Tag Archives: small business

10 startups strengthening New York City’s comeback

For a city that never sleeps, New York City became eerily quiet when the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year. The city’s unemployment rate jumped from 3.8% to 20% between April and May 2020, leaving more than 570,000 New Yorkers without work. While the unemployment rate has decreased since the pandemic’s peak, at approximately 9.4% it is still nearly three times higher than pre-COVID 19 and nearly twice the national average. Further, employment cuts and new hiring have not been evenly felt across industries; while the tech industry boomed throughout the pandemic, the lights on Broadway remained dark for months and small businesses across the city continued to struggle to stay afloat. New York City needed help.

In the spring of 2021, as New York City was just beginning to vaccinate large segments of its population, Google for Startups, Tech:NYC and my team at Cornell Tech discussed ways to help the city’s economy bounce back. How could we bring our tools to the industries that were struggling the most?

Together, we launched the NYC Recovery Challenge, a new program designed to showcase how we can use tech to help support job creation for New York’s small business and job seeker community. Laser-focused on job creation and retention in New York City, only startups from across the five boroughs were eligible, with a preference for companies building solutions for industries and New Yorkers hit hard by the pandemic. We formed a community advisory committee from across the city to help evaluate the finalists.

More than 170 New York-based startups applied for the NYC Recovery Challenge. Please join me in congratulating the ten companies selected to be NYC Recovery Challenge Fellows:

In addition to mentorship and one-on-one support, the top three finalists also receive up to $100,000 in no-strings-attached funding to accelerate their business. Manhattan-based first-prize winner, Guava, is a banking hub for Black small business owners that connects founders to equitable financial products and a digital community. Runners-up include Long Island City-based startup Coverr, a financial services tool for independent contractors, and Brooklyn-based Shifterr, a digital marketplace connecting hospitality industry employers to independent shift workers seeking gigs.

In addition to the three cash prize winners, the other seven companies selected reflect the distinct opportunities digital technology provides to better connect workers, employers and communities across the city. These startups range from companies that focus on supporting workers with autism and a mobility company dedicated to eliminating transit deserts, to an AI-powered online community marketplace connecting people to bodegas and novel solutions to identify, bridge and ease access to social services and government resources.

All 10 fellows' companies use digital technology to strengthen a diverse range of formal and informal networks in the city. Strong, dense and diverse networks are the foundation of urban living, constantly fueling creativity, invention and innovation. It’s inspiring to see founders using the power of technology, the strength of our networks and the resiliency of our communities to supercharge New York City’s continued recovery.

Creating new digital businesses with Qaya

When Google moved to “work from home” due to COVID-19 in 2020, I was a Founder-in-Residence in Area 120, Google’s incubator for experimental products. I had spent the prior two years in Area 120 developing Kormo, a jobs marketplace for the “next billion users” in India, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. With time at home to revisit my passion for music and writing, I had a chance to reflect on my belief in creator entrepreneurship, and how to make it part of what I built next.

After spending time with dozens of creators, we consistently heard that building a digital creator business is time-consuming and difficult. This sparked a new project idea: Qaya, a product that provides web storefronts for creators who want to sell products and services directly to their audiences. Today, as part of Area 120, we are announcing Qaya’s U.S. beta launch.

This animation shows a Qaya creator’s storefront on both mobile and desktop. The screens show the storefront home, along with the creator’s selected profile links and products.

Qaya is a small and agile team dedicated to helping creators build businesses on the web. Our project began with a simple idea: creators are the next generation of entrepreneurs. As the CEOs of their own businesses, they need the same commercial tools as any successful founder. Since we began live testing in early 2021, we’ve learned a lot from creators on Qaya, their fans and other creator economy projects.

Creators on Qaya sell everything from trapeze workout guides to wellness training videos, photo filters, beat packs, ASMR read-alouds, productivity templates, knitting patterns and much more. We support pay-gated and free products, with tipping, subscription and other monetization types coming soon.

Alt text: A mobile view of a creator's product detail page on Qaya. The page shows information about the product, including contents and price.

Creators use Qaya as the hub for their business activity across the web. Many link to their Qaya storefronts from their social media bios, and showcase digital products they upload or products and services hosted on other sites. We provide custom yourname.channel or qaya.store/your-name URLs, with payment functionality built in.

