The Tim Ferriss Show #359: Tobi Lütke — From Snowboard Shop to Billion-Dollar Company
Childhood Optimization
- Tobi Lütke counted steps on different routes to elementary school to find the shortest path.
- His mom revealed he's been optimizing since age four, including questioning the need for walks.
First Meeting
- Tim Ferriss found his Shopify IPO coin, reminiscing about their first meeting in 2008 when Shopify had 15 employees.
- Ferriss praises Lütke's consistent character despite Shopify's growth and success.
Deconstructing Questions
- Tobi Lütke challenges authority, preferring to deconstruct questions rather than provide expected answers.
- He optimized his time in school, focusing on his computer.
"Feedback is a gift." — Tobi Lütke
Tobi Lütke (@tobi) is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Shopify. In 2004, Tobi began building software to launch an online snowboard store called Snowdevil. It quickly became obvious that the software was more valuable than the snowboards, so Tobi and his founding team launched the Shopify platform in 2006. He has served as CEO since 2008 at the company's headquarters in Ottawa, Canada.
Tobi is an active advocate for computer literacy and education, and serves as a board member of Canada Learning Code, an organization working to give all Canadians access to digital skills. In 2014, Tobi was named The Globe and Mail's CEO of the Year. He served as Chair of the Digital Industries Table, an advisory board commissioned by the federal government to provide recommendations on how to turn Canada into a digital leader.
Please enjoy!
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