Wasabi Named to the Big50-2019, Startup50.com’s Report on the Top Startups in Tech

BOSTON, MA - November 21, 2019 - Wasabi, the hot cloud storage company, has been named a “Hot Startup to Watch” in Startup50’s Big50-2019 Startup Report. The Big50-2019 Startup Report spotlights 50 high-upside startups that have gained a foothold in fast-growth tech sectors. Each year, Startup50 features startups that are poised to upend the status quo in a range of industries, from next-gen cybersecurity to Software-Defined Networking to the Internet of Things. The startups featured in the Big50-2019 are the best of the best, the ones who competed hard all year to earn this distinction.

Jeff Vance founded Startup50 in 2013 as a site that would focus exclusively on hot technology startups. Rather than simply covering the startups and subjectively declaring certain startups “hot” or “disruptive” or “unicorns,” however, Jeff sought a more objective selection process. The idea was to come up with a system, one featuring rigorous competitions and challenges, that would strip away the spin and force startups to focus on what really matters: real people and the real-world problems they’re struggling to overcome.

Big50 Alums Had a Big Year in 2018

The results, thus far, have been impressive. Startups from previous Big50s have raised record levels of funding, such as Cloudera’s near billion-dollar investment from Intel, Cybereason’s $100M Series D in June 2017, and Snowflake Computing’s massive $450M Series F in October 2018.

Many other Big50 alum have been acquired by major incumbents. HP snatched up Eucalyptus and Niara. Microsoft acquired Hexadite. FaceBook bolstered its mobile security arsenal with the RealFace acquisition, and Cisco bought Duo Security, Skyport Systems, and Viptela. Several others Big50 startups have achieved an even more elusive goal: a successful IPO. This is the path that Big50 alums Square, Cloudera, Elastic, Square, Pivotal Software, and Zscaler followed. Startups featured in the 2019 report have collectively raised nearly $3 billion in total VC funding. Five startups in the Big50-2019 are backed by more than $100 million. Yet, five new startups just out of stealth – each of which raised less than $1M in seed funding – also fought their way into the report.

How the Big50 Startup Competition Works

The startups in the Big50 2019 faced a series of challenges designed to test their ability to carve out a market niche, refine messaging, and motivate customers. Startups are also judged on their ability to secure funding, land on-the-record customers, and attract top-flight talent.

“The startups in this lineup are in a good position to follow in the footsteps of recent Big50 alumni, several of which have already gone on to raise massive rounds of funding, followed by successful exits, whether through IPOs or high-dollar acquisitions,” said Jeff Vance, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Startup50. “Of course, not every startup in the Big50 will be a big success, but I won’t be at all surprised if several of the startups in this report are household names in the not-too-distant future,” he added.

Wasabi offers cloud storage that is 1/5th the price and faster than the competition like Amazon S3. Founded by David Friend, CEO and Jeff Flowers, Wasabi is the industry’s only cloud service that is focused exclusively on storage. Wasabi is committed to delivering best-of-breed cloud storage directly to its customers’ fingertips and in close range to where they are located for optimal performance at disruptively affordable rates. This best of breed cloud storage provider offers one tier of storage that is fast, inexpensive, and secure for enterprises, MSPs or technology partners that focus on price and performance with no degree fees or API requests.

In all, more than 250 startups were considered for the Big50-2019. The Final 50 are the determined few who fought their way through the entire gauntlet. This year the process took a long, winding path. More than 120 startups were nominated to participate in the Big50; another 55 startups earned byes deep into the competition by virtue of making the last report (2017). What was different this year is that Startup50 founder Jeff Vance invited another 250+ startups into the competition, ones that he initially evaluated for startup roundups he writes for Network World.

To earn their way into the Big50, startups had to run a gauntlet of challenges that ranged from story pitches to concisely defining problems from a customer’s POV to forecasting future trends. All told, the Startup50 team evaluated close to 400 startups to find 50 startups that have the right combination of attributes to compete in high-growth, cut-throat, tech-driven markets. Add it all up, and the Big50-2019 was by far the toughest competition to date.

“I’ve been covering startups since the dotcom bubble first started to inflate. As a journalist, one of the most vexing challenges is separating the contenders from the science projects,” Jeff said. “With so much noise in the startup world, finding any meaningful signals, especially ones that truly correlate with success, is an uphill battle. The startups in this report are the ones that have the right combination of attributes, such as funding and named customers, that show they’re ready to compete in a cut-throat market.”

“We are thrilled to be recognized as a top tech startup with great potential,” shares David Friend, CEO of Wasabi. “This recognition from a seasoned journalist who covers startups is very inspiring to our team as we are competing directly against the Big 3 cloud industry giants with far more affordable costs and faster rates. Wasabi is on a mission to deliver the world’s best cloud storage to any size business and make cloud storage a commodity to accelerate digital transformation and unleash the power of enterprise data.”

About Startup50.com and the Big50 2019:

Jeff Vance founded Startup50 in 2013 to establish a site that would evaluate, test, and track hot technology startups. Prior to founding Startup50, Jeff regularly contributed features stories to Forbes.com, Network World, CIO, Wired, and many others. He also founded and still runs Sandstorm Media, a content marketing consultancy, in 2003.

The Big50 is Jeff’s yearly roundup of the hottest 50 tech startups to watch. To be featured in the Big50, startups must go through Startup50’s rigorous vetting process. The startups in this year’s report represent the technologies, market sectors, and trends that are poised to upend the economic status quo in the coming year and beyond. Read about them at www.startup50.com.

About Wasabi:

Wasabi is the hot cloud storage company delivering disruptive storage technology that is 1/5th the price of Amazon S3, faster than the competition with no fees for egress or API requests. Unlike first generation cloud vendors, Wasabi is solely focused on providing the world's best cloud object storage service. Created by co-founders and cloud storage pioneers David Friend and Jeff Flowers, Wasabi is on a mission to commoditize the cloud storage industry. Wasabi is a privately held company based in Boston, MA. Follow and connect with Wasabi on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and our blog.

Wasabi PR Contact:

Lindsay Levitts

Kel & Partners

+1.617.519.6551

lindsayl@kelandpartners.com

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