Alarm.com

The first great perk you'll notice at Alarm.com is its office environment, including an English pub with cold brew coffee and root beer on tap, a speakeasy room hosting a ping pong table and an indoor greenhouse. It goes beyond just the space by being a fitness-friendly company, with onsite showers, lockers and bike racks for commuters and active employees, along with employee-run yoga and fitness classes and local gym discounts.

Beyond that, workers receive a free "smarter home" security system and frequent free tickets to DC United, Nationals and Caps games, as well as discounts for movies, concerts and local events. Alarm.com also hosts a semi-annual company retreat, which is headed to Orlando this year, and appreciation events throughout the year featuring massages and ice cream.

Employees have 100 percent paid medical insurance, management development programs and an Innovation Week where employees shift their focus to working on their own interest projects.

Aquicore

If you ask what employees like most about working at Aquicore, the response almost always includes the people or the culture. Its demographics span 10 nationalities and 14 languages, and half of its executive team is female. The team enjoys company bonding activities like happy hours, fitness groups, outdoor retreats, movie nights and BBQs, and has an internal system for sharing positive feedback and celebrating teammates. It also participates in quarterly philanthropic events and supports local causes like DC Central Kitchen, the Humane Society and Toys for Tots. It's got the tried-and-true startup perks still running, too, including cold brew on tap, catered lunches, standing desks and board games.

Employees' salaries come with stock options, healthcare coverage, free gym memberships and 401(k) plans, along with unlimited vacation time, flexible hours and an embrace of remote employees.

Clarabridge

True to Clarabridge's core is working hard and having fun, with employees that are committed to the mission of the company. It shows in how it improves its software, empowers women in technology through its ClaraLadies group and winning the occasional pool match or competitive karaoke night. On Friday mornings, you can find most employees at the fresh waffle station, a company staple.

The office in Reston features sit-to-stand desks, open workspaces and plenty of whiteboards for brainstorming ideas ranging from analytics to volunteer activities to planning the next surprise burrito cart.

Commonwealth Joe

Commonwealth Joe is simultaneously a coffee shop, an e-commerce company and a nitro cold brew distributor, meaning its team is full of many-hat-wearing innovators. The group is made up of ex-consultants, college graduates, veterans and baristas, all with access to free coffee that they admit to drinking too much of.

Though still considered a startup, CWJ offers competitive health, dental and vision benefits to all full-time employees, including a robust maternal and paternal leave policy. The culturally diverse team is led by Korean-American CEO Robert Peck, a firm believer in upward mobility – leading toward several examples of baristas turned customer experience leads or production associates. The company recognizes team members who have exemplified its values, and they show praise in the form of claps and Amazon gift cards during a weekly webcast by Peck.

DocASAP

DocASAP is backed by healthcare industry leaders like Aetna and UnitedHealthcare, and consists of passionate employees working to help improve access to care. It "moves fast and expands faster," which means hiring locally and providing opportunities for personal and professional growth for team members. The company uses a flat organizational structure that allows for more ownership and opportunities for employees, who are also recognized when they go above and beyond with an awards ceremony.

The company offers flexible hours, unlimited vacation time and an environment that it calls equally professional and casual – including wearing shorts to work. And events like Game of Thrones parties, happy hours, lunchtime yoga, ping pong tournaments and birthday parties keep employees busy away from their desks.

Leverege

Between creating their own personal Slack emojis poking good fun at each other and having a staff where most are 25 and under – but keep the veterans young – Leverege embodies a beautifully dysfunctional family. Its employees can define their own path in an environment where empathy is a top priority, so personalities shine in a small open office with only two conference rooms.

From cheering on the USWNT in every World Cup match to its not-so-secret office stash of Trader Joe's dark chocolate peanut butter cups, Leverage workers indulge in their passions. Company perks include unlimited PTO and a cornhole setup, but they said it best: "Our cool is in the people, not the perks."

REQ

On a Thursday in June, REQ employees boarded a bus to Alexandria's Fort Hunt Park, where they were met with a catered lunch, cornhole boards, volleyball courts and coolers filled with craft beer and sparkling water. And those team-building outings are just one of the perks afforded to employees.

The marketing agency prioritizes a healthy work-life balance with a fully vested 401(k) match, fully paid parental leave, flexible work hours and a crowd favorite: Summer Fridays, where workers get an early start to the weekend.

In addition to a well-stocked kitchen of snacks and coffee, REQ employees gather for a well-earned Friday evening bar cart, balanced by Workout Wednesdays once a month. That's in addition to an intramural volleyball team called the REQing Balls.

REQ invests in employees as a Premier Google Partner, so employees can earn certifications and receive in-house training. The company also hosts a quarterly REQ-University, where internal subject matter experts provide in-depth training about their practice area. REQ employees also initiated their own Green Team, dedicated to finding new ways to make the company's environmental footprint even smaller.

Riva Solutions

RIVA Solutions is an 8(a) Small Disadvantaged Business with large business practices, built for long-term growth with continued investment in its infrastructure. It provides a rewarding work environment through its Employee First Management Approach, where it offers comprehensive benefits programs including a 401(k) match, several bonus opportunities, a training budget and tuition reimbursement.

It hosts more casual programs like its MVP Award Program, a monthly $100 Kudos Program and a "Monthly Alpaca" Award for shining stars of the month. RIVA also has social features including happy hours, a bar in office, karaoke, Mario Kart and air hockey competitions, and hover boards. It holds an annual RIVA Day – this year with a picnic theme – and a themed dress day on Fridays. There's also a monthly RIVAtwerks dance program, desks with exercise bikes and monthly yoga sessions.

Signal Vine

Signal Vine's team calls itself a passionate group of "textperts" who are dedicated to solving social issues through technological innovation and are having fun while doing it. The company carries its mission and tech focus in its open office environment, located in Old Town Alexandria with exposed ceilings, large doors that open to the outside and a dog-friendly culture.

Thursdays include a communal lunch where the office gathers around a kitchen to talk about anything but work, and it gathers for offsite functions twice a year. Most recently, a Field Day was dedicated to competitive events like tug of war, three legged races and water balloon tosses, closed with a BBQ and happy hour.

The benefits package includes a 4 percent 401(k) match, paid healthcare benefits, long-term disability and life insurance and reimbursement for continuing education. Signal Vine's holiday schedule is also generous, including closing between Christmas and New Years, and each employee is granted stock options.

Unstuck Labs

Unstuck Labs is a venture-building agency, hyper-learning community and accelerator founded by a team of career professionals turned entrepreneurs. Its hybrid virtual and in-person accelerator means no relocation is necessary. Employees get to work with innovative founders every day to validate and accelerate tech startup launches.

The team represents 19-plus backgrounds and ethnicities and brought in 10 interns and 40 mentors. It's also part of the 1% Pledge, where its gives 1 percent of resources back to the community through free advice and consultation every week. To keep things innovative at its Spaces coworking digs, the lab hosts projects such as UnstuckEats, which connected the Rosslyn community to food trucks in the area.

The company launched the Unstuck Tuesdays meetup for startups to present, share and get free advice and feedback. It partnered with The Washington Center to tap into a diverse talent pool and subsidizes the program cost, while working with founders to build startups.