Shutterstock Developed an Algorithm Google Can't Break
After working on a project with Google, Shutterstock knew that the tech giant would release an algorithm that could wipe the company’s watermark from its stock images, a move that would have opened the door for the general public to do the same and claim copyrighted pictures as their own.
So what do you do when Google can crack your formula for success? You create a stronger one, Shutterstock CEO, Jon Oringer, told Cheddar.
“We made sure that before that paper came out we got ahead of it,” Oringer said. “We developed an even stronger watermark,” adding that this challenge pushed Shutterstock to step up its security game.
But Shutterstock is no stranger to leveling up its business strategies. The company, with a $1.29 billion market cap, recently acquired Canada-based Flashstock Technology for $50 million.
“We are always reinventing ourselves,” Oringer said in the recent interview, saying Shutterstock now has two offices in Canada after its acquisitions.
The executive stated that investing in Flashstock or Shutterstock Custom, as the new division is called, is “super important” for the future of the company, explaining that this investment was an effort to offer clients the ability to access on-brand custom shots.
“Brands have always come to us and said, ‘We like that image, but how do we get our brand in that image,’” he said.
As for creating a brighter future for a company, Oringer shared his top advice for fellow entrepreneurs: be able to play every role before you hand it over to someone else.
“If you start with that culture, if you start with that mindset, that really makes it so that you can scale well into the future,” he told Cheddar.
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
