50 Thriving Startups You Should Definitely be Paying Attention to

Great achievements start with simple plans and small steps. If you are looking for a push to get you rolling towards your business dream, we have something really inspiring for you.

How do you ensure success for your startup? What are the best startup companies? What software can you use to automate the major processes you need to perform? 

Let’s dive in.

Why Promising Startup Companies Fail

When looking for a source of inspiration among new startup companies, you should have total awareness of what is going on in the market. Let’s start with definitions and proceed with a deeper discussion of failures and profitability.

What is a startup company?

A startup is a new, freshly established business. It has strong potential and usually follows a scalable business model so it can grow organically. A startup business has a lot in common with entrepreneurship. The difference is that entrepreneurs may not have a strong intention to scale and improve their business. In the case of any startup, it intends to grow, scale, and increase its number of employees and customers.

The term “unicorn” refers to startups with a value that exceeds $1 billion. According to CB Insights, there are more than 260 highly profitable unicorns in the world, and the number is growing annually.

How many startups fail?

Self-destruction, competition, and problems with planning lead to shocking results: almost 80-90% of startups fail during their first year.

To succeed, you have to know enough about failure to protect yourself. Let’s have a look at the main reasons this can happen.

Why do startups fail?

Knowing the reasons why promising startup companies fail may save you from possible mistakes in the future. Here are the top five reasons why potentially exciting startups end up with nothing:

Bad offers

In order to outdo competitors, a startup must offer a unique opportunity. A fresh solution must solve a particular problem or cater to specific needs. However, numerous startups ignore these requirements and join the list of losers.

Troubles with funding

If you start a business, you need to have enough money to let it grow. It may be your own savings or external investments. Due to the misallocation of funds, startups keep failing.

HR issues

Great people build great products. If the competence of employees is lower than expected, if there is an obvious lack of skills, or some internal miscommunication and conflicts, it may lead your startup right to the list of Famous Failures of 2019.

High competition

Intense competition kills many startups. New great startups and innovative companies appear daily, so it is quite hard to keep your head above the water.

Poor planning

Once you fail to prepare properly, you slowly start your path to failure. Poor planning is another reason why not all startups turn to unicorns.

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Popular startup pitfalls

A startup owner may accidentally overlook some pitfalls that appear in their way. These are the most common ones:

  • Sticking to the idea even though it’s wrong and will not bring any value;
  • Not delegating tasks;
  • Ignoring statistical data and customers’ complaints;
  • Not paying enough for great expertise;
  • Trying to grow too fast.

Another important pitfall that needs to be emphasized is the fear of failure. The more startup owners are afraid of potential issues and a possible collapse of their business, the more susceptible and unfocused they become.

The Most Profitable Niches for New Startup Companies

What is the very first step you need to take to add your name to the list of the most successful startups in 2019? Choosing your industry wisely.

We have built this rating based on the data about startups’ Net Profit Margin. Here are the five best industries for startups:

  • Accounting and Payroll Services;
  • Real Estate;
  • Legal Services;
  • Management;
  • Healthcare and Wellness.

The Top Startups of 2019 by Industry

In this section, we will cover more than just the representatives of the booming industries. We will briefly describe the hottest startups by industry to inspire you to start your own business.

Artificial Intelligence startups

There is so much hype around AI, but hardly anyone can explain how it actually works for modern businesses. Let’s take a look at the companies that have utilized this technology in the best and the most profitable ways:

Front

  • Funding: $66 million
  • Country: USA

This startup delivered an excellent product for internal team communication. The product combines communication channels including email, Slack, Messenger, and more into one convenient solution.

Arago

  • Funding: $55 million
  • Country: Germany

The startup provides a glorious AI solution for the automation and optimization of IT processes.

Five AI

  • Funding: $38 million
  • Country: UK

The startup’s representatives developed a system that has been analyzing road users’ behavior for several years. Now, their key aim is to launch a solution for smart cars and create safe conditions on the highways.

Travis

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  • Funding: $137,000
  • Country: Germany

Travis provides an opportunity to and communicate freely with native speakers of almost 80 languages. The AI system is a real-time translator with an unlimited number of applications and immeasurable potential.

