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.