# Persist

> Persist is a Los Angeles venture studio and capital platform that turns startup ideas into operating companies by pairing aspiring founders with build challenges, salaries, equity, shared services and an advisor network. Its Startupathon program makes execution the audition: candidates ship an MVP, receive feedback and can earn a leadership role in the resulting venture. The studio says it has launched 30 companies across AI, robotics, recruiting, consumer software and crypto.

- **Founded:** 2017
- **Headquarters:** Los Angeles, United States
- **Founders:** Jackson Jesionowski (Jack Jay) (Founder; former Persist leadership, now CEO of Open Droids)
- **Team size:** Approximately 170 employees in supplied company data; LinkedIn has listed the company in the 201-500 employee band
- **Products:** Venture Studio, Startupathon, Founder Fellowship, Partner Services, Portfolio Platform
- **Notable:** Persist reports 30 studio companies launched., Persist reports a $117 million net asset value across its holdings., The company reports a 400-person advisor network.

## Products & services

- **Venture Studio** — Company formation, hands-on execution, strategic capital, recruiting, design, engineering, marketing and advisor access for new ventures.
- **Startupathon** — Challenge-based founder selection in which candidates build an MVP, receive review feedback and may earn salary, equity and leadership of the venture.
- **Founder Fellowship** — A supported route for founders to propose or select an idea and receive tailored learning, mentorship, practical experience and studio resources.
- **Partner Services** — Fee-based recruiting, development, marketing, SEO, press, design and other agency services, with referral and potential joint-venture economics.
- **Portfolio Platform** — A collection of ventures spanning robotics, AI applications, recruiting, creator tools, education, social products and Web3.

## Achievements

- Persist reports 30 studio companies launched.
- Persist reports a $117 million net asset value across its holdings.
- The company reports a 400-person advisor network.
- Persist says its portfolio has generated 67 billion impressions.
- Its earlier LinkedIn profile said the studio had exited two companies since its 2017 founding.
- Face Search AI is described by Persist as serving more than one million users.
- Startupathon lists more than 20 completed founder challenges.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Persist listed the RETVRN Startupathon challenge with an initial funding offer of $61,500 and a May 2026 application deadline.
- **2026-03** — Startupathon pages showed active challenges including Tutor AI, AudioSync AI, Roblox Vibe Coding, Present OS and a hotel voice-concierge concept.
- **2025-09** — A founder video described Startupathon as a way to connect technical talent in India with founders, investors and projects in AI, crypto and robotics.
- **2025-03** — Persist announced on LinkedIn that Shorts.lol had been funded through its Founder Incubator program.
- **2024-10** — Jackson Jesionowski discussed Persist's thesis of building a bridge to overlooked founder talent in a public talk shared on LinkedIn.

## Links

- Website: https://persist.org/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/persist-ventures/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/persistventures
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@persistventures
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/persistventures/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/persist
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-16