Georgia

Curb Free with Cory Lee

Location: Lafayette, Georgia
Website: https://curbfreewithcorylee.com/
52,000 website visits per month

Cory Lee launched his travel blog, Curb Free with Cory Lee, just before graduating college in 2013. Cory uses a wheelchair but never let that stop him from seeing the world. He started his blog after finding few resources online for accessible travel, and has since amassed over 100,000 loyal followers and visited all seven continents. “It’s so rewarding for me to hear that someone could travel somewhere because of the information I provided–to know that I’m making a small difference in the disability space,” Cory says. The blog earns income through press trips, speaking engagements, and sponsored content. “Personalized ads are key to my website’s success, and they enable me to keep my content completely free,” he says. Plus, Cory and his mom (Curb Free’s first employee) wrote Let’s Explore with Cor Cor, a children’s book about a child who travels the world in his wheelchair.

Cory has used Google tools from the start to connect with partner destinations, organize speaking engagements via Gmail and Google Meet, and upload content to Google Drive. “It makes it super easy for me to upload photos and videos and then send a link to the destination representative,” he says. Cory uses Google Analytics to understand content performance and what readers want, noting, “I know via Analytics that my audience loves any content I put out about accessible beaches.” He plans to start posting shorts this year to build his growing YouTube channel, and focus on his Curb Free Foundation, which has provided six travel grants to wheelchair users since launching in 2022. And he’s looking forward to organizing more group trips, which he’s done since 2018, starting with Greece this summer. “We learn so much from each other about what it's like to live and travel with a disability,” Cory says, “and sharing that experience with other wheelchair users is something that I don't get to do every day.”

just add honey

Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Website: https://justaddhoney.net/
23 employees

Tea is more than just a beverage for Brandi Shelton, CEO of just add honey tea company. “It’s about a slower pace and a quieter environment, and the conversations and friendships that develop over a cup of tea,” she says. Brandi founded just add honey in 2006, selling her tea blends at pop-ups and farmers markets before opening a store and cafe in 2014. Her husband, Jermail, is now the chief development officer. Tea lovers can buy leaves and accessories online–about 35 percent of their sales–or shop in person while visiting the cafe. Women-owned, Atlanta bakeries supply the pastries, including the matcha brownies or Earl Grey cookies made with Brandi’s blends. Tastings, tea parties, and classes make up a growing part of the business, and the company sells to over 50 wholesale partners. Their Google Business Profile helps bring customers in, Brandi says: “People come by or schedule events because they see the great reviews and pictures posted by other customers.”

Insights from Google Analytics help Jermail shape their marketing strategy. “We can attract the people looking for our product based on the data, and use our ad spend more wisely because we don’t have to throw out a wide net,” he says. Now they’re growing about 20 percent year-over-year and plan to add a larger event space and production facility to go with their shop on the BeltLine, a 22-mile trail that connects neighborhoods and parks near the heart of Atlanta. Yet each cup is still infused with the Shelton’s enthusiasm and passion. “It doesn’t feel like a job, it feels like an opportunity,” Brandi says. “We keep finding new ways to grow, and that’s exciting.” Adds Jermail, “We’ve built a community around our product. We’ve seen people meet, then catered their wedding. People from different backgrounds share a conversation over our tea. I really, really love the community aspect our business fosters.”

EyeGage

Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Website: https://www.eyegage.com/
10,000 eyes in photographic data set

Eyes may be the window to the soul, but for LaVonda Brown, founder and CEO of EyeGage, they’re also an excellent source of empirical data. Her PhD work used eye tracking to measure educational engagement, and her postdoc studies correlated specific eye metrics with Alzheimer’s disease. Then LaVonda turned her focus to substance impairment, developing EyeGage–an app that measures drug and alcohol levels by analyzing a person’s eyes. Launched in 2020, the app’s goal is to prevent accidents by providing a free and simple way to assess someone’s degree of impairment before operating vehicles or equipment. EyeGage is hosted on Google Firebase, and is currently in beta testing while the team builds a photographic data set of 10,000 eyes. They use Google Ads to recruit test subjects. “Our photographic data set is our main focus right now,” LaVonda says. “The more eye scans we have in the data set, the more accurate our algorithms will be.”

EyeGage got a boost in 2021 when they were accepted into the Google for Startups Founders Academy, which offers training and mentorship to entrepreneurs. Soon after, LaVonda was awarded $100,000 from the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund. “Raising money is difficult as a pre-revenue company, and we had a lot of research to do. The award provided us with bridge funding, and also acts as a stamp of approval,” LaVonda says. EyeGage was able to move into a bigger space, hire more employees, and attract investors. They’re now revamping their website, using insights from Google Analytics to learn which pages are most engaging for visitors. LaVonda also finds time for ProfBrown’s STEMulation, a program she founded to expose underrepresented youth to STEM-related careers. “I’ve been in a lot of workplaces where I was the only woman and the only Black person. I call it the ‘only, only,’” LaVonda says. “By creating STEMulation, I hope to change that for future generations.”

