How many of you have combed the internet for copyright-free Indian pictures for those super important office presentations, books or social media campaigns? Why live in fear of being called out by the owner when you can impress people with an original photograph? No, we don't mean go out there and shoot them yourself. But you could turn to Picxy, a stock photo company. Not only are they affordable (their photographs start from Rs 150), but by choosing this company that's based out of Hyderabad and Bengaluru, you can stay in line with their Make in India spirit.
"Yes, there is Getty Images and Shutterstock, but do they truly represent India in their pictures in the way that we see our country, away from the Slumdog Millionaire-esque mindset?" asks CEO and Co-founder of Picxy, Jitendra Chowdary who started this venture in Andhra Pradesh's Amravati, with co-founders Vamsi Mannem and Satish Madala. They were determined to represent the diversity that India holds close to its heart and have been quite successful. They are certainly going about this the right way as in January last year, they received $130,000 in funding and are looking for another round of funding in the near future. Currently, they have 170,000 photographs on their site and their audacious goal for the next five years is to build an inventory of five million photographs. Can they do it? We sure think they can! Before we proceed further, a little about the man himself. Jitendra was the Head of Content, Social Media for AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in the 2014 elections. He then went on to pursue his master's from Northern Illinois University, US and worked with a bank. He even launched southreport.com. In September 2017, he moved back and started Picxy in January 2018. After he completes his ten years with the start-up, Jitendra wants to move on to the field of social entrepreneurship. "I sell and buy on Picxy too. As a product owner, I should experience the product the way my users do," Jitendra says. This statement truly tells us a little more about him, doesn't it?
Talking about what they're doing right, Jitendra informs us of the various ways they are not just running a start-up, but are also sensitising the community of photographers. And how? "We have conducted photography meet-ups in three cities to do our bit for the community," says the 28-year-old. They also hire interns and train them on how to turn their passion into a career. The team behind Picxy believes that even mobiles have stories to share, so they're not too high-brow about accepting good phone pictures, as "mobile photography is the future," opines Jitendra. Here's a fun trivia to prove this point. Their youngest contributor is a 13-year-old whose picture was sold on Picxy, a picture he took on his phone. All their pictures are geotagged and they have as many as 650 categories.
So, what's next? We ask Jitendra. "We believe that we are on the right track. So, our immediate plan is to sustain as a brand and keep forging forward," he says. Forge away, we say!
For more on them, click on picxy.com