The team uses Google Workspace to collaborate and stay organized, and Google Ads to drive traffic to Speeko’s website — clicks grew from 80 to 80,000 per month in 2023. “[Ads is] 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,” says Nico, a 2023 recipient of the Google for Startups Founders Funds. Today, Speeko has more than 300,000 registered users.
More recently, Gemini helped the team create and update the over 400 exercises in their coaching library. “It allows us to have a lot more impact,” Nico says. “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.”
Native Hawaiian artist and textile designer Jalene Kanani wanted to highlight a sophisticated side of her culture’s aesthetic. She launched NOHO HOME by Jalene Kanani in 2018 to offer decor and luxury home products that authentically reflect Hawaii’s history and culture. “In the Hawaiian language, ‘noho’ means ‘to be, to dwell, or to come from,’” she says.
Jalene designs all of the brand’s products and produces many of them in a small-batch micro-factory in Hawaii; today they’re carried by major department stores.
