Joan Barnes
Joan Barnes is the founder and former CEO of Gymboree, an early childhood brand she started in 1976 with $3,000. What began as a single play center in California expanded into a global empire with 600 franchises. Barnes stepped down to focus on recovery and later co-authored "Play It Forward".
Joan Barnes's Bio
Joan Barnes was born in suburban Chicago and earned her B.A. in dance and English from Briarcliff College in New York. In 1973, newly a mother fresh off a cross-country road trip in a Volkswagen bus, she settled in Mill Valley, California — where she still lives today.
She started hosting weekly playgroups for local parents and demand grew quickly. Barnes saw a gap no one else had noticed: early childhood development as a real market. In 1976, she founded Gymboree in a San Francisco church basement with $3,000 — a play center helping parents and toddlers connect through movement and music. By 1986, Gymboree had opened a children's clothing chain. The 1993 IPO was one of the most successful consumer offerings of the decade, and the brand grew into a global operation.
But Barnes was privately fighting an eating disorder and exercise addiction. Those struggles eventually forced her out of the company. She left Gymboree before Bain Capital acquired it for $1.8 billion in 2010.
She rebuilt on her own terms, founding YogaStudio in San Francisco — acquired by YogaWorks in late 2008. YogaWorks itself sold for $50 million in 2014. She also launched Begin from Within through Jewish Family and Children's Services of San Francisco, supporting people with food and body image issues. In 2016, she published Play It Forward: From Gymboree to the Yoga Mat and Beyond, released for Gymboree's 40th anniversary. Today she mentors young women entrepreneurs and still hikes Mount Tam.
Career Timeline
1973 — Moved to Mill Valley, California
Relocated from suburban Chicago to Mill Valley, California after a cross-country road trip in a Volkswagen bus, newly a mother.
1976 — Founded Gymboree
Opened first Gymboree play center in a San Francisco church basement with $3,000, offering movement- and music-based early childhood programs for parents and toddlers.
1986 — Gymboree launched children's clothing retail
Gymboree opened a chain of children's clothing stores, expanding from play centers into retail and beginning its transformation into a global brand.
1993 — Led Gymboree IPO
Took Gymboree public in one of the most successful consumer IPOs of the decade, cementing its position as an early childhood development leader.
2008 — Founded YogaStudio; acquired by YogaWorks
Founded YogaStudio in San Francisco, pioneering a mainstream yoga lifestyle approach. YogaWorks acquired the chain later that year.
2010 — Bain Capital acquired Gymboree
Bain Capital acquired Gymboree for $1.8 billion. Barnes had left the company prior to the sale.
2014 — YogaWorks sold for $50 million
YogaWorks, the chain that had acquired Barnes' YogaStudio, was itself sold for $50 million.
2016 — Published Play It Forward
Released memoir Play It Forward: From Gymboree to the Yoga Mat and Beyond (Agate Publishing), coinciding with Gymboree's 40th anniversary.
