Illinois

“Medical records have so much good data in them, but we need to get it into the hands of scientists and researchers so that they can study it,” says Sergio Suarez Jr., CEO of TackleAI. Sergio’s early career took him from trading floors to professional poker tables, but he never lost his passion for coding. The son of a breast cancer survivor, he discovered in 2017 how much healthcare data was trapped in unstructured formats like images and PDF documents. That’s when he founded TackleAI. The company’s proprietary AI technology reviews and extracts massive amounts of data from millions of medical records and other complex documents, while redacting personally identifiable information (PII) for privacy. The storage and processing power in Google Cloud helps TackleAI train and test new algorithms fast. “Testing that used to take a few days now takes 10 to 15 minutes,” Sergio says. “It’s cost-effective, too.”

With TackleAI growing at breakneck speed–the company saw 400 percent growth in 2024–Sergio and his 58 employees use Google Workspace to collaborate. “It’s the center of our universe,” Sergio says. “I can’t be in every single meeting, but with Gemini I can have a quick summary. It’s made me way more efficient.” TackleAI was part of Google for Startups in 2024. “The networking, just talking to other founders, has been great,” Sergio says. About 25 percent of the company’s customers come through Google Ads, and once they reach the site, Google Analytics shows the team what pages they’re visiting and for how long. “I love that I can be very specific with Ads,” he says. “I don’t think there’s a better way to get people to contact us on their own.” Sergio is a mathematician, but says he prioritizes the humans, not the numbers, behind the business. “They’re the ones who make it work. When we have a united idea and are all going in the same direction, it’s an amazing feeling.”

Nico Aguilar knows the anxiety that comes with public speaking. He struggled with it for years until coaching gave him the techniques and confidence to overcome it. He believes that anyone can become a good public speaker–but knows that not everyone can find or afford the help he had. That’s why he, Will Field-Thompson, and Anthony Pham co-founded Speeko in 2018. Their AI speech coaching app analyzes a user’s speech and provides tailored exercises to help with pacing, tone, filler words, and more. When online meetings surged, they added features to help people adjust speech in real time, like friendly nudges to “slow down.” The team uses Google Workspace to collaborate and stay organized. “It’s easy to use, cost-effective, and feature-rich,” says Nico. Speeko has over 330,000 global users, and while most are younger professionals looking to upskill their speaking, others use the app to nail an interview, or wow the crowd with a polished wedding speech.

Google Ads have helped drive traffic to Speeko’s website, where clicks grew from 80 to 80,000 per month in 2023. “They’re easy to use for small businesses who are just getting started on the platform and don’t have a lot of expertise setting up ad campaigns,” explains Nico, who is a 2023 recipient of the Google for Startups Founders Funds. “We can’t afford what big companies can, so it helps level the playing field in really important ways. These tools help us do things we didn't think we’d ever be able to do.” The team also uses Gemini to help them create and update the over 400 exercises in their coaching library. “It allows us to stay lean but have a lot more impact,” Nico says. That lets Speeko keep changing lives, “one voice at a time.” He adds, “I’ve seen how the way you speak matters and can change your professional trajectory. Our mission is to help people from all backgrounds never be afraid to speak up.”

Founded in 1875, Merz Apothecary is considered by many to be a Chicago landmark. For five generations, the pharmacy has been home to a rich collection of unique, hard-to-find goods from all over the world. “We’re not your traditional pharmacy,” says President Anthony Qaiyum. “We carry everything from natural remedies to grooming products to home fragrances. People always say, ‘If you can’t find it at Merz, you won’t find it anywhere else!’” Anthony’s father, who purchased Merz in 1972, managed to grow the business during a time when most independent pharmacies were giving way to large chain drug stores. Anthony attributes their steady growth to the fact that “Merz has always done things differently.” In addition to selling non-traditional products, the “143-year-old startup,” as he likes to call it, has always been quick to embrace the power of technology.

Merz Apothecary took their first online order in 1997. Fast forward two decades, and 85 percent of the business’s marketing budget is now dedicated to digital. They use AdWords, Google’s advertising program, to reach customers who are searching for their specialty products. “AdWords is the magical vehicle that gets you in front of the people who really need what you’re selling,” explains Anthony. “Together with Google Search, it drives nearly half of our online revenue,” he adds. The company shares fun and informative product reviews on their YouTube channel, which has garnered over 1.5 million views. They announce product launches, special sales, and extended hours via their Google My Business listings. And with insights from Google Analytics, they’re able to both “figure out problems and identify opportunities on our website,” says Anthony.

Today, Merz Apothecary has two storefronts in Chicago, an e-commerce platform that services 35,000 customers annually, a direct mail operation that sends hundreds of thousands of catalogues to customers across the country, a wholesale division, and an export business that ships products to Europe. Their yearly sales continue to grow at a double-digit rate, and since Anthony joined the family business full-time in 2000, they have gone from 12 employees to 60. “As the owner of Merz, I feel like I’m the caretaker of a piece of history. And I take that duty very seriously,” says Anthony. “I want to leave this business better and stronger than it was when I joined. That’s my passion, and it’s gratifying to know that we're working towards that.”

Few industries have more passionate devotees than artisanal coffee and hand-built bicycles. Individually, they conjure images of a vibrant and modern urban community. Together, they're the magic of Chicago's Heritage Bicycles. Founded by Michael Salvatore in 2011, Heritage combines Chicago's rich and proud manufacturing industry with a hip and contemporary gathering space for lovers of brewed beans. “Both bikes and coffee have very loyal customer bases, and we've been able to capitalize on both in Chicago,” Michael says. Long before becoming an international brand, Heritage knew the Internet would be the tool to help them gear up. “The Internet has always been the foundation of the business.”

Michael leverages a variety of Google tools to make the most of the web. He creates geo-targeted campaigns in AdWords, Google’s advertising program, to drive local traffic to their two brick-and-mortar stores. He expands his reach with global AdWords campaigns to promote e-commerce sales of bikes and accessories. Google Apps for Work facilitates instantaneous collaboration amongst employees and is easy to scale as the business grows. Google Street View takes customers on virtual 360-degree tours of their stores. Google Analytics helps Michael to better understand his customers and make timely, data-driven decisions. “Google Analytics is literally on my screen all day long. Those graphs and trends and real-time data help me determine where to put our energy.” And their results have been a small-business tour de force.

Sales have grown a steady 35% year-over-year and Heritage plans to open three more stores in Chicago in 2016. Michael believes Google has played a significant role in their success. “There are so many little things that these products help us with every day,” he says. “I don’t know that we’d be in the same place without Google.” Their hand-built bicycles may have earned them an international reputation as a mecca for discerning cyclists, but Michael is equally proud of the impact that he’s making closer to home. “We currently have 23 employees, and we'll soon have close to 40,” he says. “It means a lot to me that we’re creating jobs in Chicago.”