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Transparency has become a bit of a buzzword in the corporate world, but 2023 has seen a genuine shift by companies toward creating an open and honest culture with their customers, employees, and stakeholders. We’re highlighting the 50 companies leading the way in setting new standards for transparency and accountability.
Buffer is a social media management platform that has been celebrated for its transparency in areas such as salaries, financials, and company culture. They publicly share their salaries, revenue, and even their equity formula. They also have a transparent hiring process where they share the job posting details, what to expect in the hiring process, and what their ideal candidate looks like.
A bonus – they share their product roadmap and company updates in their public Slack channel, making it easy for employees and customers alike to stay informed about what's happening at the company.
Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform that excels in transparent decision-making processes and communication with creators and backers. The company publishes detailed statistics on its website, such as the success rates of campaigns, and has even implemented a "Trust and Safety" team to ensure that projects are legitimate and deliver on their promises.
Kickstarter also has a publicly available charter outlining their values and principles, regularly publishes data and statistics about their platform and business operations, and openly communicates with their community of creators and backers about issues and decisions that impact them.
Warby Parker is an eyewear company that has embraced transparency in its supply chain and environmental impact. They are open about their production process and pricing, offering customers a clear breakdown of their expenses. They are also vocal about their social and environmental responsibility efforts, such as their "Buy a Pair, Give a Pair" program, which donates a pair of glasses for every pair purchased. The company also provides regular updates on their progress toward achieving their sustainability goals, including reducing their carbon footprint and increasing their use of recycled materials.
Warby Parker also prioritizes transparency in their workplace, providing opportunities for employees to share feedback and ideas and offering benefits like gender-neutral parental leave.
Trello is a project management tool that Atlassian acquired in 2017. They are recognized for their transparency, particularly in product development and customer support. They have a public roadmap where users can see what features are being worked on and provide a detailed support center with articles, videos, and community forums.
They also have an open approach to customer support, encouraging customers to provide feedback and suggestions for improvement, and they publicly address common user concerns and issues on their website. Trello's parent company, Atlassian, is committed to transparency and operates with core values, including "Open Company, No Bullshit."
VSCO is a photo and video editing platform that stands out in terms of transparency due to their open sharing of information about their values, products, and business practices with its users and community.
Their website features a comprehensive section on its values, outlining its commitment to diversity, sustainability, and social responsibility. VSCO also provides extensive product resources and tutorials, promoting transparency and empowering users to create and share content.
Ellevest has been recognized for its commitment to diversity and transparency in the financial industry. Their mission is to close the gender investing gap and empower women to take control of their finances. Alongside their mission, they lead with transparency when disclosing their investment strategies, fees, and performance.
Their website provides detailed information about its investment approach, including its proprietary algorithm and how it considers a client's financial goals and values. Ellevest also clearly outlines its fees, based on a percentage of assets under management, and publishes its performance results on its website. Overall, Ellevest's commitment to diversity and transparency in the financial industry sets it apart and demonstrates a dedication to ethical and responsible business practices.
Superhuman is an email client designed to be the fastest and most customizable email experience. Superhuman champions transparency by sharing information through its "public roadmap" that allows users to see features and provide feedback on what they'd like to see.
Superhuman's innovative email client and focus on user experience have also changed the email industry, challenging traditional email providers and setting a new standard for email productivity. Their commitment to transparency also shines through in their spirit of openness with their team.
Help Scout is a customer service software platform providing businesses with a shared inbox, knowledge base, and reports and analytics. They've been remote-first from day one (over 12 years ago!) and embody transparency through regular company Town Halls, an internally public salary formula, a public DEI dashboard, and listing their hiring process on their careers page.
Help Scout's website features a comprehensive section on its culture, which outlines its commitment to transparency, diversity, and work-life balance. Help Scout also publishes regular updates on its blog and social media channels, informing users about its products, features, and company news.
