Shawn what’s your backstory?

I grew up in Ontario, Canada, and graduated from Brock University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Visual Arts. After graduating, I worked as a graphic designer for a while, then moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, for a job in internet marketing.

The combination of my design background and interest in online business set the stage for my entrepreneurial endeavors. As I gained marketing experience, I began to see opportunities where I could leverage my design skills and expertise, while also building a business that serves the creative community.

What does Vecteezy do, and how did you come up with the idea?

Vecteezy is a creative marketplace offering access to millions of free and premium stock photos, video footage, and vector graphics. We reach more than 20 million users every month, helping designers, marketers, and businesses find high-quality visual content for use in their projects.

As a designer, I constantly struggled to find quality free resources. There were some good Photoshop brushes and vector graphics scattered across the internet, but no centralized place to find them. At the same time, I was talking to friends who contributed to major stock sites and were frustrated about poor compensation, while the platforms took most of their earnings.

I realized I could solve both problems: democratize creative resources for designers on tight budgets while giving creators fair payment for their work. I started with Brusheezy.com in 2007, offering free Photoshop brushes, then launched Vecteezy.com for vector graphics. Both were immediate hits because they addressed real pain points.

How did you acquire your first 20 users, and what strategies worked?

I started by reaching out directly to designers who were already creating free resources on their blogs or websites. I'd email them asking permission to feature their Photoshop brushes or vectors on my site. Most said yes because it gave them additional exposure.

The key strategies that worked in those early days:

The real breakthrough came when Vecteezy hit the homepage of Digg.com (remember Digg?). It went straight to number one and picked up tons of press and links. Within the first few months, I was getting thousands of visitors per day. The sites started attracting so much attention that designers began submitting their content without me having to reach out, which was when I knew I had something special.

What key metrics or user feedback confirmed that you were achieving product-market fit?

The clearest signal was the immediate and sustained traffic growth. Within the first month or two, I was already profitable. I'd only invested a few hundred dollars to start, but seeing revenue from ads and affiliate marketing that quickly was encouraging.

More importantly, the qualitative feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Designers were emailing me and telling me how much they loved the sites. When people started bookmarking the site and returning regularly, I knew I was onto something.

The real confirmation came around 2010 when I launched premium content through Vecteezy Pro. Because the site had already earned trust and proven valuable over a few years of free content, getting those initial Pro subscribers felt natural. There was already loyalty from frequent users who appreciated what we'd built.

What steps did you take to validate your product with your target users?

The advantage I had was being part of my target audience. As a designer, I was experiencing the same pain points as my users every day. I wasn't building something I thought the market wanted. I was building something I desperately needed for myself.

I stayed connected to the design community through forums, social media, and direct conversations. I'd ask users what they were struggling with and what types of content they needed most. This feedback directly influenced what I prioritized.

One key turning point was realizing that "free" wasn't enough. The content also needed to be legally safe for commercial use. Many free sites didn't require model releases or proper licensing, creating legal risks for users. We made robust licensing and legal guarantees a core differentiator.

Another crucial insight came from talking to contributors. They were frustrated with unfair compensation on other platforms, so we developed a model that pays contributors even for free downloads, something almost no one else was doing.

The tough lesson was learning not to spread myself too thin. In the early years, I tried launching multiple projects. I thought more projects meant more money, but I was just wasting time and money while competitors focused on what was working. Eventually, I realized I needed to double down on the Eezy sites and stop chasing shiny objects. Within a few years, Vecteezy drastically outperformed the other sites in the network. Today, Vecteezy is our sole focus.

What distribution channels worked best for Vecteezy, and how did you find them?

Our most effective distribution has always been organic search and word-of-mouth. We invested a lot of time and resources into search optimization and our content library, which includes millions of free creative assets as well as those that are only available to Pro subscribers.

Early on, social media was really important for getting in front of our target audience, but for the long term, organic search traffic has been more significant. We also invest in PPC ads to supplement our organic (free) search traffic.

What makes Vecteezy unique, and how do you keep it valuable for users?

What sets us apart:

We're constantly expanding our content library. We now have over 60 million assets and are growing. We've also developed tools like our Background Removal feature and a graphic design template editor that lets non-designers create stunning social media and marketing materials.

The key is never losing sight of our core mission: democratizing creative resources. Every decision gets filtered through "Does this help our users create better work more affordably?"

What percentage of your customers are on the free plan, and why did you offer one?

The vast majority of our users access free content, and our freemium model is intentionally designed this way. The free content helps our business in many ways, even if it doesn’t directly generate revenue.

The freemium model allows us to provide genuine value first and gain trust before asking for money. When someone does upgrade to Pro, they're already confident in what they're getting because they've experienced our quality firsthand.

I've always believed in providing value first. During the early years, everything was free, and we made money through ads and affiliate marketing. Even now, we continue adding new free content daily because it's fundamental to who we are as a company.

