Lots of people would love to combine a hobby with a paycheck, but not many manage to pull it off. Kaylin Marcotte is one of the lucky few. She joins Startup Savants to discuss launching her jigsaw puzzle startup JIGGY.
- Startup Savants is a business podcast that tells the stories behind up-and-coming startups.
- Kaylin Marcotte joins Startup Savants to discuss launching her jigsaw puzzle startup JIGGY.
- JIGGY is a jigsaw puzzle company that works with artists to turn puzzles into decorative works of art.
From Stress Relief to Startup
Before founding JIGGY, Marcotte worked at another startup called theSkimm. She had never worked at a young company before, and the daily grind started to become really stressful. In 2014, she realized she was officially burned out and needed to make a major change. “I wanted to get away from screens and do something with my hands,” she said during her interview with Startup Savants.
At about the same time, Marcotte realized that she still loved completing jigsaw puzzles, something she had done as a child. But she wasn’t satisfied with the puzzles she saw in toy stores. They “felt really outdated and cheesy – Grandma’s puzzles, stock photography, the same cardboard box,” she said during her interview. So, she thought about how she might reinvent puzzles to make them more engaging and innovative. “This was definitely a slow burn of an idea [that] kept coming back to me, kept taking more and more and more shape,” she said. “And ultimately, what I ended up launching in 2019 was JIGGY.”
Partnering With Artists
JIGGY works with emerging female artists to transform their artwork into beautiful puzzles that are unlike anything typically sold in stores. “Our mission is to get people away from screens, reconnecting with downtime, mindfulness, and then supporting our artist partners [that] we do profit sharing with and get a percentage of every sale,” Marcotte told Startup Savants.
Marcotte grew up in artsy Los Angeles, where her mother was an arts educator. Consequently, she developed a love of art herself. One of her favorite things about JIGGY is that she gets to form relationships with artists and help them monetize their work. “I wanted to make sure from the beginning that we had [paying artists properly] really baked into the business model,” she said during the interview. “A really special aspect is that relationship between the customer puzzle and the artist, where you have studied every detail of their work. And so there’s such an appreciation for the work and an intimacy, because … you feel like part of the creative process with the artists.”
Startup Savants Podcast
The Startup Savants podcast is a business podcast created by The Really Useful Information Company (TRUiC). Listeners can hear the stories behind startups, as told by their founders, who are in the midst of growing their companies.
Ethan, an entrepreneur, and Annaka, a branding expert, host the Startup Savants podcast. They bring disparate skills and life experiences to their interviews, providing listeners with important business insights and a holistic perspective on the startup ecosystem.
Hear from a variety of real startup founders from around the globe and with varying backgrounds about making their startup ideas a reality. Learn from experts sharing their industry knowledge on venture capital, securing funding, and more on the Startup Savants podcast.
Final Thoughts
Kaylin Marcotte joins Annaka and Ethan to share her story about founding JIGGY, a jigsaw puzzle company that collaborates with artists to transform a fun pastime into a decorative work of art. Kaylin touches on her experience creating a product from scratch, imposter syndrome, and leveraging media outlets to grow a community around her brand.
You can find the Startup Savants podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
