There’s something going on with celebs right now:
They’re really rich. (Duhhh?)
No.
Like really rich.
It’s economies of scale.
And it’s taking place over Instagram:
A social platform. Turned professional platform. Turned whatever - it doesn’t matter. It’s money, baby.
And it’s all thanks to our boy - Tobi Lutke (TL).
Go on?
The year is 2004. And TL likes to snowboard. And code.
He’s really freaking smart. And he lives with his girlfriend and his girlfriends’ parents.
It’s important. Because-he-doesn’t-have-an-ego.
We’re talking about a guy who goes to Whistler. Falls in love. And moves to Canada.
It seems rash (it is).
But hey, he’s in love. And he likes risk.
The move is indicative of TL’s agility. He’s a German immigrant with no work visa (meaning - the guy needs a job).
So he sells snowboards online.
Only to discover - there’s no infrastructure supporting the whole e-commerce trend. It’ a pretty big aha moment. TL writes some code - which people later license to start their own online biz.
He’s at a crossroads.
Software or snowboards? Take a wild guess.
Software - he chooses software.
Really?
Yes.
It’s called Shopify.
And it’s the digital platform letting users do things like “click to buy” or “add to cart.”
There’s something about this Tobi guy.
He-isn’t-American (gasp). And it makes sense - Shopify is all about the merchant (totally un-American).
There’s no Shopify marketplace. No Shopify subdomain.
Just the merchant. And the merchant’s product. Odds are, you’ve purchased something on Shopify’s platform.
Warby Parker. Harry’s. Allbirds.
They’re all on Shopify.
It’s facilitated a new type of entrepreneur. One that lives on Instagram. And sells DTC.
Think:
Kylie Cosmetics. Skims. Glossier. It’s-a-formula.
Consumerism lives in the space between us and celebrities (sounds lofty, right?). And yet, Kylie Jenner is the youngest self-made billionaire - from brand ambassador to brand.
Let’s go back. To 2008.
Global. Financial. Crisis. Man, that one hurts.
People lose their jobs and turn to passion projects. So yeah, it’s Shopify’s first year as cash flow neutral.
Which brings us back to today.
It’s worth $6 billion.
And it’s all about giving merchants that “first sell” experience. Much like TL’s first sold snowboard to some guy in Pennsylvania.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering - TL paid himself minimum wage. And lived with his in-laws until 2014. One year pre-IPO. (The pic above is of TL’s wife and youngest son).
So take one from Tobi Lutke. He’s a good guy. With a good pivot.
And that’s the skinny.