Shopify Inc.
Company History
Shopify History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 2006 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
When was Shopify founded?
Shopify was founded in 2006 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada by Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand and Scott Lake, making it 20 years old.
- Founded
- 2006
- Founding place
- Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Founders
- Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand and Scott Lake
- Headquarters today
- Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Milestones documented
- 12 (2004–2026)
- Current CEO
- Tobi Lütke
- Acquisitions
- 7
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2004 | Snowdevil Snowboard Store Engineered |
| 2006 | Commercial Launch of Shopify |
| 2009 | Shopify API & App Store Ecosystem |
| 2013 | Launch of Shopify Payments |
| 2013 | Acquired Jet Cooper |
| 2015 | Dual TSX and NYSE Initial Public Offering |
| 2017 | Shop Pay Accelerated Checkout Introduced |
| 2022 | Deliverr Acquired |
| 2022 | Ten-for-One Stock Split |
| 2023 | Divestiture of Logistics Arm Deliverr |
| 2025 | Surpassing $11.55 Billion in Annual Revenue |
| 2026 | Q2 2026 Growth Accelerates |
- Where was Shopify founded?
- Shopify was founded in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 2006.
- Who founded Shopify?
- Shopify was founded by Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand and Scott Lake.
- When did Shopify start?
- Shopify was founded in 2006.
- How old is Shopify?
- Shopify is 20 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
In 2004, German-born computer programmer Tobias Lütke and his friends Scott Lake and Daniel Weinand wanted to launch an online snowboard retailer called Snowdevil in Ottawa, Canada. Lütke evaluated prevailing commercial e-commerce software of the era, such as Miva Merchant, OsCommerce, and Yahoo! Stores, and found them catastrophically clunky, rigid, and ugly. Leveraging his expertise as a core contributor to David Heinemeier Hansson's newly developed Ruby on Rails framework, Lütke spent two months writing custom open-source e-commerce software from scratch. Snowdevil launched in time for the 2004 ski season, but fellow tech entrepreneurs were far more impressed with Lütke's fluid checkout and database architecture than the snowboards. In 2006, the trio abandoned equipment sales, repurposed the proprietary codebase into an automated SaaS merchant platform, and launched Shopify, democratizing enterprise-grade digital retail tools for independent entrepreneurs globally.
Founders
Tobias Lütke
Tobias Lütke co-founded Shopify after building the Snowdevil snowboard store in Ruby on Rails in 2004. He has led Shopify as CEO since 2008 and holds a founder share that gives him about 40% of total voting power. Tobias Lütke was born in 1980 in Koblenz. Lutke was born in 1980 and is German-Canadian. He was part of the core team of the Ruby on Rails framework and created open-source libraries such as Active Merchant. He also races sports cars.
Daniel Weinand
Daniel Weinand co-founded Shopify in 2006 alongside Tobias Lütke and Scott Lake. As the Chief Design Officer, he was responsible for the highly intuitive, clean aesthetic of the early Shopify platform, ensuring that small business owners without technical expertise could easily build beautiful online stores. He transitioned to a part-time role in 2012 and eventually left to pursue other interests. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Scott Lake
Scott Lake co-founded Shopify (initially called Jaded Pixel) in 2006. While Lütke wrote the code for their initial snowboard store (Snowdevil), Lake managed the massive early operational and business development challenges, recognizing that the software they built was far more valuable than the snowboards. He served as the company's first CEO before departing in 2008. Scott Lake was born in 1970.
Key Milestones
Snowdevil Snowboard Store Engineered
Tobias Lütke builds a custom Ruby on Rails shopping platform to sell snowboards online after rejecting clunky legacy e-commerce tools.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgCommercial Launch of Shopify
Lütke, Lake, and Weinand officially launch Shopify in Ottawa, offering subscription-based storefronts to small business entrepreneurs.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgShopify API & App Store Ecosystem
Shopify introduces its developer API and App Store, sparking a large global developer ecosystem that builds thousands of custom merchant extensions.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLaunch of Shopify Payments
Shopify launches integrated payment processing, capturing a lucrative percentage fee on global Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV).
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAcquired Jet Cooper
Shopify acquired Jet Cooper. Shopify acquired Jet Cooper in 2013.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgDual TSX and NYSE Initial Public Offering
Shopify completes its dual IPO in Toronto and New York under ticker SHOP, raising $131 million to fuel international merchant expansion.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgShop Pay Accelerated Checkout Introduced
Shopify releases Shop Pay, providing accelerated one-click checkout conversion across millions of storefronts and merchant apps.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgDeliverr Acquired
Shopify acquired the fulfilment company Deliverr in 2022 for about $2.1 billion.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgTen-for-One Stock Split
Shopify completed a ten-for-one stock split in June 2022.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgDivestiture of Logistics Arm Deliverr
Shopify divests its capital-intensive fulfillment network to Flexport, shedding heavy logistics overhead and refocusing on high-margin software and enterprise retail.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgSurpassing $11.55 Billion in Annual Revenue
Shopify reports $11.556 billion in revenues, $1.231 billion in net income, and transfers its primary US stock listing to Nasdaq under ticker SHOP.