Mobile and desktop renderings of the Qaya page for a creator named Jamie Chung.

We also developed customer management and analytics tools that creators use to connect with their fans and understand sales and content performance.

A creator's Qaya dashboard, containing stats on products and sales over time.

Lastly, we know it’s important for creators to grow their audiences. So we’ve started to integrate with other Google products, including YouTube’s Merch Shelf. If you’re an eligible YouTube creator, you can now promote products from Qaya directly below videos on your YouTube channel.

This image shows a creator using Qaya and the YouTube Merch Shelf simultaneously. The creator's products appear on YouTube, under their videos. Consumers can click through to learn more or buy on Qaya.

We’re focused on the U.S. today, but hope to bring Qaya to more countries soon. And, we’re exploring ways to support creators as they experiment with other types of digital goods.

Google has always invested in creators, from publishers on the early internet to YouTubers today. Our goal with Qaya is to explore new ways to continue this work: giving creators tools to build successful, owner-operated businesses on the web.

If you’re a creator and you’d like to work together, you can request an invitation from Qaya’s site.

Google for Startups Sales Academy boosts Florida businesses

As a native Floridian — born, raised and currently building a business in West Palm Beach — I see the Sunshine State as a place bursting with possibilities. So many people want to be here, so why leave? As more entrepreneurs and investors relocate from traditional tech hubs to emerging startup ecosystems, Florida — with our tropical climate, diverse population and lack of state income tax — has suddenly become a business hotspot. While Florida’s tech industry isn’t as established as San Francisco or New York, Miami startups raised close to $1 billion in venture funding in 2020 alone — and shows no signs of slowing post-pandemic.

Although it was not always the case, there is now a great deal of support for entrepreneurs in my hometown and in my county. The first grant I ever received opened many doors for my company, and in turn I am doing the same for other small business owners.

Born out of my own losses, failures and successes, my company, The Leadership Haven Resource Center, has provided leadership and business development training in Florida and beyond for more than five years. To date, we’ve helped hundreds of small business owners develop leadership skills rooted in what I call the ABCDs: accountability, balance, consistency and determination.

One of the top challenges I hear from the entrepreneurs I work with — and have experienced myself — is how difficult it can be to acquire new customers and partners when you’re getting started. So I was thrilled to learn about Google for Startups Sales Academy in Florida, a seven-week program designed to equip founders with critical sales skills that they can use to drive business success. This fall, I joined 11 other founders from across the state for a series of weekly virtual lessons on customer growth and revenue topics facilitated by Google mentors and subject matter experts. The classes were based on Google for Startups’ signature “THRIVE” sales strategy, including how to ask better questions, how to handle objections and how to expand relationships and trust over time.

When the Sales Academy kicked off, I was in the midst of planning my company’s annual Reignite Florida Small Business Leadership Summit, I set a goal to learn ways to engage and connect with prospective partners for the summit, without giving in to my fears before I started. When I rolled out early bird ticket sales after the Google for Startups mentorship, I started selling out almost immediately, largely because I felt more assertive going into these conversations. To date, I have secured more than seven partners by using the skills I learned through Sales Academy.

As a coach and a consultant, it has been my job to help founders and entrepreneurs realize their full potential. Many business owners are used to seeing things and doing things one way, so I assist organizations and corporations with not just seeing the big picture but switching canvases and starting a whole new picture. Google for Startups Sales Academy turned on that switch for me and my business by helping me gain the skills I needed to achieve my own mission. Looking ahead to 2022, I hope to use these new tactics to secure a brick-and-mortar office to host workshops and to travel to different states beyond Florida to do what I love.

Sales Academy also inspired me to make a promise to myself: to never allow anyone to make me feel like an employee ever again. I am an investor, and a contributor, and tools like my newfound confidence ensure that I never allow anyone to diminish my gifts. Five years after deciding to dedicate 100% of my time to growing my business, I am starting to see all that me and my company can be.

Shop Black-owned with the #BlackOwnedFriday shoppable film

When I founded Nappy Boy Entertainment in 2005, I had no idea all the directions it would go. What started as a record label now includes a podcast, gaming and a book — I’m proud of this business. Along the way, I’ve developed a true passion for small businesses and I admire the hard work it takes to make them successful. I love doing whatever I can to support them.

