Meet: Tobias Lütke

Context

Shopify is an e-commerce platform that lets anyone start, manage and grow an online business. Millions of people worldwide use it to build online stores, manage sales, market to customers and accept payments.

• Powers almost 4.5 million stores globally.

• Sellers on Shopify generated a total of $319 billion.

• 650 million buyers purchased through a store built on Shopify.

• SKIMS, by Kim Kardashian (among many others), runs on Shopify.

Tobias Lütke’s story

To understand Tobias’s (Tobi) story, you need to look at it from two angles: computers and snowboarding.

Tobi was born in 1980, making him one of the first generations to grow up in a world with computers, and he fell in love with programming early on. Also, in a parallel world, Tobi really loves snowboarding.

Fast-forward to 2004. One day Tobi decided to build an online store to sell snowboards. He was looking for off-the-shelf software but couldn't find one. So, using his skills as a programmer, he built his online store from scratch and launched it under the name 'Snow Devil'.

He remembers every detail of the day he made the first online sale. He was working in the coffee shop when he got that confirmation email that changed the course of his life.

He realized that he wasn’t just a builder but now also an entrepreneur. He also realized that other entrepreneurs can't do the same if they lack the technical skills to build an online store themselves.

With that realization, he decided to start Shopify: a software company that will enable others to start new online businesses easily.

Market differentiation

"Make commerce better for everyone" is Shopify's motto, and they deliver on that promise. Shopify was one of the first, and still is one of the pioneers, to reduce the entry barriers for anyone who wants to start an online business.

Shopify is known also for its modernity and keeping pace with the world. "Wherever the internet and e-commerce are going, Shopify is going", as they say. And that's why some of the world's biggest brands choose to build and run on Shopify.

Another interesting angle of their differentiation is that Shopify is not looking to over-promote its brand and be written into its customers' success stories; it's more aiming to push the businesses from behind the scenes.

Career advice

1. "Life is best lived by working hard, solving difficult problems, and being surrounded by friends... It doesn't mean crazy hours. It just means intentional caring."

2. Quite similar to Steve Jobs' advice on building your own things that others can use, Tobi said: "Build your skills and set yourself up for success. Don't just go to a billiard table and play the next ball. You need to play the table."

• Check out this video if you want to get some of Tobias Lütke in less than 2 minutes.

• Check out this video if you want to get a lot of Tobias Lütke in more than 2 hours.

Until the next one,

– Steve