Joel Holland, founder of VideoBlocks, talks about establishing a Netflix-style, members only site for stock video, cultivating office culture around both long and short term goals and weighing the intangibles behind successful venture funding.

Joel, a Washington DC area native, started VideoBlocks as a Junior in high school when he began selling burned DVDs of self-produced DC attractions and monuments footage. In 2003, he deferred enrollment to Babson College for one year to travel the United States, shoot video and lay the seeds for Video Blocks growth. Using his undergraduate education, Joel pushed the company towards a subscription based model that quickly exploded in popularity. With 34 million downloads, 100,000 users, and over 10 million in venture funding, Video Blocks continues to grow and recently expanded into stock music and graphics.

In this episode, we talk to Joel about the VideoBlocks concept emerging from an interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the fear associated with hiring his first employee, and the role his recently purchased RV plays in finding zen.

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My biggest takeaway [at a young age] was that we are really capable of doing anything we want to, if we're willing to put in the work.

[With investors] more important than the money is the partner that you're going to be bringing on. When you're choosing, remember, it's like a marriage that you can't get out of, and that's scary.

How could I go see everything is this country? And have a nice workstation along the way? And be comfortable? And I was like...an RV! Thats the greatest wanderlust of all.

Learn more at www.videoblocks.com and @VideoBlocks. The Protagonist @hughandcrye, #theprotagonist.

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Items Mentioned In This Episode :

- Pumping Iron - Full Documentary
- How Google Works
- Netflix Culture Doc
- Jason Fried - TED Profile
- Google OKR's Explained
- Updata Partners