A Study of the Top 200 Startups in the Pacific Northwest

Ben Epstein, Kevin Do, Sonali Vaid,

Raksha Zunnuru and Dr. Sandeep Krishnamurthy

Overview
This study analyzes the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Pacific Northwest region to provide
valuable insights into the key attributes that constitute the success of a startup. Our study focuses
upon these categories: the demographic backgrounds of founding teams, characteristics of the
company (e.g., gender diversity, education, sector, duration), funding, and social media. This
report should be of interest to startup founders, venture capitalists, and all stakeholders in the
Pacific Northwest innovation ecosystem.

Method
In our study, we used the GeekWire 200 startup list as the authoritative source of the 200
most successful startups in the Pacific Northwest region. Our primary focus was on the month of
April 2021. We supplemented this with data from April 2020, 2019, and 2018 as well. To collect
variables regarding each startup, we collected some of our information from CrunchBase. Other
sources of data included LinkedIn, Zoom Info, Bloomberg Markets, Craft.co, and Google Maps.

Finding 1: Low Level of Gender Diversity

1. Only seven out of the top 200 startups (or 3.5%) were founded entirely by women.
2. A closer analysis revealed that only three of these seven startups were ranked in the top
100 of the list, while the other four were primarily concentrated towards the bottom of the
200. Only one startup, DefinedCrowd, was founded by a team of women and ranked in
the top 50.
3. When we broadened our scope to include male founding teams with at least one female,
the overall percentage increased to 14%—exactly four times larger than the percentage of
startups that were solely founded by women. In other words, 172 of the top 200 startups
include no women leaders. Within the remaining 28 startups that include at least one
female founder, 17 were ranked in the bottom 100 of the list.

Finding 2: Majority of Founding Teams Small

There are a total of 429 founders among the 200 companies ranked by GeekWire 200
(mean=2.145). The distribution of the founders among the companies is shown below:

Table 1: Distribution of Founders Among the Companies

Size of founding teams Number of companies Percent
1 founder 66 33
2 founders 73 36.5
3 founders 38 19
 4 founders 15 7.5
5 founders 5 2.5
6 founders 3 1.5

Finding 3: The Startups were Drawn from a Broad Range of Sectors

The specific sector that made the largest appearance was Enterprise Software with 14 companies,
followed by Healthcare with 13, and then SAAS and Software with 11 appearances each. In the
“Other” category, there were many companies that were similar to the ones shown in the table -
such as the “Mobile SAAS” category which was not included in the “SAAS” category. From
these findings, it is clear that technology-based companies have a firm grasp on the market, with
three of the four top companies relating to software and cloud computing, clean tech, consumer
internet, E-commerce, and mobile all being among the top sectors.

Table 2: Distribution of Sectors

Sector Amount Frequency

Enterprise Software 14 7.00%

Healthcare 13 6.50%
SAAS 11 5.50%
Software 11 5.50%
Cloud Computing 6 3.00%
Education 6 3.00%
Games 6 3.00%
Marketplace 6 3.00%
Clean Tech 5 2.50%
Consumer Internet 5 2.50%
E-commerce 5 2.50%
Mobile 5 2.50%
Real Estate 5 2.50%
Other 102 51.00%

Finding 4: Relatively Stable Set of Companies at the Top

Over the four year span from 2018-2021, Blue Origin and Vacasa both stayed at the top from
2019 onwards after Avalara was removed from the top 10 ranking because it went public.
However, startups such as PayScale and Moz made more drastic drops towards the bottom of the
top 10. Generally speaking, however, the top 10 list remained remarkably stable.
 Table 3: Top 10 Startups from April 2018 to April 2021
Rank April 2018 April 2019 April 2020 April 2021
1 Avalara Blue Origin Blue Origin Blue Origin
2 Blue Origin Vacasa Vacasa Vacasa
3 Vacasa Rover.com Remitly Remitly
4 Puppet PayScale Rover.com Icertis
5 PayScale Moz Auth0 Tanium
6 Moz Puppet Icertis Outreach
7 K2 Remitly Accolade Nintex
8 Nintex Accolade Convoy Convoy
9 Porch.com Porch.com Moz OfferUp
10 Remitly Auth0 PayScale PayScale

https://sheet.zoho.com/sheet/publicgraphs/0fd7d16c689d4725a264ee9c2830832f1628889359469818
Note: Above is a link to a bar race chart of the top companies over these years. We are not sure if
this chart is compatible with your software, and for now we have it as a link.

