Amanda Lannert is the CEO of Jellyvision, which makes ALEX, an interactive decision-support tool that talks you through traditionally boring and confusing human resource decisions like picking health insurance and makes them fun and engaging. The Jellyvision of today has one of the more interesting founding stories, which Amanda describes in the beginning of this episode. It was born from the ashes of You Don't Know Jack.
Amanda was named CEO of the Year at the Moxie Awards in 2014 and 2015. Under Amanda’s leadership, Jellyvision has doubled its revenue three out of the last four years.
In This Episode You Will Learn:
How Jellyvision got into the B2B space
The value of a liberal arts background in tech
How Jellyvision got its first customers
Keys to selling to big businesses
How their product evolved and what eventually led to growth
How important humor is to their brand
Whether their diversity is intentional or accidental
How they are trying to improve diversity
How they attempt to identity redact interviews
How to build a strong culture across team members of different generations
The impact of remote workers on their culture
How Jellyvision caters to introverts in an extroverted office
Amanda’s favorite interview questions
How they ended up with a room dedicated to a massage chair
Why Amanda would like to see more audacious dreams from Chicagoans
How to find mentors
What is the best bang for your buck networking
Selected Links From The Episode:
Harry Gottlieb, Founder of Jellyvision
Jai Shekhawat, Founder & Former CEO of Fieldglass
Troy Henikoff, Techstars Chicago Managing Director
Mark Achler, VC Math Ventures
Hyde Park Angels
YPO Chicago
ITA
A Few of Amanda's Favorite Books:
A Little Life by by Hanya Yanagihara
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
Avocado