Augmented Reality startups

Now let’s take a look at some popular startup companies in the field of AR. There is a common misconception that VR/AR technologies can only improve gaming. It is not quite true, and we have proof:

WayRay

  • Funding: $108 million
  • Country: Switzerland

The vehicles we have read about in science fiction become reality with WayRay. The startup is developing a special holographic solution that improves the entire driving process.

DĂ©cor Matters

  • Funding: $38 million
  • Country: USA

With the help of Décor Matters app, and your smartphone’s camera you can choose home decorations without buying them immediately. The app is based on patent-pending AR technology.

Crypto startups to work for in 2019

Bitcoin has blown up the entire financial industry. Inspired by the example of Satoshi Nakamoto, the following startups have employed crypto principles in their products and succeeded.

Adhara

  • Funding: $15 million
  • Country: UK

Founded by a former banking professional, Adhara inherits all the best of traditional banking and embodies a brand new approach to improving banking transactions. Its goal is to replace traditional currencies with crypto.

Civil

  • Funding: $5 million 
  • Country: USA

This is a big journalism network. Unlike similar traditional networks, it is built on blockchain, transparency, and trust; thus it has the potential to be the future of journalism.

Bundil

  • Funding: $100,000
  • Country: no information

This startup brings cryptocurrencies closer to ordinary people. It allows an investing change from a variety of purchases in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, LiteCoin, and similar in the most profitable way.

Healthcare startups

As we have mentioned above, healthcare is one of the most profitable categories.

Grail

  • Funding: $1.6 billion
  • Country: USA

This is a glorious healthcare solution for detecting cancer at early stages. Using a simple blood test, doctors can now identify cancer the moment it can be easily healed.

Molekule

  • Funding: $38 million
  • Country: USA

The startup founders have constructed a brand-new air purifier. Unlike its elder brothers, the Molekule purifier doesn’t just catch pollutants but destroys their structure on a molecular level. Quite fascinating, isn’t it?

Medopad

  • Funding: $32 million
  • Country: UK

This product transforms the traditional way of interaction between patients and clinicians. The solution is powered by an AI engine that collects and processes healthcare data to implement predictive analysis.

Kinetic

  • Funding: more than $6 million
  • Country: USA

Meet the innovative wearables for preventing injuries in the workplace. The device detects potential risks and contributes to employees’ well-being.

Forward Health

  • Funding: over $5 million
  • Country: UK

This is a special platform for seamless communication between doctors and patients. High security and sensitive data protection are among the top features of this product.

Travel startups

Nowadays, traveling is one of the most popular activities. Specialists are improving the industry, investors are funding the development of ideas and the improvement of products. Let’s see the most successful ideas:

travel apps

Airbnb

  • Funding: $4.5 billion
  • Country: USA

There were 14 rounds of funding for Airbnb, and the company has blown up the entire real estate booking market. Using this great product, travelers can book accommodation and find entertaining activities in almost any place in the world.

Musement

  • Funding: more than $16 million
  • Country: Italy

This product collects great tips for traveling to more than 1000 destinations worldwide. With its help, a user can book tickets for transportation, fascinating activities, and famous attractions — all in one place.

Mapify

  • Funding: $1.3 million
  • Country: Germany

This is a marketplace where travelers can meet new companions for their next journey. Inspiration, planning, and documentation await those who can’t live without traveling.

Fintech startups

Technologies are rebuilding the modern financial world. The following startups are examples of some great improvements we can already experience:

Ant Financial

  • Funding: $22 billion
  • Country: China

Meet the world’s largest digital payments platform! The subsidiary of Ali Baba group brings immeasurable value to the world’s eCommerce industry.

Revolut

  • Funding: more than 3 billion
  • Country: UK

Revolut provides a great alternative for financial operations. It allows transferring money to different countries for free with no extra fees, hassle, or enormous transaction times.

Curve

  • Funding: $12 million
  • Country: UK

Consolidating all bank cards into a single one never seemed possible. Till now. Curve makes that possible and provides a convenient mobile app for managing your all-in-one smart card.

Checkbox

  • Funding: almost $2 million
  • Country: Australia

This is a platform for creating financial documents in the easiest way possible. You just fill in the required fields and get a ready-made document within seconds.

