PicMonkey is an online photo editing and design service. It can be accessed from a web browser, or through the PicMonkey mobile app. PicMonkey's mission is to empower everyday creatives to communicate visually. It is headquartered in downtown Seattle, Washington. PicMonkey offers graphic design and photo editing tools, as well as a large selection of design templates for wedding invitations, announcements, thank you cards, business cards, etc. Free users can access most of the tools and features on the site, and membership provides the full design and photo editing workflow, including saving, sharing to social accounts like Facebook and Twitter, and access to Hub. Hub is PicMonkey's integrated cloud storage option—photos and designs saved in Hub are re-editable, and can be accessed from both mobile and desktop. PicMonkey has an open API for developers to integrate them directly into a website. Some current API partners include Facebook, Ipernity and SmugMug. PicMonkey's affiliate partner is ShareaSale. PicMonkey was recognized as a Top 100 Website in 2013 by PC Magazine, listed as hosting one of the Best April Fools’ Pranks of 2014 by TIME Magazine, and recognized as one of the most affordable online services for startups.
History
PicMonkey was founded on March 1, 2012 by former Picnik employees Brian Terry, Justin Huff, Jonathan Sposato, Charlie Whiton, and Lisa Conquergood. Google acquired the popular photo editor Picnik in 2010, but shut it down in April 2012 to focus on core products. Because millions of users no longer had access to Picnik, Terry, Huff, Sposato and others saw an opportunity to create a new company, PicMonkey. PicMonkey continued with the goal of creating a “fast and lightweight” photo editing experience. By February 2014, PicMonkey had become profitable, and had grown to over 13 million unique monthly users. In July 2015, PicMonkey received an investment of $41 million from the growth equity firm Spectrum Equity. On September 2, 2015, Frits Habermann joined PicMonkey as Chief Technology Officer. Habermann had formerly worked as vice president of core technologies at Adobe, and as the CTO of PopCap Games. Brent Chudoba worked with PicMonkey from 2016 to 2018, after working at Survey Monkey as Chief Revenue Officer. In 2017, Frits Habermann was appointed as the new PicMonkey CEO. Former CEO Jonathan Sposato continued on the PicMonkey board of directors as the chairman.
