Top 100 Startups Around The World

Do you want to start with the good news or bad? Actually, we’re going bad first because – well – the only way is up after that. Here goes…

Around 90% of startups fail – 10% of them fail in their first year. Ouch.

But hey, we’re not here to dwell on the negative, we’re here to celebrate the positive: the top startups around the world who are smashing it in terms of fast digital growth, fundraising, and missions we all believe in.

To do this, we used Otta and their well-known Rocket List for 2022, to take the top startup companies from their two lists (US and Europe & UK), combine them into one *big* global list of top startups, and upload it into Similarweb Sales Intelligence. The end result? The top 100 startups in the world, in terms of website traffic.

Then, we’re going to go into all the juicy details and help pinpoint what makes some of these top startups just so damn good – and why they should be your next sales opportunity.

Top 100 startups, by website traffic

So, here we have it – the 100 hottest startups around the world, ranked by website traffic. When you’re selling to companies in the digital space, website traffic is a true indicator of popularity and success.

Want to download the list? Here you go.

A deeper dive into the top 5 startup companies, by monthly visits:

That long list doesn’t really show you just how much Similarweb Sales Intelligence can do for you, your team, your sales emails, and your sales targets. ()

So, how about a little teaser with a deep dive into the top 5 startups on the list? We knew you’d say yes to that…

1) Notion.so

It’s fair to say, we love anything that enhances our productivity and efficiency, and Notion does just that. The best bit? Unlike coffee, too much of Notion won’t risk a headache or ruin your sleep pattern.

This all-in-one, note-taking software platform took tech stacks by storm. It encourages flexibility, easy collaboration (both internally and externally), and organization, so you can see why it’s so popular.

Let’s have a little snoop into 2022’s digital footprint for Notion, and see what’s what with Account Review:

That’s a lot of visits – especially for a relatively new startup like Notion (founded in 2013).

It’s a platform that has attracted thousands of young startups, namely because it’s efficient – this all-in-one solution helps them cut down the number of software subscriptions needed. Hello, money and time saver.

So, how are people stumbling across Notion as a solution? Well, mainly direct – by a long shot, actually.

Kudos to the team leading brand awareness.

Over time, we can see this split between marketing channels has stayed pretty consistent. Notion has needed to put minimal effort into their social media, paid search, and display ads, because the company has cracked it in terms of direct and organic traffic. Every business’ dream, right?

Why don’t we take a look at what people are searching for to land on Notion’s website?

Surprise surprise, the top organic search terms are branded. The people know what they want – keep up the good work, Notion.

2) Miro.com

If you don’t already know about Miro, you need to know about Miro. (We love Miro).

This visual collaboration platform and online whiteboard tool is not only a great tool to use for every team, it’s easy to use and looks pretty too. It was a ‘pandemic boom’ business to help teams work together, without being face-to-face, but it looks like it’s not going away anytime soon…

How’s that for rapid growth? And in terms of competition, Miro is far beyond the rest – which we can see with the numbers, but we can use Similarweb Sales Intelligence comparison feature. Just to double check.

So, what marketing channels does Miro use to level up against its competitors? Looks like word of mouth is a big one because Miro’s direct traffic is on fire. Organic traffic, not too shabby either.

Note: ‘Collaboration’ is already a big word in this blog post, and it just shows how we’re all looking to work smarter, not harder.

3) Ycombinator.com

Y Combinator is what we call an ‘accelerator’ for early stage startups in the tech space. There have been a lot of startup companies through its doors – more than 3,000 if you want to know the facts.

Well-known startups like Airbnb, Dropbox, Quora, and Stripe have all been there, done that, and maybe even got a t-shirt.

With big names owing some of their success to Y Combinator, how about we take a look at some digital insights to see what helped them seal those deals?

While it looks like the business has had an up and down year, take a closer look at the number of views and you’ll think twice about that. Website views have seemed to become a lot more consistent towards the end of this year though, which is good for planning ahead into the new year.

And it’s clear people are interested in what they do and what the website shows. Check the engagement stats, including an above-average time on page:

But who’s looking? Ah yes, that’s just another thing that Similarweb Sales Intelligence does. Say hello to our Demographics insights.

