Pexels

Twin brother Ingo co-founded Pexels in a small German town, launching in 2014 with around 800 curated photos. He studied computer science at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin from 2014–2017 while building the platform as a side project. Joseph served as CEO alongside his brother until November 2018, before Canva acquired Pexels. The venture grew from a personal curation effort—gathering high-quality Creative Commons images—into a community-driven library now integrated into Canva's design workflows.

Studied Technology and Management at Technical University of Munich (2008–2011), where he co-founded and served as VP of TU Investment Club e.V. in 2009. Prior to Pexels, interned in Innovation Management at Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and co-founded and served as Managing Director of Dreamflat. Co-founded Pexels in 2015 alongside Berlin Startup Offices, then co-founded Lensdrop (a Netflix/Spotify model for stock photos) in 2016, with both Pexels and Lensdrop acquired by Canva in 2018. Currently operates as co-founder and COO at Pexels within the Canva ecosystem, managing operational oversight while remaining involved in strategic direction.

Co-founded Pexels with twin brother Bruno in 2014, launching with around 800 photos. Brought technical experience from previous roles at Small Improvements, Provideal, and Micromata, with frontend development work at Small Improvements. The platform was acquired by Canva in 2018 and now operates as a free asset library integrated into Canva's design tools. In public remarks around the acquisition, emphasized alignment with Canva's mission of empowering global design and providing free stock content, reflecting a consistent founder focus on democratizing creative assets.