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Jon Oringer

Jon Oringer (born May 2, 1974) is an American programmer, photographer, and billionaire businessman, best known as the founder and CEO of Shutterstock, a stock media company headquartered in New York City. Oringer started his career while a college student in the 1990s, when he created "one of the Web's first pop-up blockers." He went on to found about ten small startups that used a subscription method to sell "personal firewalls, accounting software, cookie blockers, trademark managers," and other small programs.

In 2003, Oringer founded Shutterstock to provide microstock photography, which has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 2012. As a result of going public, in 2013 Oringer was reported to be New York's first tech billionaire. Shutterstock had over 100,000 contributors as of March 2016, with an "active customer base of 1.4 million people in 150 countries." Among other accolades, in 2012 Oringer was named New York's Technology Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, and the following year Oringer was recognized as one of Crain's New York 40 Under 40.

Early life and education

Jon Oringer was born in 1974 in Scarsdale, New York, where he spent his childhood. Oringer is Jewish. He began learning computer programming in elementary school, using his Apple IIe to code "simple games and plug-ins for bulletin board systems." As he grew older he also developed his own photos as a hobby. Attending Scarsdale High School from 1988 to 1992, by the age of fifteen Oringer was teaching guitar lessons, later moving on to fixing computers out of his parents house when he realized it was more lucrative. Oringer started selling his own software products over the internet when he began attending Stony Brook University in 1993, inventing and selling thousands of copies of what Forbes describes as "one of the Web's first pop-up blockers." After graduating with a BS in computer science and mathematics in 1997, from 1996 to 1998 he studied computer science at Columbia University, graduating with an MS. While enrolled at Columbia he continued "trying to create products to complement the pop-up blocker," using a subscription model to sell "personal firewalls, accounting software, cookie blockers, trademark managers," and other small programs. Oringer estimates that he founded about ten small startup companies, most of which had Oringer as the sole employee.

Career

Founding Shutterstock

While marketing his software through a mailing list, Oringer realized that emails with photos were better received than emails without. Finding it difficult to find affordable generic stock photos online, in 2003 he purchased a Canon Rebel camera to take pictures for a new stock-photo marketplace that catered to advertisers and "microstock photography." Oringer went on to take about 100,000 of his own images over six months, eventually posting a culled collection of 30,000 images to a new website he named Shutterstock. Funding Shutterstock entirely with his savings, Oringer rented a 600-square-foot office in New York for the company and initially handled all roles himself, including customer service. Like his previous projects he made the photographs available via subscription, with unlimited downloads and a monthly starting fee of US$49. He also advertised Shutterstock on platforms such as Google AdWords. Initially hiring friends to serve as models for the stock photos, Oringer later hired a photo director to organize shoots for the company. When demand exceeded his photo supply, he became an agent and hired additional contributors, also hiring a team of reviewers to ensure "editorial consistency and quality."

IPO

In May 2012, Oringer brought Shutterstock public after filing for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, which it completed on October 17, 2012. After going public, Oringer continued to own about 55 percent of Shutterstock, largely through the investment company Pixel Holdings. Stock value over the ensuing year increased considerably, and on June 28, 2013, Andre Sequin, an analyst at RBC Capital Market, announced Oringer as the "first billionaire to come out of Silicon Alley - New York's thriving tech sector." His net wealth at the time was estimated at US$1.05 billion.

Recent developments

In 2014, Oringer spoke at 2014 Class Day at the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science. After maintaining its New York headquarters for years in a Wall Street office, in March 2014 Oringer relocated Shutterstock to the Empire State Building.

In January 2015, Oringer oversaw Shutterstock's acquisition of both Rex Features, Europe's largest independent photo press agency, and PremiumBeat, a stock music and sound effects service.

Following Shutterstock's decision to implement a tool to censor results in China, Oringer defended the company's decision when faced with an employee petition against the system.[1]

In February 2020, Oringer announced that he would be stepping down as Shutterstock CEO effective April 2020, and would become executive chairman.[2]

Awards and recognition

Oringer has been recognized with a number of business awards, and in 2009 he was selected 41st on the Silicon Alley 100, an annual list of the 100 most influential entrepreneurs, investors, executives, and technologists in Manhattan. Business Insider named Oringer the coolest person in all of New York technology in 2013. Oringer was recognized in June 2012 as New York's Technology Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, and the following year Oringer was recognized as one of Crain's New York class of 2013 40 Under 40.

Personal life

Based in West Village in Manhattan, around 2012 Oringer became a certified commercial helicopter pilot.