Finding 5: Vast Majority of Founders Well Educated

After collecting data regarding the education of startups’ founders from Crunchbase, we
determined that 388 out of the 429 founders have undergraduate degrees—approximately
90.44%. The percentage of founders who have an undergraduate degree has a relatively even
distribution amongst the 8 groups of founders. The 176-200 group has the lowest percentage at
88.02% while the 76-100 group has the highest percentage at 95.31%. Data regarding graduate
education of founders was also collected and taken into consideration. Whereas 90.44% of the
429 founders have an undergraduate education, only 41.96% of them have a graduate degree.
Sixty five founders—about 15.15%—have a graduate degree of Master of Business
Administration (MBA). However, data regarding the type of graduate education of founders does
not demonstrate any clear relationship with the ranks of startups.
 Figure 1: Percentage of Start-up Founders who have Undergraduate Degrees vs GeekWire

Rank
Finding 6: Higher Ranked Startups have Higher Investment Amounts
To identify the importance of investment money in Pacific Northwest based startups, we used
data on investment amounts from CrunchBase as a supplement to GeekWire’s Top 200 ranking.
Amongst the top 25 ranked startups in the dataset, a staggering $271,955,208.33 was found to be
the mean funding amount. Subsequently, the next 25 registered a significant drop, coming at a
mean of $94,910,500. The trend continued, with a steady drop occurring for each group of 25
outside of a slight increase for the 101-125 group. The total average funding amount was
$86,404,582.04, with only the top 50 companies surpassing that mark. The R^2 between rank
and total funding amount was 0.223, with a visualization shown below.

Table 4: Financial Analysis by Geekwire Rank

Number of Average Number Funding Funding
LinkedIn Company Estimated of Total Funding Amount per Amount per
Rank Employees Duration Revenue Investors Amount Investor Employee
1-25 774.36 13.52 $153,583,333.3 12.4 $271,955,208.33 $21,931,871.64 $351,199.97
26-50 229 10.24 $37,375,000.0 5.7 $94,910,500.00 $16,650,964.91 $414,456.33
51-75 158.44 10.20 $26,833,333.3 9.6 $85,425,009.09 $8,898,438.45 $539,163.15
76-100 105.36 9.32 $13,666,666.7 7.8 $54,071,428.57 $6,932,234.43 $513,206.42
101-125 84.56 9.24 $14,526,315.8 8.7 $55,113,750.00 $6,334,913.79 $651,770.93
126-150 70.44 10.28 $17,750,000.0 5.2 $36,789,473.68 $7,074,898.78 $522,281.00
151-175 56.80 8.60 $12,470,588.2 7.5 $28,522,222.22 $3,802,962.96 $502,151.80
176-200 45.76 7.76 $13,666,666.7 8.7 $23,918,421.05 $2,749,243.80 $522,692.77
OVERALL
(1-200) 421.48 9.895 $42,350,694.4 8.3 $86,404,582.04 $10,410,190.61 $205,002.80
 Figure 2: Total Funding Amount vs GeekWire Rank

Finding 7: There are Significant Funding Differences Across Sectors

To determine which industry sectors are more capital intensive and where the majority of
funding is concentrated, we focused on the sectors associated with the top 10 startups for April
2021. Marketplace was the sector which had the highest average total funding amount (229M),
whereas Cloud Computing had the lowest (74M). Additionally, the sum of the total funding
amounts indicates which sectors received the highest amount of funding. Enterprise Software
was the sector with the largest funding amounts (3B). As previously stated, it also made the
largest number of appearances in the top 200 list.

