while he completed a business degree at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University). At the time, 500 pixels was considered a good size for web display and was therefore the limit placed on photos submitted to the community for review. Once photographers submitted their photos, they were moderated, and only those of high quality would make it past the community's curators and be published on the site.

Tchebotarev joined forces with Oleg Gutsol and in early 2009, they