Black Kite Named a Forbes Best Startup Employer

We’re honored to be recognized by Forbes as one of the best startup employers for 2026.  Forbes, in collaboration with market research firm Statista, assessed 2,700 privately-held US-based companies based on company reputation, employee satisfaction, and growth to produce their final list. The recognition, in its seventh year, required startups to have more than 50 employees, to have been founded between 2016 and 2023, and be an independent company in order to be considered.

The full list of Forbes Best Startup Employers for 2026 can be seen here: https://www.forbes.com/lists/americas-best-startup-employers/

This recognition is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our team and our shared commitment to advancing our mission to improve the health and safety of the entire planet’s cyber ecosystem.

“We are incredibly honored to be recognized by Forbes as one of the Best Places to Work. Success as a startup is not possible without a dedicated team of people behind it”, said Kelly Houston, VP of People, Black Kite. This recognition is a reflection of the Black Kiters who show up every day and make this company what it is. Over the past year, we've grown our headcount by 18%, and with that kind of scale, maintaining a strong culture is no small feat. We try our best to ensure we are delivering on our promise to our employees that we maintain a culture of continuous feedback. Feedback shouldn't be an annual event - it should be woven into how we work every single day. When people feel heard, supported, and developed in real time, they stay. They grow. And they bring their best.”

At Black Kite, we care deeply about building a workplace where people feel empowered to do their best work while making a meaningful impact. 

Our culture is grounded in a set of core values that guide how we work together and how we serve our customers. 

At Black Kite, we: 

• Are people first: We lead with empathy and respect - creating an environment that allows everyone to thrive. 
• Act with integrity: Great teamwork requires trust. We approach every challenge with honesty, accountability, and a commitment to growth
• Innovate with purpose: Innovation is part of our DNA. We build with our customers in mind, continuously pushing boundaries of what’s possible in Third-Party Cyber Risk Management (TPCRM)
• Foster inclusivity: We believe the best ideas come from diverse perspectives. We create space for curiosity and collaboration.  
• Strive for excellence, not perfection: Progress matters more than perfection. We are agile - constantly learning, improving, and moving forward. 

These values shape the way we work and directly impact the experience we create for our customers. We stay deeply connected to our customers, their challenges and use cases in order to create a bold roadmap that addresses current and future customer needs. 

Our customers have recognized this commitment. Black Kite is recognized as a leader in Gartner Peer Insights with a 98% recommendation rate.  We’ve also achieved a NPS score of 74-plus, a 93% Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) for onboarding, and a 100% CSAT in customer support for 12 months.

Since its founding in 2016, Black Kite has continued to lead the market in its mission to improve the health and safety of the entire planet’s cyber ecosystem.  Some innovations from our team include:

• We invented FocusTags^® to alert users to active threats within their ecosystems to prioritize mitigation efforts
• Our future-thinking Ransomware Susceptibility Index^® (RSI™), giving customers the opportunity to measure ransomware susceptibility and engage with vendors to proactively address potential exposure
• We were the first to apply Cyber Risk Quantification (CRQ) to third-party risk use cases as part of continuous monitoring and cyber risk assessments. 
• Introduced Black Kite advanced AI agent to execute TPCRM tasks such as deep investigations and board reporting.
• First to apply internet traffic analysis to TPCRM with the release of ThreatTrace™.  

None of this would be possible without the collaboration, creativity, and dedication of our team. P.S. We’re hiring! If you’re looking to join us on our mission and work at one of Forbes Best Startups, see our open roles, here.

About Black Kite

Black Kite is the AI-native third-party cyber risk management platform trusted by over 3,000 customers to manage every supplier and every risk across their extended ecosystem.  Powered by the industry's highest-quality risk intelligence, spanning over 40 million companies, Black Kite is differentiated by the accuracy, transparency, and accountability of its data.  The platform automates vendor monitoring and risk assessments, surfacing reliable insights into ransomware susceptibility, regulatory gaps, financial exposure, and more.  With Black Kite, security and risk teams gain always-on visibility and trusted intelligence to act early, reduce exposure, and stay ahead of third-party threats.  Black Kite has received numerous industry awards and recognition from customers.  Learn more at http://www.blackkite.com, or on the Black Kite blog.