Kaz Nejatian, COO and VP of Product at Shopify, shares his invaluable insights gleaned from tech giants like Mark Zuckerberg and Tobi Lütke. He argues that in-person collaboration outshines remote work for most companies and critiques the Lean Startup approach as damaging. Kaz emphasizes the importance of building internal tools, transparency in communication, and accountability in product management. He also explores the complex dynamics between marriage and success, suggesting that personal growth within relationships significantly contributes to well-being.

Tobi Lütke (Shopify Founder & CEO), Kaz Nejatian (Shopify COO), and Balaji review how Shopify rose from tiny startup to $180B+ global economy, with an annual GMV on par with the GDP of New Zealand. In the process they touch on Hayek, the Hanseatic League, merchant cavemen, the history of the corporation, and the optimal level of platform decentralization. OUTLINE 00:00 - Introduction 02:39 - Shopify has the scale of a small country 08:49 - Lifestyle businesses take up your whole life 20:52 - SMBs can be harder than startups 27:13 - Shopify could invest in its merchants 32:23 - Shopify's economy is on par with Greece or New Zealand 38:40 - Money, time, risk, attention 39:55 - Is all retail a form of arbitrage? 47:14 - The history of the corporation informs the development of smart contracts 56:57 - Founders start as lead engineer, end up as chief psychiatrist 1:00:27 - Shopify is not just technology but community 1:06:26 - The concept of computational context 1:14:34 - Shopify as a dashboard for the global economy 1:22:48 - Atoms are so much more complex than bits 1:28:41 - Balancing centralized vs decentralized at Shopify 1:43:26 - If they could start a new country, what would Tobi and Kaz build? 2:03:28 - Kaz on working at Shopify 2:04:31 - Tobi's parting thoughts LINKS 1) 100 true fans: kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/ 2) Gobekli Tepe: smithsonianmag.com/history/gobekli-tepe-the-worlds-first-temple-83613665 3) Shopify active merchant: github.com/activemerchant/active_merchant 4) Fall of Civilizations: youtube.com/@FallofCivilizations 5) Founding vs Inheriting: thenetworkstate.com/founding-vs-inheriting 6) Shopify careers: shopify.com/careers VIDEO YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=DfrhCGpRCPI CREDITS Editing: twitter.com/DholakiaJaydeep Images: twitter.com/elijah10T SOCIAL twitter.com/tobi twitter.com/CanadaKaz twitter.com/balajis thenetworkstate.com

Kaz Nejatian, COO of Shopify, shares his journey from Iran to Canada, his tech passion, and why Shopify ditched meetings. Topics include product culture, hiring unique talent, marriage's career benefits, and the power of prayer for CEOs.