Storyblocks, formerly known as VideoBlocks, was founded in 2009 and is a stock media company that offers an unlimited, subscription-based service that provides libraries of high-quality audio, images, and video content. How do we take our long-term strategic growth plan that sets certain goals over the next five years and accomplish them in three,” he said.Researched & Written by Christina Reck on the FlexJobs Team “All of our conversations have been oriented around how do we change what’s working today and accelerate it. He also noted that he tends to think of Great Hill as “a growth-oriented private equity investor, almost a growth equity investor masquerading with a private equity structure,” given that the firm tends to acquire companies but then also often spins them out again. As we got to know Great Hill better, it was clear that we were really well aligned across all those important points.” “And we’ve said all along that if we were going to find a new partner, our first criteria was that they needed to believe in the same mission and vision that we had, they needed to believe the same market opportunity that we saw - and they needed to feel like we had the right model and the right team to go take advantage of that opportunity. We’re really excited to continue to chase them down,” he said. “We’ve long felt that even though the business is more than 10 years old, there’s still a lot of chapters left in our story. Instead, he argued, this sale was simply a logical progression. Leonard, who just like the rest of the team is staying on, noted that Storyblocks is profitable and wasn’t actively trying to raise any capital to sustain its business or looking for an exit. But Great Hill brings a track record - and I think an expertise - that is perfect for this next stage for us.” Updata, North Atlantic Capital, QED - all of our early investors - have done an awesome job supporting the business over the last eight years to help us get to this point. You wrap all that together and it felt like the moment was right to take the next step. But as we look to the future, we see ourselves supporting our customers across their entire workflow as they work to keep up with the content demand of their audience.
![story blocks story blocks](https://derraleves.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/storyblocks-review-is-storyblock.jpg)
“Our mission was really all about this idea of affordability and access,” Storyblocks CEO TJ Leonard told me ahead of today’s announcement. Only a small fraction of users actually bought from the marketplace, so last year, it doubled down on its subscription library. The company’s focus was always on its buffet-style subscription service, though it also offered an “à la carte” marketplace for one-time purchases. Its early focus was on video content, and until 2017, it operated under the VideoBlocks moniker (before that, it was FootageFirm). Over the years, it went through a few changes.
![story blocks story blocks](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ad/10/af/ad10af8dc68fc78afe3edde9f63398a7.jpg)
Storyblocks was founded in 2009 and raised about $18.5 million since its launch.
![story blocks story blocks](https://blog.storyblocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/SB-Logo-Lead-XS-720x400.jpg)
Storyblocks and Great Hill did not disclose the price of the acquisition. Great Hill also acquired Gizmodo Media Group in 2019. The firm previously backed companies like Wayfair (and then exited that specific investment in 2017) and Custom Ink. Storyblocks, the subscription-based stock media service, today announced that it has been acquired by private equity firm Great Hill Partners.