Joymode

Cover Block

Field	Value
Name	Joymode
Tagline	Subscription service for renting gear and equipment to enable offline experiences like camping or movie nights
Headquarters	Los Angeles, United States
Founded	2015
Stage	Series A (acquired July 2020)
Business Model	B2C
Industry	E-commerce / Retail
Technology Type	No core technology component
Geography	North America
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Repeat Founder
Funding Label	Series A
Total Disclosed	~$17.4M across Seed and Series A

Links

• Crunchbase: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/joymode
• Yelp (LA storefront): https://www.yelp.com/biz/joymode-los-angeles

Executive Summary

Joymode is a Los Angeles consumer rental company founded in 2015 that built a subscription service around the idea that households should be able to access camping gear, party equipment, projectors, and other occasional-use goods without owning them [TechCrunch, Jan 2018]. The company was started by Joe Fernandez, the co-founder of social-influence platform Klout, and attracted institutional capital from Naspers Ventures, which led a $14.4 million Series A in January 2018 [Crunchbase, Jan 2018]. The thesis was that a Rent the Runway-style model could extend beyond fashion into general merchandise, offering roughly 50% per-reservation margins on a curated catalog of experience kits [Startups I Like]. By early 2020 the operating reality had diverged from the thesis: Joymode laid off roughly 80% of its staff and liquidated more than 50,000 inventory items in January of that year [Inc, Apr 2020]. In July 2020, retail-focused accelerator and investment firm XRC Labs acquired the company and pivoted it toward retail partnerships, with Fernandez staying on in an advisory capacity [TechCrunch, Jul 2020]. For investors evaluating today's circular-economy and access-over-ownership categories, Joymode is a primary-source case study in the unit economics of physical-goods subscription.

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Confirmed by Crunchbase, TechCrunch, and Inc.

Taxonomy Snapshot

Axis	Value
Stage	Series A; acquired July 2020
Business Model	B2C subscription / rental
Industry / Vertical	E-commerce, sharing economy, general merchandise rental
Technology Type	Operations and logistics, no proprietary core tech disclosed
Geography	North America (Los Angeles metro)
Growth Profile	Venture Scale (pre-acquisition)
Founding Team	Repeat Founder (Joe Fernandez, ex-Klout)
Funding	~$17.4M disclosed across Seed and Series A

How the Company Got Here

Joymode was founded in the summer of 2015 in downtown Los Angeles by Joe Fernandez, who had previously built and sold social-scoring company Klout [Crunchbase][TechCrunch, Oct 2016]. The pitch was to provide access to curated bundles for delivery,such as projectors, tents, or karaoke machines,rather than individual SKUs [Los Angeles Times, Oct 2016].

The company raised a $3 million seed round in October 2016 and followed it with a $14.4 million Series A in January 2018 led by Naspers Ventures [Crunchbase, Oct 2016][Crunchbase, Jan 2018]. Through 2018 and 2019 the company operated a warehouse-and-delivery model in Los Angeles, with reported per-reservation margins of around 50% [Startups I Like].

In January 2020, Joymode liquidated more than 50,000 inventory items and laid off approximately 80% of staff [Inc, Apr 2020]. In July 2020, New York-based retail accelerator and investment firm XRC Labs acquired Joymode, with Fernandez continuing as an advisor and the company repositioning around retail partnerships [TechCrunch, Jul 2020][Crunchbase, Jul 2020][SoCalTech, Jul 2020].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Confirmed by Crunchbase, TechCrunch, Inc., and SoCalTech.

Product and Technology

Joymode's product was a membership-based rental catalog organized around experience-themed bundles. The operational core was a single Los Angeles warehouse holding the 50,000-plus item inventory [Inc, Apr 2020]. Public sources do not describe a proprietary technology stack or marketplace platform licensed to third parties. Following the July 2020 acquisition by XRC Labs, the asset was repositioned around retail partnerships, suggesting the surviving value lay in the rental-operations playbook and brand [TechCrunch, Jul 2020]. A separate company, JOYMODE, operates a men's wellness supplements brand at usejoymode.com and is a distinct entity [LinkedIn].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Product features confirmed by TechCrunch and the Los Angeles Times; technology details are sparse in public sources.

Market Research and Opportunity

Joymode pursued the intersection of subscription commerce, the sharing economy, and circular consumption. The most direct comparable is Rent the Runway, which TechCrunch cited as the proof point for the Joymode Series A thesis [TechCrunch, Jan 2018]. Demand drivers included urban consumers' constrained storage, the frequency of one-off social experiences, and a generational softening of the equation between status and ownership [Los Angeles Times, Oct 2016] [TechCrunch, Jan 2018].

