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Shopify

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Shopify
Developer(s)jadedPixel
Operating systemCross-platform
TypeE-commerce
LicenseProprietary
Websitewww.shopify.com

Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows individuals and businesses to create online stores.[1][2] The platform currently hosts over 20,000 online retailers, including stores for Angry Birds, Foo Fighters, Tori Amos, General Electric, Tata Group, Tesla Motors, Amnesty International, DODOcase, CrossFit, LMFAO, Beastie Boys, Epic Meal Time, Pixar, Lollapalooza, Evernote, GitHub, Penny Arcade, and Evisu Jeans.[3][4][5]

History

Shopify was founded by Tobias Lütke and Scott Lake.[6][7] In 2004, Lütke and Lake attempted to open an e-commerce business for snowboarding equipment, which they named Snowdevil.[8] When it came time to add a shopping cart, Lütke, who is a programmer by trade, couldn't find a suitable product.[9][10] He states "to make a long story short, after trying a series of existing online store software packages I got so disgusted with the quality of the whole lot, that I wanted to do something about it just to spite them."[10][11]

Lütke began designing a custom store coded in what was then an obscure open source platform called Ruby on Rails.[12] After two months, he had a working online store and Snowdevil was launched.[4][13] The site found success and by 2006, the pair decided to share their code to help others sell items online.[12] He created a template for online stores, with clients providing the pictures and products, and launched Shopify in June 2006.[14] Lütke summarized this by saying "what used to take months in 2004, can now be done in about 20 minutes."[10]

Growth

After Shopify's launch, Lütke and Lake reached out to blogs and used word of mouth techniques to generate buzz.[13]

As of December 2010, Shopify has 30 full-time and 10 part-time employees.[11] The company claims to have been profitable since 2008 without any significant investments from outsiders.[5][15]

In 2010, Shopify began a series of acquisitions. On January 9, 2010, Shopify acquired MNDCreative to expand the capabilities of Shopify on mobile devices.[16][17][18] On May 30, 2010 Shopify announced a partnership with Webgistix Corp, which allowed Shopify to automate order fulfillment processes through cloud computing.[19]

Series A Funding

On December 12, 2010 Shopify announced the acquisition of $7 million in Series A funding.[6][20][21][22][23] The company will use the proceeds to invest in product development, international expansion, technology, and infrastructure and developer tools.[22]

Series B Funding

On October 17, 2011 Shopify announced the acquisition of $15 million in Series B funding. [24][25] The company plans on using the investment to hire more staff, consider acquisitions, and attract app developers to create plug-ins for the Shopify App Store. [26][27]

Build-A-Business Contests

Build-A-Business Contest 1

In early 2010, the company launched the Build-A-Business contest with Timothy Ferriss, author of #1 New York Times best-seller The 4-Hour Workweek.[15][28] The contest offered a $100,000 grand prize to the new business launched on Shopify’s online platform that posted the highest grossing sales in a six-month period.[28] Lütke and Ferriss developed the idea for the contest after the two met at RailConf 2009.[29] After meeting Lütke, Ferriss also became an Advisor to Shopify in 2009.[30][31][32]

The contest saw over 1,300 entrants, 66,503 total orders placed and over $3.5 million in revenue for the participating businesses.[33] The winner of the contest was DODOcase, a San Francisco based maker of handmade iPad carrying cases.[34]

Build-A-Business Contest 2

On April 26, 2011, the company launched its second Build-A-Business contest with Timothy Ferriss, Gary Vaynerchuk, author of The Thank You Economy, and popular marketing expert Seth Godin. [35] The contest is offering a total of $500,000 in prizes and giveaways. A grand prize of $100,000 is being rewarded to the new business launched on Shopify's online platform that posted two months with the highest grossing sales in an eight-month period. The grand prize also includes a VIP trip for two to New York to have lunch with Seth Godin, and engage in a one-hour power session with Gary Vaynerchuk. The grand prize also includes a VIP trip to California to have dinner with Timothy Ferriss and spend an afternoon at Google's headquarters, Googleplex, to receive a personal Google AdWords consultation. [36]

Operations

Shopify has four levels of monthly payment plans: Basic, Professional, Business, and Unlimited. Depending on each plan, the company charges fees ranging from 0-2% on each transaction.[37] All of Shopify's plans include unlimited bandwidth and free setup. The company also offers a free 30 day trial.

Features

The Shopify platform includes a content management system that allows users to manage inventory, edit HTML and CSS code, create coupon and discount codes, and accept online payments online with Paypal and major credit cards.[38][39][40]

Shopify App Store

On June 2, 2009 Shopify launched their API platform and App Store. The API allows developers to create custom applications for Shopify online stores and then sell them on the Shopify App Store.[41][42]

There are currently over 100 different free and paid apps that add further function to store owners. Companies like MailChimp, FreshBooks, Olark, and QuickBooks have developed apps that integrate with the Shopify platform.