"Help Scout has been a remote-first company since its inception over 12 years ago, and transparency was built into our DNA from day one. Whether it's been our transparent, internal salary formula, our monthly all-company Town Halls, or our public interview process, we default to transparency in order to build trust, empower our teammates, and create an environment where people can do their best work." - Leah Knobler, Director of Talent Acquisition, Help Scout
Baremetrics is a subscription analytics and insights platform that helps businesses gain visibility into their subscription-based metrics, such as monthly recurring revenue (MRR), churn rate, and customer lifetime value (LTV). They embody transparency by sharing information about their team and company culture with their users and community. Their website also features a comprehensive section on its team, including information about each member's role, location, and social media profiles.
Baremetrics also promotes transparency in its business practices, such as its public dashboard that shares real-time revenue data with its users. This allows customers to see how the company is performing and fosters a culture of trust and accountability. Additionally, Baremetrics shares information about its pricing and billing policies, providing clarity and transparency to its users.
Pento is payroll and HR simplification platform for modern businesses. Pento embodies transparency by sharing information about its product, pricing, and operations with its users and community. Their website features a detailed pricing section, including candid and straightforward pricing plans for its payroll software.
Pento also promotes transparency in its operations through its company culture, values, and public handbook. The handbook outlines everything about them, from how they work, to their benefits and hiring process. The company is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace, and its values emphasize collaboration, ownership, and continuous improvement.
“Pento’s approach sets out to make extremely clear what you’re subscribing to if you join us. Our Principles guide who we are and how we work — they’re our intentional backbone. One of them, Communicating Intentionally, shapes all of our internal releases. Whether that’s our compensation philosophy and salary bands, through to our transparent learnings and roadmap, there’s little that isn’t out there in full across the team.” - Kayleigh Smart, Head of People, Pento
Wistia is a video hosting and marketing platform that practices transparency in their company culture, including open discussions of company goals and challenges and sharing their company financials publicly.
Wistia is widely recognized as one of the most transparent companies in the world due to its commitment to openness, honesty, and communication. The company regularly shares information about its finances, operations, and decision-making processes with its employees and the wider community. Wistia also encourages feedback and input from all parties, fostering a culture of transparency, collaboration, and trust.
GitLab is a web-based Git repository manager with an open-book management policy, sharing financial information and team performance metrics with employees and the public.
Gitlab prioritizes transparency with its Open-source software that is freely available for anyone to use, modify, and contribute. They do this by maintaining a publicly available handbook that documents its company policies, decision-making processes, and other aspects of its operations and by sharing their public roadmap.
Headspace is a meditation and mindfulness app that values transparency, sharing information about their company culture, values, and social impact initiatives. Headspace shares product, operations, and culture information with its users and community. Their website also features a comprehensive section on its product, which includes transparent and detailed information about its meditation app and how it works.
Headspace also promotes transparency in its operations through its company culture and values. The company is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace, and its values emphasize mindfulness, compassion, and transparency.
Hopper is a travel booking and planning app that operates with a culture of transparency, including openly discussing company goals and performance data and sharing company financials publicly.
Hopper values transparency in several aspects of their operations. They have an open and honest approach to communicating with their users, regularly sharing social media updates about their products, operations, and industry insights. They also provide transparent pricing information for their travel booking platform, including clear fees and tax breakdowns. Hopper promotes transparency in their culture and values, focusing on collaboration, diversity, and customer satisfaction.
Maze is a user testing and research platform that helps product teams validate and improve their designs through data-driven insights. Maze shares information about its product, operations, and culture with its users and community – placing it firmly on our list of transparent startups. In addition, their website features a comprehensive section on its product, which includes information about its features, pricing, and user feedback.
Within their company culture, Maze is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace with values emphasizing collaboration, openness, and experimentation.
Maze also promotes transparency through its design community, including user testing and feedback from designers worldwide. This fosters collaboration and innovation, as users can contribute to software development and suggest new features and improvements.