Inamo

  • Funding: $1.5 million
  • Country: USA

Inamo is an ultra-small contactless payment solution. The card is quite affordable and can be easily connected to your smart devices. So far, it is only available in the USA and Australia.

Education startups

The demand for high-quality education has never been higher. Talents worldwide are devoting their time and skills to building solutions that help other people succeed in a particular niche or science.

Prodigy Finance

  • Funding: over $1 billion
  • Country: UK

Education becomes borderless with this amazing platform. Prodigy Finance allows getting loans for international students and provides an opportunity to enter the most powerful universities.

Kahoot

  • Funding: $60 million
  • Country: Norway

Studying turns into a fascinating game with this splendid solution. With a variety of settings, it has gained active users in more than 200 countries.

Aceable

  • Funding: 55 million
  • Country: USA

This startup provides the most affordable driving courses ever. You still need to pass a driving test; however, the Aceable solution allows studying in the most convenient and efficient manner.

Imbellus

  • Funding: 22 million
  • Country: USA

This solution prepares special tests for measuring talent’s potential. With its help, a company can recruit the best person for each opening.

Fluentify

  • Funding: $2.3 million
  • Country: UK and Italy

Such a small team, such an excellent idea! Even though it seems like AI is taking over the translation field, these startups have invested their time and skills into a successful solution that makes learning any language much easier.

Robotics startups

Robots don’t look quite like they do in science fiction yet; but still, they are really promising and more powerful than they were several years ago.

Zume Pizza

  • Funding: $423 million
  • Country: USA

Automated pizza production and delivery have attracted great investments. Featured with high-quality ovens and self-cleaning functionality, these products are highly attractive and profitable.

zume pizza

Softomotive

  • Funding: $25 million
  • Country: UK

This startup provides special technologies for digital workforce development.

Professional Services startups

The next on our list of startup companies are professional services startups. 

Contino

  • Funding: more than $68 million
  • Country: UK

This is a consultancy startup that provides services for the IT field like Agile work process organization, DevOps, Continuous Delivery operations, etc.

Zenjob

  • Funding: $23 million
  • Country: Germany

On the Zenjob platform, students can create their informative profiles and start a job or entrepreneurship at a certain company. Both on-site and remote job opportunities are available.

BenchOn

  • Funding: $650,000
  • Country: Australia

Unemployment is one of the greatest problems in modern society. BenchOn founders have decided to soften its sharp edges with their brand-new solution. The platform allows creating short-term contract cooperation with corporations and firms worldwide.

SaaS startups

According to research, the SaaS market will grow up to $157 billion by 2020. 

Let’s see which SaaS startups have a chance to contribute to its amazing success:

FreightWaves

  • Funding: almost $40 million
  • Country: USA

If you have ever looked for a risk management product for a US freight company, you have probably come across this startup. Transparency is its priority; this is one of the reasons the startup has attracted so many investments.

Frontify

  • Funding: over $8 million
  • Country: Switzerland

Brand management is one of the most significant things every company needs to leverage to reach the top of their business niche. This startup helps to create excellent brand development campaigns through the most popular networks and channels.

Kobiton

  • Funding: $3 million
  • Country: USA

Users change apps on their smartphones quite frequently. Most development companies fail to build scalable solutions. Kobiton provides QA services that help to retain users’ attention and make them stay with your app.

Contentflow

  • Funding: $2.5 million
  • Country: Germany

The founders of this project focused on developing software for live video streaming. With its help, a user can distribute video content to platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Manufacturing startups

This category belongs to the best startup companies to invest in 2019.

Sense Photonics

  • Funding: more than $33 million
  • Country: USA

The startup provides revolutionary solutions for smart vehicles and industrial automation.

SwitchOn

  • Funding: around $1 million
  • Country: India

Its core purpose is energy optimization and efficiency increase. Using industrial IoT and machine learning technologies, the company develops innovational equipment for numerous industries.

