JumpStory find photos, videos, illustrations, vectors and iconds in seconds
How did you get the idea of JumpStory?
Literally, the industry of stock photos was “stock in the past”. We saw it was really outdated, charging exorbitant fees and not actually delivering on what marketers really need – the right images. Both myself and my co-founder Anders are passionate about marketing, and we thought MarTech needed to find a solution for this issue.
Why did you decide to start with JumpStory?
I had travelled around the world interviewing successful startup founders from the likes of Netflix and Spotify for a book I authored, asking them how they had managed to find success. I realised that for a lot of them it was not only about putting a huge number of videos or songs into a platform, but rather about making it easy to find what users want, or even suggest them things they don’t even know they want yet.
We wanted to leverage our experience and expertise in marketing, the latest technology available and the knowledge gathered from these startups to solve the issue of the outdated stock photo industry. AI was a no-brainer as the technology of choice to drive the platform, and the expertise available in Denmark has made it easy for us. The result of all this is JumpStory.
What is the vision behind JumpStory?
We want to completely reinvent the photo and video industry to save marketers time and let them access the world’s best visuals with only a single click.
We want to understand exactly what users are looking for in an image and be able to provide that as quick as possible. The aim is something I call ‘simplexity’ – making complex processes simple. The journey from search to result should be as quick and simple as possible. For example, on some of the existing stock photo platforms you may get 9 million results for a search, which is not helpful for a marketer with limited time.
How difficult was the start and which challenges you had to overcome?
It’s always an Art to Start, as Guy Kawasaki once put it. It’s the same in our case. As a startup, you’re in a constant limbo between passion and panic. We’re still not 110% satisfied with our product, but we’re getting there. Actually we’re improving dramatically every week, so the answer to this question is: The start was difficult, because we shoot for the moon, and currently we’re in the rocket on our way there, but not safely landed yet. Challenges arise all the time – everything from team to churn, finding the right investors etc. But I’m not complaining. We actually thrive in uncertainty.
Who is your target audience?
Marketers in businesses of any size who need visual assets. We target both B2B companies as individual customers, and we team up with marketing platforms to integrate JumpStory into their solution. Our typical customers are from small and medium sized companies. Users are often marketers, but also designers or entrepreneurs.
What is the USP of your startup?
We want to save time and money for marketers. What is happening is that traditional stock photography platforms give thousands of search results and little guidance on which are the best. We use AI to simplify search and filtering the best results. Our platform is also authentic, meaning you will find images that look like from real life. We are also looking to ensure results are not biased and reflect diversity. We do have millions of photographs, however the beauty of what we do is reducing the search to the most relevant ones.
Our flat-fee model that allows as much usage as needed for a small fee of $25 per month.
Can you describe your typical workday ?
As an entrepreneur, not two days are the same – especially in growth-startups like JumpStory. But in general my days are a combination of lots of e-mails; one or more interview; leading our team in Denmark and abroad; doing partnership deals with MarTech companies and walking the company dog Esther.
Where do you see yourself and your startup JumpStory in five years?
As industry leaders when it comes to images and AI. It’s really that simple!
What 3 tips would you give to founders?
Think big. This is what motivates you and your team.
Act small. This is when you really learn stuff – and don’t burn all your cash from day one.
Fail cheap and fast. This is how you accelerate learning and growth.
More information you will find here
Thank you Alexandar Vassilev for the Interview
Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.
