Jean Brownhill, founder and CEO of Sweeten, really understands homeowners’ needs when jumping into a renovation project. She learned by personal experience both as an architect and a first-time homeowner while renovating her brownstone in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. After learning from a mis-hired contractor and her own mistakes, and seeing an opportunity in the market to empower homeowners and contractors, Jean decided to launch Sweeten in 2011. She provides an invaluable service—connecting homeowners with vetted and certified contractors and providing tools to aid in the process, including budgeting, bidding guidelines, financial protection, and planning—and is an inspiring innovator and visionary. Sweeten experienced massive growth in 2020, with so many people at home really experiencing their spaces and planning how to make them function better. Specializing in projects big and small, Jean and her team have seen it all when it comes to renovations. So if you’re thinking of taking one on, listen in…you’ll want to take notes.