"We are all about transparency, and believe that when one of us grows, we all grow! Transparency is central to how we work together at Maze. Since we are a fully distributed and remote team, over-communicating, documenting everything, approaching questions with humility, and remembering that we are human-first makes our asynchronous work possible. Sometimes a response of, 'I don’t know, let’s figure it out together,' is the best answer, and that honesty and internally-public discussion empowers folks across teams and timezones to join in the conversation any time." - April Hoffbauer, VP of People, Culture and Experience, Maze
Grassroots Analytics was founded in 2017 to revolutionize campaign fundraising and nonprofit development by offering cutting-edge data-driven solutions. Their innovative technology tools break down the traditional barriers that have favored wealthy individuals with extensive networks and connections. They have democratized these spaces by connecting campaigns and nonprofits with supporters motivated by their cause, thereby increasing transparency and accountability.
Grassroots believe everyone should have access to the tools and technology necessary to succeed in their fundraising and development efforts. They are committed to making that a reality for their clients.
DuckDuckGo is a search engine that prioritizes user privacy by not collecting or sharing personal information and by showing the same results to all users for a given search query. DuckDuckGo values transparency, openly discussing their data privacy policies and practices and sharing information about their revenue model with the public. The company is open and honest about its data practices and firmly committed to user privacy, offering a privacy policy that is easy to read and understand.
DuckDuckGo also provides transparent information about its search results, including how they are generated and why specific results appear at the top. They also advocate for online privacy and security, providing resources and information to help users protect their personal information online.
Patagonia is an outdoor clothing and gear company that openly shares their environmental and social impact, including their supply chain and production processes. They share information about their supply chain, environmental impact, and social responsibility initiatives through their website, annual reports, and sustainability scorecards.
Patagonia also uses its platform to raise awareness and advocate for social and environmental causes, providing transparency and accountability to its customers and community. Additionally, they have committed to reducing their carbon footprint and investing in renewable energy, demonstrating a strong commitment to mitigating the effects of climate change.
Drift is a conversational marketing and sales platform that practices transparency in several aspects of their business and company culture, including publicly sharing employee salaries and company metrics.
They are exceptionally transparent in their sales and customer communication approach, providing transparency about their products, services, and pricing models. Drift also uses its platform to promote transparency in customer communication, providing tools for businesses to engage with customers in real time and respond to their needs promptly.
DoiT International is a technology and cloud consulting company that provides expertise and solutions to help businesses leverage the power of cloud computing. DoiT International is a leader in transparency, emphasizing open communication with clients, contributing to the open-source community, and fostering employee engagement.
They prioritize candidate experience, setting clear expectations and providing regular updates during the interview process to attract top talent. DoiT also humanizes the company by maintaining a public org chart and running campaigns like Came/Stay, where team members share why they joined and what motivates them to stay. This approach demonstrates DoiT's commitment to its employees and builds stronger relationships with clients and partners.
“Transparency at DoiT means that we don’t have to sift through the red tape or the hierarchy structures a lot of other organizations have in place. Transparency allows Do’ers to have access to information they need and not have to wait on or interrupt others to find it. Externally, it also means that we have nothing to hide. We show our potential customers, current customers, and candidates what we are all about and what others say about us.” - Rob Cummings, Global Employer Brand Specialist, DoiT International
InVision is a digital product design platform with an open culture, sharing company financials and performance metrics with employees and the public. They practice transparency, particularly in product development and company culture. The company is open and honest about their design and collaboration platform, providing transparent information about features, pricing, and integrations on their website. InVision also values transparency in their product development, with a public product roadmap that allows users to see what features and updates are in the pipeline.
They also prioritize transparency in their company culture and operations, focusing on diversity, inclusion, and employee well-being. InVision shares their company values, mission, and vision openly and provides resources for employees to learn and grow.
Collective Benefits is a platform that offers benefits to self-employed and gig workers. Collective Benefits is a transparent startup that openly shares information about its mission, values, and operations with its users and community. The company's website features a comprehensive section on its mission and values, which includes a detailed explanation of how it works to improve the lives of gig economy workers.
Collective Benefits also promotes transparency in its operations through its benefits offerings, designed to be simple and easy to understand. The company offers a range of benefits, including sick pay, accident insurance, and mental health support, which are clearly explained on its website.
