If you ask ChatGPT which creative companies to work for in tech, it comes up with the following list: Google, Facebook, Amazon, Slack, Dropbox, and Salesforce. Considering our shaky hiring market, big techs like Facebook which count numerous layoffs since the pandemic, are not the optimal recommendations of companies to work for at the moment.
Positive Hiring Trends in 2023
Though while the news (AI, Layoffs & more) can trigger anxiety, some positive trends are moving forward in 2023, for instance:
- Remote and hybrid work isn’t going away but getting even more popular.
- Salary transparency becomes critical, some states in the US like California and Colorado require employees to provide salary ranges in job listings. This is an important shift that will eventually advance equal pay for women and historically underpaid groups.
- When hiring pauses, the work continues. Fiverr found 78% of companies will rely on freelancing in 2023 rather than add staff (according to Forbes). Not only that, but companies tend to hire more full-time freelancers with US full-time freelancing growing by 59% in 2022.
I’m positive about these trends because through every crisis appears opportunities. And when paths are blocked, it forces us to get creative and find (or create) new ones. You might start a side project, decide to freelance your way to your next opportunity, or finally give a shot at joining the company of your dreams. We never know, one of the companies below might trigger your curiosity. 🥳
12 awesome creative companies to work for in 2023
PocketWorlds
- Founded in Austin, Texas in 2015.
- Industry: Gaming, Metaverse
- Team: 60+
- Remote
Sitting at the intersection of social networking and gaming, Pocket Worlds' mission is to build deep, rich virtual worlds where everyone belongs.They are the creators of Highrise, the first virtual world on mobile, which has seen important growth over the last few years and now boasts over 20 million users across iOS and Android. They're hiring for creative jobs remotely, from mobile UI/UX Design to Gaming Software Engineer.
T2
- Founded in San Francisco, in 2022.
- Industry: Social Media, Communities
- Team: 5+
- Hybrid from San Francisco, US
I’m sure you’ve heard about Twitter drama, and severe backlash from the change in algorithms, newly long-form content, and blue checkmarks subscriptions. Needless to say that a lot of us are looking for a new place to hang out. T2 might be what we’re looking for. The social media is in its infancy, with a primer on privacy and responsible design. This could be a very exciting creative company to join as an early team member. They recently opened a Product Designer position and might hire more in the future. Stay on the lookout!
Canva
- Founded in Sydney, Australia in 2010.
- Industry: Graphic Design, SaaS
- Team: 2000+
- Remote or from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Austria, The Philippines, and the Czech Republic.
Founded in 2010 by Melanie Perkins, the idea was born from a frustration with the learning curve required to design anything online. CEO Melanie Perkins raised $3 million in 2013 to stack the first bricks of building an online web-based platform and bring online design tools to the masses. In 2021, Canva counted 100 million users per month, 1 billion in revenue, and has been long profitable and cash-flow positive - rare species in the venture-backed tech scene. The team now operates from 7 locations and hires more than 2500 employees.
If you’d like to learn more about the culture, hiring, and interview process at Canva, I’m a big enough fan and wrote a whole piece about it: Canva Careers: Hiring Process, Interview Tips & Jobs (2023)
Horizon Blockchain Games
- Founded in Toronto, Ontario in 2017.
- Industry: Gaming, Blockchain, Web3
- Team: 50+
- Hybrid from Toronto, Ontario or Remote
I love this one because it was one of the first I discovered in gaming blockchain. The company's flagship game, Skyweaver, is a free-to-play trading card game that allows players to truly own their digital assets and trade them with others using blockchain. They also developed Sequence, an all-in-one developer platform + smart wallet useful to make building web3 games, apps, and experiences easy. They are often on the lookout for new talents, and recently opened Business Development and Game Design positions.
Horizon Blockchain Games Jobs →
Chani App
- Founded in Los Angeles, in 2020.
