The Committed Innovator
Closing the gap between innovation and go-to-market, with AWS’s Jelena Joffe Weil
Feb 12, 2025
Jelena Joffe Weil, founder and leader of the Venture Innovation program at AWS, discusses pivotal strategies for connecting startups with large enterprises. She highlights the importance of collaboration in innovative ventures and shares insights on overcoming challenges from pilot projects to full-scale implementation. The conversation also explores change management in adopting new technologies, including a fascinating case study on NASA’s remote health monitoring for astronauts. Lastly, she emphasizes patient-centric strategies in healthcare innovation.
31:48
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Quick takeaways
- AWS’s Venture Innovation program connects startups and enterprises to foster collaborative innovation that addresses specific business needs.
- Effective partnerships between large enterprises and startups are crucial for overcoming procurement challenges and enhancing innovation outcomes.
Deep dives
Role of Venture Innovation at Amazon
The venture innovation team at Amazon Web Services plays a crucial role in connecting startups with enterprise customers to foster collaboration and innovation. Rather than selecting specific ventures, they leverage a large global team to understand the ecosystems and match startups with enterprises’ needs. This approach is grounded in the belief that startups seek not just funding, but access to decision-makers and the opportunity to provide solutions to existing gaps within enterprises. By implementing a structured method through the Venture Innovation Program, Amazon aims to create meaningful partnerships that drive innovation on both sides.
