If you’ve ever bought or sold anything online, chances are you’ve interacted with Shopify. What started as a solution to sell snowboards has evolved into a platform that powers millions of businesses worldwide. In a recent interview, Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke shared insights from his 20-year entrepreneurial journey that could change the way you think about your own business.
Lütke believes entrepreneurship is fundamentally “load-bearing for society”—a powerful phrase that captures just how essential business creation is to our economic well-being. As he points out, between 60-80% of people work for small businesses, not the giant corporations that dominate headlines. These small businesses are the true engines of local economies.
“Every dollar that’s brought into a city cycles between five to eight times,” Lütke explains. That money goes to the local coffee shop, which pays a barista, who buys groceries, and so on. Without this constant circulation, which only happens when entrepreneurs create value, local economies stagnate and fail.
What’s particularly striking about Lütke’s perspective is how he views the act of purchasing. When someone buys your product, it’s not just a transaction. It’s a vote of confidence in everything behind your product. It validates your approach, your craftsmanship, and the processes you’ve created. Each purchase signals the market that more of what you’re doing is wanted and needed.
The landscape for entrepreneurs has dramatically transformed since Lütke started Shopify two decades ago. Back then, getting a website and accepting payments was incredibly difficult. (He had to fax notarized copies of his passport to Utah and wait months for approval.) But finding customers was relatively easy. Today, it’s the exact opposite. Starting an online store takes minutes, but standing out in a crowded marketplace requires sophisticated marketing strategies.
With AI advancements reshaping business possibilities, Lütke is particularly excited about the democratization of expertise. “You program an AI with English words which you already speak,” he notes. This accessibility means more people can engage in entrepreneurship with fewer barriers, potentially unleashing a new wave of innovation.
In today’s economic climate, where uncertainty seems to be the only constant, Lütke’s insights remind us that entrepreneurs create more than business. They create resilience, opportunities, and the very foundation upon which communities thrive.
Watch the full interview with Tobi Lütke to learn more about his journey and vision for entrepreneurship in a changing world.
