Stellic is named one of the Best Startups to Work For in San Francisco in 2026, a prestigious recognition by Built In that highlights the company’s dedication to fostering supportive culture, competitive compensation, and opportunities for professional growth making it a standout tech employer in the Bay Area.
The award from Built In an AI-powered career platform that spotlights innovative employers honours U.S.-headquartered companies offering exceptional total rewards, including attractive salaries, robust benefits and culture initiatives that engage and support employees. Stellic is one of just 50 startups in San Francisco to make the 2026 list, underlining its status in the local tech ecosystem.
A Prestigious Recognition in a Competitive Market
San Francisco remains one of the world’s most influential startup hubs, home to thousands of early-stage and high-growth technology companies competing for top engineering, product, and go-to-market talent. In this environment, earning a place on Built In’s Best Startups to Work For list is a meaningful achievement that signals trust, credibility, and differentiation.
Built In’s evaluation process focuses on what matters most to modern tech professionals. Companies are assessed on compensation transparency, benefits quality, workplace flexibility, diversity and inclusion practices, and opportunities for learning and advancement. The platform also considers how companies articulate their values and how effectively those values translate into daily employee experiences.
Stellic’s inclusion on the 2026 list underscores its ability to deliver on these expectations while continuing to scale its operations and customer base.
A Mission-Driven Company Rooted in Higher Education Impact
Founded in 2016 by Sabih Bin Wasi, a first-generation college graduate, Stellic was built with a clear mission: to reduce barriers in higher education and empower students to navigate their academic journeys with confidence. Drawing from personal experience, Bin Wasi envisioned a platform that could simplify degree planning, improve advising outcomes, and help institutions better support student success.
Over the years, that vision has evolved into a comprehensive academic planning and degree management platform now used by more than one million students across 90+ colleges and universities. Stellic’s technology helps institutions automate degree audits, streamline transfer credit evaluations, and provide students with real-time visibility into their academic progress.
By enabling data-informed advising and personalized academic planning, Stellic plays a critical role in improving retention, graduation rates, and overall student satisfaction.
From Student-Led Venture to Scaled EdTech Innovator
Stellic’s journey from a student-led idea to a mature education technology company mirrors the growth trajectories of many successful Silicon Valley startups—but with a distinct focus on social impact. What began as a small team solving a specific problem in higher education has grown into an organization with more than 90 employees distributed across its San Francisco headquarters and remote teams in the United States and Pakistan.
Throughout this growth, Stellic has maintained a strong emphasis on intentional scaling. Rather than prioritizing rapid expansion at the expense of culture, the company has focused on building sustainable teams, investing in leadership development, and creating systems that support collaboration across geographies and time zones.
This approach has helped Stellic preserve its startup agility while establishing the operational maturity required to serve large institutional customers.
What Sets Stellic Apart as an Employer
Stellic’s recognition by Built In reflects a combination of tangible benefits and intangible cultural qualities that together create a compelling employee experience. Several key factors contributed to the company’s placement on the Best Startups to Work For list.
A Supportive and Growth-Oriented Culture
At the heart of Stellic’s workplace culture is a commitment to curiosity, ownership, and empathy. Employees are encouraged to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and take responsibility for outcomes. The company fosters an environment where learning is continuous and feedback is viewed as a tool for growth rather than criticism.
Leaders at Stellic emphasize psychological safety, ensuring that team members feel comfortable sharing ideas and raising concerns. This culture supports innovation while also promoting trust and collaboration across teams.
Competitive Compensation and Total Rewards
In an industry where compensation is often a deciding factor for candidates, Stellic offers competitive salary packages designed to attract and retain high-performing talent. These packages are complemented by robust benefits programs that support employee wellbeing, including health coverage, paid time off, and flexible work arrangements.
The company’s total rewards philosophy recognizes that financial compensation is only one part of a fulfilling career. By pairing competitive pay with meaningful benefits and growth opportunities, Stellic aims to create long-term value for employees.