Table 5: Average and Sum of Total Funding Amounts by Sector (Sectors associated with the top 10 startups
only)

Sector Average Total Sum of Total Percent of Sum of Total

 Funding Amounts Funding Amounts Funding Amounts
Aerospace $108,250,000 $216,500,000 2%
Marketplace $228,825,000 $1,830,600,000 18%
Finance $95,450,000 $763,600,000 7%
Mobile $84,411,111 $759,700,000 7%
Cloud Computing $74,281,818 $817,100,000 8%
Security $202,037,500 $1,616,300,000 15%
Enterprise Software $163,300,588 $2,776,110,000 27%
E-commerce $82,733,333 $496,400,000 5%
SAAS $78,080,000 $1,171,200,000 11%

Finding 8: Number of Investors Proportionate to Rank

In general, the number of investors has a fairly even distribution amongst the 200 startups.
However, startups at the top of the list have slightly more investors than those at the middle and
the bottom.
Figure 3: Number of Investors vs GeekWire Rank
Finding 9: Low Correlation Between Rank and Company Duration
Overall, the top 200 startups were founded about ten years ago. In general, higher ranked startups
had a longer company duration. On average, the top 25 ranked startups have been around for
13.52 years, approximately 5.76 years earlier than those ranked in the bottom 25 of the list. On
the contrary, startups ranked between 126-150 had a slightly longer average company duration
(10.28 years) than startups ranked higher on the list between 76-100 (9.32 years).
 Figure 4: Company Duration vs GeekWire Rank

Finding 10: Summary of Social Media Performance

In general, higher ranked startups tend to have better social media performance. This pattern is
clearly visible among LinkedIn followers and Twitter followers. On the other hand, although the
Facebook likes of startups do not adhere to this pattern as consistently as other variables,
companies at the top of the list still have higher Facebook Likes than those of the companies at
the bottom.
 Figure 5: Social Media Variables vs GeekWire Rank

Table 6: April 2021 Social Media Performance

Rank Facebook Likes Twitter Followers Linkedin Followers
1-25 117,752.6 31,080.0 33,120.0
26-50 66,598.9 12,497.2 8,320.0
51-75 47,904.6 10,993.1 7,240.0
 76-100 17,424.3 3,417.3 5,187.2
101-125 105,655.5 4,879.6 7,200.0
126-150 82,408.2 3,803.1 3,429.8
151-175 4,491.8 4,452.4 2,809.2
176-200 7,317.7 4,638.5 2,573.4
OVERALL (1-200) 56,194.2 9,470.2 8,735.0

Finding 11: Increasing Influence of Facebook Likes

To evaluate how different social media followings have evolved with highly ranked startups over
time, we calculated the average Twitter followers, Facebook likes, LinkedIn employees, and
LinkedIn followers for GeekWire’s top 10 ranked startups each year during 2018-2021.
1. Over the four year span, the LinkedIn employee count remained constant and was
consistently the lowest out of all four variables.
2. Although the average Twitter followers were the highest social media following in April
2018, a decline occurred after April 2020 making it the second to lowest follower count,
just surpassed by the average LinkedIn followers.
3. Figure 3 clearly demonstrates the increasing influence of Facebook over time, as the
average Facebook likes quickly became the highest social media success by a
substantially higher amount compared to the other variables. LinkedIn followers also
seem to be increasing in influence over time, though at a significantly lower rate
compared to Facebook likes.

Figure 6: Social Media Time Trend Analysis

 Figure 7: Average LinkedIn Employees vs. Year

We subsequently calculated the standard deviation of each social media variable. The calculated
standard deviation of all four variables are consistent with our time trend analysis on these
variables (Figure 6). Because the Linkedin employees count had no significant fluctuations when
compared to other social media variables, its standard deviation is also significantly lower. On
the other hand, the standard deviation value of average Facebook likes is very high because this
variable increased dramatically from April 2019 to April 2021. Thus, we can make future
predictions regarding the average Linkedin employees of the top 10 startups more easily than the
other three social media variables.

