Harley Finkelstein

I was there to extract value, to gain new skills. But as we talked about, ever since I was a kid, the entrepreneur community was always my tribe, my people. My closest friends have always been entrepreneurs. They still are to this day. And I asked where the entrepreneurs hung out in Ottawa. And I was directed to a coffee shop

I was there to extract value, to gain new skills. But as we talked about, ever since I was a kid, the entrepreneur community was always my tribe, my people. My closest friends have always been entrepreneurs. They still are to this day. And I asked where the entrepreneurs hung out in Ottawa. And I was directed to a coffee shop

And it was a group of entrepreneurs that got together every Friday evening to exchange war stories and talk about best practices and share tips and tricks. And they called themselves the Fresh Founders. And I joined this small group of quote-unquote Fresh Founders. And one of those Fresh Founders was this brilliant programmer named Toby who just moved two years earlier from Germany to Canada.

And it was a group of entrepreneurs that got together every Friday evening to exchange war stories and talk about best practices and share tips and tricks. And they called themselves the Fresh Founders. And I joined this small group of quote-unquote Fresh Founders. And one of those Fresh Founders was this brilliant programmer named Toby who just moved two years earlier from Germany to Canada.

When he got to Canada, he couldn't get a job because he was a new immigrant, didn't have his working papers, but he knew he could start a business. And he began to sell snowboards on the internet. And he wrote a piece of code on his own. He's a coder. To sell these snowboards on the internet.

When he got to Canada, he couldn't get a job because he was a new immigrant, didn't have his working papers, but he knew he could start a business. And he began to sell snowboards on the internet. And he wrote a piece of code on his own. He's a coder. To sell these snowboards on the internet.

And very quickly realized that while these snowboards were a good idea, the code that he'd written to sell the snowboards was a great idea. And that more people may want to use his software to sell their own products. And I was one of those people. I became one of the first merchants, the first customers, the first people to use what is now Shopify.

And very quickly realized that while these snowboards were a good idea, the code that he'd written to sell the snowboards was a great idea. And that more people may want to use his software to sell their own products. And I was one of those people. I became one of the first merchants, the first customers, the first people to use what is now Shopify.

I moved from a wholesale t-shirt business to a promotional t-shirt business with logos and licenses, Batman, Spider-Man, really cool licenses. And I set up an online store on Shopify in 2006. And that was my introduction to Shopify. And after I finished school, I called Toby and asked him if I can join him and a small group of engineers, mostly engineers, and help them build the business.

I moved from a wholesale t-shirt business to a promotional t-shirt business with logos and licenses, Batman, Spider-Man, really cool licenses. And I set up an online store on Shopify in 2006. And that was my introduction to Shopify. And after I finished school, I called Toby and asked him if I can join him and a small group of engineers, mostly engineers, and help them build the business.

And that was 15 years ago.

And that was 15 years ago.

More than a third of my life. Yeah.

More than a third of my life. Yeah.

Well, two things. This was the case then. It's still the case today. In many ways, businesses are a living thing, a living creature. And so think about biology. Think about out in nature. There's something called the law of ecology, and there's four laws of ecology.

Well, two things. This was the case then. It's still the case today. In many ways, businesses are a living thing, a living creature. And so think about biology. Think about out in nature. There's something called the law of ecology, and there's four laws of ecology.

And one of those laws of ecology says that for a species to survive in any environment, the species needs to evolve faster than the rate of change of the environment changing.

And one of those laws of ecology says that for a species to survive in any environment, the species needs to evolve faster than the rate of change of the environment changing.

I think companies are like that also. I think when you were early at a company, whether you're the first person in the room or the 10th or the 10,000th person in the room, every company has a particular beats per minute or a cadence. And that cadence is often a cadence of change.

I think companies are like that also. I think when you were early at a company, whether you're the first person in the room or the 10th or the 10,000th person in the room, every company has a particular beats per minute or a cadence. And that cadence is often a cadence of change.