Shutterstock: 7 colorful ideas that turned a failed entrepreneur with $800 into a $2B+ empire

Hey rebel solopreneurs

Jon Oringer was stuck. He needed photos for his website but couldn't find any affordable ones. Sound familiar?

You're probably in the same boat right now - needing resources for your digital products but getting shocked by the crazy prices.

Maybe you're worried that these high costs will eat up your profits before you even start.

But here's the cool part - Jon turned this frustrating problem into a $2+ billion company!

And he did it starting with just $800 and zero photography skills. Yes, you read that right!

Meet Shutterstock - a website where anyone can buy and sell photos without breaking their wallet!

Ready to discover how a computer geek with no photography background built this photo empire?

Let's dive in!

1. When you can't find it, build it yourself (even if you know nothing about it!)

🔥 Problem

• Jon needed photos for his emails but found they cost a whopping $500 each - way too pricey for a small business owner starting out!

🌈 How they solved it

• Set a wild goal: bought a $800 Canon camera and promised to shoot 100,000 photos in 6 months (now that's jumping into the deep end!)

• Turned his whole life into a photo studio - shot breakfast, friends, dogs with newspapers (fun fact: that dog photo became his biggest hit!)

• Got smart with money: found models on Craigslist for $100/day and staged everything from office meetings to fake picnics in Central Park

💎 Your game plan:

• Stop waiting for the "perfect" skills or resources. Start with what you have, learn as you go, and let your customers' needs guide your growth.

2. Do everything yourself first (yes, everything!)

🔥 Problem

• Jon was totally new to the photo business and had no clue what his customers really wanted or needed.

🌈 How they solved it

• Did every single job himself for months - took photos, built the website, and even answered customer emails at midnight (you should've seen his coffee bill!)

• Made a genius move: personally handled every customer complaint and refund, which taught him exactly what people wanted

• Kept a notebook where he wrote down everything he learned from talking to both photographers and buyers - this became his secret playbook

💎 Your game plan:

• Before you hire anyone, roll up your sleeves and do the work yourself - it's the best way to really get what your customers need.

3. Break the rules (especially pricing ones!)

🔥 Problem

• The photo industry was stuck in its old ways - charging $500 per image and leaving out tons of potential customers who couldn't afford it.

🌈 How they solved it

• Created something totally new: a photo buffet where you could grab 25 photos every day for $249 (that's like getting each photo for a buck instead of $500!)

• Tested different prices until he found the sweet spot - not too expensive for small businesses, but enough to pay photographers fairly

• Spread the word himself: rode the subway across New York to visit design agencies and show them how much money they could save

💎 Your game plan:

• Look at what everyone else charges in your field - who's being left out? There might be gold in helping those forgotten customers.

4. Stay lean and hungry (ignore the VC circus)

🔥 Problem

• Everyone pushed Jon to run to Silicon Valley and grab investor money. The pressure to follow the crowd was huge.

🌈 How they solved it

• Kept his office in his apartment - squeezed servers between his couch and TV (the electric bill was crazy, but hey, free heating in winter!)

• Spent money like it was his last dollar - no fancy lunches or cool gadgets, everything went back into making the site better

• Only took outside money in 2007 when he needed help growing from 40 to 200 people (and still kept control of 57% of his company!)

💎 Your game plan:

• Don't rush to get investor money. Start small and scrappy - it keeps you sharp and in charge of your own destiny.

5. Turn customers into creators

🔥 Problem

• Jon couldn't keep up with the growing demand. He needed more photos but couldn't afford to hire lots of photographers.

🌈 How they solved it

• Built a super simple upload system where any photographer could join - no fancy portfolio needed, just good photos (this was revolutionary at the time!)

• Made a fair deal: photographers got paid every time someone downloaded their photos, and many started earning enough to quit their day jobs

• Result? Their photo collection exploded to over 35,000 photographers from 100 countries, and they've paid out more than $150 million to these creators

💎 Your game plan:

• Find ways to let your customers help create content - their enthusiasm can make your business soar.

6. Keep that startup fire burning (even when you're big)

🔥 Problem

• As Shutterstock grew bigger, they risked becoming slow and boring like many big companies.

🌈 How they solved it

• Created tiny teams of 5-6 people and let them work like mini-companies inside Shutterstock (complete with their own fun team names!)

• Started every morning with super quick "stand-up" meetings - just 5 minutes to share cool updates (no boring PowerPoints allowed!)

• Ran these wild 24-hour building sprees where teams could create anything they dreamed up - many of these late-night ideas turned into customer favorites

💎 Your game plan:

• Keep that experimental spirit alive even when you start making money. Try quick tests of new ideas instead of overthinking everything.

7. Hire for obsession, not just skills

🔥 Problem

• Jon needed special people - folks who could think differently but still get things done.

🌈 How they solved it

• Looked for special people he called "growth hackers" - folks who could spot problems and build solutions that would sell themselves

• Ignored fancy degrees and focused on finding people with two things: wild ideas AND the ability to make them real

• Created this awesome rule: you could be as creative and crazy as you wanted, but you had to actually build stuff that worked (no pie-in-the-sky dreamers!)

💎 Your game plan:

• When building your team (even if it's just freelancers), look for that special spark in their eyes - the one that says "I love building cool stuff!"

That's it, my fellow rebels!

Remember Jon's story next time you face a problem in your market.

Instead of getting frustrated, get excited - you might have just stumbled upon your million-dollar opportunity!

Just take that first small step today.

Got a problem you can't find a solution for?

Grab a piece of paper and sketch out your own solution.

It doesn't have to be perfect - Jon's first photos weren't either!

As Jon loves to say, "Each time one of my businesses failed, I dusted myself off and looked for the next big opportunity." And here's my favorite part: "The best business ideas come out of seeing what's not there, what's not available. Think about why it's missing!"

The next million-dollar company might start with you scratching your own itch.

Why not yours?

Keep rocking 🚀 🍩

Yours "making success painless and fun" vijay peduru