Jewel Solomon, the first person to be head of Google for Startups for the U.S.

Atlanta tech entrepreneur Jewel Burks Solomon has been named head of Google for Startups for the U.S.

The appointment makes Solomon the first person ever to hold the said position, according to Hypepotamus.

A proud board member at Goodie Nation and the Harvard Debate Council Diversity Project, Solomon’s new role at Google will focus on empowering diverse startup founders with products, connections and best practices. 

“I am thrilled about the opportunity to do work I’m deeply passionate about, to help level the playing field in the startup ecosystem,” Solomon said.

“I have a great opportunity to highlight the work of incredible startups here and in other markets that have historically been under-resourced.”

Before her appointment, Solomon has had a stint with Google, working as an entrepreneur-in-residence for diversity markets from 2014 to 2016, helping underserved business owners grow their businesses using Google tools, reports Hypepotamus.

An advocate for representation and access in the technology industry, Solomon co-founded a startup known as Partpic.

She and her team built groundbreaking technology poised to change the way people everywhere locate products. Partpic raised over $2 million in seed funding from notable investors like AOL co-founder, Steve Case, and Comcast Ventures, and integrated its software into mobile apps/websites of large part distributors and retailers. 

Partpic was acquired by Amazon in late 2016 and the technology now powers visual search for replacement parts in the Amazon Mobile Shopping app. 

Excited by her second return to Google, Solomon said: “The opportunity to bring the best of Google to startups in Atlanta and other key markets is incredibly exciting.

“Access to the right resources and people is critical to startup success, so I’m excited to be able to share these things with startups that need them.”

Currently featured in a national ad campaign for Pantene’s Gold Series line of natural hair products, Solomon noted: “It’s meaningful that Google sees value in investing in emerging tech ecosystems like Atlanta and is demonstrating commitment by hiring me for this role and going deep here. 

“I think my hiring, and the team’s focus on leveling the playing field for underrepresented startups, speaks to a larger theme in tech and innovation today: great ideas and startups can come from anywhere and anyone, and you don’t have to be based in Silicon Valley to be successful in this industry.”

A Google representative told Hypepotamus Solomon’s background as an entrepreneur and investor gives her a deep amount of empathy for the founder’s journey and insight into what founders need to build successful businesses.

“Her experience allows the team to ensure our work is meaningful to startups and that the metrics of success are closely aligned with the startups we work with.”

Prior to founding Partpic, Solomon served in management, enterprise sales, and strategic diversity roles at McMaster-Carr Industrial Supply and Google, Inc.

She is a native of Nashville TN and a graduate of Howard University. She is a member of the 2019 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA with her husband, Zekarias.