Summary of Shopify President Harley Finkelstein on Catalyzing Entrepreneurship

00:00:00 - 00:45:00

Harley Finkelstein, president of Shopify, discusses how the company is helping to catalyze entrepreneurship by providing a platform for businesses to sell their products. He talks about how the company has always allowed for other businesses to participate and benefit from its platform, and how this creates a unique and valuable ecosystem for both Shopify and its merchants.

• 00:00:00 Harley Finkelstein discusses the importance of entrepreneurship and how his experiences as a DJ and selling snowboards online helped him develop the skills he needed to be a successful entrepreneur. He discusses his time at McGill University, where he met Toby, who would later become his business partner and co-founder of Shopify.
• 00:05:00 Shopify president Harley Finkelstein discusses how Shopify catalyzed entrepreneurship by giving entrepreneurs the opportunity to build products for a platform with few customers. He also talks about how the platform has improved over time, and how app developers can benefit from working with Shopify.
• 00:10:00 Shopify President Harley Finkelstein discusses the nuances of entrepreneurship and how catalyzing it can help entrepreneurs create valuable products and services for others. He talks about how the company has always allowed for other businesses to participate and benefit from its platform, and how this creates a unique and valuable ecosystem for both Shopify and its merchants.
• 00:15:00 Shopify President Harley Finkelstein discusses how the company Catalystizes entrepreneurship, by providing an opt-in audience for merchants to sell to. The company's aim is to make it easier for merchants to make decisions, by providing a rich data algorithm that gets better over time.
• 00:20:00 Shopify President Harley Finkelstein discussed the tension between scaling an enterprise business and catering to early stage entrepreneurs. He advised founders to focus on making their products easy to use and scalable, and to avoid overwhelming their merchants with unnecessary complexity.
• 00:25:00 Shopify's president Harley Finkelstein discusses the company's strategy for catalyzing entrepreneurship, which includes empowering businesses with deep integrations to their fulfillment centers and shipping partners.
• 00:30:00 Shopify President Harley Finkelstein discusses the company's philosophy of creating an asset-light software ecosystem that helps small businesses compete against larger companies. He also discusses some of the trends affecting ecommerce, including live video and subscription-based commerce. He concludes by discussing how Shopify plans to future-proof its Merchants.
• 00:35:00 Shopify President Harley Finkelstein discusses the role of Shopify in the current entrepreneurial climate and how the platform is helping creators become brands and sell their products. He also discusses how the recent trend of creator-led commerce is breaking down traditional retail categories and how Shopify is helping to facilitate this change.
• 00:40:00 Shopify President Harley Finkelstein discusses the importance of developing talent and recruiting, and how early-stage founders can make it easy for employees to leave if it's the right time. He also discusses Shopify's various stages of growth, and how payments has reached a penetration rate of 85% in the US.
• 00:45:00 Shopify President Harley Finkelstein discusses how being self-aware and having a culture of honesty helps to catalyze entrepreneurship at the company. He also discusses his experiences running different businesses and how he knows when it is time to let someone else take over.