About Storyblocks
Storyblocks is a Technology company based in Arlington (United States) founded in 2011 by Joel Holland, and was acquired by Great Hill Partners in June 2020. Royalty-free stock images, video, and audio are offered via marketplace. It operates in the Technology and Media & Entertainment sectors. Storyblocks has raised $10.5 million across 3 funding rounds from investors including Updata Partners, North Atlantic Capital and QED Investors. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Joel Holland. Its website storyblocks.com draws about 2.1 million monthly visits. Its focus areas include Tech for Film & TV, Filmed Entertainment, Post-Production and Stock Resources. Its competitors include Getty Images, Shutterstock and Fotolia; 2 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Storyblocks was founded in 2011 in Arlington, United States, as a marketplace serving the media and entertainment industry. Royalty-free stock images, video footage clips, After Effects templates, and audio tracks are provided to users. Creatives are shared and sold by contributors to producers and filmmakers. Clients including ABC, NBC, The History Channel, The Weather Channel, MTV, Travel Channel, National Geographic, and Discovery Channel are supported through these operations.
- Headquarters Arlington, United States
- Founders Joel Holland
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsTechnologyMedia & Entertainment
- Website category Hobbies and Leisure · Photography
- Emailβ’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’
- Phoneβ’β’β’β’ β’β’β’β’
- Website storyblocks.com
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook
- Acquired by Great Hill Partners (Jun 2020)
- Total Equity Funding$10.5M (USD)
in 3 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$8M (USD), Debt – Venture
Jun 2015
- InvestorsUpdata Partners
& 3 more
- Acquired byGreat Hill Partners
(Jun 2020)
Funding Insights of Storyblocks
Storyblocks has successfully raised a total of $10.5M across 3 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Debt β Venture round of $8 million completed in June 2015. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $10.5M
- Total Rounds 3
- Last Round Debt – Venture β $8M
- Investors Count 3
All 3 funding rounds of Storyblocks with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2015 | $8M | Debt – Venture | β | β | |
| Sep 2012 | $10.5M | Series A | β | Updata Partners | |
| Mar 2012 | Series A | β | β |
4 investors in total: 4 institutional.
Investors in Storyblocks
Storyblocks has secured backing from 4 investors, including venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Updata Partners, North Atlantic Capital and QED Investors.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tech-focused Venture debt firm providing debt finacing in the US and Europe | 1986 | northatlanticcapital.com | Portland, United States | |
Private equity investments are directed toward multiple sectors. | 1998 | updata.com | ||
Venture capital fund investing in early-stage start-ups | qedinvestors.com | Alexandria, United States | ||
Business acquisitions are targeted by the private equity firm. | greathillpartners.com | Boston, United States |
Investor details for Storyblocks
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Storyblocks
9 people are tracked at Storyblocks (6 in leadership, 3 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Joel Holland | Founder & Co-CEO | Leadership |
TJ Leonard | CEO | Leadership |
Marianne Bunton | VP & Head Of Marketing | Leadership |
Michael Donelan | Director Of Revenue Operations | Leadership |
Brian Wilkins | Vice President Of Sales | Leadership |
Laura Scott | VP Of Finance | Leadership |
Justin Hugel | Senior Manager, Fp&a | Team |
Dexter Krishnan | Engineering Manager | Team |
Raphael Oloyede | SDR | Team |
Complete people profiles for Storyblocks
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Storyblocks
4 dated milestones of Storyblocks across 9 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Storyblocks is founded.
- Funding First funding round.
- Funding Latest funding round, Debt β Venture, of $8.0M.
- Exit Acquired by Great Hill Partners.
Competitors of Storyblocks
Storyblocks has 3 listed competitors in our database, 2 of them funded. They include Getty Images, Shutterstock and Fotolia.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gettyimages.com | 1995 | Seattle, United States | $625M | 837 | Royalty-free stock photos, creative images, and vectors are supplied globally. | |
| shutterstock.com | 2003 | New York, United States | 1,274 | Royalty-free images, vectors, video clips, and music are supplied. | ||
| fotolia.com | 2004 | New York, United States | $225.2M | 15 | Royalty-free stock photo marketplace platform |
Detailed competitors of Storyblocks
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of Storyblocks
The website of Storyblocks (storyblocks.com) receives about 2.1M visits a month and ranks #20,257 among all websites worldwide, #116 in Photography.
- Monthly visits2.1M
- Unique visitors866.6K
per month
- Global rank#20,257
among all websites
- Category rank#116
Hobbies and Leisure · Photography
- Bounce rate35%
- Pages per visit5.9
- Average visit6 min 46 sec
- DevicesDesktop 65% Β· Mobile 35%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Storyblocks. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pixabay.com | 100% | 38.3M | #942 | View details | |
| shutterstock.com | 97% | 71.2M | #547 | View details | |
| pexels.com | 88% | 30.5M | #1,241 | View details | |
| istockphoto.com | 84% | 32.3M | #1,301 | View details | |
| dreamstime.com | 78% | 23.6M | #2,485 | View details | |
| β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’ | β’β’β’β’β’β’.com | β’β’% | β’.β’M | #β’β’β’β’β’ | β |
| β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’ | β’β’β’β’β’β’.com | β’β’% | β’.β’M | #β’β’β’β’β’ | β |
| β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’β’ | β’β’β’β’β’β’.com | β’β’% | β’.β’M | #β’β’β’β’β’ | β |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Storyblocks
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 40 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in Video Creation Tools
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Storyblocks (Video Creation Tools) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AI-powered tools for video creation from text prompts are offered. | 2017 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 57.66 M | |||
AI tools for multimodal world simulations are developed. | 2018 | New York, New York, United States | USD 859.5 M | |||
AI-enabled photorealistic 3D capturing technology is provided for e-commerce. | 2021 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 1.06 B | 497 |
Unlock complete access to The Company Check
Get unrestricted viewing across everything we track β from companies and brands to investors, funding rounds, acquisitions, financials, and more.
- Unlimited viewing on all profiles Companies, investors, financials, funding, acquisitions & directors
- Full access to every database India & global coverage, advanced filters and rich profile details
- Always-on access from your team account Single premium plan for everything you see on the portal
Related news about Storyblocks
Complete news archive for Storyblocks
Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.
- Full article archive
- Source and publication date
- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Frequently Asked Questions about Storyblocks
Storyblocks was founded in 2011 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.
Storyblocks is headquartered in Arlington, United States. It is registered at Arlington, Virginia, United States.
Joel Holland is the CEO of Storyblocks, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
Storyblocks is a funded company, having raised a total of $10.5M across 3 funding rounds to date.
Storyblocks was founded in 2011 in Arlington, United States, as a marketplace serving the media and entertainment industry. Royalty-free stock images, video footage clips, After Effects templates, and audio tracks are provided to users. Creatives are shared and sold by contributors to producers and filmmakers. Clients including ABC, NBC, The History Channel, The Weather Channel, MTV, Travel Channel, National Geographic, and Discovery Channel are supported through these operations.
Storyblocks's top competitors include Getty Images, Shutterstock and Fotolia.
Storyblocks has 4 investors. Key investors include Updata Partners, North Atlantic Capital, QED Investors, and Great Hill Partners.
Yes. Storyblocks was acquired by Great Hill Partners in June 2020.
The website of Storyblocks receives about 2.1 million visits a month and ranks #20,257 among all websites worldwide.

