The funding round was led by Valor Siren Ventures with participation by Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary’s Sound Ventures, Zola Global, Avalon Ventures, and Sierra Ventures
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Joy‘s explosive organic growth and modern take on wedding planning enabled the company to raise $20 million in new funding, bringing the company’s total funding to $46.5 million. The round was led by Valor Siren Ventures, and joined by Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary’s Sound Ventures, Zola Global, Avalon Ventures, and Sierra Ventures.
Joy has seen over 100 percent growth year-over-year among U.S. couples, a trend likely to continue through 2021 and 2022.
“We are modernizing wedding planning by building smarter software that is beautiful and simple to use. The validation that couples love our approach is in the growth we’ve experienced each year through word-of-mouth without any marketing spend,” said Vishal Joshi, Co-Founder and CEO of Joy. “We started with wedding websites and intuitive planning tools, and are now reimagining the registry experience.”
Joy’s All-in-One Registry offers the flexibility today’s couples seek. Whether that means registering for items from local businesses or artisans; direct-to-consumer brands or classic registry staples; cash funds, experiences, or charitable donations; couples can do it all using Joy. On top of that, Joy is the only registry that offers zero-fee cash funds, saving couples and their loved ones hundreds of dollars in fees on cash gifts.
Joy’s registry has seen double digit week-over-week growth and nearly 90 percent month-over-month growth of guests giving gifts through the Joy platform since launching this spring. Additionally, Joy couples are using Joy registry more than the next five registry providers combined. Joy has already surpassed Amazon in average registry value.
“Joy offers beautifully-designed wedding websites, Save the Dates, and invitations, but its deep technology is its true differentiator and a game changer for the wedding space,” said Jon Shulkin, Partner and Fund Manager at Valor Siren Ventures. “We believe in the power of a strong product and are confident that Joy is poised to change not only the wedding industry, but make its mark on all major life celebrations in the future.”
“Joy is the perfect example of a really thoughtful product making a massive difference in the customer experience. I wish it was around for my wedding and am thankful it exists for my friends’ weddings,” said Ashton Kutcher, Co-Founder of Sound Ventures.
“As a music manager, I’ve been part of some of the most elaborate productions and yet it can still be less stressful than the production of getting married and all that comes with it. Joy makes that process and journey seamless and enjoyable,” said Guy Oseary, Co-Founder of Sound Ventures.
“It is rare to see a company achieve the size and scale of Joy almost completely from organic growth,” said Rich Levandov, Founding Partner of Avalon Ventures. “We’ve watched Joy’s viral growth first-hand and know this is only the beginning. We can’t wait to see Joy’s story unfold as it moves into the registry space.”
“Joy’s intuitive design has created authentic and joyous experiences for its couples, leading to massive organic growth and customer satisfaction. I’m excited to see this converting into revenue for the company,” said Brady Bohrmann, Managing Director at Avalon Ventures.
“Joy is not only the best solution for couples, but for their wedding guests. Features like the travel Booking Assistant, map and ride-sharing integrations, and technology that delivers a custom view of the couple’s wedding event schedule and RSVP questions to each guest based on which events they are invited to, deliver an unparalleled experience. We have been very impressed by the attention to detail throughout the product, as Joy anticipates every need couples and their guests may have,” said Tarik Ouass, Partner at Zola Global Investors.
“I was so excited to start wedding planning after I got engaged, then reality hit with how frustrating the process can be. A friend suggested I try Joy, and planning my wedding went from being a chore to a delight,” said Maaria Bajwa, Investor at Sound Ventures. “Joy’s tools are easy to use, flexible, and beautifully designed. I loved Joy so much as a customer and a bride that I knew Sound had to invest!”
Joy’s ability to alleviate the pain points of wedding planning for couples and their guests has garnered trust and investments from the likes of Grammy-award winning singer Justin Timberlake, sports legends Joe Montana and Prince Amukamara, and seasoned investors like Y Combinator, Fuel Capital, Zeno Ventures, Ace Ventures, and Olive Tree Capital, among others.
The new funding will enable the company to double its investment in product and headcount, expand its All-in-One Registry to bring beloved brands onto Joy, and pave the path toward Joy becoming the go-to platform for planning all of life’s celebratory occasions.
Media Inquiries:
Katie Brownstein, Director of Communications
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About Joy
Joy is a wedding company that gives couples a smarter way to plan their big day. Using Joy, couples can create a beautifully-designed wedding website and mobile app, build their All-in-One Registry, manage guest lists and RSVPs, send online or printed Save the Dates, invitations and eCards, provide travel and accommodations options for guests, host virtual wedding events, create a shared virtual wedding album and virtual guest book, and more.
Wedding guests can purchase registry gifts, book travel plans and accommodations, get directions to wedding events via a Google Maps integration, order a ride to wedding events via ride-sharing integrations, add wedding events to their calendar with a click, and more.
Based in San Francisco, Joy launched in 2016 through Y Combinator. Visit withjoy.com and follow @withjoy to see why couples around the world are planning their weddings with Joy.
SOURCE: Joy
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