Michael and Johnny look at Shopify, what the company does, its history, and how it has become so successful in this age of Amazon.
In Follow-Ups, we look at Peloton’s recent announcement of going downmarket with a cheaper bike offering, and SoulCycle’s delayed response to Peloton.
Recorded Date: Sunday, May 24, 2020
Ideas of the Week:
- Idea for the company: Surface small and local Shopify powered businesses so people can support them
- Michael created a Twitter account to track local San Francisco Shopify powered companies
- Idea against the company: Amazon already has all the pieces together to take on Shopify
- Instagram is a logistics business away from competing with Shopify
- Amazon is a business philosophy away from competing with Shopify
Time Stamps
- @00:01:21: Follow-ups from the last episode
- @00:09:16: Main Topic: Shopify
- @00:10:51: What is Shopify?
- @00:16:36: The History of Shopify
- @00:25:11: Why is Shopify Successful?
- @00:33:18: Drop-shipping entrepreneurs
- @00:42:24: The Future of Shopify
- @00:51:04: Would Johny Work for Shopify?
- @00:51:39: Verdict Rich Tech or Poor Tech
- @00:55:17: Ideas of the week
Highlights
- Peloton should have rode out this lockdown boom before announcing their intention of going downmarket with a cheaper bike
- Shopify & Salesforce are similar in that they are platform companies that sit in the background and power their clients
- Its stock has tripled since mid-March
- Shopify is the Anti-Amazon
- If Amazon is the mall, Shopify is empowering the mom & pop shops
- Shopify empowers people to be entrepreneurs
- If so many people are losing their jobs and there is no demand, how are people able to sell so much via their Shopify stores?
- Is Shopify now where Amazon was back in 2010?
- Can Shopify power 90% of everything you buy online?
- Can Facebook/Instagram muscle their way into Shopify’s turf?
- Is Shopify a future new tech giant?
- Rich Tech: Wealth generous (empower entrepreneurs)
- Poor Tech: Labour (Fulfillment)
- A wash: Direct Sales
- Verdict: Shopify is Rich Tech!
Links
- Wikipedia - Shopify
- Shopify 2020 Q1 Financial Results
- Shopify’s First Flagship: Why We Opened a New Space for Business Owners in Downtown L.A.
- Heinz Online Shop
- E-Commerce at Scale: Inside Shopify’s Tech Stack - Stackshare.io
- Youtube - Shopify COO talks strong Q4 earnings, holiday sales and business investments
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