Bryan Zmijewski – Microstock Celebrity
Posted by Lee Torrens
Bryan Zmijewski, who’s website says about his surname, “Don’t try to pronounce it, you’ll get it wrong”, is the person behind LuckyOliver.
He goes by “Z” in true James Bond style, and the personality doesn’t stop there. Zmijewski has given his website a persona that’s off the scale in originality. LuckyOliver sports a carnival theme that transcends all aspects of the website. Contributors, buyers, credits, keywords, account balance, forums and blogs have all be renamed to continue the theme. One can’t help but ask, “Why?” expecting nothing more than an evil giggle from Zmijewski in response. After all, he lectures about design and owns a successful company that helps startups create branding and customer relationships. He must know what he’s doing.
Zmijewski is particular about strategy. He’s positioning LuckyOliver as a “photo marketplace” between microstock and macrostock. In describing their position he coined the term “midstock”, which the industry has been quick to adopt.
Known For
Founder and Chief Instigator at LuckyOliver. Coined the term “midstock”.
Websites
LuckyOliver | Zurb, his “other” company | LinkedIn Profile
Personal Details
Lives in California, USA | Married and proud father
Background
Zmijewski earned a degree in Product Design from Stanford University, where he still lectures. He was the first employee at toy manufacturer Skyline, whom he helped build into a successful company before its sale to IDEO. He then created eXPLICO and later Zurb, a company offering a range of services from design to customer relationship management.
Not content with just one successful company, nor with the existing offerings in the microstock market, Bryan decided to create his own microstock agency. He launched LuckyOliver in June 2006.
Microstock Portfolios
Signs of Success
Successful creation of Company #1: Zurb
Successful creation of Company #2: LuckyOliver
Lectures at Stanford University
Believably referred to as an ‘over achiever’
Press Mentions
Short profile on AboutTheImage | Zmijewski and LuckyOliver on PDN | Zmijewski interview on PodTech
Posted September 3rd, 2007 by Lee Torrens
Lee, it’s nice to recognized as ‘celebrity’, but I’m much more of a ‘roll up your sleeves and do it’ kind of guy. I like to see things come together.
I’ve been fortunate to work with many talented people over the years. LuckyOliver is a team effort that involves customers, employees, bouncers, moderators, contractors and investors. The team has and will continue to be extremely important to the success of LuckyOliver. We’re excited about the future.
Thanks again!
Bryan