Commitment to Employee Engagement and Wellbeing
Stellic invests in initiatives that foster connection and engagement, particularly important for a distributed workforce. Team rituals, cross-functional collaboration opportunities, and intentional onboarding processes help employees feel connected to the company’s mission and to one another.
Wellbeing is also a priority. Stellic encourages healthy work-life balance and recognizes the importance of flexibility, especially in a post-pandemic work environment where employee expectations have evolved.
Why This Recognition Matters in the Bay Area Startup Ecosystem
In San Francisco’s crowded startup landscape, employer branding plays an increasingly important role in attracting talent. Recognition as one of the Best Startups to Work For provides third-party validation that can influence candidate perceptions and hiring outcomes.
For startups like Stellic, which operate in specialized domains such as education technology, building awareness among top-tier candidates can be challenging. Awards from platforms like Built In help amplify visibility and communicate a company’s values to a broader audience.
The recognition also reinforces Stellic’s credibility with customers and partners. Institutions evaluating long-term technology partners often consider organizational stability and employee engagement as indicators of reliability and innovation capacity.
Balancing Rapid Growth With Cultural Integrity
One of the most difficult challenges for scaling startups is maintaining cultural integrity as teams grow and structures evolve. Stellic’s recognition suggests that the company has been successful in navigating this challenge.
By embedding values into hiring, onboarding, and performance management processes, Stellic ensures that culture scales alongside the business. New hires are selected not only for technical skills but also for alignment with the company’s mission and collaborative ethos.
Leadership transparency and open communication further support this balance, enabling employees to understand strategic priorities and how their work contributes to broader goals.
The Role of Leadership in Shaping Workplace Culture
Leadership plays a central role in Stellic’s workplace experience. Founder Sabih Bin Wasi’s personal journey as a first-generation college graduate informs the company’s emphasis on empathy, accessibility, and opportunity.
Executives and managers are encouraged to lead with humility and approachability, fostering an environment where employees feel seen and supported. This leadership style helps create trust and reinforces the company’s people-first philosophy.
As Stellic continues to grow, leadership development remains a priority, ensuring that new managers are equipped to uphold the company’s cultural standards.
Education Technology With a Human-Centered Focus
Stellic’s internal culture mirrors the values embedded in its product philosophy. Just as the platform is designed to simplify complex academic processes and empower students, the company’s workplace practices aim to remove unnecessary friction and enable employees to do their best work.
This alignment between mission and culture creates a sense of purpose that resonates with team members. Employees are not only building software; they are contributing to a broader effort to make higher education more accessible and navigable.
Looking Ahead: Growth, Talent, and Continued Impact
As Stellic expands its platform and partners with more institutions, the company’s recognition as one of San Francisco’s best startups to work for positions it well for the next phase of growth. The award enhances Stellic’s ability to attract skilled professionals who are passionate about education, technology, and meaningful impact.
Future hiring efforts are likely to focus on product innovation, data analytics, customer success, and institutional partnerships, areas critical to supporting a growing user base. With a strong culture and employer brand in place, Stellic is well-positioned to scale responsibly while preserving the qualities that earned it recognition.
A Model for Purpose-Driven Startups
Stellic’s inclusion on Built In’s 2026 Best Startups to Work For list highlights an important trend in the startup world: success is increasingly defined not only by growth metrics and valuations, but also by how companies treat their people.
By investing in culture, benefits, and professional development, Stellic demonstrates that it is possible to build a high-impact technology company without sacrificing employee wellbeing. This approach resonates with today’s workforce and sets an example for other startups navigating the challenges of scale.
Conclusion
Stellic’s recognition as one of the Best Startups to Work For in San Francisco in 2026 is a testament to the company’s commitment to creating a supportive, inclusive, and growth-oriented workplace. Honored by Built In for its exceptional culture and benefits, Stellic stands out in a competitive tech landscape as an employer that values both innovation and people.
As the company continues to expand its education technology platform and serve more students and institutions, its strong internal culture will remain a key driver of long-term success. For job seekers, partners, and customers alike, Stellic’s achievement sends a clear message: meaningful impact begins with investing in the people who make it possible.
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