The ongoing global pandemic is rewriting the startup playbook. Some companies have accelerated growth plans, many pivoted or reduced staff, and others are cautiously charging ahead.
In the latest update of the GeekWire 200, our ranking of the Pacific Northwest’s privately-held tech startups, health benefits platform Accolade (previously ranked No. 7) graduated from the list in Seattle’s first IPO of 2020 during a period of increased demand for health technologies but also broader uncertainty about an economic downturn.
Companies across other sectors are not only weathering the COVID-19 storm but growing quickly. Many have extra cash in the bank, too, as venture capitalists are pouring money into Pacific Northwest tech companies at unprecedented levels. The number of deals and dollars invested in the first half of 2020 — $2.3 billion into 135 deals — significantly outpaced the number in 2019 and 2018, according to a GeekWire analysis.
We also took a closer look at the GeekWire 200 to see which types of startups are moving on up, even while the regional and global economies are in flux. Here are the biggest trends we’re seeing on the index this month.
Accolade graduates
- Accolade, a 1,200-person company with headquarters split between Seattle and Philadelphia, raised $220 million at a valuation of $1.2 billion in its debut on the Nasdaq stock market.
- Accolade’s share price is up around 50% since its IPO last week, marking a successful debut for the health benefits management company.
- The startup was previously ranked No. 7. Its public offering allowed mobile marketplace platform OfferUp (No. 10) to return to the top 10.
- Last year, there were only two IPOs among GeekWire 200 companies: Adaptive Biotechnologies and Limeade. In 2018, Avalara, DocuSign, Smartsheet, and nLight went public in Washington state.
Hello, health tech
Health innovations have taken center stage during the global pandemic. In addition to Accolade’s IPO, several other health tech startups climbed the rankings:
- 98point6, which raised $43 million in April to help increase capacity for its virtual healthcare technology, moved up three spots to No. 45.
- Ventec Life Systems (No. 93) moved up six spots after the startup gained national attention for its partnership with General Motors to help solve the ventilator storage. GeekWire checked in with Ventec last month to see where the effort stands now.
- WEconnect Health Management, which offers digital substance abuse recovery solutions, jumped up 11 spots to No. 183.
B2C boom?
- More than half of GeekWire 200 companies sell to other businesses. But several of this month’s biggest movers up the list are B2C startups including 3D printing company Glowforge (No. 57), which chose to turn down its Paycheck Protection Program loan after seeing sales momentum; smart home device maker Wyze Labs (No. 68), which recently raised $10 million and launched an outdoor camera; and meat marketplace Crowd Cow (No. 113), which has seen business boom as other suppliers shut down.
- Other Seattle-based consumer startups that had notable upward movement include Boundless (No. 124), Tavour (No. 151) and Dolly (No. 185).
- However, two of the top B2C companies on the index — vacation rental hub Vacasa (No. 2) and pet-sitting service Rover (No. 4) — saw business change drastically due to COVID-19. Rover laid off 41% of its workforce in late March. Vacasa furloughed employees but also brought workers back as it raised a $108 million Series D round last month.
Edtech rise
- In January, we observed a growing cohort of education tech companies across the Pacific Northwest including Faithlife (No. 18), DreamBox Learning (No. 23), creativeLIVE (No. 44), Coding Dojo (#89) and Actively Learn (#192).
- The biggest movers up the GeekWire 200 among education startups this month are Thinkific (No. 41), Educative (No. 78), Skilljar (No. 98), Riipen (No. 115), Lumen Learning (No. 123).
- Education is changing rapidly amid the pandemic as learning shifts online. Internships have gone virtual. Microsoft plans to provide 25 million people digital job training. Universities are weighing online learning and in-person education options ahead of fall term.
About the GeekWire 200
The GeekWire 200 is derived from our broader list of more than 1,300 Pacific Northwest tech startups, including Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and British Columbia. The rankings are generated from publicly available data, including social media followings, approximate employee counts (via LinkedIn) and inbound web links.
To be eligible for inclusion in the GeekWire 200, make sure your Pacific Northwest startup is included in the broader Startup List. (Please, no service providers, marketing agencies, etc.)
If you value resources like these, please consider becoming a GeekWire Member and be sure to check out our list and map of out-of-town tech companies with Seattle engineering outposts as well as our list of startup incubators, co-working spaces and accelerators in the region, startup fundings, and our GeekWork job board.
