The idea for Shutterstock came from founder Jon Oringer’s experience as a “serial entrepreneur.”55 Oringer saw that prospects are much likelier to look at information about a company if stories about it include pictures, but buying professional photographs is expensive for a start-up. One stock image could cost hundreds of dollars. Oringer thought that if he could make photographs easy and affordable to buy online, the volume of sales could make an attractive market for buyers and sellers alike. Oringer got started on his own. He bought a camera, took 100,000 photos, and chose 30,000 to upload into an online database. He sold customers $49 subscriptions for the right to use any of the photos. Even with his limited photography skill, Oringer soon had a growing business. He began signing up professional photographers, eventually building his database to contain more than 32 million images, including illustrations and videos. Now the standard subscription rate is $249 for the right to use up to 25 images a month, with extensive users paying more. Even with the higher prices, Shutterstock boasts about half a million users. The cost is still a bargain compared with other art/photograph sources, and the volume of sales has generated a comfortable living for many of the artists and photographers who work with Shutterstock. Being online has helped Shutterstock build an international customer base, and it now operates in 14 languages and obtains work from 100 countries To serve the growing demand, Shutterstock hired software engineers to build the system’s capabilities and then hired specialists in support functions. (The photographers are not employees but have contracts with Shutterstock and may sell their work to other agencies as well.) Although Shutterstock’s growth strategy focuses on automation, the company has grown to include more than 200 employees.

1. Do you feel that a functional departmentalization structure is best for Shutterstock? Why or why not?

2. How might continuing growth affect the choice of the best organizational structure for Shutterstock?

3. Besides running hackathons, what else should Shutterstock’s managers consider for maintaining coordination among departments and employees?