Shutterstock: Capturing Tomorrow's Visions, Today

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Now to our story of the day — Shutterstock and what can we learn from this.

It all began with an $800 Canon camera and has expanded now to a whopping $1.36 billion. We are talking about the tech company Shutterstock, which started 20 years ago with zero funding and 30,000 photos to a publicly listed company today. Shutterstock was the first of its kind in the digital property space founded by Jon Oringer, an American entrepreneur and programmer. Let us scoop up some lessons from one of the most successful startups that were not funded by investors until very late in their growth trajectory.

Business Model

With over 30,000 photos he clicked in his first $800 camera, he created a website and uploaded them. With good quality images needed in the digital space on the rise, people were grabbing his photos for a price soon. Also, with affordable digital cameras on the rise and professional photographers on the rise, he initiated the creation of a contributors community.

He started generating revenue from monthly or yearly subscription models where buyers could download a certain number of images for a price. The seller or the contributor also gets between 25 cents to a few dollars a download, depending on the type of account they have opted for.

Pricing

Shutterstock provides an extensive collection of top-notch stock images, videos, music tracks, and editorial content at reasonable prices, with adaptable subscription plans. The user-friendly platform offers efficient search and discovery tools, giving customers the ability to locate the ideal content for various purposes, including digital marketing, website design, editorial content, advertising, and corporate presentations.

Their pricing has been devised keeping, both the customer and the seller in mind. They also have multiple customisable options based on requirements for individuals and businesses.

How They Managed Funds In the Early Days

Whenever a skill was required for the business, he learned it and did it himself. When he needed photographs, he became a photographer. When he had to answer customer emails, he did. He programmed and designed his website meticulously, ensuring user-friendliness and visual appeal. When contributors started coming in, he made it accessible globally, benefiting people worldwide. From there, there was no looking back for them.

Current Scenario

With the advent of AI-generated images and competitors like Stock Adobe, Canva, etc., offering similar quality images for more competitive prices, the company has seen a dip in its sales. If it takes advantage of the technologies available and augments its search algorithm, it will stay on top of its game. For example, they already have the AI image generator feature on their platform.

Revenue

Conclusion

Shutterstock's journey from an $800 investment to a billion-dollar empire stands as a testament to the power of entrepreneurial vision and relentless determination. Jon Oringer's ability to foresee the digital landscape's needs and adapt swiftly propelled Shutterstock to unparalleled heights. The company's success lies not only in its vast collection of high-quality media but also in its resilience to embrace change and innovation. As they navigate the challenges posed by evolving technologies, their legacy of pioneering the stock media industry remains an inspiration for startups worldwide.

News Roundup For the Week

Metropolis, An AI-Powered Parking Platform to Acquire Sp Plus

AI-powered parking platform Metropolis today announced that it raised $1.7 billion to acquire SP Plus, a provider of parking facility management services, in a combination of equity and debt. This is a big leap for them to execute their vision of a seamless parking experience for users. The combined platform will seek to bring checkout-free payment experiences to consumers. For further details click here.

Ten Key Labs aims to Dust-off few tons of weight off Startups

Amar Varma, a three-time entrepreneur and a VC, found that founders have to handle an outsize amount of the management and accounting work manually, and often end up complicating rather than streamlining back-of-office processes. So Varma has launched Ten Key Labs, a platform that taps AI to reduce the burden of managing company equity stakes across platforms. For more details check here.

Consumer brand accelerator SuperOrdinary gets $58M Series B at $800M valuation

Los Angeles-based startup SuperOrdinary has raised $58 million in Series B funding, boosting its valuation to $800 million. The company assists beauty and skincare brands like Olaplex and Farmacy in scaling on platforms such as Amazon and breaking into the Chinese market. SuperOrdinary also offers services like global expansion, Amazon account management, brand protection, and social commerce creator monetization. Read more.