A fascinating fact is that there are less than ten employees working on this startup. Sounds like one of the best startups to work for!

eCommerce startups

The eCommerce industry changes the way people have been trading for ages. Lately, the number of eCommerce startups has jumped up; however, only some of them reached impressive positions:

Boxed

  • Funding: $243 million
  • Country: USA

Simplified wholesaling and shipping lie at the basis of this startup. It allows users to save their money and enjoy great user-oriented service.

Misty Robotics

  • Funding: $22.5 million
  • Country: USA

Thanks to this startup, you can buy a robot for your home or office. Robots are programmable, so you can both train your engineering skills and create an excellent personal assistant.

Vestua

  • Funding: $400,000
  • Country: Spain

This famous Spanish startup makes brand clothes accessible to those who cannot afford it. The founders sell second-hand clothes, manage logistics and shipping tasks.

TOMS Shoes

  • Funding: $300,000
  • Country: USA

Buying shoes at TOMS website, you provide support to humanitarian organizations and help people in need.

Security startups 

In the age of openness and accessibility, security issues are very important. Let’s see how popular startups offer to deal with potential problems:

Snyk

  • Funding: $32 million
  • Country: UK

Information security is crucial. The Snyk startup helps developers to work with open source code and secure their data.

Karamba Security

  • Funding: $27 million
  • Country: USA

The startup’s founders have built a powerful solution for detecting and preventing cybersecurity threats. It works for IoT elements, enterprise devices, a variety of controllers, etc.

EufyCam

  • Funding: $3 million
  • Country: USA

This is a long-term security solution for your real estate. Thanks to the affordable prices, the startup has gained multiple users.

IoT startups

IoT impacts numerous industries and is at the head of modern IT trends. In financial terms, these startups may be one of the best startups to work for in 2019.

Relayr

  • Funding: almost $67 million
  • Country: Germany

The Relayr IoT software provides unlimited opportunities for comprehensive data analysis and management.

Drayson Technologies

  • Funding: more than $45 million
  • Country: UK

Drayson Technologies makes smart sensing networks accessible to every user. Leveraging wireless charging and machine learning technologies, the startup has attracted enormous attention.

Concirrus

  • Funding: more than $14 million
  • Country: UK

The company has developed a splendid IoT solution for the insurance industry. This is one of the most powerful startups that demonstrate how IoT can improve our lives.

N.thing

  • Funding: $2.3 million
  • Country: South Korea

The N.thing IoT startup helps farmers and big consumers such as hotels and restaurants come together and build some win-win cooperation.

HappyEmi

  • Funding: $1.5 million
  • Country: India

The startup founders demonstrate how to utilize IoT technologies for loans, credits, and other financial operations.

Tips for Developing the Best Startups to Work for in 2019

Now that you have been inspired by 50 great startups, take a look at five simple tips to keep in mind:

  • Devote time, skills and energy to developing a unique idea;
  • Build cooperation with people you can trust;
  • Follow specific industry standards and cutting-edge market trends;
  • Demonstrate your value and attract investments;
  • Employ software solutions to automate routine tasks and simplify your workflow.

startups

Nimble CRM Solution for Startups

Although it seems like the market is full of CRM solutions and products, sometimes it is extremely difficult to find one that meets your needs. Fortunately, we have something to recommend.

Nimble CRM app is a perfect choice for two main categories of businesses:

  • Small startups;
  • Mid-size companies.

Thanks to functionality that helps to automate the majority of tasks and collect information for customer profiles from all over the web, it has gained popularity among startup owners. The tool even provides information about users’ behavior from social media, which helps to build customer personas and find new ways to cater to specific needs.

Pipeline management and customer engagement get to a new level with Nimble, too:

  • Deal tracking, management features, and helpful alerts help to keep up with tasks and schedules;
  • Personal information and full awareness of customers’ preferences help to develop a customer-oriented approach and build something more than cold business relations.

A great idea combined with Nimble CRM will provide you the keys to potential customers’ hearts.

In Conclusion

When you have enough information about startup businesses, possible pitfalls, successful examples and tried and tested tips, the time comes to start working towards your dream. Make sure you have powerful partners by your side and turn simple thoughts into a solution that will become the market leader and attract loads of investments.

To come closer to your dream, try Nimble and watch how it cuts the list of your routine tasks and saves your time for critical decisions and business development.