#261 Tobi Lütke - CEO of Shopify: How Shopify Became a Cheat Code for Entrepreneurs

54 snips

Dec 11, 2025

Tobi Lütke, the co-founder and CEO of Shopify, shares his journey from a snowboarding shop to building a multibillion-dollar e-commerce platform. He emphasizes the emotional weight of a first sale and how entrepreneurship fosters independence. Tobi critiques copycat business behaviors, urging originality, and highlights the importance of small teams and direct communication. He also discusses the incredible advantages available today for aspiring entrepreneurs, including AI tools that enhance business operations and creativity.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Snowdevil Sparked Shopify

Tobi Lütke built Snowdevil in 2004 because he couldn't legally be hired in Canada and wanted independence.
The snowboard store's custom software became Shopify after others asked to license it, sparking a new product direction.

ADVICE

Build Quietly, Hone Your Craft

Hone craft privately and do the thankless work before market recognition.
Use intrinsic motivation to push projects forward when no one is watching.

INSIGHT

Avoid Cargo-Cult Copying

Cargo-cult behavior replicates surface features, not principles, and yields hollow results.
True originality requires building what you deeply want, not copying visible success formulas.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Tobi Lütke is a German born Canadian who built a multibillion-dollar company from a snowboard shop; champions economic freedom for regular people starting businesses; combines old-world craftsmanship with modern innovation. He is an entrepreneur, software developer, best known as the co-founder and CEO of Shopify, a leading e-commerce platform powering over 4 million merchants worldwide as of 2024, generating billions in annual revenue.

Born in Germany, Lütke discovered his passion for coding at a young age with a Schneider CPC computer, rewriting game code by age 11. A self-taught programmer who dropped out of school after tenth grade to pursue a computer programming apprenticeship at Koblenzer Carl-Benz-School, he moved to Canada in the early 2000s.

In 2004, as a snowboard enthusiast, Lütke co-founded Snowdevil, an online snowboard shop, but frustrations with existing e-commerce tools led him to build a custom platform using Ruby on Rails, which became Shopify in 2006 in Ottawa, Canada. Under his leadership, Shopify went public in 2015, reaching a market capitalization exceeding $100 billion at its peak. He is a core contributor to Ruby on Rails and creator of open-source libraries like Active Merchant. Lütke joined Coinbase’s board in 2022.

Tobi is a competitive racing driver in the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship’s LMP2 class for Era Motorsport. He is married to Fiona McKean, a former Canadian diplomat, with three children. He co-founded the Thistledown Foundation, supporting environmental causes through initiatives like Shopify’s Sustainability Fund. Lütke advocates for ethical technology, small business empowerment, and innovative leadership, often speaking on platforms like Invest Like the Best about building sustainable tech ecosystems.

Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors:

Visit https://shopbeam.com/SRS and use code SRS to get our exclusive discount of up to 50% off.

Go to https://ShawnLikesGold.com right now to get your free 2025 Gold & Silver Kit.

Ready to upgrade your eyewear? Check them out at https://roka.com and use code SRS for 20% off sitewide.

Upgrade your routine with Caldera Lab and see the difference for yourself. Go to https://CalderaLab.com/SRS and use SRS at checkout for 20% off your first order.

Tobi Lütke Links:

X - https://x.com/tobi

IG - https://www.instagram.com/tobi

Get started with Shopify - https://shopify.com/srs

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices