Top Oakland Startups to Watch (and Work for) in 2023

My Background

Hi, I'm Kieran! I worked in startups for five years at On Deck and Wefunder. Some of my favorite things that I've worked on during my career include:

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Wefunder Workaway: 12 founders working on a new idea, 7 days, 1 mansion in Hawaii. One of the teams we picked raised a Series A from Andreessen Horowitz, and two people who met during the trip got married...

On Deck: As employee #15, I contributed to the startup's growth from no revenue to a $20 million run rate in less than a year. I led the team that built the admission infrastructure to support and scale ~20 fellowships for founders, capital allocators, operators, and creators.

XX: Worked on a pre-YC accelerator program that invested $125K on an MFN SAFE into 8-10 teams per cohort.

ODX: Worked on a $100 million accelerator program that invested $125K for 7% into 100s of startups. We partnered with leaders like Flexport to build vertical industry tracks around supply chain & logistics, etc.

Ryan Marketing: Created an influencer marketing startup (2 million+ Instagram followers) during college with my twin brother and realized early that monetization for creators was broken. I learned a lot, and it paid enough to cover my schooling, rent, and meals.

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The Methodology

I considered several data points to arrive at the startups selected on this list, including company traction, funding raised, valuation, and investors. From my initial list, I then referenced each startup with my personal network to narrow down the list to the one you see below. I take my credibility seriously, so I do not take any money from startups who want to be included on this list to remain impartial. If you want to understand my analysis of startups and prefer long-form content, read my research on the top startups of 2023 afterward.

Fivetran

Automated data movement platform.

Headquarters

Oakland, California

Industry

Data, SaaS

Founded

2012

Funding

$728.1 million

Valuation

$5.6 billion

Traction

As of February 2023, Fivetran reported a $200 million annual revenue run rate and 50% YoY growth.

As of February 2023, Fivetran syncs 2 trillion rows monthly, manages 1.3 million+ schema changes monthly, manages 175,000+ connectors, and has a 99.9% guaranteed data pipeline uptime.

As of May 2023, Fivetran has 5,000+ customers, including Morgan Stanley, Intercom, Asics, Blend, Forever 21, DocuSign, Everlane, Okta, Optimizely, Square, GoodRx, and Lionsgate.

Full Profile

Solv

Find and book same-day urgent care near you.

Headquarters

Oakland, California

Industry

Healthcare

Founded

2016

Funding

$95.1 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

As of July 2023, Solv reported 27 million+ people had booked urgent care through the platform.

As of July 2023, Solv has rated 4.9/5 stars from 18.7K reviews on the Apple App Store, 4.8/5 stars from 9.16K reviews on the Google Play Store, and has been downloaded 500,000+ times on the Google Play Store.

As of May 2022, 150 million people live within 5 miles of a same-day bookable appointment on a Solv provider, up from 100 million in September 2021.

Full Profile

Mayvenn

Quality virgin human hair & extensions.

Headquarters

Oakland, California

Industry

Fashion

Founded

2012

Funding

$76 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

As of July 2022, Mayvenn has a network of 50,000 hair stylists.

In 2018, Mayvenn reported $80 million in total revenue in the five years since graduating from 500 Startups.

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Lilac Solutions

Clean, fast, cheap, lithium mining.

Headquarters

Oakland, California

Industry

Climate

Founded

2016

Funding

$223.6 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

As of June 2023, Lilac Solutions claims its technology is 5,000x faster and recovers 2x more resources at a 50% lower cost.

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Mighty Buildings

Beautiful, sustainable homes for all.

Headquarters

Oakland, California

Industry

Construction, 3D Printing

Founded

2017

Funding

$150 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

As of July 2023, Mighty Buildings reported 3x faster construction time, 99% less waste generated by its 3D printing process compared to traditional methods, and its building materials were 4x more tensile and flexible strength than concrete.

As of July 2023, Mighty Buildings has automated 80% of its production operations and uses 60% recycled materials.

In Q2 2021, Mighty Buildings reported $7 million in total contracted revenue.

Full Profile

OLIPOP

A new kind of soda.

Headquarters

Oakland, California

Industry

Food & Beverage, DTC

Founded

2017

Funding

$55.4 million

Valuation

$200 million

Traction

As of June 2023, OLIPOP has rated 4.63/5 stars from 9,257 reviews on its website.

As of June 2023, OLIPOP has 221K Instagram followers, 17K Facebook followers, 4.3K Twitter followers, and 233.9K TikTok followers.

As of April 2023, OLIPOP is on pace to cross $200 million in annual sales this year.

As of April 2023, OLIPOP is in 20,000 retail locations, including Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, Sam’s Club, and Kroger.

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Pine Park Health

Primary care in the comfort and convenience of your community.

Headquarters

Oakland, California

Industry

Healthcare

Founded

2019

Funding

$43.5 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

As of May 2023, Pine Park Health provides services in 80+ communities through its living partners, up from 50 communities in January 2022.

Pine Park Health senior living partners include Pacifica Senior Living, HumanGood, SRG Senior Living, Brookdale Senior Living, Oakmont Senior Living, and Sunrise Senior Living.

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Frost Methane

Captures and destroys methane from the source.

Headquarters

Oakland, California

Industry

Climate

Founded

2019

Funding

Undisclosed

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

As of June 2023, Frost Methane claims its flares combust methane at a 10x lower capex than other productive uses of the gas.

As of June 2023, Frost Methane claims carbon markets will pay 25x more for flared methane than CO2 offsets.

As of June 2023, Frost Methane claims flaring methane reduces CO2 emissions by 98% for every unit.

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FairShake

The consumer rights service.

Headquarters

Oakland, California

Industry

Consumer, Legal

Founded

2017

Funding

$3 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

As of March 2020, FairShake has helped 5,000 people recover $1 million in compensation.

As of May 2023, FairShake claims 65% of its users are offered compensation, and successful claims average $600 payouts.

As of May 2023, FairShake has a 3.9/5 star rating from 587 customer reviews on Trustpilot.

Full Profile

Binti

Foster care software.

Headquarters

Oakland, California

Industry

Healthcare, Childcare

Founded

2016

Funding

$60 million+

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

As of May 2023, Binti has helped 44,000 families foster/adopt a child's approval.

As of May 2023, 10,000 social workers use Binti.

As of May 2023, Binti claims it has increased the family approval rate by 30%.

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Commons

Climate solution tools.

Headquarters

Oakland, California

Industry

Climate

Founded

2019

Funding

$13.5 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

In 2022, the Commons community lowered its collective emissions by 20%, and the average user saved $200 monthly.

As of May 2023, Commons is available in Canada and the United States.

In 2022, Commons was featured as the App of the Day by Apple.

Commons was named one of the TIME100 Most Influential Companies of 2022.

As of May 2023, Commons has rated 4.7/5 stars from 275 ratings on the Apple App Store.

Commons started with initial grants from MIT and Harvard.

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Breakr

Creator marketing solution.

Headquarters

Oakland, California

Industry

Music, Creators

Founded

2019

Funding

$5 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

Breakr customers include Rolling Loud Music Fest, Made in America, United Masters, Billboard, and SEEHER.
As of July 2021, Breakr reported 12,000 people applied for influencer accounts, and between 3,000-4,000 had been approved.

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