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Tobi Lütke
Shopify · Koblenz, Germany
German programmer who decided independent merchants deserved infrastructure as good as Amazon's.
Merchant-firstLong-term APIFounder-mode operating
S
Company
Shopify
Journey
Moves that mattered.
- 2004Built a snowboard store, hated the e-commerce software, built his own.
- 2006Launched Shopify.
- 2015NYSE IPO.
- 2024Shopify powers 10%+ of US e-commerce.
Struggles
Apprentice programmer who never went to university — sometimes pitched as a liability.
Family
Married with three children; lives in Ottawa.
Related on Empire
Keep reading inside Empire.
Around the web
External references & backlinks.
- ↗wikipedia.orgTobi Lütke on Wikipedia
- ↗google.comShopify — official site
- ↗news.google.comTobi Lütke in the news
- ↗crunchbase.comShopify on Crunchbase
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The full story
Tobi Lütke, in 1 chapters.
- Ch 01
The story
German programmer who decided independent merchants deserved infrastructure as good as Amazon's.
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