How hard is to build a global tech company without taking VC money?

“Quite hard”, admits Stephanie Sitt, Co-founder and CEO of Inmagine Group, parent of well-known stock images site 123RF.com.

Andy Sitt and his wife Stephanie Sitt started Inmagine in 2000 when ‘startup’ was still an alien word in most parts of the world. Today, with over 350 employees across 44 offices worldwide and with a content portfolio of over 100 million unique files, Inmagine owns and operates a number of companies across stock libraries of images, vectors, audio, footage, design elements, templates and editing tools to cater to multiple clientele, geography and partner.

Its business units also include CraftBundles, Designs.net, EasyDesign, LoveSVG, TheHungryJPEG (which it acquired in March 2017), Pixlr, SoundBounce, StockUnlimited, Story & Heart, and Vectr acquired in November 2017).

In an email interaction with e27, Stephanie Sitt talks about the group’s growth, challenges, acquisitions and future goals.

Below are the edited excerpts from the interview:

Inmagine Group was started in 2000. Had the founders imagined the company to become global when they started?

Having run a bootstrapped startup for 19 years, it has definitely been a rewarding journey. We always ensure that our goals are placed at every milestone and hire the right talent to grow and become a global, holistic creative ecosystem.

Additionally, we strive to always stay ahead of the curve and be consistent year-on-year growth by being a fluid and dynamic organisation that responds to customers and acclimatizes towards market conditions.

Also Read: AI has the potential to perpetuate harmful biases, says Inmagine CEO

Only a few tech companies in the world have conquered great heights without raising external investment. How did Inmagine manage to grow big without funding? Did it have any VC investment offers during its more than 18 years of existence? 

We are proud to be 100 per cent bootstrapped, and our growth has historically been funded through internally generated funds. There were offers of investments in the past, but generally, it’s all about having the right fit at the right time where the factors are aligned with our vision.

Your business is centred around designs and digital pics. Are all your business units profitable already? What are the new products in the pipeline? Do you have plans to venture out to any other verticals moving forward?

While our core business focuses on offering world-class content stock libraries and editing tools to cater to multiple clientele, geography, and partners, we are more than just a content company. As a global key player, one of the elements that sets us apart from our competition is our blend of creativity and technology. And so, apart from possessing a wealth of stock content at our fingertips, we offer a more complete solution specifically catered to our customer’s needs using Artificial Intelligence, content and data, and Machine Learning.

Inmagine has acquired several companies, mostly in the US. Have you ever looked at any Asian/Southeast Asian companies for acquisition?

We do not determine our acquisitions based on location. We have acquired companies in the US, the UK, Canada, and Taiwan and have joint venture partnerships as well as investments in others. Many investments and acquisitions are strategic and meant to complement our creative ecosystem.

We analyse the current market opportunities and gaps within our current portfolio and move forward with identifying and determining the right organization to fill those gaps.

Have you ever been approached by any MNCs to buy you out? 

No comments.

Also Read: How Inmagine is Googlising its workplace to foster an inclusive and collaborative work culture

Do you have plans to launch an IPO or get any other forms of exit in the near future?

We are always open to different strategic options at a corporate level.

Which of the business units is your key revenue generator, and which is your largest target market — Asia, Europe or America?

It goes without saying that historically, most of the revenue has come from 123RF.com, our hero brand. Nonetheless, as our portfolio gradually strengthens, we are noticing that the spread of revenue is becoming uniform across the business units – especially Pixlr, TheHungryJPEG, etc.

Regarding geographies, we have a very evenly split across North America, Europe and Asia. Although we are an Asian-based company, we are still recognised as a global player, with revenue coming in from more than 40 locations that we operate in.

As of today, we have hundreds of customers across the globe, ranging from small SMEs looking for simple solutions on branding and creativity to large enterprise clients utilising multiple services of ours to help create engaging brand experiences and stories. Our client reach is across every market segment, encompassing of media and publications, advertising and creative agencies, travel and transpire, eCommerce and Internet, etc.

Can you share your FY18-19 revenue details? 

No comments.

There have been a handful of free stock image sites in the market. Does this affect the revenues of 123RF?

Although there is a certain market segment for free sites, companies such as Inmagine Group focus on quality assurance and authority. As mentioned, while we focus on offering micro stock content and editing tools to various clients and consumers, we are more than just a content licensing company.

Also Read: Astrology-agnostic? Wait. Here’s a startup that can predict whether your startup will fail or not

Apart from having a platform with over 120 million content, we offer a holistic solution tailored to customers’ needs using AI, content and data, and Machine Learning.

There are quite a few stock image firms across the globe. How tough is the competition? 

With large organisations like Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and Getty, one can affirm that we’re in a highly competitive market space. However, we like to differentiate ourselves based on our ability to consider our customers’ demands and feedback, needs and requirements, and anticipate challenges ahead of the curve by delivering quality solutions. We have an increasingly varied portfolio of products and services, especially in the SaaS space, which differentiates us from the rest.

How have your acquired companies been getting along? Are they adding real value to your businesses?

Yeah, without a shadow of a doubt!

Our acquisitions have been thought about long and hard and have been hand-selected on our ability to predict market and customer requirements. All acquisitions fit into fulfilling our mission of empowering creative professionals.

Have you ever thought of integrating cutting-edge technologies like blockchain to your products? 

We were entertaining the idea but have decided that it is not an area of focus for now as it’s still in the early stages due to market fragmentation.

What are your long-term goals? Where do you want to see Inmagine, say, ten years down the line?

World domination!

While we pride ourselves on being a leading global creative ecosystem, we are moving forward to strengthen the duality of being a creative tech company, especially on the technology-driven aspect that involves AI, content and data, and Machine Learning. This will allow Inmagine Group to serve startups, freelancers, agencies and enterprises better.

Also Read: Malaysia’s stockphoto darling 123RF gets capital injection via venture debt

How are you contributing to the Malaysian startup industry? Do you have plans to launch, say a VC fund for startups? 

We occasionally invest in startups and businesses relevant to our industry, but there are no plans to set up a VC fund. As mentioned above, our investments are not restricted to Malaysia as most of the players in the creative industry serve the international and global markets.

How hard was it to start and build the company without taking external financing when the Malaysian startup ecosystem was still in the early stages? What were the major challenges the company faced back then? What would be your advice for young entrepreneurs who are always hungry for VC funding?

Nineteen years ago, I co-founded Inmagine Group to build a better creative ecosystem for tomorrow so we can help individuals and businesses tell their stories using creative imagery, sounds and motion contributed by talents from around the world.

Today, we’ve amassed 115 million online content across all media types, with 10 million to 12 million visitors monthly. Considering only about half of businesses survive five years, my advice is to reach out and network with the right circle as well as acknowledge your startup’s greatest asset — people.

It was a lonely journey during the initial years because not many were ready to take the same leap of faith as yourself to go on an entrepreneurial venture. However, corporates today are keener to invest for ideas that have the potential to be ahead of the curve in the market. And so, I strongly encourage young entrepreneurs to be opportunists and approach as many investors as possible, and then make the effort to socialise, especially at entrepreneurial events.

At first, a startup is a collection of people. Having the right people on your team, especially early on, is the single biggest determinant of your success. So, find the best people and invest in them. When you’re a startup, they’re likely the only real assets you have.

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Image Credit: Inmagine

The article was first published on February 18, 2019.

The post Having the right team is the single biggest determinant of your success: 123RF Co-founder Stephanie Sitt appeared first on e27.