In 2020, Oringer paid $42 million for a Miami Beach mansion, marking a record on North Bay Road, only eclipsed in 2024 by David and Victoria Beckham.[3]

External links

References

  1. Sam Biddle. In China, Shutterstock Censors Hong Kong and Other Searches The Intercept, November 6, 2019^
  2. Shutterstock founder and CEO Jon Oringer steps down after 16 years TechCrunch, February 13, 2020, retrieved 2020-04-17^
  3. Alexis Manrodt. Jon Oringer Buys Miami Beach Mansion For $42M The Real Deal South Florida, 2020-10-29, retrieved 2020-10-30^
  4. <!-- Not in use <ref name="press-release-spectrum">"Shutterstock Introduces Spectrum, A Breathtaking Way To Explore Millions Of Photos Using Color", Shutterstock Press Release, March 21, 2013^
  5. "Shutterstock Re-imagines Image Search with a New Discovery Tool: Shutterstock Instant", Shutterstock Press Release, May 31, 2012^
  6. "Introducing Shutterstock Footage – A Stock Video Resource from Shutterstock", Shutterstock Press Release, February 9, 2006^
  7. Brad McCarty, "Shutterstock brings its 16 million images to the iPad with a dedicated app", The Next Web, November 3, 2011^
  8. Martin Bryant, "Shutterstock launches an Android app to let you browse its 31m+ images on the move", The Next Web, December 10, 2013^
  9. Sammy Maine, "New multi-colour tool will make image search even easier", Creative Bloq, July 15, 2014^
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  18. Shannon Bond. Shutterstock to challenge Getty Images after Variety tie-up Financial Times, June 22, 2015, retrieved September 2, 2015^
  19. Steven Bertoni, "Silicon Alley's First Billionaire Aims To Dominate Images On Web", Forbes, October 28, 2013^
  20. Dana Schwartz. Inside Offset, the Surreal, Millennial-Targeted Photo Market within Shutterstock VICE, November 29, 2015, retrieved June 15, 2016^
  21. "Shutterstock Launches New "On Demand" Subscription to Serve Full Spectrum of Stock Image Buyers", Shutterstock Press Release, August 5, 2008^
  22. "AIGA partners with Shutterstock to provide creative inspiration to members", Shutterstock Press Release, February 15, 2011^
  23. "Shutterstock Celebrates IPO on the NYSE", NYSE Press Release, October 17, 2012^
  24. Stephen Shankland "Shutterstock Buys Rival, Shifts Photo Sales Strategy", CNET, September 23, 2009^
  25. "Small Business: How to Beat a Goliath"SmartMoney, February 2, 2009^
  26. Shutterstock Editorial announces multiyear U.S. distribution deal with AP March 9, 2016, retrieved June 15, 2016^
  27. Anthony Ha, "Salesforce Launches Its Social Studio For Marketing Collaboration And Custom Integrations", TechCrunch, May 6, 2014^
  28. By Frederic Lardinois. "Shutterstock Acquires Rex Features And PremiumBeat," TechCrunch, January 15, 2015.^
  29. Will Yakowicz, "How Shutterstock Used Data to Cut Staff Commutes", Inc., May 5, 2014^
  30. "Shutterstock Opens European Headquarters in Berlin, Germany", Shutterstock Press Release, October 31, 2013^
  31. Stephen Shankland, "With Skillfeed, Shutterstock aims to rework online training", CNET, May 29, 2013^
  32. Tom Cheredar, "Shutterstock launches new high-end photo service ‘Offset’", VentureBeat, September 24, 2013^
  33. Josh Constine, "Facebook Makes Ads Prettier With Shutterstock Partnership To Offer Free Stock Images In Ad Creator", TechCrunch, August 22, 2013^
  34. Joseph Milord. The Life And Times Of Jon Oringer, Silicon Alley's First Billionaire Elite Daily Magazine, July 3, 2013^
  35. Shutterstock About Us Page www.shutterstock.com, retrieved June 24, 2016^
  36. Jon Oringer. Number 41 Silicon Alley Insider, December 9, 2009, retrieved June 24, 2016^
  37. EY announces winners for the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2012 New York Award Ernst & Young^
  38. 40 under 40: Class of 2013 Crain's New York Business^
  39. Tom Lytton-Dickie. How the first Silicon Alley billionaire launched Shutterstock Hot Topics, June 12, 2014^
  40. David de Jong. Shutterstock Creates First Silicon Alley Billionaire Bloomberg Businessweek, Bloomberg, June 28, 2013, retrieved April 16, 2015^
  41. Kim Gittleson. How Jon Oringer became Silicon Alley's first billionaire BBC, August 12, 2013, retrieved June 24, 2016^
  42. Jonathan Oringer 2016 Billionaires List: Dropoff Forbes, 2016, retrieved June 24, 2016^
  43. Adam Bryant. Jon Oringer of Shutterstock, on the Power of the Hackathon The New York Times, June 20, 2013, retrieved June 24, 2016^
  44. Jon Oringer Profile LinkedIn, retrieved June 24, 2016^
  45. Jon Oringer. Jon Oringer, Businessman New York Magazine, January 12, 2016, retrieved June 24, 2016^
  46. Megan Rose Dickey. SA 100 2013: The Coolest People In New York Tech Business Insider, October 25, 2013, retrieved June 24, 2016^
  47. Eva Kalikoff. At SEAS Class Day, Oringer tells graduates to expect failure before success Columbia Spectator, May 20, 2014, retrieved June 24, 2016^
  48. How Jon Oringer Doubled Down on Failure (and Won) Inc.com, 2014, retrieved June 24, 2016^
  49. Website and about premiumbeat.com, retrieved June 24, 2016^