Gravity Payments is a credit card processing company with a transparent business model, including publicly sharing employee salaries and operating with a flat management structure. The company is candid about their payment processing services, providing transparent information about pricing, fees, and features on their website.
Gravity Payments values company culture and operations transparency, focusing on equality, diversity, and employee well-being. They also provide resources for employees to learn and grow and openly share their company values and mission.
As an e-commerce platform that publicly shares company data and financials and operates with a remote work culture, Shopify illustrates transparency. The company is open and honest about their e-commerce platform, providing transparent information about pricing, features, and integrations on their website.
Shopify also promotes diversity, inclusion, and employee well-being within their culture. The company's CEO, Tobi Lütke, is vocal about his vision for the company and regularly communicates with employees and the broader community through social media and public appearances.
MURAL is a digital collaboration platform that practices transparency, openly discussing company decisions and goals and sharing company metrics and financials with employees and the public. They are open and honest about their remote collaboration platform, providing transparent information about features, integrations, and pricing on their website.
They practice open communication and information sharing with their employees, customers, and stakeholders, and provide clear visibility into their decision-making processes. And are accountable for their actions and impact on the community and the environment.MURAL also values diversity, equity, and inclusion in their company culture – taking measures to ensure employee well-being.
Ghost is a blogging platform with a transparent and open-source business model, sharing financial information and product development with the public. Ghost prioritizes transparency in several aspects of their business, including their content management platform, company culture, and communication with their user community.
By being open and honest about their products, values, and operations, Ghost establishes trust with their users and promotes a culture of ethical and responsible business practices. As a result, they set a new standard in the content management industry, where transparency often needs to be improved. Moreover, they show that transparency can be a key driver of success for any company that values integrity and trustworthiness.
Automattic is a software company that runs WordPress.com, Tumblr, WooCommerce, and other web-based products and practices transparency through an open-source policy, remote work culture, and open communication. They are committed to open-source software and transparent communication, reflected in their core values and business conduct.
Automattic regularly shares updates about their company, projects, and initiatives on their blog and public forums. They are also known for their distributed work culture, with Automatticians working around the globe, providing various resources and tools for employees to work effectively and collaboratively.
“We believe in Open Source, one of the greatest ideas of our generation, and we strive to run our company according to the same principles of openness, transparency, and a willingness to consider all ideas, regardless of who submits them. For a company of 2,000+ people, we run a surprisingly flat organization. This testifies to our belief that every contributor is valuable.” Karen Arnold, Talent Division Lead, Automattic
Groove is a customer support and engagement platform that helps businesses manage customer inquiries, collaborate with their team members, and analyze customer interactions to improve their support and sales performance. As a helpdesk and customer support platform, Groove values transparency in their business practices. They are committed to being open and honest with their users and stakeholders, as evidenced by their frequent blog posts, email newsletters, and public roadmap.
Groove also shares their monthly revenue reports, which provide insight into their financial performance and helps build trust with their users. Additionally, they have a transparent pricing model with no hidden fees and offer a 60-day free trial to new users.
Zapier, a workflow automation tool that connects various apps and services, is known for its transparent company culture. In the spirit of transparency, they share company data with employees and the public. Zapier values open communication, reflected in their remote work policy, public handbook, and regular company-wide meetings.
They also provide transparent documentation and support to their users, including an open API and public developer documentation. Additionally, Zapier shares their revenue numbers and business metrics on their website, demonstrating their commitment to transparency with their stakeholders.
Know Your Team is a team management and communication software company with a transparent culture, including open conversations about company challenges and decisions. They have a public company handbook that outlines their values, mission, and policies, as well as their team structure and hiring process.
Know Your Team shares insights and best practices through their blog and newsletter with their users. They also have a transparent pricing model with no hidden fees or long-term contracts and offer a free trial to new users.
Rocket.Chat is an open-source communication platform that promotes transparency by allowing users to view and modify the application's source code. Users can also contribute to software development by suggesting new features and improvements.
They also standout by how they share information about its culture, values, and policies with its users and community. Their employee handbook is available online – providing detailed information about their work culture, policies, and benefits for all to see.
