If Joe Fernandez sounds a bit joyless lately, it’s understandable.
The 42-year-old co-founder of Joymode, a subscription rental service for general merchandise, just laid off 80 percent of his staff and spent the month of January liquidating his company’s massive inventory: a Mary Poppins–style 50,000-plus-item grab bag including (but not limited to) lawn chairs, Vitamix blenders, leaf blowers, movie projectors, and Nintendo Switches.
Inspired by the lack of space in urban dwellings, Fernandez launched Joymode in 2015 alongside co-founders Waynn Lue and Keith Walker. The company positioned itself as the post-consumerist alternative to Amazon, promising subscribers a way to rent random products and niche experiences—like a movie night, complete with theater-style popcorn machines—without accumulating more stuff.
In November 2017, when Joymode closed its Series A round, investors were enthusiastic about the rental business. In a press release at the time, Mike Katz, head of U.S. investing at Naspers Ventures, noted that renting represents a generational shift toward decluttering, calling Joymode’s potential in the trillion-dollar recreational space “almost unlimited.” And, in the years since, the rental industry has seen an explosion of growth (as shown in the timeline starting on the next page).
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Karen Dillon Congratulations on Your Company's Big Success. So Now, Let Me Ask- Are You Happy? - Happiness is actually contagious. The Framingham Heart Study-the longest ongoing study of heart health in the world, which has tracked aspects of participants' lives for more than 75 years-found that being in the presence of someone who is happy is likely to spur happiness in yourself.
For Jeremy Kasler, founder and CEO of CaskX, the pandemic offered an unexpected opportunity to reset his life. Having sold his previous company, Hong Kong-based Art Futures Group, which paired midcareer artists with investors, the native Brit planned to spend some time reconnecting with family in Australia as he got his new startup off the ground. The new business, which helps individual investors purchase barrels (or casks) of bourbon and Scotch from distilleries in the U.S. and Scotland, was still in its early days when Kasler arrived in Sydney just a day before the country went into lockdown. I kind of got stuck there, he recalls. But in hindsight, it was one of the best things that could have happened to him-and his new company.
AI Is in Its Awkward Era - Companies on this year's Inc. 5000 detail their growing pains, as investors expand their understanding of AI beyond chatbots and generative art.
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Chip Conley Human wisdom is more valuable than ever. But true wisdom requires these six skills- When management theorist Peter Drucker coined the term knowledge workers in 1959, most people had no idea what he was talking about.
When management theorist Peter Drucker coined the term knowledge workers in 1959, most people had no idea what he was talking about. Since then, knowledge workers have come to rule the world. Today, seven of the world's 10 most valuable companies are tech companies, the ultimate workplace for knowledge workers.
Managing the Future of Work Isn't an Easy Job
Hirings and firings, layoffs and resignations. The workforce is experiencing never-ending upheaval, and HR professionals are pivoting fast.
Power Players
The future of energy is greenand smells like oil. Whatever the political fights, our demand for juice is rising fast, and Inc. 5000 companies are ready to meet it.
"WE HAD 10 EMPLOYEES, AND 25 LAWSUITS"
Hoan Ton-That, the controversial co-founder and CEO of Clearview Al, is confident that past scrutiny won't stop his company from netting $2 billion a year in revenue.
Marketers Hope the Odds Are Ever in Their Favor
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How I Used AI to Solve a Pharmaceutical Puzzle
Yoona Kim, 44, wanted to help people access health care.
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