418: Shopify President Harley Finkelstein on Building the World’s #1 Ecommerce Platform

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Harley Finkelstein is an entrepreneur, lawyer, and president of Shopify. Harley was store #137 when he started on Shopify as a merchant in 2009. After law school, he joined the team at Shopify and helped build it into the world’s #1 ecommerce platform. In 2021, the Shopify ecosystem generated $440B in economic value. For Harley, the success of Shopify all comes down to a belief that entrepreneurship is the greatest equalizer on the planet.

Listen to Nathan and Harley discuss:

• Starting his first business at 17
• How he supported his family by selling t-shirts
• Why he went to law school to be a better entrepreneur
• Meeting Tobias Lütke at a coffee shop in Ottawa
• The early days of Shopify and the Build a Business Competition
• Why he started a tea business on Shopify store in 2021
• Why he looks for obsessiveness when angel investing in companies
• The importance of self-awareness as an entrepreneur
• And much more ecommerce wisdom…

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