These days, a company needn't boast legions of employees and hectares of office, factory or retail space to have a colossal market capitalisation. In fact, a slew of recently-established firms with relatively tiny staff numbers and offline presence are now worth more than some major multinationals in terms of market cap. We take a look at 10 companies with valuations that belie their diminutive size.

The popular question-and-answer site was founded in 2009 by former Facebook employees Adam D'Angelo and Charlie Cheever, and now counts 200 million unique visitors a month. Following a funding round last year, Quora, which has just 66 staff working from its Mountain View, California HQ, has a market cap of $1.8 billion (£1.35bn), which makes the firm more valuable than...

The American watch and accessories manufacturer and retailer owns a variety of internationally-regarded brands from Fossil and Skagen Denmark to Abacus, and makes products under license for premium names like Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors and Armani. The group has a total of 364 locations and 12,300 employees worldwide. Its market cap is $1.1 billion (£825m).

This Berlin-based cryptocurrency company has only been around since 2015, but its creators have already secured backing from Volkswagen AG and other major league investors. The firm is in the process of setting up offices in several cities worldwide, but right now it has fewer than 100 employees. Incredibly, IOTA's valuation of $5 billion (£3.8bn) is greater than that of...

A one-stop shop for hipsters all over the world, Urban Outfitters is one of the planet's most recognised retailers. Founded in 1970, the chain of lifestyle stores has 402 locations in a number of leading style cities across the globe and a workforce of 23,000. At the time of writing, the company has a market cap of $4.58 billion (£3.44bn).

The Swiss company behind Ethereum, the world's second biggest most popular platform after Bitcoin, saw the value of its creation soar by 13,000% in 2017. The firm, which is thought to have just 159 core employees, has a market cap of, brace yourself, $57.3 billion (£43.04bn), beating that of...

The venerable British bank was established way back in 1690 in the City of London. Today, Barclays operates in more than 40 countries and has 119,300 employees on its books. Last year, the world-famous financial institution turned over $28.06 billion (£21.08bn). Its market cap is $46.94 billion (£35.27bn), over $10 billion (£7.51bn) lower than Ethereum's.

The Robinhood app, which allows users to invest in the stock market commission-free, has proved to be a phenomenal success, particularly among millennials. The Palo Alto, California-based company behind the app only came into being in 2013. Despite having fewer than 200 employees, the firm has been valued at $5.6 billion (£4.21bn), eclipsing...

The world's number one toymaker, Mattel has operations in over 40 countries and sells its wares in more than 150 nations worldwide. The American firm, which has been around since 1946, produces everything from Barbie dolls to Matchbox cars and classic board games, and has a total of 32,000 employees. Its market cap at the time of writing is $5.24 billion (£3.94bn).

New York-based tech company Compass is revolutionising the real estate industry in the US with its smart technology and go-to app, which provides real-time property info. Founded in 2012, the firm has just 500 core staff, though it does hire agents. The sector-disrupting company has a market cap of $2.2 billion (£1.65bn), greater than that of...

The leading real estate firm in North America, RE/MAX has more than 100,000 employees in 6,800 offices across the US and Canada, as well as scores of countries worldwide. Founded in 1973, the franchising firm had a revenue of $196 million (£147m) last year, and its current market cap is $952 million (£716m).

Buzzy tech company Tanium specialises in remote cybersecurity, a market that is mushrooming right now. Founded in 2007 by father-son team David and Orion Hindawi, the Emeryville, California-headquartered firm has been valued at a hefty $5 billion (£3.76bn), almost double the market cap of...

The British multinational construction and infrastructure giant has 30,000 employees and operates in numerous countries worldwide, including the UK, USA and UAE. Balfour Beatty has been involved in an vast array of megaprojects, from the Channel Tunnel and London's Elizabeth Line to Dubai Mall and Hong Kong's Nam Cheong station. It has a market cap of $2.81 billion (£2.11bn).

Freebie credit score checker and money management platform Credit Karma, which relies on targeted advertising to make its cash, has pulled in millions of users since its launch in 2006. The San Francisco-based enterprise, which employs 700 staff, is valued at $3.5 billion (£2.6bn), surpassing the market cap of...

Avis Budget Group is the world's leading vehicle hire organisation. The parent company of Avis, Budget, Apex and Zipcar, and other prominent car rental firms, Avis Budget Group has tens of thousands of locations around the globe and a total of 30,000 employees. Its current market cap is $3.4 billion (£2.56bn).

When Instagram was snapped up in 2012 by Facebook for $1 billion (£752m), the photo and video-sharing social networking site had just 13 staff. Fast forward to 2018, and around 700 employees work at Instagram's offices in San Francisco. Though Instagram is now part of another company, analysts estimate it would have a market cap of $100 billion (£75.2bn), equal to that of...

The management consulting and professional services behemoth has a staggering 442,000 employees in 120 countries around the world. Last year, Accenture, which was formerly known as Andersen Consulting, turned over $34.85 billion (£26.2bn) and had $22.68 billion (£17.06bn) in assets.

Internet payment company Stripe was founded in 2011 in San Francisco by fresh-faced Irish siblings John and Patrick Collison. Since then, investors have been throwing money at the company, which handles tens of billions of dollars in online transactions a year. Following its most recent funding round, the company has been valued at $9.2 billion (£6.9bn), equivalent to the market cap of...

This old school payments company dates back to 1851. Western Union pioneered the wiring of cash among individuals, and person-to-person money transfers remain its core business. At the last count, the Englewood, Colorado-based company had 11,500 employees worldwide, dwarfing Stripe's workforce, and an annual revenue of $5.52 billion (£4.15bn).

Cloud computing companies including San Francisco's Slack Technologies are at the top of many an angel investors' wishlist. These firms are expanding at speed as more computer users turn to the cloud. Slack, which has a relatively modest 1,173 staff, is growing fast and has been valued at $5.1 billion (£3.83bn), which trumps the market cap of...

Formed following the merger of Air France and Dutch airline KLM in 2004, this airline holding firm is one of the biggest players in the global airline industry, transporting tens of millions of passengers to locations around the world. The company has a total of 84,062 employees. Its market cap is $3.6 billion (£2.7bn).