So I was thrilled when Google reached out about the second annual Black-owned Friday. Last year, Google partnered with the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. to reimagine Black Friday as “Black-owned Friday” — a day to celebrate and support Black-owned businesses. This year, I’m proud to join Google and the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. for another year of encouraging shoppers to support Black-owned businesses.

And I was especially excited to write a new track to celebrate Black-owned businesses. We brought the track to life with a film directed by Daps, featuring me, Normani, Desi Banks, Tanerélle and actual business owners. The best part? The video is shoppable with more than 100 products from more than 50 Black-owned businesses. Check it out at g.co/blackownedfriday.

The embedded #BlackOwnedFriday film, with a thumbnail image showing T-Pain and the words Black-owned Friday written across.
10:25

An important way to support Black-owned businesses this holiday season is to help make sure people can find them — and digital tools can help. According to a consumer survey that Google and the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. commissioned, 66% of consumers who actively support Black-owned businesses say they use digital tools to find them. If you own a business, one way to be sure you’re showing up for searches like “Black-owned shops near me” or “Black-owned restaurants near me” is to add the Black-owned business badge on Google Search, Maps and Shopping.

This holiday season — and throughout the year — search, shop and support Black-owned.

Helping European small businesses grow and succeed

Today marks the beginning of the European SME week, a time to recognize the contribution that millions of small and medium-sized businesses make to Europe’s economy, as well as an opportunity to explore how they can be supported to continue to grow and thrive.

This time of year is especially critical for small businesses. Shoppers really care about supporting their local communities, with 56% of holiday shoppers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa saying they will intentionally shop more at local small businesses this festive season.

Small businesses are the key to recovery from the pandemic, and our digital tools have helped them sustain their business through lockdowns and enable new jobs, growth and exports. That’s why we rapidly adapted products to improve support and provided training to help them make the most of digital technology. Supporting small businesses is a group effort, though — and the right skills and tools need to be underpinned by the right policies.


Providing helpful tools to connect with customers

The past year and a half has underlined the importance of technology in all parts of life — and small businesses are no exception. Research has found that small businesses in Europe with a sophisticated use of digital tools were able to build a ‘digital safety net’ during the pandemic, resulting in 80% better sales and 60% better revenue.

One example of this is the German company, das schöne leben. Opened in 2016, the store specializes in exceptional food and designer products for everyday living. When the pandemic hit, the founders of the store started advertising online alongside their in-store sales, and set up a Business Profile on Google Search and Maps to help existing and potential customers find them. Das schöne leben now has customers of all ages throughout Germany and has tripled their direct online orders with their first in-house search campaign.

A smiling picture of Manon Weßels, the owner of das schöne leben

Manon Weßels, owner of das schöne leben

Particularly for smaller businesses, Google Ads is the key for visibility and findability online. We would never have reached so many suitable new customers without the advertisements. Manon Weßels
Owner, das schöne leben

The example of das schöne leben and countless others show that online ads help businesses of all sizes find audiences they otherwise may lack access to, help them enter new markets and help build brand awareness.

At Google, we continue to innovate and invest in making all our products and tools more helpful — launching more than 200 features since March 2020 to help businesses connect with their customers in this shifting landscape.

We're also making it even easier for small businesses to manage their presence and connect with customers online. Businesses in Europe can now easily claim and verify their Business Profile directly on Google Search or the Google Maps app, and respond to messages directly from Search. Having more complete information online can have a huge impact for businesses: in Germany, for example, complete Business Profiles receive an average of over five times more calls compared to an incomplete profile. Moving forward, we recommend small businesses manage their profiles directly on Search or Maps. To keep things simple, “Google My Business” is being renamed “Google Business Profile.”


Ensuring that SMBs have the skills to get ahead

We know that providing the right tools is only helpful if businesses are able to use them. To make the most of the digital opportunities available to them, business owners need the right skills. Research has found that 22% of small business owners feel they lack the skills and knowledge to increase their use of digital tools.

