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As a part of the Morning Lazziness sequence about empowering girls who encourage and do unbelievable issues with their concepts in society, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jessica Koosed Etting.
Jessica Koosed Etting is the co-founder and CEO of Jam, a pioneering household calendar app designed to dismantle psychological load and make household life extra environment friendly and equitable. As a mother or father who understands the challenges of contemporary household life, Jessica is dedicated to offering caregivers with instruments to navigate the calls for of every day life.
Jessica boasts over 20 years of expertise in female-forward storytelling. She has bought over a dozen movie and tv initiatives, labored with high feminine expertise in Hollywood and is the creator of six novels. As Jessica transitioned into motherhood, she broadened her profession focus to incorporate extra types of storytelling via branding, content material growth and advertising, in the end partnering along with her sister to create Jam, the instrument she wished she had as a working mother.
Jessica resides in Los Angeles along with her household and might incessantly be discovered looking for her sons’ lacking shin guards.
What impressed you to turn into an entrepreneur within the AI trade, and what led to the creation of your present enterprise?
I didn’t got down to turn into an AI entrepreneur or to create the very best household calendar app…I spent virtually twenty years within the leisure trade, working primarily as a author. As a working mother, nevertheless, I used to be brutally conscious of how difficult it was to juggle the logistics of contemporary household life, how taxing it was, and the way a lot was falling on my shoulders. My sister, who labored in product growth for enterprise-level undertaking administration software program, was dealing with the identical challenges as a mother, and we determined we should always construct the instrument we wished we had. We launched Jam, an AI-powered household administration app that homes all your loved ones’s logistics and acts as an admin assistant for busy dad and mom, on the excellent time to capitalize on the developments in AI, permitting us to construct rapidly and nimbly and ship an thrilling product on the forefront of household and AI.
As a lady in tech and entrepreneurship, what distinctive challenges have you ever confronted, particularly within the AI house, and the way did you navigate them?
It’s difficult constructing an organization that addresses a ache level primarily felt by girls – nearly all of funders and traders are male, and it may be doubly difficult to get them to know each the issue and the way determined the market is for an answer as they don’t seem to be a part of it. (Whereas after we pitch girls, they typically need to understand how rapidly they’ll check it out themselves!) We’re continuously refining our pitch, discovering new methods to speak about Jam and actively making a community for ourselves of mission-aligned traders and supporters.
How do you handle the extreme calls for of constructing an AI-driven enterprise whereas sustaining private well-being and steadiness?
Fortunately, that is precisely what we constructed Jam for! Jam is designed to enhance work-life integration, scale back stress and chaos, and enhance general well-being. Utilizing Jam, I save hours each week i as a result of our household’s programs are in verify: everybody is aware of the schedule, everyone knows what we must get achieved, what must be purchased, who’s answerable for what, and so it streamlines quite a lot of these every day logistics and friction factors on the house entrance, giving me extra time to focus intently whereas I’m at work, or to refill my cup once I’m at dwelling.
What networking methods or communities have helped you most in constructing significant connections within the AI and tech ecosystem?
I’m an enormous fan of feminine tech founder communities, as even throughout completely different verticals, we’re typically dealing with related challenges. We’ve gotten useful introductions to traders, tips about companions and distributors and nitty-gritty operational help from these teams – and we like to pay it ahead as effectively. As well as, the FamTech neighborhood (firms utilizing tech and AI to make household life simpler) is tremendous thrilling to be a part of! All of us have a standard aim of making higher, simpler, more healthy methods to boost your loved ones, which is unifying and provoking.
How do you method mentorship—each receiving it and providing it—and the way has that influenced your progress as a founder on this house?
Early on, earlier than we had even raised a greenback for Jam, we attended our first feminine founder and funder occasion. We had no concept what to anticipate, and have been blown away by the extent of generosity by everybody we met, with affords of experience, mentorship and connections. Because of this, as now we have gained a lot information and expertise in constructing an AI firm, we’re at all times keen to satisfy with these now searching for our experience, and we love connecting fabulous folks.
What methods have confirmed best in buying clients or purchasers in your AI services or products?
We’re agency believers in product-led progress. Our greatest means of buying clients is thru referrals from our clients, companions and associates. When a household is happy about how a lot Jam has helped them get on high of the issues and reduce their psychological load, they naturally share it with different households of their orbit, and that magic viral sharing community occurs.
Which advertising strategies (digital, content material, occasions, and so on.) have labored finest in your model, and the way do you measure their impression?
As we’re a shared digital calendar and group app, we discover that digital Go To Market strategies work finest for Jam, the place folks can click on and begin utilizing it instantly. We like to search out people who find themselves already looking for methods to get organized at dwelling, whether or not within the App Retailer or on Google, because it indicators to us that it is a person who is prepared and excited to make a behavior change. We even have a powerful affiliate and micro-influencer program. The opposite benefit now we have as a digital app is that now we have superb knowledge we are able to proceed to study from – which advert delivered us higher trial conversion, which platform is bringing us clients most definitely to turn into super-users, and so on. We measure impression in some ways, however most significantly is whether or not it improves our general acquisition and engagement metrics.
