Jean Brownhill

After earning an Architecture degree at The Cooper Union, Jean Brownhill spent a decade working in architecture and construction. Her own challenging renovation inspired her to transform the opaque construction industry and create the first modern renovation experience that is transparent, efficient and personal.

Sweeten (as in “home, sweet home”) launched in 2011. Today, Sweeten has nearly $1.5B of construction projects in the pipeline. The two-sided marketplace brings trust, transparency and technology to a $400 billion industry, creating the end-to-end standard for the renovation experience. Sweeten has been called a “Renovation Game-Changer,” with Brownhill hailed as “The Contractor Whisperer” by New York Magazine and one of Inc. Magazine’s “Most Innovative Women Founders in America.”

Brownhill is a Loeb Fellow from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, where she co-founded the African American Student Union (AASU), an organization supporting African Americans in architecture, real estate and urban planning. As a member of the 2018 Class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute, she recently launched SAW (Sweeten Accelerator for Women) to help female contractors build their businesses. In 2019, Brownhill was also chosen by the President of Cooper Union to win the prestigious President’s Citation award for alumni who have made important contributions to art, architecture, engineering or interdisciplinary studies. In 2020, Goldman Sachs chose her as one of their 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2020 at its Builders + Innovators Summit.

Brownhill's philanthropic work focuses on bringing social change and equality to the broader housing market. She sits on the board of HELP USA, a non-profit organization committed to providing shelter to meet people’s immediate needs, as well as the support they need to succeed for themselves, their families, and their communities. In 2018, she was honored with the HELP Hero Leadership award for her commitment to the cause.