Goodr

Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Website: https://www.goodr.co/
1,000+ Google Play installs

When Jasmine Crowe began providing home-cooked meals around Atlanta, the great need she saw made her angry. “There are 42 million food-insecure people in the U.S., and 72 billion pounds of food going into landfills every day. It makes no sense,” she says. Hunger, she realized, was a crisis of logistics, not scarcity. In 2017, she founded Goodr, a digitally-driven food management company that takes excess food from restaurants and businesses and delivers it to nonprofits or directly to those in need. Goodr has partnered with over 200 businesses to avoid wasting more than two million pounds of still-edible food. As CEO, Jasmine uses Google Analytics to track surplus food from pickup to donation. Her partners access the Goodr app on Google Play. And with Google Maps, Goodr optimizes delivery routes from restaurants and grocery stores to food banks.

When COVID-19 intensified the local hunger crisis, Jasmine contacted shuttered restaurants to collect food that would otherwise go to waste. Goodr also added a platform for those looking to donate groceries. “We were able to get that capability up and on our website in a matter of minutes,” Jasmine says, “and then we got the word out on social media.” Goodr has continued to provide a “triple-win solution”: People in need receive great meals, businesses can claim tax benefits for charitable giving, and less methane-producing food waste ends up in landfills. “We are a digital-first business,” Jasmine says, “and that has been what’s allowed us to continue helping others.” Goodr recently received a $100,000 non-dilutive investment from the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund as recognition of their great work. In 2021, as Goodr looks to expand into L.A., Chicago, and Miami, this capital and Google Ads will play a key role. “Google tools already play an important role in our business,” Jasmine notes, adding that in 2020 they began using Google Ads to help them spread the word about their important work.

Okabashi

Location: Buford, Georgia
Website: www.okabashi.com
200 employees

When the 1979 Revolution forced the Irvani family to leave their home country of Iran and abandon their family shoe business, they found themselves starting over in the historic shoemaking city of Buford, Georgia. After establishing himself in the community, Bahman Irvani relaunched the family shoe business, building a 100,000-square-foot shoe factory. That shoe factory eventually became Okabashi Brands, a footwear company that produces colorful, molded flip flops and sandals designed for foot health. Refusing to follow the trend of manufacturers moving operations overseas in the ’90s, Okabashi is proud to be part of the 1% of shoe companies that still produce their footwear in the U.S. “My family chose to keep the business in the U.S. because we saw a lot of opportunity here,” said Sara Irvani, who took over Okabashi from her father in 2017. “There was a firm commitment made to our products and our community — and we are here to stay.”

Since the early 2000s, Okabashi has used the web to share its shoes with the world. “The web has helped us tell our story and find audiences that our retail channels don’t capture,” Sara said. Okabashi runs Google Shopping campaigns to sell its footwear to consumers searching for sandals or similar products. “It’s great when you can see people searching for ‘made in USA’ footwear,” said Sara. “Now we can serve them a shopping ad, and they can purchase affordable, American-made shoes.” Sara and her team also use Google Analytics to monitor web traffic and Google My Business to field reviews from customers. “Google products allow us to look at the level of website activity and really see what people are responding to, which impacts our product development and sales strategy,” said Sara. “Getting that feedback helps us better understand our customer, which is invaluable.”

Thanks in part to its loyal customer base, Okabashi has sold over 35 million pairs of shoes to date. The company is committed to sustainability, using recycled, American-made materials to reduce environmental waste. “Customers can send any of their old Okabashi shoes to our factory, we’ll recycle them, and they’ll get a 15% discount off their next pair,” Sara said. Okabashi also partners with nonprofit organizations to provide shoes for those in need and better the lives of footwear employees. “We’re a family company. We have fathers and daughters and husbands and wives who work together,” said Sara. “Those relationships are one of the most important things to us, and we never want to let them down.”

Carousel Designs

Location: Douglasville, Georgia
Website: www.babybedding.com
70 employees

Jonathan Hartley’s parents founded Carousel Designs in 1988, manufacturing and selling baby bedding to other retailers. As the cut and sew industry moved overseas, Jonathan realized that the family business would need to innovate in order to stay competitive. “We needed to create a high-quality brand, where we could justify a price point that would allow us to continue making our products in the U.S.,” he says. “We also needed to go direct-to-consumer to save on margins.” After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Jonathan approached his friend and former classmate, Allan Sicat, with a business proposal. “Let's transform Carousel Designs and take it to the masses. Let's offer it up to the entire country," he said. The two bought the company in 2007. Leah Sicat, Allan’s wife and fellow West Point graduate, signed on a few years later to help take their digital marketing to the next level.

