This industry, the stock and news photo industry, has a unique draw to the most varied, most eclectic individuals than any other. There is no school or degree that one can take to learn how to manage millions of images/videos to rent them to hundreds of thousands of users worldwide. No school or degree that teaches you how to interact with tens of thousands of suppliers worldwide, most of you will never meet, let alone even have a phone conversation. Nothing that will give you an edge over the hundreds, thousands of other companies in the world that do the same, partner and competition at the same time. And nothing that will help you cope with an industry where technology advances force massive business model disruptions every 5 to 10 years.
That is probably why you will meet some of the most brilliant, versatile, well-versed in general culture, curious, and resilient human beings in this industry. Amos Struck was definitely one of them. At first, he might appear as the happy-go-lucky guy in the room, always in a good mood, friendly, cheerful, and incredibly gifted at making connections. And he was all that and even more. But he was also a very astute businessman with a keen sense of what is to come. Passionately interested in new technology, he was the same with business models. Always ready for change, even anticipating it with little reserve, he would jump on a new trend or technology before everyone else. But not with reckless abandonment. Behind the happy smile, behind the friendly pat, and the cheerful appearance was a man of deep reflection and analysis. When he launched his new stock photo news industry website, it was not just to inform the world of the updates of this industry. It was also his way of ingesting all the information he needed to make the proper business decisions.
Ellen, Amos, and yours truly .”Cheese, Wine, and Brainstorming” . CEPIC 2024
When many others tried to dismiss it as a reckless fad, he was among the first to recognize microstock as an immutable force in the industry. He brilliantly understood the inner workings of the low-priced, royalty-free model by creating a successful business around referral links, the very powerful undercurrent of the microstock world. With partners Mark Milstein and Lee Torrens, he built two very successful conferences. He went on to eventually build his own after the purchase of the domain name stockphotos.com. Always on the lookout for the latest information, new technologies ( he was kind of a gadget man) and insight, there was little that happened in this industry that he did not know about.
Amos and I had many, many conversations over the years. Some about industry news, others about technology, some about business models, and we even tried building a business together. During all these conversations, often passionate exchanges – neither of us liked to be wrong- we built a true friendship built on mutual respect and appreciation. Often, when we had long periods of silence, I would find excuses to send him an email as an excuse to restart our dialogue. Every conference was an opportunity to dine together (cheese, wine, and ideas), along with his wife Ellen and partner Veta , and bounce ideas, which often continued during breakfast and the days thereafter. Amos was a passionate man in everything he did, whether business, friendship, or family.
The news of his passing has put an infinite dark hole in the hearts of those who knew him and the industry as a whole. There was never and will never be another Amos Stuck. Without him, his enthusiasm, his energy, and his passion, this industry will never be the same. Neither will we. RIP, my friend.