Amazon is offering a new service that will make life easier for start-up founders. Amazon Launchpad, announced on Tuesday, creates an “Amazon Launchpad store” that will showcase start-up products and provide the makers with marketing and distribution support.
Start-up products featured in the store include the Soma Sustainable Pitcher and Plant-Based Water Filter, Rumpl High-Performance Indoor/Outdoor Blanket, Casper Mattress, and eero Home Wifi System, among others. So far, the store boasts more than 200 products from more than 25 accelerators, crowd-funding platforms, and venture capital firms.
“We…know from talking to startups that bringing a new product to market successfully can be just as challenging as building it,” Amazon Vice President Jim Adkins said in a press release. The Launchpad aims to smooth over that process by taking care of order fulfillment and customer service for start-ups. As a part of the launchpad, start-ups can offer their Amazon Prime customers free shipping.
“Amazon Launchpad gives customers access to a dedicated storefront featuring a variety of innovative new products from emerging brands. For startups, we handle inventory management, order fulfillment, customer service, and more, allowing them to focus their efforts on the innovation that results in more cool products,” Adkins said.