Table 7: Standard Deviation of Social Media Variables from 2018-2021

Standard Deviation over four
Variables years
Average Twitter Followers 23,313.12
Average Facebook Likes 80,120.17
Average LinkedIn Employees 329.58
Average Linkedin Followers 15,231.99

Finding 12: Majority of the Startups were B2B

Among the companies pondered over for the 2021 dataset, 135 were listed as either business to
business (B2B), business to customer (B2C), or both. Out of these 135, 97 (or 72%) were only
business to business, 31 (or 23%) were only business to customer, and 7 (or 5%) were both. The
sample of companies--including unlisted companies--that were categorized as B2B and B2C was
relatively small when compared to B2B or B2C. There was a small data fade for each of the
sectors, which may be attributed to the missing values clustering around the rear end of the
dataset.

Finding 13: Higher Ranked Startups Tended to be B2B

Overall, business to business companies have a more even distribution over the eight ranking
groups than business to customer companies. In each ranking group, the percentage of business
to business companies ranges from 40 percent to around 60 percent. On the other hand, business
to customer companies do not display any summarizable pattern over their GeekWire rank.
Note: Figures 7 and 8 do not include companies that are both business to business and business to customer.

Figure 8: Business to Business (B2B) Companies vs GeekWire Rank

Figure 9: Business to Customer (B2C) Companies vs GeekWire Rank
CONCLUSION
Our findings demonstrate the robust innovation ecosystem in the Pacific Northwest region. Our
research team was disappointed to see the low level of gender diversity and we hope efforts are
made to change this in the long-run. Founding teams are small, and most founders are well-
educated. It is most common to create an enterprise startup in the B2B space. The Pacific
Northwest startups are well funded, especially in capital-intensive sectors. Facebook likes are
rapidly gaining more influence over recent years. Companies at the top of the GeekWire ranking
tended to remain in relatively similar rankings over time, and higher ranked startups tended to be
B2B. Overall, the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial ecosystem looks very healthy and
demonstrates how its competitive venture market is a great place to invest.

Author Bios

Kevin Do: Kevin Do is a senior at Mater Dei High School. He is the co-founder of Project
Service Salute, a nationwide volunteer campaign that seeks to give back to healthcare workers
who have sacrificed so much for their communities. Service Salute has sent over 30,000 cards
and letters to healthcare workers across the US. Beside business and entrepreneurship, Kevin is
also passionate about AI and machine learning. In his free time, Kevin enjoys volunteering,
hiking, and going to the beach.

Ben Epstein: Ben Epstein is a senior at Skyline High School. He has a passion for data and
analytics, and has created statistics related to the NBA, many of which can be found on his
website, Upscale Hoops. He is also the founder of Learn and Live Tutoring, a company that aims
to teach business and other skills to kids who do not get the opportunity to learn these skills in
school. Outside of the world of business and data, he loves to bike, run, volunteer, and teach
code.

Sonali Vaid: Sonali Vaid is a junior at Eastside Preparatory High School. She is the
founder/CEO of Sonali's Skillet LLC which offers classes such as baking and cake decorating for
kids. She also uses this platform to pursue her passion for sustainability by creating nature based
cakes to raise awareness to environmental crises. In her free time, Sonali enjoys hiking,
photography, and playing the piano.

Raksha Zunnuru: Raksha Zunnuru is a junior at Eastlake High School. She has a passion for
advertising and UI/UX design and aims to assist the newer generation in discovering interests in
the business and computer science fields as well. She values her community and seeks
opportunities to help those around her. She cooks meals for the homeless through the Sankara
Healthcare Foundation, and she teaches young kids how to code. In her free time, she likes to
read and works to develop her art/graphic design skills.
Dr. Sandeep Krishnamurthy: Dr.Sandeep Krishnamurthyis the Dean of the School of Business
at University of Washington, Bothell. He is passionate about the innovation ecosystem in the
Pacific Northwest. In his spare time, Dr. Krishnamurthy enjoys road bicycling, wine tasting and
Scandinavian TV shows.