- Industry: Astrology, Consumer Apps
- Team: 20+
- Los Angeles, or Remote US
CHANI is an astrology app reaching close to 1 million users. Chani app is essentially a one-stop-shop for famous astrologer Nicholas's services - but is growing into a queer, feminist-led tech and media company on a mission to make astrology and its wisdom accessible to everyone as a tool for self-discovery, mindfulness, and healing. The CHANI team is remote, and also operating from Los Angeles.
[Chani Jobs]https://chaninicholas.com/careers/) →
Pianity
- Founded in Paris in 2020.
- Industry: Music, Education, Web3
- Team: 10+
- Onsite (Paris, France)
Pianity is a music platform that allows you to discover and invest in your favorite artists and get rewards as an active community member. The team just crossed 1500 artists that are part of Pianity’s community. The team is based in Paris, France, and hiring onsite creative jobs in tech and design.
Jasper
- Founded in Austin, Texas in 2020.
- Industry: AI, Content, Web3
- Team: 10+
- 100% remote, working hubs in Austin, Sydney and Salt Lake City
Jasper is the AI company that posts a new job opening every week, yes the AI market is definitely crazy right now, but Jasper took the B2B route more or less like Canva in 2010. Used by 100k+ companies like Canva, Docusign, or Intel, the AI content platform helps your team create on-brand content.
Improbable
- Founded in London, UK in 2012.
- Industry: Gaming, Web3 & Metaverse
- Team: 500+
- Remote across 8 locations in Europe.
If you’re a concept artist, game designer, or gameplay engineer, Improbable might be for you. Their core specialty is building multi-user virtual worlds for key partners with dedicated metaverse teams. They're based in the UK, but hire team members for the metaverse functions & support across 8 locations in Europe.
Softr
- Founded in Berlin, in 2019.
- Industry: WebApps
- Team: 50+
- 100% remote
Softr is the easiest no-code platform to create custom apps and client portals, powered by your data. In the past 2 years, they are growing and shipping more features than ever, from AI to Google Sheets Integrations. They’re one of the tools now mentioned next to Webflow or Bubble. I’ve used it myself, and see the huge potential the tool has as well as no-code as a whole. They’re hiring remote creative jobs such as Product Designers, but also Engineers. The team values flat hierarchies, clear communication, and full ownership of projects.
Brilliant
- Founded in San Francisco, in 2012.
- Industry: Education, E-Learning App
- Team: 50+
- San Francisco, or Remote US
Brilliant is an online learning platform that offers courses in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The company aims to make learning fun and engaging through interactive lessons and challenges. Brilliant has a diverse team of 50+ and growing, the team works primarily in SF, with teammates in 10 states and 5 countries. They’re currently hiring for exciting remote creative jobs such as Creative Technologist, Illustrator, Senior Product Manager, and more.
Lottie Lab
- Founded in London, UK in 2021
- Industry: Motion Design, Animation, Creative Tools
- Team: 10+
- 100% remote
The company uses Lottie, an open-source animation file format created by Airbnb designers, to build an editor for anyone to create high-quality animations for web and mobile applications. LottieLab was founded by two design and animation fanatics (Drew - Designer & PM and Alistair - Full Stack Engineer). They are currently based in London but have previously worked across both Europe and the US and are building out the team to be fully remote.
Rayon Design
- Founded in Paris, France in 2021
- Industry: Collaborative Space Design, Creative Tools
- Team: 13+
- Remote Europe
Rayon is building the next generation of space design software to empower designers, architects, etc. Rayon was co-founded in October 2021 by Bastien Dolla, an engineer with 15 years of experience in tech and real estate, and Stanislas Chaillou, an engineer and an architect with a background in ML research applied to architecture. One of their beliefs is that the design of buildings and spaces has a huge impact on our lives. Climate change, affordable housing, sustainable urbanization, future of work are challenges that require us to design a better and more efficient built environment. They’re hiring remote creative jobs such as Senior Product Designers, or Head of Engineering.