The Google Whisperer

Matt Wursta’s startup helps founders make the most of Google cloud tools. When Covid-19 hit, his service was critical to companies that could no longer afford it. He helped them anyway.

- By Brooke Henderson

Matt Wursta

Wursta

THREE- YEAR GROWTH 1,875.2%

Six years ago, Matt Wursta thought his employer, Google, was doing an excellent job of building cloud solutions for businesses—but a terrible job of teaching companies how to use them. So he launched his eponymous firm in 2014 to guide business owners through the virtual shelves of Google’s tool shop. The Austin-based founder had banked on his Google connections to grow his customer base, but old colleagues weren’t so quick to support his new venture. Not yet two years in, Wursta was on the brink of bankruptcy when a favor from an old friend floated the company long enough for it to catch a tailwind. When the pandemic hit this spring, Wursta was doing upwards of $10 million in sales. As Americans were displaced from their offices almost overnight, the founder and his team paid it forward, big time.

When I was 10, I spent my weekends pouring sodas and wiping tables at my family’s restaurant, Willy Joe’s, so I could afford to buy G.I. Joe figurines. I’ve always wanted to do my own thing.