Today, we are delighted to kick off our first-ever ‘Google.org Skills Week’ to help support select nonprofits mentoring thousands of underserved small business owners in Europe through scaled tech solutions. As a recent study highlights, medium, small and micro-enterprises — especially those led by women, young people, ethnic minorities, and migrants — were significantly impacted by COVID-19 with 70-80% facing major financial difficulties.

During this week, Google volunteers and product experts will share their skills and best practices through workshops, design sprints and 1:1 mentorship, to help educate select nonprofits that provide mentorship to underserved SMB owners. This week of training touches on many different skills including product management, design, marketing and AdGrants, Artificial Intelligence, YouTube, impact measurement, and aims to better equip the nonprofits to help small businesses improve their online presence.

A video about helping small businesses
10:25

We have seen how powerful these skills can be in helping to grow and scale businesses across Europe.

For Andrea Li Puma, the owner of the food truck Pastammore based in Bucharest, access to digital skills was essential to reach new customers and grow his business. The pandemic meant that Andrea had to take his food business online and pivot to deliver Pastammore’s homemade pasta directly to consumers at home. With support from Google.org-funded nonprofit Digital Nation, Andrea was able to develop an online marketing strategy, optimize his website, and launch new advertising campaigns that helped Pastammore survive through the tough period and even grow with sales increase by 15%.

A picture of Andrea Li Puma, the owner of the food truck Pastammore based in Bucharest, in a white coat in front of his truck

Andrea Li Puma, owner of food truck Pastammore in Bucharest

Since 2015, over 18 million people across Europe, the Middle East and Africa have participated in our Grow with Google training, resulting in more than four million people getting a new job, growing their career or growing their business*.

To make sure our programs best help tackle the barriers to digital success, we developed partnerships with training experts, public agencies and policy makers. For example, in France we collaborate with FFAC — French Association of Local Stores — in supporting 30,000 local shop owners everywhere in France in their digital transition.


A more inclusive economic recovery

The pandemic has been disruptive and small businesses have been at the sharp end of this change. While challenging, this past year and a half has also underlined how resilient small businesses can thrive through partnership, openness and innovation. Europe has a great opportunity to build a digital, inclusive, and sustainable recovery that works for everyone. We are excited to play our part in this.

*Analysis by Google based on internal data and a survey by Ipsos from Sep 2016 to Sep 2021 amongst EMEA residents trained via Digital Workshop.

Helping European small businesses grow and succeed

Today marks the beginning of the European SME week, a time to recognize the contribution that millions of small and medium-sized businesses make to Europe’s economy, as well as an opportunity to explore how they can be supported to continue to grow and thrive.

This time of year is especially critical for small businesses. Shoppers really care about supporting their local communities, with 56% of holiday shoppers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa saying they will intentionally shop more at local small businesses this festive season.

Small businesses are the key to recovery from the pandemic, and our digital tools have helped them sustain their business through lockdowns and enable new jobs, growth and exports. That’s why we rapidly adapted products to improve support and provided training to help them make the most of digital technology. Supporting small businesses is a group effort, though — and the right skills and tools need to be underpinned by the right policies.


Providing helpful tools to connect with customers

The past year and a half has underlined the importance of technology in all parts of life — and small businesses are no exception. Research has found that small businesses in Europe with a sophisticated use of digital tools were able to build a ‘digital safety net’ during the pandemic, resulting in 80% better sales and 60% better revenue.

One example of this is the German company, das schöne leben. Opened in 2016, the store specializes in exceptional food and designer products for everyday living. When the pandemic hit, the founders of the store started advertising online alongside their in-store sales, and set up a Business Profile on Google Search and Maps to help existing and potential customers find them. Das schöne leben now has customers of all ages throughout Germany and has tripled their direct online orders with their first in-house search campaign.

A smiling picture of Manon Weßels, the owner of das schöne leben

Manon Weßels, owner of das schöne leben

Particularly for smaller businesses, Google Ads is the key for visibility and findability online. We would never have reached so many suitable new customers without the advertisements. Manon Weßels
Owner, das schöne leben

The example of das schöne leben and countless others show that online ads help businesses of all sizes find audiences they otherwise may lack access to, help them enter new markets and help build brand awareness.

At Google, we continue to innovate and invest in making all our products and tools more helpful — launching more than 200 features since March 2020 to help businesses connect with their customers in this shifting landscape.

