Shutterstock: 9 colorful ideas that turned a failed entrepreneur with $800 into a $2B+ empire

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Hey rebel solopreneurs 🦸‍♂️🦸‍♀️

Think you're not qualified enough to compete in your chosen field?

That voice saying "I have no expertise" just cost you another opportunity while someone with zero credentials built an empire.

Here's how Jon Oringer turned his complete lack of photography knowledge into a $2.5 billion advantage with Shutterstock.

The question was: how do you compete with Getty Images when you don't even know how to hold a camera?

🍹 The humble beginnings...

Jon Oringer grew up in Scarsdale, New York, where programming came naturally to him from elementary school.

He started coding on his Apple II, making simple games and plug-ins for bulletin board systems.

By high school, he was hustling for cash - first teaching guitar (which he learned just to teach it), then fixing computers by the hour.

"It was kind of fun just to try to figure out how to make money," he said about those early entrepreneurial experiments.

During college at Stony Brook, he created SurfSecret Software - one of the web's first pop-up blockers.

He sold thousands of copies of software that stopped unwanted windows while browsing the internet.

After graduating in 1996, he wasn't interested in his Columbia master's program - he was more obsessed with creating software products to sell.

Over the years, he launched around 10 different businesses, most with just one employee: himself.

Most failed miserably, but one or two were moderately successful.

He somehow knew he'd never last in a regular job, so he always tried to find ways to work for himself.

He kept pumping out products like personal firewalls, accounting software, and trademark managers, all marketed through his growing email list.

But there was one recurring problem that kept bugging him with every email campaign he sent...

Then one day, this frustration hit a breaking point that would change everything...

📸 The $800 gamble

The emails Jon sent always performed better when they had photos, but those photos were crazy expensive.

He was spending $500 per image from companies like Getty Images, and it was killing his budget.

The emails Jon sent always performed better when they had photos, but those photos were crazy expensive.

He was spending $500 per image from companies like Getty Images, and it was killing his budget.

Every other entrepreneur was stuck paying these ridiculous prices for basic stock photos.

Instead of accepting this expensive reality, Jon made a bold decision: buy an $800 Canon Digital Rebel and shoot 100,000 photos himself.

He had zero photography background but figured he could learn as he went.

Can you imagine making that bet?

But first, he had to figure out how this whole photography thing actually worked...

🎬 The learning hustle

Jon didn't just take photos - he did absolutely everything himself.

He shot the pictures, built the website in Perl, answered customer service emails, and handled billing.

"When I first started, I did everything from the photo taking to answering customer service calls and emails," he said.

He listened to every complaint, offered refunds personally, and noted exactly what customers wanted.

This wasn't just about saving money - it was about truly understanding his business from the ground up.

Six months later, something incredible happened that changed everything...

🎯 The accidental photographer

Picture this: Jon shooting everything he could find - breakfast, lunch, dinner, his dog with a newspaper.

He worked from an internet cafe and photographed scenes around him.

He hired models for $100 a day through Craigslist to pose in fake boardroom meetings and Central Park picnics.

"It turned out it was really easy to create commercial stock footage," he discovered.

Who knew being clueless could be such an advantage, right?

But here's where it gets really interesting...

💰 The pricing revolution

Jon was terrified about his pricing approach because nobody had ever tried it before.

Traditional stock photos cost $500 each - he wanted to charge $1.

He introduced a subscription plan: $249 per month for 25 downloads per day.

"This kind of approach had never been created before," he admitted.

Talk about betting big on an untested idea!

Then something happened that surprised even Jon...

🌍 The community explosion

Here's the crazy part - other photographers started reaching out, wanting to contribute their own photos.

Jon realized he could help others make money while growing his inventory.

He opened Shutterstock to the entire world and created a contributor community.

"Anyone could give stock photography a shot," he said.

Presto! He turned his biggest challenge into his biggest asset.

But growing brought a challenge Jon wasn't prepared for...

🤯 The management nightmare

Get this: "I had never worked for a company before," Jon confessed about hiring his first employees.

He didn't know about office politics, company culture, or how to manage people.

"I figured managing people was obvious - I'd tell someone what they needed to do and they'd do it. It turns out that's not the case."

He had to learn leadership skills while building a multi-million dollar company.

Sound familiar?

Meanwhile, everyone kept telling him he was doing business all wrong...

🚫 The funding rebellion

Jon ignored Silicon Valley's advice to raise venture capital immediately.

"The whole 'have an idea, run out, and find money' approach was never how I wanted to do it," he said.

Shutterstock made money from day one without outside investors.

He kept control of his company while competitors gave away huge chunks for funding.

Smart move, right?

But where he chose to build was just as rebellious...

🏢 The location rebellion

"People were wondering why I didn't go out to Silicon Valley and enter the start-up machinery right away," Jon said about staying in New York.

Everyone expected tech companies to move to the West Coast.

But Jon built his empire from his Gramercy Park apartment instead.

"Part of it was that I was fortunate that I didn't need to raise money," he explained.

He proved you don't need to follow the crowd to build something incredible.

The servers in his apartment were literally blowing circuit breakers...

🎯 The lean machine

Jon built his first server setup in his Gramercy Park apartment.

"In the winter you don't need heaters if you have 10 servers," he joked.

He spent more money on the business than himself, living close to a ramen diet.

Every dollar was used efficiently because he couldn't afford to waste anything.

That's what I call bootstrapping dedication!

Then the numbers started getting ridiculous...

💰 The epic win

By 2007, Shutterstock was growing so fast Jon could barely keep up with demand.

The company expanded to 30 employees, then 200, handling customers in over 150 countries.

In 2012, Jon took Shutterstock public on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company was valued at $2.5 billion, making Jon New York's first tech billionaire while he still owned 57% of the business.

🥂 Your turn to make waves!

That's it, my fellow rebels!

Jon proved that being unqualified isn't a weakness - it's your secret weapon.

While experts get stuck in "how things should be done," beginners are free to reinvent entire industries.

I'm betting you're about to show your doubters what they've been missing.

Keep rocking 🚀 🍩

Yours 'making success painless and fun' vijay peduru 🦸‍♂️