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" A lot of the best technologists live and work in Canada, and every once in a while, they are aggregated by a Canadian company, and then suddenly, they're not anymore. But the people are still here - they're just working for American companies to the benefit of American bottom lines. "

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" I spent my time, growing up, essentially between two things: technology and retail. I was fascinated by selling and loved the idea of making a profit, but I also spent a lot of time on technology. "

Tobias Lutke

Two

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Time

" I am a worrier. I tend to do something about what I worry about. "

" I find the strongest predictor of people who do well at Shopify is whether they see opportunity as something to compete for, or do they see opportunity as essentially everywhere and unlimited? It's a rough proxy for pessimism and optimism. "

" We have a lot of really great companies in Canada, and I think there's always been this fear that 'great' in Canada doesn't mean great on a world stage. We need more self-confidence. We are building incredibly good businesses with incredibly good people, being loyal, dedicating themselves to solving important problems. "

" No one benefits from us not taking credit for our successes. There is no virtue in allowing kudos to go unclaimed or elsewhere. "

Tobias Lutke

Credit

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" A lot of people have a great business idea; they just need a little push to make it a reality. "

" Change has to be fundamental to a company's culture, or there is no way it can survive. "

" Shopify has been a perpetually underestimated company at every point of its history. "

" I'm always trying to think of ways to make something more efficient. If I have to do something once, that's fine. If I have to do it twice, I'm kind of annoyed. And if I have to do it three times, I'm going to try to automate it. "

" I never cared a lot for school. "

" Products are a form of speech, and free speech must be fiercely protected, even if we disagree with some of the voices. "

" I got my first computer when I was 6, and I was part of that early generation of children who grew up with computers always being around. I fell in love with them early on. "

" I'm ridiculously lucky. "

Tobias Lutke

Ridiculously

Lucky

" E-commerce is not an industry; e-commerce is a tactic. "

" It's not a principle unless it costs you something. "

" Our mantra has been, 'We will not buy a company unless we think the people that make up the company have a better job the day after the acquisition than before.' "

" If you believe something needs to exist, if it's something you want to use yourself, don't let anyone ever stop you from doing it. "

" Shopify was built as a company that could be run remotely anywhere. "

" You really want a company that's full of people from all these different backgrounds and then allow them to be creative as possible, come together, and come up with great ideas. "

" It's this concept of 'just fill up a building of smart people.' It sounds so basic, but honestly it might just be the secret behind Shopify's success. We just do that and get out of the way. "

" One of the most important tasks as a leader in a startup is to pick the right metric to track. This is often referred to as the 'compass metric' because it will be your compass for growth. It's important to note that 'compass metrics' will likely change over the lifetime of a business. "

" At Shopify, we are trying to make things as simple as possible, but for the business owner, it's not unlike starting your own little shop along Main Street somewhere. "

" Being part of something that's growing fast is better than being part of something that isn't growing fast because opportunities are essentially everywhere, and you're not competing for something. "

" We need a lot more technically literate people. The computers are the tools that are going to solve essentially all problems, and the people who can use them better will be more effective. "

" To me, a great company starts with a great product and ends with a great product. "

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Company

Product

" My early interactions with VCs were really, really poor. "

" I never went to university. "

Tobias Lutke

University

Never

" Computers are the most powerful tools that humanity has ever created. Yet, we treat them largely as a black box; as if it were an alien artifact that magically appeared on desks, in homes, and in our pockets. "

" When the market turns down, a lot of people lose jobs... and that's the time people become entrepreneurs. Downturns end up being the best times to start companies. "

" Once you've made peace with the fact that you're hardly ever going to work on anything that you're actually good at, the only thing that you can do is get good very fast on everything you have to do. "