At first glace San Diego based BrightQube, a site that claims to revolutionize image search, appears to be just another image database for microstock and professional quality images, similar to sites like iStockphoto (microstock) or Getty Images (professional). After chatting with Founder and CEO, Lee Corkran, however, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that BrightQube is destined to be more than just an image repository.

Although it does do image search rather well, a search for “summer blue” yielded the snapshot of images on the right, BrightQube is positioned to be more than just the destination for images of all sizes, prices, and quality; it’s aiming to be an open marketplace for anyone and everyone to post and sell images directly on the site.

According to Corkran…

BrightQube has no natural competitors. iStockphoto and Getty Images serve a niche need, but BrightQube looks to be an open marketplace, allowing the buyer to find the right image, while encouraging user generated participation. [BrightQube] is Flickr with a cash register.

The idea behind BrightQube originated a few years ago when Corkran, who has been in the photography industry for over 20 years, realized that as a photographer he was never reaching his ideal buyer audience. At the time he felt there was a log jam in digital media entities, and that there still wasn’t an easy way to find images online. BrightQube was envisioned to combine the functionality of google maps (drag & drop, click, zoom-in/out), with a sophisticated visual search engine, where anybody could post, place, and price their own images online.

Right now BrightQube is only delivering on one of its promises, but Corkran assures me that the next stage, a real community marketplace, is coming later this summer.

BrightQube Quick Facts

  • $200,000 in seed funding to start, with an additional $650,000, all acquired via Tech Coast Angels
  • 2,000,000 + images starting at $1
  • Royalty free images from 40+ brands

To Watch or Not

The monetization strategy is pretty obvious, as BrightQube is shipping digital goods from buyers to sellers and taking a percentage of the sale in the process, so success is contingent upon attracting an user base interested in buying. If BrightQube can deliver on Corkran’s claim to be Flickr with a cash register, than success should be inevitable.

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