Jelly Collective, a startup studio in Seattle, is led by former Amazon leaders who are applying lessons learned from their time at the tech giant to help incubate new companies. The organization joins a list of other similar firms in the Seattle startup ecosystem and typically has a small internal team that tests different startup ideas before spinning out full-fledged companies. Jelly, founded by Stacy Saal, a 13-year Amazon veteran, emphasizes a customer-centric approach, with several other former Amazonians on its staff. The network Saal built at Amazon has also proved beneficial, with a long list of advisors from the company offering support to Jelly.
The first spinout from Jelly, a home maintenance startup called Para Home Services, has tapped ex-Amazon leader Ben Spencer as its CEO. Saal, after leaving Amazon in 2021 and holding executive roles at various companies, was inspired to launch Jelly in part to help women and non-traditional entrepreneurs get into startups. The studio plans to both recruit outside entrepreneurs to run spinoffs and have its own staff take leadership roles, focusing on industries like consumer tech, health/wellness, and enterprise software.
While startup studios can provide support and reduce risk for entrepreneurs, one criticism is that they take too much equity in their spinoffs. Saal didn’t provide specific details on how much equity Jelly typically takes, but mentioned that if a spinoff were to raise outside investment, equity would be roughly split equally between external investors, employees at the company, and Jelly itself. The studio is self-funded and has launched a rolling fund on AngelList to continuously raise money as needed, with a focus on being capital efficient.
Jelly’s disciplined approach to building fast and being capital efficient is reflected in its team of advisors, which includes former Amazon and eBay executives, among others. The studio is culturally aligned with Amazon, emphasizing a customer-obsessed approach similar to the tech giant’s “customer obsession” leadership principle. Saal’s experience at Amazon and other companies has influenced Jelly’s focus on building durable, high-performing companies that customers love.
Overall, Jelly Collective is leveraging the expertise of former Amazon leaders to create a supportive environment for new startups in Seattle. By applying lessons learned from their time at the tech giant, the team at Jelly aims to build successful companies in a variety of industries while maintaining a focus on being customer-centric and capital efficient. Through a combination of internal talent and external partnerships, Jelly is poised to make an impact on the Seattle startup ecosystem and beyond.
