LinkedIn LNKD

LinkedIn, founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and a handful of startup comrades, is the digital equivalent of a networking event that never ends and is universally awkward. Known for turning casual handshakes into a relentless quest for endorsements and job upgrades, LinkedIn is the place where your professional dreams collide with the reality of your awkward profile picture. Its defining moment may be the 2016 acquisition by Microsoft for a cool $26.2 billion, a sum that surely made the execs at Redmond think they were buying a golden goose rather than a glorified resume hub. LinkedIn’s current valuation reflects its self-serious reputation as the networking holy grail, although it’s not without its blunders—like those unsolicited job recommendations and endless "Congratulations on your work anniversary" notifications that make everyone cringe. Executives like Jeff Weiner, who smoothly transitioned from CEO to executive chairman, have helmed the ship through controversies and scandals that range from privacy concerns to the occasional ham-fisted algorithm tweak. Through it all, LinkedIn remains the go-to digital cocktail party where everyone’s a star and no one’s really sure what they’re doing.