Now in its 4th annual year, LinkedIn’s Top Startups list honours rising companies that have “continued to attract investment, employees, and attention in 2021,” according to LinkedIn data. This year, Canada has 15 startups to take note of, with each earning recognition because of growth, interest, engagement, and how well these startups pulled talent from the flagship LinkedIn Top Companies list.
To make the list, a company needs to be seven years old or younger, have a minimum of 50 employees, be privately held, and be headquartered in Canada. Staffing firms, think tanks, venture capital firms, law firms, management and IT consulting firms, nonprofits and philanthropy, accelerators, and government-owned entities were excluded from LinkedIn’s evaluation. Data was evaluated from July, 1 2020 to June 30, 2021.
1. Wealthsimple (Financial Services) 
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Toronto
Full-time headcount: 700
Most common skills: JavaScript, SQL, cascading style sheets (CSS)
Most common job titles: software engineer, engineering manager, team lead
2. Clearco (Financial Services)
Founded: 2015
Headquarters: Toronto
Full-time headcount: 450
Most common skills: social media marketing, data analysis, SQL
Most common job titles: investment analyst, scout, senior software engineer
3. Nudestix (Cosmetics)
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Toronto
Full-time headcount: 60
Most common skills: social media marketing, data analysis, brand development
Most common job titles: digital marketing manager, packer, merchandise manager
4. Neo Financial (Financial Services)
Founded: 2018
Headquarters: Calgary and Winnipeg
Full-time headcount: 360
Most common skills: SQL, Python, JavaScript
Most common job titles: customer specialist, software engineer, product manager
5. Bonsai (Retail)
Founded: 2017
Headquarters: Toronto
Full-time headcount: 75
Most common skills: JavaScript, cascading style sheets (CSS), Python
Most common job titles: full stack engineer, customer specialist, product designer
6. Koho (Financial Services)
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Toronto
Full-time headcount: 224
Most common skills: SQL, JavaScript, cascading style sheets (CSS)
Most common job titles: software engineer, agent, data analyst
7. Borrowell (Financial Services)
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Toronto
Full-time headcount: 127
Most common skills: JavaScript, SQL, Java
Most common job titles: full stack engineer, inside sales representative, engineering manager
8. ApplyBoard (Internet)
Founded: 2015
Headquarters: Kitchener
Full-time headcount: 1,000+
Most common skills: SQL, data analysis, Java
Most common job titles: application specialist, international recruitment manager, software engineer
9. Onlia (Insurance)
Founded: 2017
Headquarters: Toronto
Full-time headcount: 60+
Most common skills: SQL, HTML, insurance
Most common job titles: customer representative, claims adjuster, customer specialist
10. Drop (Consumer Services)
Founded: 2015
Headquarters: Toronto
Full-time headcount: 86
Most common skills: JavaScript, SQL, Python
Most common job titles: software engineer, data scientist, advisor
11. Viral Nation (Marketing and Advertising)
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Mississauga
Full-time headcount 155 (per LinkedIn’s data)
Most common skills: social media marketing, digital marketing, influencer marketing
Most common job titles: account coordinator/executive/supervisor, talent coordinator, graphic designer
12. League (Information Technology and Services)
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Toronto
Full-time headcount: 330
Most common skills: Java, JavaScript, SQL
Most common job titles: software engineer, engineering manager, product designer
13. Apollo Insurance (Insurance)
Founded: 2018
Headquarters: Vancouver
Full-time headcount: 80
Most common skills: insurance, commercial insurance, risk management
Most common job titles: business development manager, insurance advisor, broker
14. Clutch (Automotive)
Founded: 2017
Headquarters: Toronto
Full-time headcount: 115
Most common skills: SQL, cascading style sheets (CSS), javascript
Most common job titles: software engineer, general manager
15. Ada (Computer Software)
Founded: 2016
Headquarters: Toronto
Full-time headcount: 343
Most common skills: SQL, data analysis, python
Most common job titles: back end developer, business development representative, consultant