In a year when a record number of people ate meals at home, reliably non-toxic cookware became all the more beneficial. After launching in November 2019 with a 150,000 waitlist, Caraway's timing could not have been better. The company's first product, a ceramic-coated cookware set, is made of recyclable aluminum and stainless steel and is 100 percent free of harmful toxins. It also releases 60 percent less carbon dioxide compared with traditional nonstick coatings.

As the U.S. and Canada began issuing shelter-in-place orders, Instacart worked around the clock to provide an essential, immediate, and flexible service for millions of families and retailers. It was the first on-demand company to introduce "Leave at My Door Delivery." This year, the company also introduced a number of health and safety resources for shoppers, including free telemedicine consultations, and launched its Senior Support Service—a high-touch system to help seniors adopt online grocery delivery and prepare for flu season. In the first month of this service, Instacart onboarded over 70,000 seniors. To help alleviate food insecurity and its disproportionate effects on communities of color, Instacart donated $250,000 to Feeding America and Food Banks Canada. 

“Fast furniture” contributes over 20 billion pounds of waste to landfills annually. Feather’s rental model helps it maintain its core mission: to keep furniture in homes and out of landfills by renting reusable pieces it reclaims and maintains. This year, it helped legions of homebound workers get office equipment; Feather saw a 400 percent increase in demand for home-office items, alone. By taking operations in-house, Feather completely offset its domestic operations’ carbon emissions. The company also adopted a permanent remote work policy and launched its own line of furniture, offering more than 200+ items that can be repaired and redeployed.

In 2020, Cameo launched a philanthropic program called Cameo Cares, which partners with charity initiatives in creating exclusive events that donate the company’s celebrity shoutout fees to worthy causes. The platform’s star power raised more than $1 million for multiple charities in its first six months, while advancing Cameo’s mission of creating unforgettable one-on-one interactions between talent and fans. The first Cameo Cares event was a three-day live-streamed festival in April that raised $725,000 for charities working to address problems caused by Covid-19. A second two-day affair raised $225,000 for organizations involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.

In January, Seesaw co-founder Carl Sjogreen saw that his education app was experiencing a drastic uptick in new accounts in Asia. By February, students were posting projects on it at 10 times the normal frequency. As schools closed around the world because of Covid-19, Seesaw became a crucial link for at-home students and their teachers. The company quickly intro­duced more teachers to its library and began hosting town hall-style meetings multiple times a week for teachers using the platform. Seesaw’s much-needed service led to a tripling in revenue this year, according to the company.