Elastic is a search and analytics software company that operates with a culture of transparency, including sharing company financials and performance metrics with the public. They have a public code repository where they share their source code and encourage contributions from the wider community.
Elastic provides public access to company documents such as quarterly reports and IPO prospectus. They have an open feedback policy, where employees are encouraged to give feedback to their colleagues and leadership.
Allbirds is a sustainable footwear company that values transparency, particularly in sharing the details of the lifecycle of their products. They provide detailed information about their products' materials and manufacturing processes and are committed to using sustainable and renewable materials.
Allbirds also disclose their carbon footprint and environmental impact and work to offset their emissions through initiatives like renewable energy investments and reforestation projects. In addition, Allbirds has a public social impact report outlining their efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within their company and the broader community.
Hootsuite is a social media management platform that practices transparency in their company culture, including sharing company metrics and performance data with employees and the public. They also have an open feedback policy, where employees are encouraged to provide feedback to their colleagues and managers.
Hootsuite also provides public access to their company documents, such as their annual reports and code of conduct. In addition, they regularly communicate with their customers and community through blog posts, webinars, and social media, and they are open about their product roadmap and plans.
ConvertKit is an email marketing and automation platform that values transparency, openly discussing company challenges and goals and sharing financial data and metrics with employees and the public. They are open about their company metrics and financials, which they regularly share on their public dashboard.
ConvertKit also has a public roadmap outlining their product development plans, and they actively seek customer feedback to inform their decision-making. In addition, they prioritize customer education and provide resources such as webinars and guides to help their customers succeed in email marketing.
Automox is a cloud-based endpoint protection platform with an open culture, sharing company data and financials with employees and the public. They value transparency and openly communicate with their customers about their product development roadmap, security practices, and compliance certifications.
They have a public trust center that provides detailed information about their security and compliance measures, as well as any incidents or vulnerabilities that have been identified and addressed. Automox also prioritizes customer feedback and has a user community forum where customers can share their ideas, ask questions, and connect.
Lattice is a people management platform that emodies transparency through regularly sharing company metrics and performance data with employees and the public. They are known to have an open company culture where employees are encouraged to share their thoughts, ideas, and feedback with the leadership team.
For their pricing and product development process, Lattice shares a public roadmap that allows customers to see what features are being developed and when they can expect to be released. They also regularly publish thought leadership content on their blog and host webinars on performance management and employee engagement topics.
Aha! is a product management software company that believes in the power of transparency. They have an open and transparent culture where everyone, from the CEO to the newest employee, can share their thoughts, ideas, and feedback. They also provide transparency to their customers by providing a public product roadmap that allows them to see what features are in development and when they can expect to be released.
Aha! publishes a wealth of thought leadership content on their blog and regularly hosts webinars and events to help product managers improve their skills and stay current with industry trends.
Everlane is an ethical and sustainable fashion brand that produces high-quality clothing and accessories. Everlane is committed to providing transparency about their supply chain, including the factories where they make their products, the materials used, and the costs associated with production.
They also disclose their markups on each product to promote pricing transparency and consumer trust. Additionally, they have tried to reduce their environmental impact and improve sustainability and have been open about their progress and challenges.
Stack Overflow is a question-and-answer community for programmers to share knowledge and solve problems. They practice transparency by openly sharing information about their technology, operations, and community with their users and the broader tech industry. They are also committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive community through its Code of Conduct and Women in Technology program and engage with their community through forums, Q&A sessions, and meetups.
Furthermore, Stack Overflow's annual Developer Survey provides insights into the attitudes and experiences of developers worldwide, promoting transparency and collaboration in the tech industry.
"Everything we do at Stack Overflow is governed by our core values - one of which is "Being Transparent." We strongly believe in communicating openly and honestly and encourage our team by being empathetic, reliable, and acting with integrity. We're excited the Org has recognized us as a company dedicated to this level of dialogue with our Stackers and community of users.” – Debbie Shotwell, Chief People Officer, Stack Overflow
Figma is a collaborative design platform that practices transparency in their company culture, including openly discussing company challenges and goals and sharing financial data and metrics with employees and the public. In addition, they have a public product roadmap where users can track the progress of upcoming features, and they actively seek feedback through public forums and regular surveys.
