Georgia

Google keeps Georgia businesses moving towards their goals

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$14.89 billion

of economic activity

In 2022, Google helped provide $14.89 billion of economic activity for tens of thousands of Georgia businesses, publishers, nonprofits, creators and developers

601,000

Georgia businesses

More than 601,000 Georgia businesses used Google’s free tools to receive phone calls, bookings, reviews, requests for directions and other direct connections to their customers

$18.34 million

of free advertising

In 2022, Google.org provided $18.34 million of free search advertising to Georgia nonprofits through the Google Ad Grants program

  • just add honey
  • EyeGage
  • Goodr
  • Okabashi
  • Carousel Designs
  • TechSquare Labs
  • MailChimp
just add honey

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.”

People come by or schedule events because they see the great reviews and pictures posted on our Google Business Profile by other customers.

Brandi Shelton

Founder & CEO

just add honey

Atlanta, Georgia

23 employees

People come by or schedule events because they see the great reviews and pictures posted on our Google Business Profile by other customers.

Brandi Shelton

Founder & CEO

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.”

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EyeGage

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.”

Google Analytics helps us see the most visited pages on our website. We’re now using that information to update our site to be even more relevant.

LaVonda Brown

Founder & CEO

EyeGage

Atlanta, Georgia

10,000 eyes in photographic data set

Google Analytics helps us see the most visited pages on our website. We’re now using that information to update our site to be even more relevant.

LaVonda Brown

Founder & CEO

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.”

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Goodr

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.

Google products are easy to use…it’s so helpful to just look at a simple application like Google Analytics and say, ‘Okay, this is where the traffic is coming from.’

Jasmine Crowe

Founder & CEO

Goodr

Atlanta, Georgia

1,000+ Google Play installs

Google products are easy to use…it’s so helpful to just look at a simple application like Google Analytics and say, ‘Okay, this is where the traffic is coming from.’

Jasmine Crowe

Founder & CEO

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.

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Okabashi

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.”

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.

Sara Irvani

CEO

Okabashi

Buford, Georgia

200 employees

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.

Sara Irvani

CEO

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.”

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TechSquare Labs

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.”

Every company we have is doing customer acquisition on the Internet.

Allen Nance

Co-founder

TechSquare Labs

Atlanta, Georgia

120 employees

Every company we have is doing customer acquisition on the Internet.

Allen Nance

Co-founder

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.”

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MailChimp

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.”

We use many of Google’s products to empower our customers.

Tom Klein

VP of Marketing

MailChimp

Atlanta, Georgia

approx 500 employees in Atlanta

We use many of Google’s products to empower our customers.

Tom Klein

VP of Marketing

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.”

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Investing in local communities

We’re committed to playing a positive role in each of the communities where we live and work.

$38+ million

in grants

Since 2006, Google has awarded more than $38 million in grants to nonprofits and organizations based in Georgia

$9+ million

in charitable giving

Since 2004, our employees based in Georgia—including matching contributions and philanthropic giving from Google.org—have donated over $9 million in charitable giving to nonprofits

16,200+

volunteer and pro bono hours

Through Google.org, employees served over 16,200 hours of volunteer and pro bono work with nonprofits and schools in areas we’re passionate about, including STEM education, economic opportunity and access to the internet

Our home in the Peach State

Google is proud to call Georgia home, with an office in Atlanta and a data center in Douglas County

“At Google, we are technology optimists. Not because we believe in technology, but because we believe in people.”

Sundar Pichai

CEO, Alphabet Inc.

Atlanta

Located in the heart of Midtown, Google Atlanta is surrounded by theaters, art centers, and educational powerhouses, such as Georgia Tech, Emory University, Morehouse College, and Spelman College, to name a few. Google Atlanta opened in 2001 and moved to its current location five years later. It is a key sales center and growing marketing hub—with a fun, colorful vibe and plenty of space for employees’ dogs to roam about. 

Our sales team supports a wide variety of businesses from retail to the travel industry. Google Atlanta also houses engineers who work on critical parts of our North American advertising business and on the infrastructure that makes Google fast and reliable for billions of people.

Douglas County

Google has had a data center presence in the Atlanta region since 2003. Over the years, we've invested over $1.2 billion in Douglas County, establishing a long-term commitment to the region and state.

Data centers are what keep the internet up and running. Our employees at the Douglas County data center work to keep Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, and many other Google applications operational, enabling Google to provide fast and reliable services around the clock to millions of people. Learn more about Google data centers.

Explore our impact on businesses in nearby states