Former longtime Amazon leaders are applying lessons from their time at the tech giant to help incubate new companies at Jelly Collective, the latest startup studio to surface in Seattle.
Jelly joins a roster of other similar firms in the Seattle startup ecosystem, including Pioneer Square Labs, Madrona Venture Labs, Conduit Venture Labs, TF Labs, and Mudita Studios.
These organizations typically have a small internal team that tests different startup ideas before spinning out full-fledged companies. The structure can provide support for early stage startups and reduce risk for entrepreneurs who lead the spinoffs.
Jelly’s founder is Stacy Saal, a 13-year Amazon vet who managed teams working on delivery, drones, and other businesses.
Saal told GeekWire that Amazon DNA flows through Jelly.
“We are 100% customer and problem-obsessed,” Saal said, echoing Amazon’s “customer obsession” leadership principle.
Jelly has three other former Amazonians — Lauren Cappell, Garth Mader, Sara Otepka — on its staff.
“We are predominantly Amazon. And it’s a massive cheat for us from a culture perspective,” Saal said. “We are culturally aligned and share a common language.”
The network Saal built at Amazon is also paying dividends for Jelly. The studio has a long list of advisors that work at Amazon or previously spent time at company.
Jelly’s first spinout, a home maintenance startup called Para Home Services, recently tapped ex-Amazon leader Ben Spencer as its CEO.
Saal left Amazon in 2021 and then held exec roles at Babylon Health, Fabric, and Glydways. She was inspired to launch Jelly in part to help women and non-traditional entrepreneurs get into startups.
“There are people that are great at solving problems and building ideas into products and products into companies that aren’t your stereotypical tech bro willing to couch-surf and eat Top Ramen for years on end,” Saal said.
Jelly plans to both recruit outside entrepreneurs to run spinoffs — such as hiring Spencer as CEO of Para Home Services — and also have its own staff take leadership roles.
The studio is focusing on industries including consumer tech, health/wellness, and enterprise software.
Startup studios can provide plenty of ancillary support for CEOs and de-risk the earliest stages of company building. But one criticism is that they take too much equity in their spinoffs.
Saal didn’t provide a specific breakdown on how much equity Jelly typically takes. She said if a spinoff were to raise outside investment, equity would be roughly split equally between external investors, employees at the company, and Jelly itself.
“Every company and team will be different,” she said. “Timing, quality of company, and market conditions will help determine cash requirements, valuation, and outcomes. We’re focused on building durable, high performing companies that customers love and see valuation as an output.”
Jelly is self-funded and has not tapped outside investors for its own operations or spinoffs. It recently launched a rolling fund on AngelList that lets the studio continuously raise money as needed.
Saal said she’s taking a disciplined approach.
“We are all about building fast and being capital efficient,” she said.
Jelly advisors include former Amazon execs Jim Rosenblum, Amber Taylor, Matthew Matsudaira, John Busby, and Kevin Crosby. Former eBay and Staples exec Ryan Bartley, who co-founded Fabric, is also an advisor.
https://ift.tt/KPqmj8F August 16, 2024 at 02:00PM GeekWire
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