I have always been interested in how things work. Why do plants grow? How do you build a computer? How was that effect made? Is the earth flat (just kidding!)? One question in particular that comes up often is how did a company manage that? So I've gathered a list of companies that make quality products that are in some cases, radically transparent, so that you can get a better view to see what it takes.
Hello Code
The first company I am highlighting is Hello Code. It is definitely the smallest in terms of size, being a team of two, Josh and Belle. Their largest project, Exist, is a tool that collects data across many different services (like your exercise data) and creates correlations.
Hello Code has a stats page for their company which shows their income and how many paid users they have for their products. They host an excellent podcast that brings you through many of the inter-workings of the company.
They write yearly reviews (they missed 2016) about their company, the struggles they encounter and what lies ahead along with more data about Hello Code. If you read nothing else from this blog or what I've linked to, I encourage you to take a quick look at Hello Code's blog
In particular I think they give a good look into what it might be like to develop an app, especially when you have such a small team. Because Apple wouldn't approve their app all of the sudden, it took a long time to implement an in-app only subscription model for their iOS users and not link at all to any outside content, link their website and Twitter. On a side note I think this shows how fearful Apple is that people will leave their ecosystem...
Hello Code also develops a tool called Changemap where they are show what features they are working on in public, and they also take user suggestions about their main product, Exist.io.
It always feels nice as a user when a company allows you to give feedback and then implements it, or at least acknowledges it as long as it isn't boilerplate. I think that larger companies like Amazon, Apple and Google should all endeavor to offer better direct feedback channels that are as open to discussing their companies as Exist is, even if they need to dial it back a bit.
Beeminder
Beeminder helps back up goals by making you pay if you don't stick to it.
You can view their revenue here by day (along with many other aspects of the company here). They have a very interesting model for improving their company called User Visible Improvements where every day they are required to make an improvement or they have to pay their users! You can view the changes they make on their UVI Twitter feed.
They are very open in their forums and their support is impressively good. There's not much more to say, but if you are interested about the inter-workings of a great company with a super interesting idea with active users, this is the company to take a look at.
Buffer
Buffer using an app called Bare Metrics to see their recurring monthly revenue, their net revenue, the fees they pay and quite a bit more!
They also have an excellent status page which you can check if you think you are having issues as a user.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp doesn't necessarily have as much information available in terms of revenue by month, but they do offer quite a few interesting stats in their annual reports which also incorporate some awesome designs.
They are also quite open about when they make changes to their tools, like when they updated their email campaign building interface.
Highrise
Nathan Kontny, CEO of Highrise, has been someone I've respected and followed for several years. He does a lot of thoughtful writing on his Medium blog here and on Signal V. Noise.
Nathan creates daily vlog and he often talks about different aspects of the company he runs, Highrise. He just went over what it was like to take over a neglected company.
Corrior Digital
This is probably the most entertaining out of the bunch since they produce a vlog every other day! They bring you through running the company, including specifics of the film making process and so much more.
Recently Niko talked about having to push his team.
I would love hear about what companies/projects/people you follow that give a glassdoor view that people don't normally share openly!