The tech giant Google is known for having an in-depth hiring process that selects not only top achievers, but those able to think out of the box and are also open, likable and adaptable in a multi-cultural environment.
A googley employee must come up with crazy ideas and find ways to make them come to life, no matter the obstacles. If you pause and think for a bit, that is precisely the definition of a successful entrepreneur. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that former Google staff members grow to be top start-up CEOs. Here is a list of some of the best companies started by ex-Googlers.
Heart health-Cardiogram
Two of the four co-founders (Avesh Singh and Johnson Hsieh) are ex-Googlers, and they brought the passion for solving real-world problems with cutting-edge technology by focusing on matters of the heart.
Cardiogram raised $2 million in funding to create an app that could predict cardiovascular diseases for any user aged above 18. They take great pride in their work and are aiming to extend their app currently available just for iOS to other platforms and to validate their findings by publishing in peer-reviewed journals scientifically.
Personal loans-Upstart
Dave Girouard, Paul Gu, and Anna Counselman had a bright idea back in 2012: to stop assessing credit risk with the same measuring tape for everybody and create a personalized underwriting experience for each applicant.
Their algorithm takes into consideration education, experience, income and excellent payment history. The primary advantage of this platform is not the APR, but the no prepayment penalty. If you want to learn more about this start-up, check out Upstart reviews.
Personalized fashion-Shoes of Prey
The founder, Jodie Fox, had the same problem millions of women face every day: what do I wear and what pair of shoes should I match with my outfit to make it perfect? The best part of their platform is that you get the designer’s seat by choosing the type, details, and materials. Everything is made to your size and arrives at your home two weeks later. Fancy a new pair of designer (that means you) shoes?
Coaching-Vida
Health and fitness goals are individual, so a one-size-fits-all approach is destined to fail. Stephanie Tilenius, the founder of Vida, understood this and set to create a platform that connects people to coaches in 1-to-1 sessions to help them achieve their dreams. Results include losing weight, managing diabetes, quitting smoking and overcoming depression and anxiety.
Big Data Analysis-Amplitude
In the era of Big Data and analytics, Amplitude, through its founders Liu & Skates aims to help companies make sense of the ocean of data they have gathered through daily operations. Their flagship product is behavioral analytics, but other insights are also available. They help companies learn more about their clients, by finding churn and retention triggers, identify product life-cycle stages and offering all the information is a user-friendly dashboard.
Online media-Brit +Co.
The young Brit Morin left her job at Google to fulfill her dream of becoming the “Martha Stewart for millennials” and founded Brit + Co, an online media company. She tapped into the DIY culture of her generation and by offering advice on anything from best toasters to scrapbooks she managed to get a base of over 100 million readers, mostly women. She strongly believes in the power of failure.
E-commerce-Pinduoduo
We have saved the unicorn for the end. Pinduoduo (PDD) takes the shopping experience and translates it as accurate as possible in the online environment. You can share the items you picked with friends, ask for their feedback and get a discount if you purchase together.
The brainchild of Colin Huang raised over $100 million in funding and now own a company valued at over $1.5 Billion which is expected to create an e-commerce revolution. It is wisely embedded in the WeChat app used in his native China.
These are just a few of the Googleyness examples. Do you have other favorites?
Article by Vishal
Vishal Gaikar is a professional blogger from Pune, India. If you like this post, you can follow him on Twitter.