We're also making it even easier for small businesses to manage their presence and connect with customers online. Businesses in Europe can now easily claim and verify their Business Profile directly on Google Search or the Google Maps app, and respond to messages directly from Search. Having more complete information online can have a huge impact for businesses: in Germany, for example, complete Business Profiles receive an average of over five times more calls compared to an incomplete profile. Moving forward, we recommend small businesses manage their profiles directly on Search or Maps. To keep things simple, “Google My Business” is being renamed “Google Business Profile.”


Ensuring that SMBs have the skills to get ahead

We know that providing the right tools is only helpful if businesses are able to use them. To make the most of the digital opportunities available to them, business owners need the right skills. Research has found that 22% of small business owners feel they lack the skills and knowledge to increase their use of digital tools.

Today, we are delighted to kick off our first-ever ‘Google.org Skills Week’ to help support select nonprofits mentoring thousands of underserved small business owners in Europe through scaled tech solutions. As a recent study highlights, medium, small and micro-enterprises — especially those led by women, young people, ethnic minorities, and migrants — were significantly impacted by COVID-19 with 70-80% facing major financial difficulties.

During this week, Google volunteers and product experts will share their skills and best practices through workshops, design sprints and 1:1 mentorship, to help educate select nonprofits that provide mentorship to underserved SMB owners. This week of training touches on many different skills including product management, design, marketing and AdGrants, Artificial Intelligence, YouTube, impact measurement, and aims to better equip the nonprofits to help small businesses improve their online presence.

A video about helping small businesses
10:25

We have seen how powerful these skills can be in helping to grow and scale businesses across Europe.

For Andrea Li Puma, the owner of the food truck Pastammore based in Bucharest, access to digital skills was essential to reach new customers and grow his business. The pandemic meant that Andrea had to take his food business online and pivot to deliver Pastammore’s homemade pasta directly to consumers at home. With support from Google.org-funded nonprofit Digital Nation, Andrea was able to develop an online marketing strategy, optimize his website, and launch new advertising campaigns that helped Pastammore survive through the tough period and even grow with sales increase by 15%.

A picture of Andrea Li Puma, the owner of the food truck Pastammore based in Bucharest, in a white coat in front of his truck

Andrea Li Puma, owner of food truck Pastammore in Bucharest

Since 2015, over 18 million people across Europe, the Middle East and Africa have participated in our Grow with Google training, resulting in more than four million people getting a new job, growing their career or growing their business*.

To make sure our programs best help tackle the barriers to digital success, we developed partnerships with training experts, public agencies and policy makers. For example, in France we collaborate with FFAC — French Association of Local Stores — in supporting 30,000 local shop owners everywhere in France in their digital transition.


A more inclusive economic recovery

The pandemic has been disruptive and small businesses have been at the sharp end of this change. While challenging, this past year and a half has also underlined how resilient small businesses can thrive through partnership, openness and innovation. Europe has a great opportunity to build a digital, inclusive, and sustainable recovery that works for everyone. We are excited to play our part in this.

*Analysis by Google based on internal data and a survey by Ipsos from Sep 2016 to Sep 2021 amongst EMEA residents trained via Digital Workshop.

A digital decade for Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia’s digital decade is here. Technology has been critical in helping Southeast Asians get through the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as the latest eConomy Southeast Asia report shows, the digital economy is poised to play an even bigger role in the region’s future than we had imagined.

Last year, we saw Southeast Asia’s resilience in the face of the pandemic, as people turned to the internet to meet their everyday needs in new ways. This year’s report — published today by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company — shows a resurgence, and looks ahead to a “roaring 20s” where technology will open up exciting new possibilities for hundreds of millions of people across the region.

We now forecast that the digital economy will reach $174 billion in gross merchandise value by the end of 2021 and pick up pace to hit $363 billion by 2025, well above last year’s estimate of $300 billion. For the first time, we also make a 2030 forecast— projecting that the digital economy could reach a value of $1 trillion by the end of the decade. Growth on that scale would see Southeast Asia help define the future of technology globally.

A video showing the report's key themes for 2021
10:25

Here are some of the key themes from the 2021 report — and a look ahead to the enablers that will ensure Southeast Asia reaches its enormous potential.