On October 17, 2011 Shopify announced they will be giving away $1 million dollars to developers and designers who build plug-ins for the Shopify platform. The money comes from The Shopify Fund and the company is giving out $5,000 to $10,000 as an advance for developers.[43]

Shopify Theme Store

The Shopify Theme Store was unveiled on April 20, 2010. The store allows developers sell theme templates designed for stores using the Shopify platform.[3][44] Shopify released a free mobile app on the Apple App Store on May 13, 2010. The app allows Shopify store owners view and manage their stores from iOS mobile devices.[45]

Support

Shopify implemented a Guru program that connects e-commerce specialists with new Shopify customers in order to consult them on how to run a successful online store and improve their business.[46]

Reception

Since its launch Shopify has been well-received by popular tech websites such as CNET, who say the platform is “clean, simple, and easy-to-use.”[3][47] The service has also been profiled in world publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Vancouver Sun, The Financial Post, TechCrunch, and Mashable.[4][8][29][48][49][50]

In 2010, Shopify was named Ottawa’s Fastest Growing Company by the Ottawa Business Journal.[12] In 2007, it became a finalist for the CNET Webware 100 Awards.[51]

References

  1. ^ Bradbury, Danny. Hands-off business a reality The Financial Post. April 21, 2008.
  2. ^ Heinemeier Hansson, David. Shopify is Open for Business Riding Rails. June 05, 2006.
  3. ^ a b c Shopify Unveils New Theme Store for E-Commerce Merchants PRNewswire. April 20, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c Duryee, Tricia. E-Commerce Assistant Shopify Raises $7 Million in First Round All Things Digital. December 13, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Pileci, Vito. Shopify.com makes it easy for new online entrepreneurs The Montreal Gazette. September 20, 2010.
  6. ^ a b Gastall, Tom. Shopify Scores $7m in Series A Funding Startup Gazette. December 17, 2010.
  7. ^ jadedPixel CrunchBase profile CrunchBase.
  8. ^ a b Hartley, Matt. Snowboard to computer code business Financial Post. Oct 25, 2010.
  9. ^ Whittaker, Stephanie.The Web as a safety net The Montreal Gazette. May 4, 2009.
  10. ^ a b c Yoskovitz, Benjamin. Top 5 Keys to Shopify’s Success - an Interview with Tobias Lütke Year One Labs. December 22, 2010.
  11. ^ a b Donnelly, Jim. Shopify picks up $7M in venture funding Ottawa Business Journal. December 13, 2010.
  12. ^ a b c Donnelly, Jim. Fastest Growing Companies Ottawa Business Journal. May 3rd, 2010. Cite error: The named reference "ottawabusinessjournal" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b Shick, Shane. Small businesses need on-line savvy for success The Globe and Mail. May 18, 2006.
  14. ^ Shopify is Live PixelSoup. June 02, 2006.
  15. ^ a b Mikulla, Matt. Q&A with Tobias Lütke of Shopify “37 Signals”. June 03, 2010.
  16. ^ Rao, Leena. E-Commerce Platform Shopify Buys Up StoreSync To Shore Up Mobile Strategy TechCrunch. January 9, 2010.
  17. ^ Kanji, Karim. Shopify acquires the developers of StoreSync “Techvibes”. January 10, 2010.
  18. ^ Shopify Acquires MNDCreative Shopify. January 08, 2010.
  19. ^ Webgistix, Shopify Partner to Provide Automated, End-to-End E-Commerce Order Processing and Fulfillment Shopify. May 30, 2010.
  20. ^ Shopify Announces $7 Million Series A Funding from Bessemer, FirstMark, and Felicis Shopify. December 12, 2010.
  21. ^ Shopify Announces $7 Million Series A Funding from Bessemer, FirstMark, and Felicis “Businesswire”. December 13, 2010.
  22. ^ a b Lewis, Rob. Ottawa's Shopify raises $7 Million Series A Funding from Bessemer, FirstMark, and Felicis Techvibes. December 13, 2010.
  23. ^ McLeod, Mark. Shopify Gets Fundified! StartupCFO. December 12, 2010.
  24. ^ [1]
  25. ^ Duryee, Tricia. "Shopify Picks Up $15 Million as It Faces New Competition From eBay". All Things D. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  26. ^ [2]
  27. ^ Kim, Ryan. "Shopify raises $15M to expand online shopping platform". GigaOm. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  28. ^ a b Shopify Launches $100,000 Build-a-Business Contest Shopify. January 01, 2010.
  29. ^ a b Kolodny, Lora. Shopify, a start-Up, Starts Its Own Business Competition “New York Times”. February 2, 2010.
  30. ^ Ferriss, Tim. No More Excuses – How to Make an Extra $100,000 in the Next 6 Months “Four Hour Work Week Blog”. December 08, 2009.
  31. ^ About Shopify “Shopify”.
  32. ^ Timothy Ferriss CrunchBase profile “CruchBase”.
  33. ^ Contest Winners Announced: Winners in Five Different Categories Exemplify Online Entrepreneurial Spirit “Shopify”. July 19, 2010.
  34. ^ Kolodny, Lora. Maker of iPad Cases Wins Shopify Competition “The New York Times”. July 19, 2010.
  35. ^ [3]
  36. ^ [4]
  37. ^ Shopify - Signup “Shopify”.
  38. ^ For Designers “Shopify”.
  39. ^ Running Your Store “Shopify”.
  40. ^ Marketing “Shopify”.
  41. ^ Shopify API Platform and App Store Launched “Shopify”. June 02, 2009
  42. ^ App Store “Shopify”.
  43. ^ [5] "PRweb".
  44. ^ Shopify Unveils New Theme Store for E-Commerce Merchants “Shopify”. April 22, 2010.
  45. ^ Shopify Debuts Free Shopify Mobile App for iPhone “Shopify”. May 13, 2010.
  46. ^ Grant, Nick. Shopify Secures $7 Million to Further Ecommerce Mission “ZippyCart”. December 14, 2010.]
  47. ^ Needleman, Rafe. Shopify makes quick work of setting up shop “CNET”. May 26, 2006.
  48. ^ Pilieci, Vito. Business booming at Shopify.com “The Vancouver Sun”. September 18, 2010.
  49. ^ Arrington, Michael. Shopify Was Worth the Wait “TechCrunch”. April 15, 2006.
  50. ^ Casel, Brian.40+ Web Design and Development Resources for Beginners “Mashable”. July 23, 2010.
  51. ^ We’re in the finals “PixelSoup”. May 23, 2007.
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