"The software I built for myself is good. Maybe other people want it too." This simple realization transformed a snowboard shop into a $200B e-commerce empire.

The Snowdevil Origin

In 2004, Tobi Lütke's passion for snowboarding led him to try selling gear online. After choosing the moniker Snowdevil, he faced early challenges - "like having to send notarized copies of his passport to American Fork, Utah for the API keys allowing him to accept credit card payments."

Instead of being discouraged, Tobi was intrigued and wanted to make it easier for others.

Turn Your Calling Into a Craft

Tobi's advice: "I think the best trick to pull off in life is to find your calling early and hone it into a craft, and then share it in some way."

"At some point in life, you've realized that everything around us is made by people who are no smarter or more talented than us."

Innovation is Blue Collar

"People take this Hollywood view, which is like people in lab coats saying 'eureka' suddenly, and then innovation has happened. Innovation is actually much more blue collar, it's much more vocational, it's the frequent incremental improvement of the things that we care about."

20 Years Later

Shopify now powers over 10% of all U.S. e-commerce, reached a $200B+ market cap, and has helped millions of entrepreneurs build their own versions of Snowdevil.