Southeast Asians continue to surge online

Of the region’s population of 589 million, 440 million people (or 75%) are online — including 40 million who started using the internet for the first time in 2021. About 350 million Southeast Asians are ‘digital consumers’, meaning they’ve bought at least one online service. Since the pandemic began, the region has added 60 million more digital consumers. And the shift online appears to be here to stay: nine out of 10 people who started using a new online service in 2020 continued using it in 2021.

An infographic showing that the number of internet users in Southeast Asia has grown from 360 million in 2019 to 400 million in 2020 to 440 million in 2021.

A new wave of digital merchants emerges

The internet has been critical in helping Southeast Asia’s small businesses get through the pandemic — and plan for the future. In preparing the 2021 report, we spoke to 3,000 digital merchants (small businesses that use digital tools, usually in food services or retail). We were struck by what a positive experience they’d had since moving online. Today, 90% of these merchants accept digital payments and one in three believe they wouldn’t have survived the pandemic without going online. Over the next five years, eight out of 10 merchants anticipate that more than half their sales will come from online sources.

An infographic showing that 84% of digital merchants surveyed agree digital platforms create more jobs, 84% agree they improve people’s livelihood, 87% agree sales would have declined or there would have been no sales during the pandemic, and 88% agree digital platforms bring positive benefits for their company.

E-commerce leads the digital economy’s resurgence

The rise of e-commerce is at the heart of the regional digital economy’s renewed growth, as people use the internet to buy more and more everyday products and services. The report estimates the e-commerce sector could pass $120 billion in GMV by the end of 2021 and reach $234 billion by 2025. Food delivery is also growing fast, with 71% of all internet users ordering meals online, and online media is increasingly popular — helped by the growing popularity of gaming.

At the same time, three emerging sectors are growing faster because of COVID-19: health, education and financial technology. As people look for greater convenience and accessibility, these sectors are expected to keep expanding and become a significant part of the digital economy by 2030.

A girl in a blue school uniform sits on the front step of a raised building made of wood and corrugated iron. She is typing on a laptop.

Funding fuels opportunity

Across the digital economy, investment is on track towards a record high in 2021. The value of deals in the region was $11.5 billion in the first half of 2021, compared with $11.6 billion in the whole of 2020. Most funding (about 60%) is going to e-commerce and digital financial services, but the growth of health technology has caught investors’ attention: funding for the sector rose to a record high of $1.1 billion in the first six months of the year, more than the 2020 total of $800 million. And there is a pool of $14.2 billion of capital available for founders looking for backing to take their ideas forward.

Looking ahead: a digital decade for everyone

A $1 trillion digital economy in 2030 would mean more widely-accessible online services, new jobs and stronger businesses. It would also see Southeast Asia shaping advances in technology for the wider Asia-Pacific region and beyond, as a bellwether of global digital trends. But to make sure the digital decade benefits as many people as possible, we have to focus on the right enablers. The priorities for the years ahead include getting regulatory frameworks right, putting data infrastructure in place, and ensuring the digital economy develops in a way that’s equitable — for example, by protecting the interests of gig workers and safeguarding online privacy.

Google’s commitment is to help build a digital economy that can benefit everyone in Southeast Asia by 2030. We want to play our part in creating responsible growth and providing economic opportunities for current and future generations. We’ll continue to build the future of the internet in and for this region, provide inclusive, safe access for the communities we serve, and be a partner to Southeast Asia’s businesses and governments on the way to a bigger, better digital economy.

Foster meaningful conversations with customers on Google

Whether it’s searching for the perfect gift or looking for a contractor to remodel that bathtub, consumers are increasingly turning to calls and chat to interact with merchants. People want to communicate with businesses to help them make more informed decisions, and this trend is continuously accelerating. That’s why we’re introducing new features that’ll help business owners make the most of their interactions with customers on Google Search and Maps.

Learn more about the calls you receive from Google

People often value the immediacy and personal connection of a phone call, and we know this directly impacts merchants’ businesses. For example, Nedra Flansberg, the owner of Posh Brides and Grooms based in Carlsbad CA, told us that 50% of her customers come from Google. To help build connections between customers and millions of merchants like Nedra, we’re launching call history for all U.S. and Canadian merchants with verified Business Profiles. With call history, you can easily see which inbound customer calls came from your Business Profile and review helpful analytics on inbound call performance.

