LinkedIn Top Startups 2020: The 10 Singapore startups on the rise

The 2020 LinkedIn Top Startups Singapore list reveals 10 young companies that are emerging, or have remained resilient, amid the time of Covid-19.

2020 has been a year of upheaval as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe, upending both business and personal plans. Startups have not been immune. Many have found ways to navigate these changes — or pivot all together — and some have even thrived. Our first Singapore Top Startups list reflects 10 companies that have remained resilient during a tumultuous time, continuing to attract investment, employees and attention.

Our editors and data scientists parsed millions of actions generated by LinkedIn’s more than 2 million members in Singapore — and looked across four pillars: employee growth; jobseeker interest; member engagement with the company and its employees; and how well these startups pulled talent from our flagship LinkedIn Top Companies list. To be eligible, companies must be 7 years old or younger, have at least 50 employees, be privately held and headquartered in Singapore (You can learn more about our methodology at the bottom of this article.)

This list is also meant to be a resource for you. These 10 startups point to growing trends in business, from digital health to e-commerce, indicating where there might be career opportunities in the future. Or, you may want to land a job at one of these companies now. In which case, take a look at who you might know at the company, see what jobs are open or find out the common skills among their workforce. Use this as a resource to connect to opportunity.

Check out this year’s 10 Top Startups in Singapore — and join the conversation using #LinkedInTopStartups.

You can also read what you should consider before joining a startup, see the hottest skills for a startup career and see all of LinkedIn's Top Startups lists here.

Headcount: 180 | Headquarters: Singapore | Year founded: 2014 | Most common skills: Analytics, UX, Data Analysis | Largest job functions: Product Management, Business Development, Arts and Design | What you should know: Financial services and data platform GoBear raised US$17 million in May to expand consumer financial services in Asian markets. The company also brought on a new CFO and shored up other key leadership positions as it expands partnerships with companies such as Union Bank, Mambu and CredoLab to focus on lending services in Asia, leaving the company with a strong upside despite a recent round of layoffs. GoBear also partnered up with insurance provider Chubb to address the needs of telecommuting workers in Singapore with specialised insurance packages.

Update: GoBear has closed business as of January 2021.

Headcount: 500+ | Headquarters: Singapore | Year founded: 2014 | Most common skills: E-Commerce, Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing | Largest job functions: Engineering, Business Development, Marketing | What you should know: E-commerce is booming and cashback platform ShopBack is seeing record orders and transactions in countries like the Philippines as shopping habits change amid the pandemic. ShopBack is launching in Vietnam, with the CEO saying expansion is the key to emerging stronger from the coronavirus crisis. ShopBack quickly shifted to a virtual way of working because of Covid-19, which according to ShopBack’s chief of staff is a big part of what’s contributed to the startup’s continued success.

See jobs at ShopBack | See people you may know at ShopBack

 Headcount: 100+ | Headquarters: Singapore | Year founded: 2015 | Most common skills: Adobe Photoshop, Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing | Largest job functions: Support, Operations, Engineering | What you should know: As the pandemic hit, people across the world have turned to video games, and the industry is soaring. Gaming chair manufacturer Secretlab has been riding high between the games industry success, the rise of E-Sports and the increased demand for home office products. Co-founded by former professional gamers Alaric Choo and Ian Alexander Ang, Secretlab’s E-Sports DNA has helped to secure global recognition and prominent partners like Riot Games and Invictus Gaming.

See people you may know at Secretlab | See more about Secretlab

Headcount: 302 | Headquarters: Singapore | Year founded: 2013 | Most common skills: Recruiting, Human Resources, Software Development | Largest job functions: Human Resources, Engineering, Sales | What you should know: Staffing service and recruitment platform Glints recently raised a US$6.8 million Series B funding to expand into Vietnam and Hong Kong. Glints goes beyond the recruitment platform model and is also focusing on education and upskilling programs such as online classes and career training, and off-shore talent outsourcing hubs. In response to the pandemic, Glints launched a free outplacement initiative for companies which helped match impacted employees with new career opportunities. 

See jobs at Glints | See people you may know at Glints

Headcount: 1000+ | Headquarters: Singapore | Year founded: 2016 | Most common skills: SQL, Finance, Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Largest job functions: Engineering, Business Development, Human Resources | What you should know: ADVANCE.AI is a big data and AI company helping to solve digital transformation, fraud prevention and process automation for clients and consumer sand has recently expanded to India with offices in Bengaluru and Delhi. ADVANCE.AI is also riding a wave of young shoppers as a result of the pandemic as one of their services offered to retailers provides instalment plans for online retail spending.