Source: sec.govQ2 2026 Growth Accelerates
Shopify reports 34% revenue growth and $115.6 billion of GMV for Q2 2026, after authorizing a $2 billion share buyback in February.
Source: shopify.comMajor Acquisitions
Jet Cooper
2013Shopify acquired Jet Cooper in 2013.
Boltmade
2016Shopify acquired Boltmade in 2016.
Kit CRM
2016Shopify acquired Kit CRM in 2016.
Tiny Hearts
2016Shopify acquired Tiny Hearts in 2016.
Handshake
2019Shopify acquired Handshake in 2019.
6 River Systems
2019Warehouse robotics for the Shopify Fulfillment Network; sold to Ocado in 2023.
Deliverr
2022Shopify bought fulfillment startup Deliverr for about $2.1 billion in 2022 to build a two-day delivery network for merchants.
Keep researching Shopify
Shopify Company History FAQ
When and where was Shopify originally founded?
Shopify was founded in 2006 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, by German computer programmer Tobias "Tobi" Lütke, Daniel Weinand, and Scott Lake.
What was the origin story of Snowdevil?
In 2004, Tobi Lütke and Scott Lake attempted to launch an online snowboard gear store called Snowdevil. Frustrated by the clunky, complicated e-commerce tools available (like Yahoo Stores and Microsoft), Lütke used the new Ruby on Rails framework to build his own custom online storefront.
How did Snowdevil pivot into Shopify?
After operating Snowdevil through the 2004-2005 winter season, other online merchants were far more interested in licensing Lütke's elegant software than buying snowboards. Lütke, Weinand, and Lake officially launched Shopify as a hosted e-commerce platform in June 2006.
When did Shopify launch the App Store and why was it pivotal?
In 2009, Shopify launched the Shopify API and App Store. Opening the platform to third-party developers created an ecosystem where thousands of apps (for marketing, shipping, and inventory) could be installed with one click, cementing Shopify as an extensible operating system.
When was Shopify Payments introduced?
In August 2013, Shopify launched Shopify Payments in partnership with Stripe, allowing merchants to accept credit cards directly without requiring complex third-party merchant accounts, transforming payments into Shopify's largest revenue engine.
When did Shopify complete its initial public offering (IPO)?
Shopify went public on May 21, 2015, dual-listing on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under ticker symbol "SHOP". Pricing at $17 per share, it raised $131 million and saw shares surge 51% on its debut.
How did Shopify perform during the COVID-19 pandemic surge?
During 2020-2021, global pandemic lockdowns forced millions of brick-and-mortar retailers online. Shopify experienced a decade of e-commerce adoption in months, doubling revenue, processing over $175 billion in GMV, and briefly becoming Canada's most valuable publicly traded company.
What was the acquisition and subsequent divestment of Deliverr?
In May 2022, Shopify acquired logistics provider Deliverr for $2.1 billion to build the Shopify Fulfillment Network (SFN). Recognizing that physical warehousing was capital-intensive and dilutive, Tobi Lütke executed an audacious reversal in May 2023, selling Deliverr and SFN to Flexport for a 13% equity stake.
What was the launch of Shopify Plus in 2014?
In 2014, Shopify launched Shopify Plus, a dedicated enterprise e-commerce platform designed for high-volume corporate brands (such as Gymshark, Kylie Cosmetics, Heinz, and Mattel) requiring custom checkout scripting, multi-currency support, and 99.99% uptime.
What is Shop Pay and when did it expand beyond Shopify stores?
Launched in 2017 as Shopify Pay, Shop Pay is an accelerated one-click checkout engine. In 2021, Shopify expanded Shop Pay to work across third-party platforms and social channels (including Facebook, Instagram, and Google), expanding its commerce reach.
How did Shopify adopt a digital-by-default remote work model?
In May 2020, CEO Tobi Lütke announced that Shopify was permanently "digital by default," closing physical headquarters in Ottawa to allow its global workforce to work remotely while keeping small urban hubs for team collaboration.
Where is Shopify legally incorporated today?
Shopify Inc. is incorporated in Ontario, Canada, maintaining its corporate domicile in Ottawa, Ontario, with international operational subsidiaries across the United States, Ireland, Singapore, and Australia.
Related Strategic History
Compare founding milestones and corporate evolution
Explore Shopify
Core profile pages, founders and related research hubs for this company.