Marta Krupinska, 31, is the head of Google For Startups. She lives in east London with her husband.

MY ALARM GOES OFF…

At 7am. I have coffee with my husband and text my mum who still lives in my hometown, Krakow in Poland. I check my work email, message colleagues on Hangouts and go through Twitter for tech and political news. I have breakfast during my first meeting, usually fruit and yogurt. 

I’M RESPONSIBLE FOR …

Heading up the Google initiative Google For Startups in the UK, which involves selecting and then enabling startups around the world to succeed with Google’s mentorship.

I GOT THE JOB …

By founding startups myself. When I moved to the UK in 2012, I co-founded a company called Azimo. Off the back of its success, Google reached out about my current role in early 2018 and, although I didn’t want to work for a big company, I began to see it as an opportunity to harness talent, knowledge and resources from one of the most successful tech companies in the world.

MY TYPICAL DAY…

Starts at 8.30am. I have back-to-back meetings and divide my time between the startups themselves, potential investors and sometimes the media. In terms of who we choose to support, I’m focused on ensuring that there is diversity among our founders, as well as those building ‘profit with purpose’ companies – ie those using technology to build products that are socially impactful, such as a company called Predina that’s using artificial intelligence to predict transport risks and reduce them.

I’m often on video calls with my wider colleagues at Google, wherever in the world they might be – checking in with them is important because they can give us access to the best mentors and specialists. I usually work through lunch – if I’m in a meeting I’ll just eat whatever everyone else is having. I’m really not picky. I probably travel two or three times a month, from sessions with my colleagues in Silicon Valley to speaking at a conference in Israel. If I’m in the UK office, I’ll leave around 6.30pm to head to an event most nights.

MY MOST MEMORABLE WORK MOMENT…

Was sharing the stage with Arlan Hamilton at this year’s Startup Grind conference. She’s a black, queer woman from Texas who raised a venture capital fund, Backstage Capital, and has supported over 130 startups by underestimated founders around the world. It felt incredibly inspiring. 

THE WORST PART OF MY JOB …

Is the industry’s lack of diversity. I’ll go into an investor meeting with five white men and 90% of all venture capital money invested in startups in the UK goes to all-male teams. It’s even worse when we look at ethnic minorities, LGBTQI people or founders with disabilities. 

THE BEST PART OF MY JOB …

Is seeing start-ups succeed – such as Feebris, a healthtech company that has raised £1.1million. It feels so rewarding.

AFTER WORK …

If I have an evening off, I’ll go to a gig with my husband – we recently saw Janelle Monáe. Or I’ll watch a political TV show such as Last Week Tonight. I’m asleep by 1am.

My Plan B: Founder

I would be building startups full-time – I definitely don’t think I’m finished with that. I’d build more in the financial sector, which is my passion. The best part about technology is that it’s just a tool – what really matters is what you do with it. You can create pretty much anything

Photography: Holly McGlynn