Are you able to share a serious setback or roadblock in your AI startup journey, and the way you strategically overcame it?
Getting folks to vary habits (and never simply attempt an app) was more durable than we anticipated.
Households don’t need one other instrument…they need much less work. So we needed to design Jam to really feel like a behavior helper, not a homework task. That meant rethinking onboarding, notifications, and what “success” appears like for a drained mother or father. We regarded on the habits of our greatest “super-users”, after which inspired everybody utilizing Jam to undertake them. For instance, we might see that these utilizing Jam with a accomplice have been extra more likely to turn into a super-user, so we pushed everybody to ask their companions to hitch them on Jam extra rapidly. Customers used to attend virtually per week earlier than inviting their companions, however after our onboarding changes, the common time turned below 1 day. Because of this each conversion and engagement rose as effectively.
What’s one piece of recommendation you’d supply to girls who’re simply starting their entrepreneurial journey in AI or rising tech?
It’s an thrilling place to be! Being an entrepreneur will be powerful, nevertheless it’s additionally thrilling and by no means boring. I really feel extraordinarily lucky to have a co-founder that I belief implicitly and who I can face down the challenges with – and benefit from the wins with as effectively! I’d advise anybody who’s going down this highway to significantly think about working with a co-founder to offer your self the very best shot attainable for fulfillment, and to permit for extra progress in a shorter period of time!
Is there a quote, mantra, or philosophy that persistently guides your choices as an AI entrepreneur?
Don’t let excellent get in the best way of the great. My co-founder and I’ve the aim of making the very best household calendar app and we are able to each be perfectionists. Nonetheless, if we held onto that intuition, we’d nonetheless be tinkering and ready to launch the primary model of Jam years later! It’s essential to have the ability to transfer nimbly and be adaptive whenever you’re constructing with AI.
Right here is our predominant query. “What Are The 5 Issues You Want To Overcome Self-Doubt and Construct Confidence?” (If attainable, please share a narrative or instance for each)
1. Construct what you understand is damaged.
For me, confidence didn’t come from having all of the solutions — it got here from being fed up. I knew the invisible labor of operating a family was dragging households (particularly mothers) down, and I couldn’t imagine there wasn’t a instrument that really made it simpler. That frustration turned gasoline. Whenever you’re constructing one thing that solves an issue you’ve lived, it offers you the form of conviction that cuts via doubt.
2. Don’t faux confidence — construct proof.
Within the early days of Jam, I didn’t faux I had all of it discovered, which is what stored me open-minded. I simply stored exhibiting up, asking questions, testing, listening. What gave me confidence was spending hours with beta testers and actual dad and mom utilizing Jam and speaking about household life, understanding that we have been constructing one thing that will work for them. That’s the stuff you maintain onto when imposter syndrome creeps in. Actual suggestions. Actual folks. Actual impression.
3. Have a accomplice within the trenches.
Constructing Jam with my sister Amanda has been a secret weapon. Not simply because she’s sensible, however as a result of she will get it. We steadiness one another out, problem one another, and preserve one another grounded. Confidence grows sooner whenever you’re not carrying the load alone. Whether or not it’s a co-founder, a mentor, or perhaps a person neighborhood — discover the individuals who imagine within the mission as a lot as you do.
4. Keep near the person, not the hype.
The AI house can really feel crowded and loud. What retains me clear and assured is ignoring the noise and specializing in the true people we’re serving — households juggling unimaginable schedules, making an attempt to speak higher, making an attempt to remain sane. Each characteristic we launch, each message we write, each progress technique — it’s all constructed from that lens. That form of focus is confidence you’ll be able to come again to every day.
5. Redefine what ambition appears like.
For too lengthy, ambition has been outlined in ways in which go away dad and mom — particularly moms — out of the narrative. Constructing Jam is about altering that. Confidence, for me, has come from proudly owning that we’re not simply constructing a productiveness app. We’re constructing infrastructure for a extra equal, extra supported, extra human model of household life. And we’re doing it in another way than the established order –which is an efficient factor, not a unfavourable.
Okay, we’re practically achieved. You’re a particular person of nice affect. For those who might encourage a motion that will carry essentially the most quantity of excellent for the best variety of folks, what would that be? You by no means know what your concept can set off.
We are attempting to encourage a motion on daily basis at Jam, the place we are able to scale back the psychological load on households, and notably girls who have a tendency to hold the majority of this burden. How can employers assist enhance life for his or her caregiving staff? What insurance policies will be put in place at each a state and nationwide degree to enhance parental well-being? How can we break down the gender-bias of the psychological load in order that the invisible labor of dwelling life will be simpler and equal?
How can our readers additional observe your work on-line?
Discover us on Instagram at @jamfamilycalendar or go to us at www.jamfamilycalendar.com (Or try Jam within the App Store or Google Play retailer).
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