The world is full of success stories about people who have managed to become billionaires with only “a few cents” in their pockets. We are fascinated by their ambition and natural ability to rise from almost nothing. Their stories will always be an inspiration to move forward no matter what the obstacles are. And when the technologies and solutions they developed can change the world to the core, goosebumps kick in. One of those visionary people is Jon Oringer, Executive Chairman and the Founder of Shutterstock. He knows his way around a guitar and even piloting a helicopter, and we are honored to have him on the stage of Techsylvania 2021.
Jon Oringer was born in Scarsdale, New York, in 1974. At the age of 5, the visionary entrepreneur made his first steps into the “cobweb” of computer programming and implementing solutions for a better Web World when he started to code simple games. But that wasn’t his only passion. Until attending Stony Brook University in 1993, he was a guitar teacher, he developed photographs, and he even started his first “business” in repairing computers in his parents’ house.
One of the inventors of the pop-up blocker
Jon Oringers’s first sparkles of brilliance appeared in the early ’90s when he developed one of the first Web’s pop-up blockers. A decade later, in 2003, he founded Shutterstock, a company valued today at $4 billion on the New York Stock Exchange. And yes! Like most “wizards of entrepreneurship,” he made his first steps into the tech world solo. Everything started with the need to find the best suitable images for his marketing email campaign on selling his pop-up blocker. But there weren’t many options to choose from at that time. So he bought a Canon and started shooting photos himself. In the first year, he took over 30,000 pictures, which he then posted on Shutterstock. He founded the company entirely with his savings, and in the beginning, he handled every aspect of the company himself. Three years later, Shutterstock became the “largest subscription-based stock photo agency in the world”, and had a consistent team of photographers, agents, contributors, and many more employees.
In 2012, Jon Oringer was the most significant tech booster in New York and became the first Silicon Alley tech sector billionaire.
Today, Shutterstock provides 300 million visual options for marketers, photographers, entrepreneurs, designers, curious people, and many other creative people. The new world Jon Oringer has created is not just a place “packed with images,” but an entrepreneurial inspiration story and a technology case study at its finest core.
“Building world-changing companies”
2021 brought new opportunities for Jon Oringer. The tech visionary moved to Miami and founded Pareto Holdings, a company searching for tech company hidden gems. His strategy is pretty simple, but it pays off. Using the business social platform LinkedIn, Jon Oringer has reached over 1,000 small companies in the past months. The main goal of Pareto Holding is to help early-stage founders with capital, strategy, and operational support.
About this, and many more, we will find out from Jon Oringer at Techsylvania 2021. His vibe and knowledge are tech-inspiring, and if you want to get to see him on our online stage, we have great news. The first 10 to use the code IWantToSeeJONORINGER when purchasing the Builder Online Ticket will get free access to his speech.