Looks like the 25-34 age bracket are killing it in terms of entrepreneurial ideas – whether they are part of the 10% success rate for startups, we’ll never know. But what we can find out is the average browsing interests of these users – and they are definitely doing their research to succeed.

4) Replit.com

Oh, another startup that’s living the dream, thanks to a focus on collaboration – but also remote and hybrid working, taking into account that not everyone will be in the same meeting room at the same time. We’re so here for it.

Rebranding from repl.it to replit.com in March 2021, the company saw a big spike in January 2022, almost doubling its traffic – as you can see.

What made the start of this year so special? Let’s have a look.

Firstly, most marketing channels followed a similar pattern in January 2022, but – like the rest of the top 5 startups we are speaking about – direct traffic reigns above.

Within the same period of time displayed on the graph above, we decided to look more closely into that spike in referrals. Why? Because we’re gonna say that has something to do with the uplift in direct traffic, but also branded organic traffic.

The referring websites are either companies that provide online courses or training, or they’re forums. This is where your B2B buyer persona knowledge comes in…

Replit is a software used by developers, and it’s well known that when a developer likes someone, they’ll spread the word to developers alike – through suggestions, perhaps, or through forum chats like Reddit. The same applies when they don’t like something.

The dev persona is one that’s referred to a lot in B2B sales – particularly those selling to SaaS and tech companies – because developers are the ones who deal with the integrations and ‘techy’ product updates.

5) Feverup.com

Now, for our final high five to number five of our top startups in the world right now: the events and entertainment website and app, Feverup.com. ✋

Telling you what’s going on, things to do, and things to see in your city, Fever keeps everyone busy. The best bit? It’s tailored just for YOU. You can see why it’s irresistible to some, and why so many big event organizers used Fever for their ticket purchases. Take a look:

With our data, we can also get a good idea of the demographic using Fever (and going to these events). The conclusion: millennials can’t sit still. The insight: right here.

Fever is connected to some of the largest cities around the world, including Madrid, London, Paris, Los Angeles and Barceliona, but where are most of its users coming from? That’s just another thing our website analysis tool can tell you, and – as you can see – this startup has dominated their HQ country.

In terms of marketing channels, Fever clearly knows its stuff. We can see that the company is a social media hit – more so than the startups we’ve already mentioned – with most of its social media referrals coming from Facebook. You know, the home of Facebook Events. Makes sense.

The growing startups to watch out for

Wanna know the fastest-growing out of these fast-growing startups? Of course you do.

Here’s a quick run-through of the top promising startups to watch in 2023:

To do this, we took the top 100 list we shared above, uploaded it to Similarweb Sales Intelligence, filtered it down by MoM traffic change, and Bob’s your uncle (not literally, but he might be).

Go beyond the top 100

The world of startups is always exciting – and ever-changing. That’s why we will regularly update this blog, along with Top Tech Companies and Top Ecommerce Companies, to make sure you don’t miss a trick.

The data and insights that we offer can work for you and your sales process in so many ways, helping you to optimize it and win more deals. We’re here to help you work smarter, not harder with our invaluable features for sales teams everywhere, including:

• Lead Generator: Search our database of over 100m companies to create a list of your ideal prospects.
• Insights Generator: Create effective outreach based on solving your prospect’s specific pain points and areas of opportunity.
• Contacts: Find the key decision-makers at the companies you’re interested in, and download their contact information at the click of a button.
• Account Review: Uncover full insight into each account, including performance and technologies.
• Sales Signals: Spot upsell and cross-sell opportunities, and reduce churn with account alerts.

Book a demo to find out exactly how it can work for your business.

FAQs

What are the top startups in the US?

Some of the hottest startups in the US include Notion, Y Combinator, Replit, and Fever.

What are the top startups in the UK?

If you’re after the top startups in the UK, we’ve got a list right here. The top UK startups include Blockchain, Dice, Cazoo, and Paddle.

What are the fastest-growing startups?

In our list of the fastest-growing startups (ranked by website traffic), you’ll find start up companies like Cover Genius, Snowplow, and Tap Tap Send.