A Subscription Service For What You Don’t Need to Own: Joymode Raises $14m Series A

February 5, 2018

Last week Joymode announced its Series A financing in a pretty detailed TechCrunch article. It’s not often you see a reporter really dig into what makes a startup work, especially when the model is new, and for some, a bit unintuitive. But the idea of having access, via a subscription service, to stuff you want but don’t need to own makes a lot of sense when you start to look at the underused items in your closet/garage/etc. and at all the other things you would try or purchase if they were effectively 1/10th the price.

As the TechCrunch article explains, “ ‘You pay for a membership to access to this economy and then you pay for access to the goods,’ [Joymode CEO Joe] Fernandez told me as we walked through the company’s modest warehouse. Think of it like a Costco, but instead of owning, members get access for even a fraction of what an item would cost at even one of those discount warehouse retailers.”

We led Joymode’s seed round based on the strength of this vision and the founding team. The team’s execution of its vision has been a joy to watch. And now it’s a thrill to welcome Naspers Ventures to the company as the lead investor in the $14 million Series A financing.

If you live in Los Angeles, give Joymode a try (and they’re hiring!).