Vecteezy has a 4.9 TrustScore, how did you build that trust with users and top brands?

We've built trust through consistency and putting users first over many years.

Quality and reliability:

• Manual review of every asset ensures high standards.
• Robust licensing that protects users legally.

Customer support:

• We take pride in responsive, helpful customer service.
• If you research our competitors, many have terrible reviews because of poor support.
• We believe putting customers first has been huge for long-term retention.

Transparency:

• Clear licensing terms and usage rights.
• Fair contributor compensation that we're open about.
• Honest communication about what's free vs. premium.

Delivering on promises:

• When we say something is free for commercial use, it is.
• Pro features deliver real value beyond the free offering.
• Regular addition of new content and features.

Trust also comes from our longevity. We've been serving the design community consistently since 2007. When you're not just chasing quick profits but genuinely trying to support creatives, that authenticity comes through in every interaction.

How do you keep users coming back and reduce churn?

Retention strategies include:

• Continuous content expansion: We're constantly adding new photos, vectors, and videos, so there's always fresh content.
• Unbeatable value: The unlimited download model means the more our Pro subscribers use us, the better the value.
• User experience improvements: We've invested heavily in search functionality and site performance.

How successful has your affiliate program been, and how do you attract partners?

The Vecteezy affiliate program hasn’t been a huge priority for us. Of course, it does drive some revenue, but it hasn’t been a major factor in our growth. To be honest, the affiliate program probably could be a bigger factor if it had received more of our attention, but it’s just never been a top priority.

What is your plan for Vecteezy in the future?

• Content expansion: Exponentially increasing our asset library.
• Site-wide search improvements: Continuing to enhance our AI-powered search to deliver even more relevant results.
• Browser-based design tools: Continuing to improve our template editor and adding more capabilities.
• AI tools: We will continue to use AI in ways that make sense, like our AI background removal tool.

The overarching goal is to continue simplifying the creative process while maintaining our core values of affordability and quality.

What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned in 18 years of growing Vecteezy?

Focus is everything. You win when you focus. It's easy to get distracted as an entrepreneur because we live off the excitement of ideas, but spreading yourself thin is not the way to scale a business. Pick one idea you're passionate about and focus on it relentlessly.

Build the right team early. I would advise my younger self to build a team earlier. I ran the sites by myself for too long, then with freelancers, before finally hiring employees. We didn't start growing rapidly until I hired the right people. The business fundamentally changed when I had smart people invested in its long-term success.

Always answer "Why?" It's easy to get caught up in the how and when and lose sight of real direction and results. Come back to the question "Why are we doing this?" frequently. That way, you stay grounded in your real purpose and avoid making a lot of mistakes.

Provide value first. This philosophy has driven everything we do. Even when we added premium content, we never stopped offering substantial free resources. Building trust by giving first has been fundamental to our success.

The user perspective is everything. I try to put myself in the shoes of our users constantly: Why is what we're talking about valuable to them? As a designer myself, I can relate to their daily challenges. Focusing on users rather than just revenue and growth metrics has been crucial.

Who are some top experts or entrepreneurs to follow for business growth advice?

"My First Million" and "How I Built This" are fantastic for hearing real founder stories and practical advice from people who've built significant businesses. For methodology and frameworks, I love Scaling Up by Verne Harnish.

Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People remains one of the most practical business books I've ever read. Working well with others is important in any business venture, and the principles are timeless.

What advice do you have for founders finding the right distribution channel?

Start with your audience, not the channel. Understand deeply where your target users already spend their time and consume content.

Test small and scale what works. Don't bet everything on one channel.

Authenticity beats everything. Focus on genuinely helping your audience rather than just pushing your product. Our best distribution has always come from actually solving problems for our users.

Measure and iterate constantly. What works today might not work tomorrow. We're always testing to improve our results.

What drives you to do what you do?

Democratizing creativity. I love knowing that we're helping millions of people create better work without breaking the bank.

Supporting the creative community. Seeing our contributors make real money from their talents, some earning their primary income through Vecteezy, reminds me why this work matters. We're not just a marketplace; we're helping creative people build sustainable careers.

The long-term challenge. Building something that lasts and continues growing after nearly two decades is genuinely exciting. We're still just scratching the surface of what's possible in the creative space.

Family and balance. Vecteezy has given me the flexibility to coach my kids' sports teams, take ski trips, and be present for what matters most. Building a business that enhances rather than detracts from family life has been incredibly important.

Any quotes or mantras you live by?

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." - Wayne Gretzky.

This has been my favorite quote for years. As a hockey fan and entrepreneur, it perfectly captures the importance of taking action. So many people have great ideas but never pursue them. You have to be willing to put yourself out there and take the shot.

Your links + socials

Shawn LinkedIn

Shawn X

Vecteezy Instagram

Vecteezy Facebook