New Year, New Career: 5 Austin companies hiring in 2016

by Colin Morris
January 7, 2016

Each month, we highlight growing tech companies whose culture, perks and opportunities will make you want to update your resume. But January might be the best time to do it: You’re full of pep after committing to your New Year’s resolutions, and many companies are focused on hiring.

But let’s be real — searching and applying for jobs is draining. So here are five Austin tech companies you should seriously consider.

 

TrendKite’s media dashboards help PR agencies and professionals stay on top of social engagement with the brands they manage, even measuring the ROI of news coverage.

Two years after the company’s launch, it saw quarter-over-quarter growth higher than 250 percent and raised a $5 million series B round in about three weeks.

Location: 800 Brazos Street

Perks: 100 percent paid medical, dental and vision benefits, plus reward parties to celebrate company goals that are met.

Founded: 2012

Funding: $20.1M

Kelsey Press is TrendKite’s manager of recruiting and new employee experience.

“I've never worked in a more collaborative, cross-functional culture than at TrendKite,” she said. “When someone makes a sale, all 75 of us stop what we're doing and get up for a high five.”

Press also said the company’s co-founders and executives stay in the middle of the action, engaging and participating during the work day and afterward.

“During this year's Halloween party, [co-founder] AJ Bruno didn't hesitate to participate in an impromptu, Zoolander-style dance-off to defend his best costume award,” she said. “Our other co-founder, Matt Allison, is the one who came up with our pingpong leader board rules.”

What they’re looking for

Most interviewees ask Press what she loves most about working at TrendKite.

“It’s really motivating to be surrounded by a group of people who have a fire lit within them,” she said. “That's what we're looking for — a fire that is self-lit, and [candidates] looking for a company that will add fuel to the flame.

“We're made up of a solid group of people who inherently care about their time investment in us, about the value of our product, about our clients’ success and about their teammates.”

 

When brands want to engage with customers across social media channels around the world, they turn to Sprinklr and their proprietary social monitoring platform. And with 900 employees serving more than 1,000 brands in 10 countries, it’s safe to say the sun never sets on the Sprinklr empire. They’ll even send you abroad to explore it if you can make a business case for relocation.

Location: 515 Congress Ave

Perks: Bowling at Speakeasy after work, Thirsty Thursday happy hours and weeks bookended with lunch on the house. Then there are company outings in a class of their own, like zombie apocalypse night, and marquee benefits like unlimited paid vacation.

Founded: 2009

What they’re looking for

Alexa Westerfield, a talent acquisition coordinator, said the key ingredient she looks for in candidates is the will to win.

“Some people are willing to fight with every ounce of intellectual energy they have for what they believe in,” she said. “Passion and intelligence are a start, but the will to see that passion through and the intelligence to think through obstacles to a finished win is what distinguishes a Sprinklrite from the rest.”

 

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“It's hard to work here.” That’s the first thing Cassandra Pratt told me when I asked her why it’s fun to work at Signpost. And you have to admire her honesty — she’s the head of talent.

“You have to move fast, be internally motivated to drive your own success and those around you, you must focus on clients, that's who we are,” she said. “But with that comes a sense of family in and out of the office. We build strong teams, who build relationships for the rest of your career.”

Pratt said Signpost has the other startup staples, too — beer, games, happy hours, breakfasts — and she didn’t even mention the cold brew coffee tap we've heard so much about.

“But those things only matter when you like who you work with,” she said. “And we do. That's why hiring the right people is so critical.”

Location: 1705 Guadalupe St

Perks: Fun teambuilding and charity events, tight-knit teams, the aforementioned beverages and breakfasts and games in a dog-friendly office.

Founded: 2010

Funding: $35.44M

What they’re looking for

  • People who want to master the art of persuasion. Part of sales is educating the market. Many of our merchants didn't know there was something like Signpost before they got the call.

  • People who go beyond hard work. Do you have something to prove? Pratt’s challenge: Can you be the best sales person at Signpost? The best pingpong/foosball player? Blow our customers expectations with your level of service?

  • People who motivate and inspire their teammates. According to Pratt “lead by example” isn't just a policy for managers at Signpost. “Does your attitude inspire the people you work with everyday? Challenge them to be the best version of themselves? That's what we want,” she said.

 

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This job search engine boasts more than 20 million registered users and over a billion monthly searches. The site shows full-time, senior-level and executive positions alongside part-time work and gigs for the modern worker interested in a little of each, or transitioning upward.

Employer reviews are automatically aggregated from Glassdoor.com and displayed alongside the listings, making it easy for users to get a second opinion from the inside on each company before they apply.

Location: 6433 Champion Grandview Way

Founded: 2010

Perks: Human Resources Manager Neil Davis gave us the list below.

  • Daily afternoon "Tea Time" where everyone takes a break and enjoys snacks, cold-pressed juices, ping-pong tournaments, and our beautiful outdoor lounge area complete with perfect Hill Country views

  • IO-Hawk, Nerf guns, and scooters

  • Our work schedule is 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, which means we get to fully enjoy work-life balance

  • Leadership training directly from our CEO

  • Friday Grill Days! The company purchases a variety of steaks and we get to grill them fresh to eat.

  • Convenient, covered parking garage right outside our pristine office, whose open layout inspires maximum collaboration, communication, and fun.

What they’re looking for

Specifically, the company is looking for a new class of inside sales account executives. They're hosting an open house January 20 where you can tour the office and meet the team.

If you’re going to work in the recruiting business, you need to be passionate about helping other people succeed. Davis said that’s the first thing Jobs2Careers is looking for in their own candidates.

Here’s what else they want:

  • Courage to learn and take reasonable risks

  • Accountability for your actions

  • Uncanny ability to embrace change and smile in the face of adversity

  • Insatiable appetite for breakfast tacos every Friday

  • Uncontrollable desire to connect with teammates and build solid relationships

 

Mozido spent most of 2015 on an enviable growth trajectory, expanding its mobile fintech software to merchants and consumers in Russia, China, India and Africa. The company builds tools to connect retailers, telcos and other merchants to consumers who have cell phones, but are “unbanked,” meaning they handle their money without the structure of a financial institution. The company estimates there are two billion unbanked adults worldwide.

Location: 1601 South Mopac Expressway

Perks: Comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, and vision; competitive paid time off program; well-stocked office kitchens; an employee referral program; creative events and a meaningful mission.

Founded: 2008

Funding: $268M

From Texas tailgates to team volleyball, Halloween parties to speakeasy events, the Mozido team plays as hard as they work. But they see their business as a social mission to meet the modern financial needs of those two billion unbanked people around the world—and Mozido takes that mission seriously.

What they’re looking for

“Mozido prefers employees that want to be part if something bigger than themselves,” said Mike Love, president and chief strategy officer. “To be successful, you have to be a master of your craft with a selfless attitude. [We want candidates who are] willing to collaborate, innovate and challenge the status quo.”

When we interviewed CTO Pat Downing in November, he told us his own hiring criteria include finding people who walk the talk.

“If I am looking for a security analyst, I want to know what do they do in their off hours, what magazines they read, what groups or organizations they belong to, what conferences do they attend on their own dime and what kind of lab setup do they have at home,” he said. “This is how you find the person who truly is a security analyst and not just doing it while they figure out what else they want to do.”

 

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