Here Are BostInno’s 10 Coolest Companies Winners for 2017

The BostInno team is so grateful that over 2,000 of you gave up a precious summer night to celebrate Boston’s innovation community with us. Last night’s BostonFest did not disappoint one bit. We had hundreds of tech companies represented at Lawn on D – all sporting their finest swag and startup tees. The band and brews kept us grooving while everyone patiently waited for the announcement of this year’s 10 Coolest Companies winners.

In our 6th annual company culture competition, we let BostInno readers pick five winners and our esteemed judging committee handled the five other superlative winners (best perks, best office, top travelers, most retweetable, and most athletic). We received a record-breaking 30,000 votes for the 150 tech finalists.

Below you’ll see the 10 winners of BostInno’s Coolest Companies 2017 presented by Applause, with a few bullets about their incredible culture (listed in alphabetical order).

athenahealth (Readers’ Choice)

Sure, they have the beer fridges, a bring-your-pet-to-work-everyday policy, frisbee golf, and food trucks. They love their lush green, eco-friendly campus with its modern offices, swing sets, comfy couches and subsidized lunches. But, that’s not what makes them a winner this year.
After internally interviewing several “athenistas” they realized the most important factor is not perk-related: “The real reason I come to work every day is because ALL my coworkers are laser-focused on athenahealth’s mission—to unbreak healthcare. I love working for a company with such a purposeful mission. We’re building the future of healthcare, not just the next fad.”
Athenahealth was recently honored with the Rosoff Award, which recognizes companies with diverse workforces and inclusive environments that cultivate true innovation and creativity.

Criteo (Top Travelers)

Even though Criteo has a slide in their office, our judges were most intrigued by Criteo’s annual company-wide summit where the company flies everyone to France.
“Criteos” have the ability to pursue their global career aspirations, relocate between their 31 global offices, travel and build strong employee relationships around the world.
Through the Criteo Exchange program, employees can book time to stay at the homes of other employees around the globe and experience the culture of that country like a true local. One employee says, “It’s like the movie The Holiday, but in real life.”

DataXu (Readers’ Choice)

XuKeeper (zo͞oˈkēpər/): An employee of DataXu, one of the coolest companies in Boston.
DataXu CEO Mike Baker is a founding member of the Hack Diversity program, which is focused on solving the diversity problem that tech companies in Boston and across the country face.
When DataXu asks their employees to pick what they love most about working at DataXu, the answer is always the same: their awesome teammates — working with the best in the business.

EF Education First (Reader’s Choice)

How could a company that does Thursday disco lunches not win Coolest Companies?
There isn’t enough space to name all the crazy amount of perks EF employees receive: a hiking club, free language courses, Harry Potter parties and actually being part of the Boston skyline.
They are one of the best at promoting employee health, development and happiness. In addition to amazing travel benefits, the focus on happiness and balance is like no other.

Fuze (Readers’ Choice)

With their recent move from Cambridge to the center of Boston, Fuze is confident in being one of the coolest companies in the Hub.
Their “work from anywhere” policy encourages employees to collaborate with their managers to design personalized, flexible programs for where and how they can do their best work.
They also name their offices after sandwiches, so there’s that. See our Fuze office envy here.

Kronos (Most Athletic)

This newly added superlative is meant to highlight the company with the most focus on health and wellness perks for its employees.
Kronos has foosball, billiards, table tennis, and even cornhole (those are sports, right?). They have bleachers so other “Kronites” can cheer on coworkers as they play one of the many games available. Kronos also has its own outdoor basketball court.
They even encourage working out while working with standing desks and walking workstations.
Their Flex Gym offers weight lifting, a gaming center, yoga, boot camp classes and a golf simulator.

Mobee (Readers’ Choice)

The Mobee team prioritizes employee happiness and understands that their team works best when they feel fulfilled.
When you first enter the Mobee office, you’re greeted by a shuffleboard table which is often used on Beer Fridays. They have office happy hour every week in the kitchen where different members of the team can bond over drinks.
Their flexible hours program lets employees choose when they’re most ready to start the day. Morning person or night owl? It doesn’t matter at Mobee.

PillPack (Best Office Space)

Pillpack’s 9,500-square-foot Somerville headquarters is half Manhattan vintage speakeasy, half tech office. Founder T.J. Parker told us about people’s reactions when they walk in, “Everyone’s like, ‘oh, was there a restaurant here before?’ And we’re like, no, it was a billing department.”
As a nod to PillPack’s vintage, restaurant feel, the startup has a full physical bar from the 1930’s in a common area adjacent to the kitchen that came from a Lower East Side establishment in Manhattan. On the right side, there’s a pool table and a “Big Buck Hunter” arcade cabinet, which, along with framed pictures and logos you’d find at a neighborhood bar, adds a certain amount of kitsch and fun to the environment.
Check out our full Office Envy rundown of PillPack’s digs.

Promoboxx (Most Retweetable)

Believe us. We know a good Twitter account when we see one.
The recipe for the “most retweetable” Twitter account goes something like this: Nice variety of links to blog posts, company’s events, press releases, employees’ pics, quotes, webinars and job postings.
Give us a nice text-to-emoji ratio, original tweet-to-retweet balance and always mix in some hilarious GIFs. Well done, Promoboxx.

Salsify (Best Perks)

Our judging committee decided that Salsify offers the best perks for its employees.
Ready for a few? Open collaboration space, napping area, start-up kitchen (craft beer on tap, cold brew and any snack you can think of).
They also host a number of community events that are vital to fostering Boston’s innovation ecosystem: She Geeks Out meetups, Women in Tech SoulCycle ride and STEM events with Boston Public schools.
Make sure to take note if you’re looking for a new job: working under passionate, inspirational and inclusive entrepreneurs is paramount. Jeremy, Rob and Jason are among the best co-founders in Boston.