST’s co-founder and CEO, spoke about the significance of the partnership in the press release announcing it.
“With operator and passenger safety on the line, it’s essential that the right data is available at the right time and right place,” Gaathon said. “Inaccurate or unavailable data could have major consequences on safety or fleet availability.”
What BookBub does: BookBub helps readers save money on ebooks and audiobooks through daily deals offering up to 95 percent off on titles.
The Perks:
- Generous parental leave, a return-to-work program for parents and company-sponsored family events
- An unlimited vacation policy and flexible working hours
- Access to job training and conferences, stipends for paid industry certifications and customized professional development tracks
- Dedicated DEI staff and ERGs and mandated unconscious bias training
Bringing the team together: BookBub takes an intentional approach to fostering a sense of belonging for team members. Hannah Feldman, people operations business partner, shared specifics in a May interview with Built In Boston.
“One example is Cat Chats: A random group gets a 30-minute event added to their calendar every few months and can spend that time playing a provided game or puzzle or just catching up with teammates,” Feldman said. “Our office has Friday afternoon events where people gather to try a new drink or snack together. We also have virtual cooking classes, book clubs and field days.”
What Cogo Labs does: Cogo Labs is a startup incubator whose alumni include Minerva Analytics, EverQuote and Datalign Advisory.
The Perks:
- Stipends for childcare, gyms and home office expenses
- Adoption assistance, a generous parental leave program and a return-to-work program for new parents
- A pet-friendly office with free daily meals and a mother’s room
- A 401(k) match and charitable contribution match
From analyst to CEO: For evidence of how much Cogo Labs values promoting employees from within, look no further than its CEO. Robert Fisher joined the incubator in 2012 as a quantitative data analyst and was promoted to a managerial position one year later. He was promoted to VP of analytics in 2015 and four years later he completed his climb up the career ladder and was named CEO.
