Pivot · Canada · 2004–2023
Shopify: a snowboard shop's software becomes an e-commerce platform
Tobias Lütke couldn't find good software to sell snowboards online, so he built his own. The software became Shopify, which powers millions of merchants.
By Shivam Bhandari · Reviewed 31 October 2026 · How we write
by the numbers
- Snowdevil founded
- 2004
- Shopify launch
- 2006
- Gross merchandise volume (2023)
- about $236 billion
- Revenue (2023)
- about $7.1 billion
What happened
In 2004 Tobias Lütke, a programmer who had moved from Germany to Canada, started Snowdevil, an online snowboard store in Ottawa, with Scott Lake. Existing e-commerce software was clunky, so Lütke built his own using the then-new Ruby on Rails framework.
Other merchants wanted the same tool. In 2006 the founders launched Shopify as a hosted platform where anyone could set up a store for a monthly fee. Shopify added an app store and theme store so outside developers could extend it, and payments so merchants could accept cards easily.
Shopify listed in 2015. As small brands moved online — especially during the pandemic — it grew rapidly. In 2023 merchants sold about $236 billion through Shopify and the company's revenue was about $7.1 billion.
Timeline
- 2004
Snowdevil snowboard store opens online.
- 2006
Shopify launches as a platform.
- 2009
App store opens to developers.
- 2015
IPO in New York and Toronto.
what made it work
- Built for a pain the founders felt as merchants themselves.
- Subscription pricing accessible to small businesses.
- Developer ecosystem multiplied features.
- Payments added a second revenue stream tied to merchant success.
the lesson
Selling the picks and shovels can be a bigger business than digging for gold yourself.
Apply it to your business
- 1If you built a tool to run your own business, others may want it.
- 2Let partners extend your product through apps and integrations.
- 3Tie part of your revenue to your customers' growth.
Laws at work in this story
Figures are rounded and drawn from public reports, company filings and widely cited coverage at the time. Check the company's latest filings before relying on any number.