Founder Spotlight: Jie Feng, Ph.D., KELLS

At Founder Forward, we’re proud to champion visionary founders who are transforming industries and creating lasting impact. Today, we’re highlighting Jie Feng Ph.D, the founder of KELLS, a modern dental benefits platform on a mission to make oral health smarter, more transparent, and more affordable.

We’re excited to share his story as part of our commitment to uplifting founders who are not only job creators, but community leaders paving the way for healthier, more equitable futures.

What is KELLS, and what is the company's mission?

KELLS is a modern dental benefits platform. We combine AI-powered virtual care with a nationwide provider network that offers upfront transparent pricing and big discounts (25 to 85%), so people can get the dental care they need without the cost and confusion of traditional insurance. Our mission is simple: make dental care smarter, transparent, and more affordable for everyone.

What inspired you to start KELLS?

Dental benefits are broken for almost everyone. For patients, it’s expensive, confusing, and often reactive, people wait until it hurts, then face huge bills. For employers, traditional dental insurance hasn’t changed in decades. It’s a one-size-fits-all model that doesn’t meet individual needs and lacks the digital experience today’s employees expect. For providers, the system is full of paperwork, delays, and opaque rules. With my background in AI and building products at companies like Amazon, I knew there was a better way. The goal wasn’t to reinvent dentistry itself, but to reinvent the experience around it, making it proactive, transparent, and digital-first so people actually use it, catch issues early, and avoid high-cost treatments.

At Founder Forward, our goal is to support founders to be job creators and community leaders. Do you see yourself as a community leader and how do you approach that role? 

I see “community” in two perspectives. First, there’s the local founder and small business community, where sharing what I’ve learned and especially the mistakes I’ve made can hopefully make someone else’s journey easier. Then there’s the dental and healthtech community, where I feel a responsibility to push for solutions that put people first, not just the bottom line. For me, leadership isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room, it’s about showing an exciting future and bringing people together to solve real problems.

We're grateful for your generous offer to the Founder Forward community-to onboard onto the platform at a discounted rate- especially knowing that dental insurance is not designed for small businesses. Why do you believe it's important for small businesses to be able to provide benefits to their employees? 

Because benefits are a big part of feeling valued at work. Small businesses often can’t afford the traditional “big company” benefit packages, but that doesn’t mean their teams don’t deserve them. Dental insurance especially is outdated, it hasn’t evolved in decades, still runs on a one-size-fits-all model, and lacks the strong digital experience today’s employees expect. Poor oral health affects overall health, productivity, and even confidence. If we can make it possible for small businesses to offer quality, modern dental care at a fraction of the cost, we’re leveling the playing field.

How did the Founder Forward sprint series grant support your work in building KELLS?

That grant came at a perfect time. The mentorship we got through the program was incredibly helpful. It pushed us to think harder on go-to-market strategy and product fit at a stage where every decision counts. More importantly, it reminded me that there’s a community rooting for us. Being part of the sprint series also connected me to other founders who understand the rollercoaster ride of building something from scratch, that’s been invaluable.

To receive a special discount to onboard onto KELLS:

Community Members and Stakeholder  - please complete this form to receive a special discount code.

Founder Forward Founders (former Founder Forward grantees) - please complete this form for an exclusive offer for founders in our network.

To learn more about KELLS visit https://www.getkells.com/!