Employee Benefits Platform Jellybean Raises $350K in Pre-Seed Funding Round

Jellybean, a personalised employee benefits and rewards management startup, has successfully raised $350K in a pre-seed funding round.

The funding was led by clutch of investors, including Paradigm Shift Capital and Sunn91 Ventures, with participation from MarsShot Ventures (Razorpay Founders), Vaibhav Vardhan, Saurabh Nigam (VP-Human Capital, Omidyar Network) and Sumanth Narayanan - Business head, Akamai India.

Founded in 2022 by serial entrepreneur Naren Krishna, Bhavesh Upadhyay and Ganesha Gampa, Jellybean aims to transform the way organisations design, manage, and streamline employee benefits.

Ranging from health insurance and tax benefits to wellness and fringe benefits, as well as one-time rewards, the platform offers a unique solution that allows companies to provide employees with personalised choices, eliminating administrative hassles.

“We are thrilled to have received this significant investment by industry leaders in our pre-seed funding round. The funding will be utilised to strengthen our product and facilitate expansion into new offerings,” said Naren Krishna, Co-founder and CEO, Jellybean.

Prior to Co-founding Jellybean, Naren held the position of Business Head at Scaler. He has also founded Stockroom.io, a Talent Assessment & diversity hiring Platform. He was also part of the founding team of Inc42, an online media portal dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship and the startup ecosystem in India.

Naren added that the company was also working on leveraging AI to enhance personalisation capabilities. “Our aim is to address the challenges faced by companies when providing employee benefits to a diverse, multigenerational workforce. We aim to make employee benefits more inclusive and meaningful by offering flexibility, customization, and personalization options," he said.


Likewise, Surabhi Washishth, Founding Partner at Paradigm Shift Capital, lauded Jellybean's fresh approach to employee benefits.

“From my time as the Director of HR at WeWork and Headout where I've crafted many benefits policies, I can see how Jellybean's solution is a no-brainer solution for any employer that wants to provide truly meaningful benefits to their team, while taking away the administrative hassle of managing benefits,” she said.

“In today's day and age, a one-size-fits-all mentality does not work in attracting and retaining great talent - and Jellybean solves exactly that.”


With over 100+ benefits across various categories like health, fitness, mental wellness, learning & development, lifestyle & entertainment, F&B, Commute, and Pet Care, Jellybean’s marketplace allows employees to choose the benefits that align with their specific needs. Jellybean has already achieved a significant milestone in its journey to transform employee benefits.

The startup currently caters to an annualised Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of over $500K in employee benefits, demonstrating the market demand.

According to Glassdoor’s Employment Confidence Survey, about 60% of people report that benefits and perks are a major factor in considering whether to accept a job offer.


The survey also found that 80% of employees would choose additional benefits over a pay raise, underscoring the significance of tailoring benefits to individual needs and preferences.

With the successful pre-seed funding round, Jellybean is well-positioned to propel its vision of becoming a total rewards super app. - TWL Bureau