Maryland

"If you can understand what's going on in your checking account, you should also be able to understand your utility bill." That belief is why Nana Wilberforce created Akeptus in 2018, to demystify bills and cut consumption for consumers and small businesses whose survival may rest on utility costs. Nana was doing energy and sustainability work for a large bank when he noticed that people could see their energy consumption rising but often had little idea why. With some help from Google, his team created a platform that analyzes energy usage with AI and non-intrusive monitoring technology–no hardware required. They processed huge amounts of data–one client had 10 years' worth for 5,000 buildings–to make their models more accurate.

Nana says the mentorship he’s received as part of Google For Startups has been invaluable. Google’s expertise in design, system architecture, go-to-market, and sales helped speed Akeptus’ growth. “It's the best fund anybody could be part of, bar none. You get the funds, you get the compute, then you get access to technical know-how,” he says. Akeptus also uses Google tools like Google Workspace, which helps keep the team coordinated and productive. Up to 60 percent of their website traffic comes from Google Ads, which they also use to test new markets. Nana uses Gemini to brainstorm and critique ideas and uploads documents to Gemini Notebook to generate talking points. “Most of the time, it gives us something that we never thought about.” He and his team also use Google Cloud to develop models and Compute Engine and Kubernetes Engine to run and validate them. Akeptus now has 12 employees, and business grew by 75 percent from 2023 to 2024. “Google provided us with resources we needed,” says Nana. And that helps Akeptus save their clients' energy and money.

A 2023 recipient of the Google for Startups Founders Funds, Tina Williams-Koroma has always been an entrepreneur. She grew up on military bases and started her first business at age seven, collecting and selling back balls to golfers on the base course. After working in the tech and cybersecurity fields for over two decades, she experienced how frustrating, slow, and unsecure testing and deploying high-tech IT systems could be–and decided to do it better. Tina founded CyDeploy in 2020 to make testing system updates safer, faster, and less likely to cause crashes and security breaches. Today, CyDeploy works with higher education and global consulting clients, and has pending contracts in the defense, retail, and healthcare industries.

CyDeploy uses Google Meet, Sheets, and Drive to power their backend, making it easy and safe for clients to schedule demos and collaborate from anywhere. As a cybersecurity expert, Tina appreciates the measures that protect these Google Workspace tools, noting, “The security provisions they have give me a real sense of ease, especially as we go after government contracts with federal security mandates.” CyDeploy uses Google Analytics to zero in on what drives traffic to their website, helping them better allocate their time and budget, or modify their keyword strategy based on search trends. It also shows them where website visitors bounce, so they can fix confusing language or move click-through buttons, boosting conversion rates. “It allows us to be agile, to rapidly iterate and test things that ultimately increase our traffic,” Tina says. And with a 100-percent increase in customers year-over-year, growth is in Tina’s plans for both the company and her community. “I’m really looking forward to growing CyDeploy so we can offer even more employment opportunities in Baltimore,” Tina says. “I want to have a big impact on this city I love.”

Kirk Hinckley believed that bow tie lovers deserved better. While working for a national men’s clothier, Kirk saw firsthand that bow ties were either overpriced, low-quality, or tossed into a single display drawer as an afterthought. Deciding to do something different, he and his wife, graphic designer Corinne Hsu, founded The Bow Tie Club in 1994. “People who wear bow ties want to be a little different,” Kirk says. The couple used their knowledge of the industry to create a mail-order business offering high-quality, fairly priced bow ties, all manufactured in Maryland. They brought The Bow Tie Club online in 1996 and now feature over 500 of their own designs available in a multitude of shapes and sizes.

As an early adopter of the web, The Bow Tie Club has very much grown alongside the Internet. For years, Kirk and Corinne advertised their products on printed media. “Now it’s the exact opposite,” Kirk notes. “It’s 90 percent to digital; 10 percent to print.” The Bow Tie Club uses AdWords, Google’s advertising program, to reach fashion aficionados all over the world. About 20 percent of their sales come from overseas, and “AdWords is an integral part of the international business,” says Kirk. “When people click on a Google ad, they’re looking for something—they’re ready to buy. The reach and purchase intent are what make AdWords so powerful compared with other media tools.” The company also uses insights from Google Analytics to optimize their online presence. “It’s hugely important for understanding what the customer wants, refining our product, and creating a better shopping experience,” he adds.

For Kirk and Corinne, the bow tie is more than just a fashion piece; it’s a way to connect with new people. “You have no idea how many great conversations I’ve had that started with the words, ‘I love your bow tie!’” explains Kirk. “Our bow ties not only look good, they help you stand out.” And stand out, they do. Even former President Barack Obama has taken notice, sporting one of their bow ties to his 2012 inaugural balls. “That’s probably the pinnacle of my career,” Kirk muses. With thousands of customers around the world, The Bow Tie Club today is a global community of fashion-forward individuals. “There’s a reason why we named it The Bow Tie Club,” Kirk shares. “It was always meant to be a community for people who want to be a little different. And now, with the web, bow tie lovers from anywhere can be a part of that community.”

Nothing says “home” like authentic old-fashioned cooking. Chesapeake Fine Food Group welcomes visitors from across the country home to Maryland by delivering prepared gourmet goods with a taste of the Chesapeake Bay directly to their doors. “Our business is national, but we're located in Maryland,” Vice President Kate Glenn says proudly. Founded in 1997, Chesapeake offers three different catalogs of local delicacies on their online storefront, whipping up everything from crab cakes to Beef Wellington.

Chesapeake uses modern tools to promote their old-fashioned appeal. “We’re a small to mid-sized company competing against multi-billion-dollar corporations,” Kate explains, “so it’s really important for us to strengthen our web presence and differentiate our products.” With AdWords, Google's advertising program, they’re able to do both, attracting the right customers in a crowded market. “We differentiate ourselves from other food retailers by marketing our products to folks who are specifically looking for prepared entrées that arrive ready to go,” she says. They also use Google Analytics to measure their web traffic and better understand their customers' demands, which range widely depending on regional palates. And with a newly redesigned website and growing team of online marketers, the company is becoming increasingly more digital. “We know the web is where growth will be in the future, and every year we see more and more of our total sales being dedicated to online sales,” Kate adds.

From their mail-order beginnings, Chesapeake has grown into a major online culinary player. In 2016, they shared a taste of Maryland with over 130,000 customers, and more than half of their orders came from the web. They continue to grow 20 percent annually and spread that economic wealth among the farmers and growers around them. “We love to give business to folks in our own backyard,” Kate says. With 120 vendors across the country, Chesapeake is cooking up good news all over America, too. “People are excited to grow with us, and we're excited to grow with them.”