A cell phone showing a merchant’s call history

Quickly respond to customers on your Business Profile

Another valuable way consumers engage with merchants is by chatting with them. More and more people are turning to chat conversations with merchants of all sizes, ranging from small businesses to global merchants like Levi’s. With business messaging, Levi’s was able to resolve 30x more store related questions and saw a 31% increase in product related conversations. Merchants tell us they want to improve their interactions with customers, so we’re announcing a few new features to help them do just that.

Last year, we added functionality so you can chat with customers directly on Google Maps. Now, you can also see and respond to messages right from your Business Profile on Google Search.

A laptop showing messaging directly from Google Search

It's also helpful to know the recipient got your message on chat. With read receipts, both parties know whether their messages were seen. This feature is launching for all Business Profile merchants this month, further enriching the chat experience for customers and businesses.

A cell phone showing that a merchant’s sent message was read by the customer

As businesses prepare for another busy holiday season, and customers increasingly turn to calls and chat to interact with businesses, we look forward to helping foster even more meaningful interactions and giving merchants more tools to succeed.

Learn more about calls and chat on your Business Profile.

10 sites and apps to help you get ready for the holidays

Here on the Google Registry team, we’re always keeping an eye out for helpful websites and apps on the top-level domains we’ve launched (.app, .new, and .dev, to name a few). This time of year, we’re especially interested in ways to prepare for the holidays. So before the holiday season kicks off, we’re sharing our favorite websites and apps to help you plan your travel, create DIY gifts, stay grounded, and everything else in between.

  1. Give.new: Give back this holiday season by supporting a nonprofit that aligns with a cause you care about.
  2. Flight.new: With 26 member airlines, you’ll have no trouble getting to your holiday or business destinations through Star Alliance.
  3. Knit.new: Take a DIY approach to gift giving this season! Knit your own scarves, sweaters and mittens with Kniterate.
  4. Mercari.new: Out with the old, in with the new. Use Mercari to sell the things you don’t need, and find the things you do.
  5. Form.new: Planning to snail mail out holiday cards? Send a quick form to family and friends to update your address book with everyone’s latest info.
  6. Mindshine.app: Stay present and mindful this holiday season with the help of Mindshine, an all-in-one app for personal development and wellbeing.
  7. Loóna.app: Get proper rest with the help of Loóna, an immersive sleepscape and storytelling app that will lull you into a deep sleep.
  8. Fluz.app: Getting started on holiday shopping? Earn cash back with Fluz while you shop for gifts.
  9. Strong.app: Find creative workouts and exercises to squeeze into even the busiest of seasons with the help of the Strong app.
  10. Tayl.app: Give your eyes a rest by turning articles, blogs, reports, and more into a podcast, and listening to them while you’re on the go.

Whether you need gift ideas or just a reminder to take a breather in the busy days ahead, we hope these sites can help you stay focused and present through the end of the year and into 2022. For a behind-the-scenes look at two of the apps we’ve highlighted, check out the videos below. Wishing you a healthy holiday season!

Video of Charlie Inman, Creative Director at Mindshine, sharing how their .app domain helped the company gain international appeal and discussing the importance of being authentic to your audience.
10:25
Video of Natalie Portier, COO Loóna, sharing the story behind their app name and how the team uses storytelling when communicating with their users.
10:25

Related Article

21 websites and apps to make your 2021 better

Twenty-one websites and apps on .new, .app, .page, and .dev domains to check out in the new year.

Read Article

Related Article

Tips and shortcuts for a more productive spring

Discover .new shortcuts and tips from entrepreneurs to increase your productivity.

Read Article

Related Article

How companies are using .new shortcuts

Video case studies on how Adobe, Glitch and Google Workspace are using the .new shortcut to engage their customers.

Read Article

Meet the health startups joining Accelerator: Europe

The pandemic accelerated a global movement towards digital health and wellbeing services, and startups across Europe are using technology to solve some of the biggest challenges in this space. This trend is reflected in how investors view this sector: since 2016, the combined value of healthtech startups in Europe increased from €6.8 billion to €35 billion and in 2020 the sector saw a €644m increase in funding.


