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🏕️ From Van Life to a $100M+ Exit
He turned a $1,500 problem into a global stock media platform, lived out of an RV to run it, and sold to private equity. Here’s how Joel Holland built Storyblocks — and the lessons founders can steal from his decade-long grind.
Deal Lift
October 22, 2025
In partnership with
🚐 The Roadtrip That Built a $100M+ Company
Let’s rewind to 2009.
A high school student named Joel Holland was filming a web series and needed B-roll — those cinematic background clips that make interviews pop. He checked stock footage prices… and boom 💥 one short clip cost $1,500.
That’s when it hit him:
“It’d be cheaper to just fly there, film it myself, and sell the footage.”
So he did exactly that.
He shot his own footage, uploaded it to eBay, and watched bids roll in. It wasn’t fancy, but it worked — people wanted affordable stock media, not overpriced, gated clips from giant agencies.
That moment planted the seed for what would become Storyblocks — a stock media platform for creators on a budget.
🧩 The First Version Was… DVDs. Yes, Really.
Forget SaaS dashboards and viral launches. In 2009, Joel started with a company called Footage Firm.
Here’s what it looked like:
Website = Barebones.
Product = Stock footage burned onto DVDs.
Delivery = Mailed to customers.
It sounds primitive today, but it was profitable from day one. Joel had discovered a niche that the giants (like Getty Images and Shutterstock) ignored — affordable, high-quality clips for small creators.
He found his early traction using search-based marketing — optimizing keywords like “cheap stock footage,” “royalty-free video,” and “HD b-roll.” These terms had thousands of monthly searches but low competition.
Joel didn’t have venture capital or a massive marketing budget, but he had one advantage — discipline and focus.
🔥 The Inflection Point: Going Digital
Between 2011–2012, Joel realized DVDs were dying faster than Blockbuster. He made a bold move:
👉 Digitized his entire library
👉 Rebranded as VideoBlocks
👉 Launched a subscription model — unlimited downloads for a flat monthly fee.
That subscription model changed everything.
Instead of treating stock footage as a one-off purchase, creators could now subscribe — predictable revenue, lower churn, and higher LTV.
The model was so ahead of its time that it became the Netflix of stock media.
🧭 The Van Life Years: Escape to Clarity
By 2013, Joel was burnt out. He’d been working 80-hour weeks for years. So he did something radical:
He bought an RV, hit the road, and started running Storyblocks (then VideoBlocks) from wherever he parked. 🚐💨
Most founders think burnout is a badge of honor. Joel saw it as a warning sign.
That decision wasn’t retreat — it was strategy.
He realized that the best ideas come from space, clarity, and boredom.
While traveling, he started thinking bigger:
“How can I expand beyond video?”
“What else do creators need?”
“How can I make this brand bigger than one format?”
These RV brainstorm sessions became the foundation for Storyblocks’ next evolution.
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💼 Funding and Scale
Storyblocks wasn’t a flash-in-the-pan startup. It was a slow burn that evolved with patience.
Year | Milestone | Notes |
|---|---|---|
2012 | Raised $10M Series A | For digitization & scaling infrastructure |
2015 | Raised $8M Venture Debt | To expand operations without heavy dilution |
2017 | Rebranded to Storyblocks | Added stock images and audio |
2020 | Acquired by Great Hill Partners | Private Equity exit — estimated $100M+ valuation |
Unlike most media startups, Storyblocks didn’t chase virality or ads — they built a compound subscription business.
Each year, the model got stronger:
Recurring revenue
Diverse content library
Loyal community of creators
By 2020, Storyblocks had appeared on the Inc. 5000 list seven consecutive years and was recognized as one of the fastest-growing creative companies in America.
💡 The Business Model that Scaled Quietly
Storyblocks succeeded by doing what others found boring:
Consistent content licensing
Transparent pricing
A creator-first approach
Their core model:
“Unlimited downloads, no hidden costs.”
That simple promise separated them from overpriced competitors like Getty and Shutterstock.
And Joel’s obsession with user experience paid off. Storyblocks became a go-to for:
YouTubers 🎥
Small businesses 💼
Agencies 🧠
Educators 📚
By democratizing creative assets, Joel opened a market that traditional players ignored — the long tail of creators.
🚀 Private Equity Comes Knocking
After a decade of grinding, growing, and leading his team from an RV, Joel reached an inflection point.
Storyblocks was profitable, predictable, and dominant in its niche — everything private equity loves.
In 2020, Great Hill Partners acquired a majority stake in Storyblocks. The brand and team stayed intact, and the new capital gave them resources to expand globally and accelerate their product innovation.
It wasn’t a flashy VC-backed unicorn story — it was a patient, compounding success story.
📊 Behind the Scenes — Why Storyblocks Worked
Let’s break it down like a founder would 👇
Levers | Why It Worked |
|---|---|
Founder-Led Distribution | Joel understood creators because he was one. |
Subscription Revenue Model | Predictable ARR + low churn = financial stability. |
Market Timing | Launched as YouTube exploded (2009–2015). |
Lean Operations | Bootstrapped mindset kept burn low. |
Creator Community | Turned customers into advocates and contributors. |
Rebranding to Storyblocks | Broadened appeal beyond just “video.” |
Exit to Private Equity | Long-term growth + cash flow = attractive buyout target. |
🧠 Deal Lift Founder Framework: The “Boring Compounder” Play
Joel’s story breaks the myth that startups must grow at lightning speed. His success came from:
Find a real pain point. (Stock footage was overpriced and clunky.)
Build slow, but build right.
Adopt recurring revenue early.
Embrace unsexy consistency.
Avoid burnout — clarity is strategy.
Rebrand when necessary to scale horizontally.
Exit when compounding stabilizes.
“If you want to build something that lasts, you can’t rush compounding.”
🧩 Deal Lift Takeaways — Storyblocks Edition
Founder Move | Tactical Lesson |
|---|---|
Solve your own pain | Great companies start with firsthand frustration. |
Use space for clarity | Burnout doesn’t help scale — detachment fuels better strategy. |
Adopt subscriptions early | Recurring revenue creates optionality. |
Iterate, don’t pivot randomly | Evolve with your users — not investor hype. |
Rebrand for expansion | “VideoBlocks” became “Storyblocks” when vision widened. |
Be patient | Ten years of focus > two years of hype. |
🔍 Sources
Joel Holland interviews with Forbes and Entrepreneur
Storyblocks company blog and Inc. 5000 rankings
Great Hill Partners press release (2020 acquisition)
Crunchbase company funding data
✨ Final Thought
Joel Holland’s journey isn’t about luck or flashy growth hacks — it’s a story about focus, patience, and founder resilience.
He built Storyblocks over a decade, digitized an outdated industry, and kept control of his pace (even while living in an RV).
“The world glorifies the sprint, but businesses that endure are built on slow, disciplined compounding.”
🏁 Deal Lift Verdict:
Type: “Founder Playbook: The Boring Compounder”
Founder Traits: Clarity, Patience, Execution Discipline
Outcome: $100M+ PE Exit
Founder ROI: Freedom + Wealth + Purpose
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