Hollis Johnson
- Working for a major tech company or consulting firm can be a launching pad for your startup.
- An analysis of LinkedIn data identified the US companies that produced the most founders.
- Bain & Co., Oliver Wyman, and McKinsey ranked high on the list.
For successful founders like Jeff Bezos, Stewart Butterfield, and Ben Silbermann, their previous jobs gave them a leg up in their entrepreneurial efforts. Working for a major tech company or consulting firm can be a launching pad for your startup.
The small-business-lending platform OnDeck analyzed 228,000 LinkedIn career histories to identify which US companies produced the most founders in former employees.
The analysis found that consulting firms were the most common place for founders to get their start. As it turns out, helping other people run their businesses is the best training ground for starting your own. Bain & Co. was the top producer of entrepreneurs, followed by Oliver Wyman and McKinsey & Co.
Meanwhile, tech companies are the second-highest generator of founders. Twitter ranked first, followed by Yahoo, Monster, Google, AOL, and Meta. None of these companies made the top 10 in the overall ranking, though.
Here are the top 10 companies that have produced the most founders.
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The music company is in ninth place, with 6.92% of its former employees starting their own companies.
Notable alumni include Dan Bobkoff, the founder of the podcast-production company Rhyme Media; Michelle Songy, the founder of the public-relations company Press Hook; and Salah Zalatimo, a cofounder of the nonfungible-token company Voice.
John Nacion Imaging
The consulting firm is in sixth place, with 7.22% of its former employees starting their own companies.
Notable alumni include Jim Koch, the founder of the Boston Beer Co. and Samuel Adams; Bill Bain, the founder of Bain & Co.; and Oren Saar, a cofounder of the tech company WoodSpoon.
Courtesy of Joanna Griffiths
The music corporation is in fifth place, with 7.39% of its former employees starting their own companies.
Notable alumni include Joanna Griffiths, the founder of the underwear brand Knix; Jesse McBride, the founder of the food company Mademeals; and Jose Antonio Hernandez, a cofounder of the wellness service Mind Body Social.
PWC
The consulting firm is in fourth place, with 7.44% of its former employees starting their own companies.
Notable alumni include Christina Stahl, a cofounder of the handbag brand Ameli Zurich; Ashley Lim, the founder of the tea company Mansa Tea; and Divyang Arora, a cofounder of the restaurant company Byte Kitchen.
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The management-consulting firm produced the third most startup founders, with 7.75% of its former employees starting their own companies.
Notable alumni include the Faire cofounder Jeffrey Kolovson, the ThirdLove founder Heidi Zak, the Warby Parker cofounder Neil Blumenthal, and the Compass founder Robert Reffkin.
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The consulting firm produced the second most startup founders, with 7.93% of its former employees starting their own companies.
Notable alumni include Richard Fairbank, a cofounder of Capital One; Dan Lewis, the founder of the trucking-software firm Convoy; and Premal Shah, a cofounder of the nonprofit Kiva.
Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Cosmopolitan
The Big Three management-consulting firm produced the most startup founders of all US companies, with 13% of its former employees starting their own ventures.
Notable alumni include Scott Cook, a cofounder of the fintech Intuit; Mark Vadon, a cofounder of the online jeweler Blue Nile; and Dave Gilboa, a cofounder of Warby Parker.