Carousel Designs now offers thousands of custom nursery decor options, as well as pre-designed bedding collections, to consumers across the U.S. and Canada. Their website features an interactive tool that lets expectant parents design and visualize their own unique nursery. And AdWords, Google’s advertising program, “allows us to connect with customers in various parts of the buying process, from when they first learn about our products to when they make their purchase,” explains Jonathan. “It plays an integral role in the buying cycle.” The team also uses Google Analytics every day to better understand their online traffic, improve web content, and optimize ad campaigns. “We realized the importance of having e-commerce and mobile components early on, and made it a priority to build a strong online presence,” Allan says.

When Jonathan and Allan purchased Carousel Designs, “business was on the decline,” Jonathan recalls. “We were down to four employees.” Today they have around 70, most of whom are Douglas County natives. “It’s something we’re very proud of,” Allan adds, “not only being made in the USA, but also being able to create these opportunities right here in Douglasville.” To date, the company has served over a million customers, and they support a nonprofit that throws baby showers for military families. “The secret to our success is innovation,” says Leah. “Don’t stay the same, keep innovating, and give customers what they want. When you do all those things and experience growth, then you’ll be able to create jobs and give back to the communities that are important to you.”

TechSquare Labs

Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Website: www.techsquare.co
120 employees

Paul Judge and Allen Nance founded TechSquare Labs in 2014 with a specific goal in mind: to capture the energy of the blossoming Atlanta technology sector and help cultivate it into one of the world's best. With a 25,000-square-foot space for entrepreneurs near Georgia Tech's campus and one of the most active venture capital funds in the state, TechSquare Labs is making that future a reality. "We believe Georgia Tech is a special place. Research being done there is going to change people's lives and build big businesses," Allen says. "We want to be the first investor in every one of those companies." To help dream up the technology of tomorrow, TechSquare Labs relies on the technology of today.

TechSquare Labs proudly partners with Google for Entrepreneurs for access to shared workspaces in over 20 cities. "It gave us a global footprint with physical facilities and resources. It effectively turned TechSquare Labs into a global business overnight," says Allen. They also use AdWords, Google's advertising program, to spike interest in their own business-to-business activities as well as those of their ventures. With G Suite tools like Gmail and Docs, they’re able to collaborate instantly with anyone in the world, right from their doorstep. "Google has been an enormous part of the acceleration of our business model," says Allen. “With Google, we went from having two investments in the first year to 10 investments in the second year.”

Allen and TechSquare Labs are making their vision of a vibrant tech-centric Atlanta a reality, and the whole city is benefitting. The 15 businesses they’ve invested in have created over 500 jobs in the state of Georgia. In 2017, TechSquare Labs plans to continue creating jobs by supporting 10 more ventures. Their local focus also helps keep talented engineers in the area. "Those people rent apartments, buy houses, go out to dinner, make donations, and pay taxes, all right here in Atlanta," Allen says. "It just shows the impact we're having. Technology is the future, and businesses like TechSquare Labs are building it.”

MailChimp

Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Website: www.mailchimp.com
approx 500 employees in Atlanta

When MailChimp launched in 2001, email itself was fairly new to the public and email marketing was in its infancy. So MailChimp has grown up alongside the Internet, starting as an email service provider for small businesses and evolving into what VP of Marketing Tom Klein calls a “broad marketing platform.” With their own creative approach to marketing, which ranges from sponsoring podcasts like Serial to sending customers chimp-themed socks and placing artful billboards in cities around the globe, MailChimp has created a beloved brand. In their hometown of Atlanta, Tom says, they’re known as a company where “technology and marketing come together.”

MailChimp uses Google tools to promote their business and to support the services they offer to customers. The marketing department uses AdWords, Google’s advertising program, to target specific audiences and to help people find MailChimp on the web. They use Google Analytics to study user behavior and help their customers “learn more about what happens after the email is sent,” says Tom. Google Analytics also helps his team measure the efficacy of creative partnerships and sponsorships by analyzing subsequent search volume for MailChimp.

The company saw “a really big uptick” in sales in 2015, and 60% of their business today comes from outside the U.S. Tom calls AdWords “a powerful tool that helps us reach an international audience.” Balancing the immediate value they get from AdWords with “compelling brand experiences that tell a story,” one of MailChimp’s new focuses is building a strong brand presence on YouTube. “We’re in the process of investing in YouTube. I think the big opportunity there is that customers want and actually enjoy getting help by watching videos,” Tom says. “I’ve got a 13-year-old daughter. And if you ask a 13-year-old how to do anything, they just go to YouTube and look it up.”