Way back in August 2006, the fledgeling site called FlashDen breathed its first cautious breath. That significant day was followed by the birth of Marketplaces, blogs, bundles, books, teams and communities that we have come to know and love as “Envato”. This month we celebrate our seventh birthday! In this post we explore the most inspiring moments from the history of the Marketplaces.
Before we get to those milestones, let’s take a moment to reflect on our growth. How do we compare with where we were at on our fifth birthday?
- Our 300,000 Marketplace items have become almost three million.
- Our one million Marketplace members have almost tripled.
Not bad for just two years. Talk about exponential growth!
So, what are the most inspiring Envato Marketplace moments of all time? We catch up with seven members of the Marketplace team about how they discovered Envato, what they’re up to, and what has inspired them over the years.
Ben Smithett, Front End Developer
With Envato: 2 years
Role: Front End Developer
Like basically every other developer I know, I discovered Envato via Tuts+. I wish I’d known about the Marketplaces back in my Flash days!
When Kriesi hit the million dollar mark, then Peerapong followed him shortly after, it really highlighted the potential of the Marketplaces for me. It’s very inspiring to work every day on a platform that enables anyone who works hard enough to achieve those levels of success.
Scott Wills, Marketplace Community Manager
With Envato: 6 years total (4 years full-time)
Roles: AD/AJ/GR/PD reviewer, AD Blog Editor, AJ Site Manager, Growth Team Officer, Marketplace Community Manager
I discovered Envato when I saw a screenshot of FlashDen.net on WebCreme.com, a place for web design inspiration. It was probably the most life-changing link I’ve clicked on in my life!
One of my fondest memories on the Envato Marketplaces was hearing a story from a talented AudioJungle author called okanakdeniz. He shared a really inspirational story in the forums that puts a lot of things in perspective about how our Marketplaces go beyond making money. He said:
“I remember the day I discover Envato. I got excited and dreamed of earning money by only making music in my small room. Envato gives me hope to live for. Cause before Envato I was bored of doing the same thing in my life. And also I made good friends in here. Now my music portfolio getting bigger and bigger and my sales are getting bigger too.
“Then Envato gives me another ways to create. Because of Envato, I bought Prof. Photograph and a camcorder. Now I am also creating stock videos and photos. And this makes me go out and see the details of the beauty of life. This journey is not only for money, Envato gives me a reason to understand life by creating. I am creating my life again with Envato. Envato feeds my creativity and gives me a new life…”
Jami Gibbs, Support
With Envato: 2 years
Roles: Support Team Assistant, Senior Support Officer
I’ve been on the Envato Support Team since November 2011 and a Marketplace author since 2010. Time flies when you’re having fun!
Before Envato, I was freelancing as a front-end WordPress developer, and you can’t spend too much time in that universe without eventually bumping into ThemeForest.
Wow, there are so many significant milestones, but I think what really sticks out in my memory was when the first author hit $1 million sales, and then in less than a year the second and third(!) authors reached the mark!
It’s a really stunning accomplishment for an author, and an incredible motivation for other authors in the community—especially for it all to happen in such a relatively short period of time.
Calin Teodorescu, Community
With Envato: 6 months
Roles: Community Moderator, Community Ambassador
Four years ago I joined the Envato community as a simple user. Next up, I was Community Moderator for about two years, followed by “Community Ambassador” since January 2013. I’ve been been observing the Marketplaces ever since the era of the great “FlashDen”.
I’d been working online since 2006, trying to market my skills, and I came across the Marketplaces. I was shy at first, only checked it out every now and then, until I finally joined some 2-3 years later. I’ve never left since… that’s what this Community does to you!
I could not choose a single author who inspired me greatly during my interaction with the Marketplaces, as that would be both unfair, as well as unrealistic. But trying to shortlist a few, I could safely start off with Mr. D’zinc, a fellow moderator, and amazing designer, Mr. NechitaPaulFlavius (GR Author) with whom I’ve also had the great pleasure of talking face to face, Giallo (again GR) for his outstanding graphic skills and many many more!
Finally, there’s Mr. scottwills, who played a very important role in attracting me to the Marketplaces through his generally positive attitude and constant advice… which through the years helped me evolve in so many ways!
Josh Sprague, Growth Team Officer
With Envato: 2 years
Roles: Category and event promotion, new category research and discovery
I was turned on to FlashDen back in 2008 by the All Mighty dxc381, and have been a huge fan ever since.
From early on I was blown away by some of the incredible Flash files kicked out by Marketplace giants like OXYLUS, and digitalscience. Also, to this day I’m still amazed at the tremendous staying power of U-Design.
Which milestones mean the most to me? Every birthday! I can’t believe we’re seven this month!
Carmen Angerer, Community
With Envato: 2 years
Roles: Community Officer
I stumbled across Envato by chance, and loved the incredible range of items. My role is to help manage and communicate with the community. It makes it easy that we have so many fantastic people who are part of the Envato community.
I was here for our last birthday celebration, which was our sixth birthday, and for Kriesi’s $1 million milestone. Both moments were incredible for me, because they showed me how far Envato had come in just six years. From humble beginnings, there was an Envato author selling a million dollars worth of files on the Envato sites!
It was incredibly exciting and gratifying to know that people out there are really making changes to their lives because of Envato. It’s an inspiring thing to know that you are helping people run their own businesses and work in an industry they love.
Shane Freer, Growth Team Officer
With Envato: 10 months
Roles: Buyer, Author, Growth Officer
How did I discover Envato? Back in the Flash days I needed ActionScript files, and discovered FlashDen/ActiveDen.
Two significant milestones that stand out to me are:
1. When WordPress and eCommerce themes became a credible solution for buyers.
2. When authors started producing amazing quality themes that stood out from what else was available, it really raised the bar on what was possible.
What an awesome seven years! What are your favourite memories? Let us know in the comments.
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