Figma also strives for transparency in their hiring process and company culture, sharing information about their diversity and inclusion initiatives and even hosting virtual tours of their offices. Additionally, they regularly share design resources and best practices through their blog and social media channels, demonstrating their commitment to empowering designers and advancing the design field.
Tessian is an email security platform committed to transparency. They demonstrate this through their commitment to data protection, privacy, and compliance. In addition, Tessian makes information about its security protocols and practices easily accessible to customers and stakeholders and regularly publishes updates on security issues and vulnerabilities.
Additionally, the company maintains an open dialogue with its customers and partners, actively seeking feedback and incorporating it into its operations. Through its commitment to transparency, Tessian has established itself as a trusted partner in the cybersecurity industry.
HashiCorp is a software company that provides tools for managing and deploying cloud infrastructure. HashiCorp is committed to transparency in their company culture, with an open-source philosophy and a focus on collaboration and community involvement. They have a public roadmap, share detailed product documentation, and have an open-source community where users can contribute to their products.
HashiCorp also encourages feedback and open dialogue between employees and management. They regularly publish blog posts and host events to share their knowledge and engage with their community.
Codecademy is an online learning platform that offers coding courses and interactive coding lessons to help individuals learn how to code. They have a publicly available company blog sharing information on their team, culture, and product development. They also publish a transparency report, which provides detailed information on user and government data requests and responses.
Codecademy has a public-facing roadmap outlining their product development plans and progress. They also strongly emphasize open communication within the company, with regular company-wide meetings and opportunities for team members to share feedback and ideas.
Appen is a technology company that provides data annotation and machine learning services. They are committed to ethical and transparent practices in their data labeling and have implemented principles to ensure fairness and accuracy in their work.
Appen maintains an open-door policy for their executives and encourages feedback from all organizational levels. They also provide various resources to help its employees stay informed about company news, industry trends, and professional development opportunities.
OpenAI is a transparent company that places a strong emphasis on the ethical and responsible development of artificial intelligence (AI). They regularly publish research papers and blog posts to share their findings with the public and also host open forums and conferences to discuss the potential impacts of AI on society.
Additionally, OpenAI has implemented several policies and measures to ensure the safety and security of their research, such as the OpenAI Charter and the creation of an AI safety team. Overall, OpenAI strives to maintain transparency in their work to promote a greater understanding and awareness of AI among the public.
Gusto is a human resources and payroll software company that practices transparency in their company culture, including openly discussing company challenges and goals and sharing financial data and metrics with employees and the public. They regularly share updates on their blog and social media platforms, detailing their progress towards their goals, any challenges they face, and how they address them. They also have a public page dedicated to sharing their company values, including transparency, and how they aim to achieve them.
Gusto's commitment to transparency is reflected in their open communication channels and willingness to share successes and failures with their stakeholders.
A time tracking and invoicing software company, Harvest values transparency through honesty and openness in their business practices. They provide their customers with detailed information about their pricing and billing processes, which helps to build trust and confidence in their services.
Harvest also shares information about their team members and company culture on their website, demonstrating their commitment to transparency and accountability. In addition, they encourage customer feedback and use it to improve their product, further emphasizing their dedication to transparency and building solid relationships with their clients.
Monday.com, a popular project management tool, values transparency and openness within its company culture. They have a publicly available blog covering company updates, industry news, and workplace culture. In addition, they frequently share customer stories and feature their team members in their content.
They also have a transparent pricing model and offer a free trial to users. Monday.com values transparency as key to building customer trust and promoting positive company culture.
Teamable provides a complete recruitment and hiring product that combines the data-based certainty, scalability, and seamless process of a technology solution with the white-glove experience and expertise of the best recruiting firms. Teamable embraces transparency by proactively sharing critical information with their employees and customers.
They openly share their mission and values and progress toward their goals. They also demostrate their commitment to diversity and inclusion by publishing a diversity report on their website.
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