Looking for help putting together a list of innovative companies? The Wall Street Journal unveiled its third annual ranking of the top 50 U.S. companies backed by venture capital—a list that attempts to identify start-ups that could become the “Next Big Thing.”
Despite a pullback by investors from Web start-ups in the wake of disappointing IPOs for Facebook Inc. FB -0.03% and Zynga Inc., ZNGA -0.41% consumer Internet companies are sprinkled throughout the list. These include lifestyle content company Glam Media Inc., crafts marketplace Etsy Inc. and videogame network Machinima Inc.
To be eligible for the ranking—compiled by research firm VentureSource, which like The Wall Street Journal is owned by News Corp.—companies must be based in the U.S., have received an equity round of financing in the past three years and be valued at less than $1 billion, as the aim is to identify lesser-known start-ups. More than 5,900 candidates were considered.