As more entrepreneurs address the growing need for more accessible healthcare with their technology, we announced a special health and wellbeing-focused edition of Google for Startups Accelerator: Europe earlier this year.

Meet the 15 startups selected for our class


  • Alike Health (Israel): A healthcare solution that taps into the power of medical records by utilizing proprietary AI, crowdsourcing, and big data.

  • BIOTTS (Poland): A company developing proprietary drug delivery technologies and formulas in the fields of diabetology, oncology, and dermatology.

  • Braive (Norway): A psychotherapy platform that gives people access to tools to help tackle life’s challenges.

  • Cuideo (Spain): A home care solution for the elderly, using an advanced matching algorithm to bring together caregivers and users.

  • dermanostic: (Germany): An online dermatology practice where patients can be treated digitally and receive prescriptions via an app.

  • goodsleeper (Poland): A digital self-help solution to treating chronic insomnia, based on scientifically-proven and drug-free methods.

  • Happy Bob (Finland): A personal digital health assistant that reduces the stress of diabetes data overload and helps achieve better glycemic control.

  • Hyperhuman (Romania): An AI-powered platform that helps you transform your video workouts into reusable fitness content.

  • LactApp (Spain): A mobile app that gives new mothers customized expert answers to breastfeeding and maternity questions, powered by AI technology.

  • MedApp (Poland): A startup developing technologies to support diagnostic imaging and next-gen digital medicine, specializing in AI, 3D imaging, and big data analysis.

  • MESI Medical (Slovenia): A diagnostics company developing medical devices and providing clinicians with tools for predictive medical assessment.

  • Mindly (Ukraine): An online marketplace for mental health specialists and their clients. Using tech and AI, they are making psychology accessible to everyone.

  • myAGE.health (Czech Republic): A functional age monitoring system that measures the rate of aging and provides effective lifestyle recommendations to improve patients’ health.

  • Nye Health (United Kingdom): A patient-facing app making it simpler for people to manage their medical data and improve their health.

  • Regimen (Germany): A digital program for erectile dysfunction, fighting the stigma around men’s intimate health.


Google for Startups Accelerator is designed to bring the best of Google's products, people, and technology to startups. In addition to mentorship and technical project support, the program also includes workshops focused on product design, customer acquisition, and leadership development for founders. 


Key challenges, according to the founders


It’s important for startups to have specific goals for the program, so we talked to founders about the biggest challenges they hope to tackle with Google support. 


MedApp

MedApp wants to expand internationally. Krzysztof Mędrala, MedApp’s CEO, hopes that mentorship will help support in “scaling the business to other countries and optimizing the development process, covering all activities related to its introduction to the market such as marketing and communication with new business partners, investors and key opinion leaders.”

Krzysztof Mędrala, MedApp’s CEO

Krzysztof Mędrala, MedApp’s CEO

Biotts


Biotts’ CEO, Paweł Biernat, is bringing a leadership focus to Accelerator, with a view to “introducing effective management methods for fast-growing young organizations like ourselves where it’s hard for procedures to keep up with the number of projects and the number of new people.”

BIOTT’s team

BIOTT’s team

Mindly


For mental health platform Mindly, getting management right will also be an important part of product-building; Dimitri Podoliev, Mindly’s founder and CEO, says they “want to learn how to build a team that will be able to quickly, efficiently and effectively, using a data driven approach, build an amazing product.”

Dimitri Podoliev, founder and CEO of Mindly

Dimitri Podoliev, founder and CEO of Mindly

Braive


Some companies, like Braive, come to the program looking for the right support in the decision making around a pivot. “We aim to use our time in the program by matching key people within the organisation with relevant experts from the Google network for sprints across our research and development efforts as well as the pivot planning.” Braive’s co-founder and CEO, Hermine Bonde Jahren, expects their participation will span across tech and design, as well as product discussions.

Henrik Haaland Jahren and Hermine Bonde Jahren, founders of Braive

Henrik Haaland Jahren and Hermine Bonde Jahren, founders of Braive


The program will run until December 9. Ready to solve the world’s biggest challenges with technology? Explore other programs and resources designed to help entrepreneurs, like you, start, build, and grow the companies that will change the world.