See jobs at ADVANCE.AI | See people you may know at ADVANCE.AI

Headcount: 50 | Headquarters: Singapore | Year founded: 2016 | Most common skills: Nursing, Entrepreneurship, Data analysis | Largest job functions: Community and Social Services, Healthcare Services, Operations | What you should know: This app matches seniors with more than 1,000 professional caregivers and nurses for on-demand eldercare, and operates in both Singapore and Malaysia. Demand rose for care-giving services due to the circuit breaker with more elderly folk staying home and requiring assistance. In response, senior leaders of Homage pledged part of their monthly pay for six months as part of a S$30,000 fundraising drive to show support and appreciation for their caregivers.

See jobs at Homage | See people you may know at Homage

Headcount: Close to 200 | Headquarters: Singapore | Year founded: 2018 | Most common skills: Digital Marketing, Data Analysis, E-commerce | Largest job functions: Support, Marketing, Product Management | What you should know: Zenyum sells affordable invisible braces by combining both telehealth as well as visits to its partner clinics and in-house orthodontists, and printing its aligners with 3D technology. Zenyum raised US$13.6 million in Series A funding from backers including RTP Global, Sequoia India, and TNB Aura in 2019 to fuel its expansion to additional markets, and it is now present in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

See jobs at Zenyum | See people you may know at Zenyum

Headcount: 104 | Headquarters: Singapore | Year founded: 2016 | Most common skills: Software Development, Financial Analysis, Financial Services | Largest job functions: Engineering, Business Development, Information Technology | What you should know: The wealth management and personal finance app, which helps users invest money in stocks and bonds, has had quite the year. It raised US$16 million in July in a Series C fundraising round led by Australian venture capital firm Square Peg, and was named by the World Economic Forum as a 2020 Technology Pioneer. Assets under management more than quadrupled in the 12 months leading up to July. Outside of Singapore, it has offices in Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and UAE.

See people you may know at StashAway | See more about StashAway

Headcount: 108 | Headquarters: Singapore | Year founded: 2013 | Most common skills: Food & Beverage, Procurement, Adobe Photoshop | Largest job functions: Community and Social Services, Healthcare Services, Operations | What you should know: Started by a group of friends, Grain bills itself as a “full-stack” online delivery platform, renting out cloud kitchens and whipping up a rotating menu of dishes with its own chefs and delivery team. It partnered with popular bubble tea chain Koi to sell food-and-drink combinations during the circuit breaker, and expanded into Thailand in May after it raised US$10 million in a seed round last year led by Singha Ventures, the VC arm of the Thai beer brand.

See jobs at Grain | See people you may know at Grain

Headcount: 179 | Headquarters: Singapore | Year founded: 2016 | Most common skills: Finance, Adobe Photoshop, Analytics | Largest job functions: Human Resources, Operations, Engineering | What you should know: Hmlet is the biggest co-living operator in Singapore with 1,000 homes, and another 1,000 in Hong Kong, Australia and Japan. Earlier this year, it laid off 10% of its employees to improve operational efficiency. It has since hired and increased headcount for technology and new product offerings as part of a shift to a more “asset light” business model, which includes a property listing and management platform for landlords. It has continued to expand during the pandemic, adding properties in Tokyo and Singapore, and also launched a furniture subscription and online design service.

See people you may know at Hmlet | See more about Hmlet

Share the full list and your thoughts on this year's Top Startups using #LinkedInTopStartups and check out the all of the LinkedIn Top Startup lists here.

Methodology

LinkedIn measures startups based on four pillars: employment growth, engagement, job interest and attraction of top talent. Employment growth is measured as percentage headcount increase over methodology time frame, which must be a minimum of 15%. Engagement looks at non-employee views and follows of the company’s LinkedIn page, as well as how many non-employees are viewing employees at that startup. Job interest counts rate at which people are viewing and applying to jobs at the company, including both paid and unpaid postings. Attraction of top talent measures how many employees the startup has recruited away from any global LinkedIn Top Company, as a percentage of the startup’s total workforce. Data is normalized across all eligible startups. The methodology time frame is January through July 2020. 

To be eligible, companies must be independent and privately held, have 50 or more full-time employees, be 7 years old or younger and be headquartered in the country on whose list they appear. We exclude all staffing firms, think tanks, venture capital firms, law firms, management and IT consulting firms, nonprofits and philanthropy, accelerators and government-owned entities. Startups who have laid off 20% or more of their workforce within the methodology time frame are also ineligible.

About company insights

*Company insights were sourced from LinkedIn Talent Insights. Data reflects aggregated public member data from active LinkedIn profiles in the relevant country and includes full-time employee profiles associated with the company on LinkedIn. We exclude members who identify as part-time or contractors. The insights reflect data as of August 2020.

Reported by: Chris C. Anderson and Yunita Ong.