Jon Oringer

“As I saw more and more people buying the images that were happy buyers, and people selling the images that were happy with how the market was pricing them, I started to get the sense this could be the go-to place for businesses to get the images they need.”

“Offset and Skillfeed are examples of products launched in 2013 that have expanded our opportunity with both large enterprises and across new content types.”

“I hear so many startups talking about how they can raise VC instead of questioning whether they need it in the first place.”

“Nobody is opposed to paying taxes; governments need to coordinate, work together and simplify the law.”

“I started Shutterstock without any outside funding; I believe in creating a lean startup. By not taking outside investors early, I was forced to use every dollar I had as efficiently as possible. And I was able to keep a large part of the company.”

“We look for the scrappy entrepreneur: the kind of person who will get things done without looking to spend money right away.”

“There is a lack of talent in technology, and we need to be encouraging kids in school to learn how to code. We need to encourage computer science as a major. We need to encourage entrepreneurism.”

“Offset is helping to expand our relationship with large enterprises and serve a broader set of imaging.”

“As I started college, I started to build software products that I could sell to people over the Web.”

“I wanted a CFO with public company experience; I needed an HR department, new office space, and a board which could help me grow the business. Insight, the private equity firm I chose, helped me with all that.”

“In the early days, start-ups make the main mistake of hiring people to do the work that they could do themselves.”

“As we continue to grow, the question is, how do you keep the company as innovative as it was 15 employees ago?”

“Every time someone downloads a picture, the photographers get paid about 30% of what we charge.”

“I found it very helpful not to do the venture round. Instead, I started with very little money, a few thousand dollars, and I did every job myself. I was the first photographer. I was the first customer service rep. I was the first online marketing person.”

“Working with limited resources is an excellent way to hone skills that will serve you well for the rest of your career. You will prioritize profitability from the start.”

“Equally important to having the right content is providing the proper tools for the users so they can quickly find the images and videos they need.”

“We recognized early on that media consumption was evolving and customers were looking for moving images to include as part of their advertising campaigns, website designs and corporate presentations.”

“I don't own a helicopter because I want someone to bring me places quickly. I own it because it's an incredible machine that I like to fly and learn about. I like the complexity of it.”

“Shutterstock has evolved from an image-based marketplace for small businesses to a much broader platform, with a large and expanding addressable market opportunity.”

“Any business that is trying to sell something should be willing to spend a couple dollars for a stock photo to not have ads in it and not distract the user from using the product they're trying to sell.”