# Shopify: Tobias Lütke

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2019-08-05
- Length: 1h 04m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-08-05-shopify-tobias-lutke

## Summary

Tobias Lütke, co-founder and CEO of Shopify, explains how his struggle with learning disabilities and a desire to sell snowboards led him to build the e-commerce platform. He details the pivot from his initial store, Snow Devil, to licensing the underlying Ruby on Rails software, which became Shopify. Lütke discusses the company's early bootstrapping, the critical decision to switch to a subscription model, and his initial reluctance to become CEO or pursue venture capital. The episode covers Shopify's growth from a small Ottawa team to a public company with over 800,000 merchants, highlighting the role of luck and the 2008 financial crisis in driving user growth.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-08-05-shopify-tobias-lutke#t=0) Introduction: Tobias Lütke and Shopify's Origin
- [4:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-08-05-shopify-tobias-lutke#t=298) Lütke's Learning Disabilities and Early Programming Career
- [11:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-08-05-shopify-tobias-lutke#t=717) Moving to Canada and Starting Snow Devil
- [19:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-08-05-shopify-tobias-lutke#t=1145) Building the Ruby on Rails E-commerce Platform
- [28:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-08-05-shopify-tobias-lutke#t=1728) Early Funding, Pricing Model Pivot, and First Customers
- [36:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-08-05-shopify-tobias-lutke#t=2160) Silicon Valley Pitch, 2008 Crisis, and CEO Transition
- [44:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-08-05-shopify-tobias-lutke#t=2662) Scaling Shopify, Marketing Experiments, and Going Public
- [58:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-08-05-shopify-tobias-lutke#t=3519) Reflections on Luck, Wealth, and Shopify's Impact

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Shopify (product)
- Snow Devil (product)
- Ruby on Rails (tool)
- Ruby (tool)
- Kylie Cosmetics (product)
- Kylie Jenner (other)
- Amazon (company)
- Siemens (company)
- Bessemer (company)
- Unbuckle Me (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [078: Selling Products Direct to End-Users via Shopify](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-06-02-078-selling-products-direct-to-end-users-via-shopify) (Product Startup)
- [How To Build A Sustainable Brand On Shopify](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2021-02-15-how-to-build-a-sustainable-brand-on-shopify) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Afterschool Podcast, Episode 1 - Rich Brilliant Willing](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/core77-podcast/2013-08-19-afterschool-podcast-episode-1-rich-brilliant-willing) (Core77 Podcast)
- [The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Mike Konrad's Journey Through Entrepreneurship, Networking and SMTA](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2025-03-14-the-reluctant-entrepreneur-mike-konrads-journey-through-entrepreneurship-network) (EMS@C-LEVEL)
- [#169 - "How to Take Advice" with Nikhil Arora](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-11-12-169-how-to-take-advice-with-nikhil-arora) (The Startup CPG Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-08-05-shopify-tobias-lutke. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.