4 Boston Companies to Watch This Month

Large funding rounds. Significant growth. Big hiring goals. Here’s what you should know about Boston tech this month.

Written by Taylor Karg
Published on May. 27, 2021
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From software platforms to e-commerce, artificial intelligence and more, the following companies are garnering the local tech scene’s attention. Why? Because they all have something unique to offer, whether it’s a new round of funding, an adaptable business model, a commitment to diversity and inclusion, or a comprehensive employee benefits package. Did we mention that each of these companies are also actively expanding? Circle CI, ezCater, AdmitHub and Ahold Delhaize USA are all looking to hire talented individuals for a variety of positions across their organizations. 

 

CircleCI
circleci

What they do: Founded in 2011, CircleCI’s platform helps software teams quickly build projects at scale, either in the cloud or on a self-hosted server. The company’s software automatically runs team pipelines in a clean container or virtual machine, allowing them to test while instantly notifying them if one fails. This system allows for quick fixes to errors and products, leading to faster times to market. 

Funding alert: Earlier this month, CircleCI announced a Series F funding round of $100 million led by Greenspring Associates. With this round of funding, the company plans to continue investing in its platform including building out its Insights dashboard, expanding its fleet of more than 20 compute options and more. Additionally, CircleCI plans to add to its team with approximately 70 open positions across its offices in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Ireland, the U.K. and Germany. 

The perks: CircleCI offers a comprehensive compensation and benefits package that includes development and wellness apps and tools, personal development stipends, transition-related healthcare, four employee-led and company-sponsored employee resource groups, and a quarterly company-wide day of rest. 

 

ezCater
ezcater

What they do: Founded in 2007, ezCater connects businesses with restaurants and caterers through an online marketplace. The company helps leaders fuel their employees with a network of over 81,000 restaurants in more than 22,700 cities across the country. 

Recent growth: While ezCater’s customer base faced closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was able to quickly adjust its business model in order to meet those challenges. Thanks to Feed the Front Line, an initiative that sent 35,000 meals to hospitals nationwide, and Relish, a service that delivers individually-packaged meals from local restaurants, the company was able to post significant growth in 2020. 

Employee insight: At ezCater, teamwork really does make the dream work. “The success we experienced in 2020, despite the impact the pandemic had on our business, can be largely attributed to how the team works together — not only as a sales unit but also cross-functionally with marketing, product and operations,” Relish Strategic Sales Manager Lauren Canepa previously told Built In.  

 

AdmitHub
admithub

What they do: Founded in 2014, AdmitHub is an AI-powered chatbot designed to provide resources, information and motivation to nudge students toward taking the next step in their education journey. 

Key focuses: This year, AdmitHub is focusing its efforts on finding additional ways to help support students through the entire student lifecycle through a combination of recommendations to internships, certifications, online courses and mentorships. “This means looking beyond the enrollment stage and exploring additional stages in the student’s journey where we can support them,” Hari Challapalli, SVP of product and analytics, previously told Built In

The perks: To help its employees thrive, AdmitHub offers a thorough employee benefits package that includes health insurance and wellness benefits, paid holidays, unconscious bias training, and a remote work program.

 

Peapod Digital Labs
Ahold Delhaize USA

What they do: Founded in 2018, e-commerce company Ahold Delhaize USA helps local grocery brands enhance their pick-up and delivery options. In addition to providing forecasting, demand planning, fulfillment models and route optimization, the company specializes in consumer experiences, product management, digital marketing and merchandising techniques. 

Employee insight: To encourage curiosity and creative thinking, Ahold Delhaize USA holds cross-departmental brainstorming sessions. “We bring together people from product, UX, development and more to identify a couple of focus areas and break into groups to capture a free flow of ideas related to those focus areas,” Director of Product Management Carrie Brewster previously told Built In. “We’ll leave this brainstorm with at least five great ideas that we can incorporate into our roadmap.”

A commitment to diversity and inclusion: Earlier this year, Ahold Delhaize USA announced its president and chief e-commerce officer, JJ Fleeman, had joined CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, a leadership-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. “We want to openly address challenges, share experiences and collaborate to achieve lasting and meaningful changes in the lives of our employees,” Fleeman said in a company press release.

 

Responses have been edited for length and clarity. Images were provided by the featured companies and Shutterstock.