Metric	Value
Per-reservation gross margin	~50%
Inventory liquidated, January 2020	50,000+ items
Staff reduction, early 2020	~80%
Series A capital raised	$14.4M

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Operational metrics confirmed by Inc. and TechCrunch; market sizing not independently quantified in cited sources.

Competitive Landscape

Joymode operated in a competitive set including traditional party and event rental businesses, big-box and hardware-store rental programs (e.g., Home Depot), peer-to-peer platforms, and outright purchase from low-cost online retailers. Joymode's edge was curation and last-mile experience, though this was not protected by software or network effects. The most plausible 18-month scenario for the post-acquisition asset is a repositioning of the Joymode operational playbook as a service offered to retailers [TechCrunch, Jul 2020].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitive set inferred from cited press; no head-to-head competitor named in captured sources.

Opportunity

For a reader evaluating the rental-and-access category, the opportunity tied to the Joymode story is the operational asset and lessons-learned inside a larger retail platform. XRC Labs' strategy at the time of the July 2020 acquisition was to pivot the company toward retail partnerships [TechCrunch, Jul 2020].

Scenario	What happens	Catalyst
Retail back-end	Joymode becomes the rental-operations layer for national retailers	Partnership with an XRC-network retailer
Local event-rental specialist	The brand consolidates as a Los Angeles event and party rental business	Continued local demand at the Hope Street location
Brand revival under new owner	A future owner relaunches a focused DTC subscription	New capital and a category-narrowed catalog

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Scenarios grounded in cited acquisition coverage and operational metrics; forward outcomes are inherently uncertain.

Sources

1. [Crunchbase] Joymode - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/joymode
2. [TechCrunch, Oct 2016] Klout's Joe Fernandez is back with Joymode, an equipment rental startup with a focus on experiences | https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/21/joymode-launch/
3. [Los Angeles Times, Oct 2016] Need Halloween decorations or camping gear? L.A. startup Joymode wants to be the Uber of that. | https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-la-tech-20161024-snap-htmlstory.html
4. [TechCrunch, Jan 2018] Inside Joymode, a subscription service saving you from buying all of the things | https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/31/inside-joymode-a-subscription-service-saving-you-from-buying-all-of-the-things/
5. [Crunchbase, Jan 2018] Series A - Joymode - 2018-01-31 - Crunchbase Funding Round Profile | https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/joymode-series-a--d4bf34e6
6. [Crunchbase, Oct 2016] Joymode Seed round | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/joymode
7. [Daily News, Jan 2020] Joymode transitioning its rentals from online to brick and mortar | https://www.dailynews.com/2020/01/09/joymode-transitioning-its-rentals-from-online-to-brick-and-mortar/
8. [Inc, Apr 2020] This Serial Entrepreneur Tried to Build the Amazon of Rentals. Now, He Needs to Sell Fast | https://www.inc.com/magazine/202004/diana-ransom/joymode-subscription-rental-merchandise-sharing-economy.html
9. [TechCrunch, Jul 2020] LA's consumer goods rental service, Joymode, sells to the NYC retail investment firm, XRC Labs | https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/29/las-consumer-goods-rental-service-joymode-sells-to-the-nyc-retail-investment-firm-xrc-labs/
10. [Crunchbase, Jul 2020] XRC Labs acquires Joymode | https://www.crunchbase.com/acquisition/xrclabs-acquires-joymode--008b8d57
11. [SoCalTech, Jul 2020] Joymode Acquired By XRC Labs | https://www.socaltech.com/joymode_acquired_by_xrc_labs/s-0080163.html
12. [Global Legal Chronicle, Aug 2020] XRC Labs' Acquisition of Joymode | https://globallegalchronicle.com/xrc-labs-acquisition-of-joymode/
13. [Yelp, Jan 2026] JOYMODE - 1200 S Hope St, Los Angeles, California | https://www.yelp.com/biz/joymode-los-angeles
14. [Startups I Like] Joymode | https://www.startupsilike.com/blog/joymode
15. [ZoomInfo] Joymode - Overview, News & Similar companies | https://www.zoominfo.com/c/joymode-inc/370754682
16. [CBInsights] Joymode - Products, Competitors, Financials, Employees, Headquarters Locations | https://www.cbinsights.com/company/joymode
17. [LinkedIn] JOYMODE company page | https://www.linkedin.com/company/usejoymode