Guest: Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify, a leading e-commerce platform that helps entrepreneurs scale their businesses globally.
Host: Steven Bartlett, The Diary of a CEO.
Mission: Harley is on a mission to encourage more people to start businesses and embrace entrepreneurship as a pathway to self-actualization.
Key Takeaways:
Entrepreneurship Is Accessible to Everyone: Harley emphasizes that entrepreneurship is more affordable than ever and not as daunting as many perceive.
Passion and Necessity as Catalysts: While passion can drive entrepreneurs, necessity and survival often push individuals to succeed.
Failure as a Learning Tool: Failure is not the end; it's the discovery of something that didn’t work, which helps refine future endeavors.
Resilience and Adaptability: Building resilience is essential, and entrepreneurship requires constant adaptation and innovation.
Company Culture & Mission: Creating a culture that evolves with new hires but stays rooted in its mission is key for long-term success.
Detailed Notes:
Who are you & what mission are you on?
- Harley sees himself as an entrepreneur first, even though he holds the title of Shopify’s President.
- His mission is to help more people become entrepreneurs, breaking the perception that it's inaccessible.
- He believes entrepreneurship allows individuals to self-actualize by commercializing their hobbies or skills.
Why don’t people do the work they want to do?
People are held back by two perceptions:
- Financial Barriers: They believe starting a business is expensive and risky.
- Lack of Know-How: Many feel they don't have the necessary skills or background to succeed. However, Harley argues that technology has reduced the cost of failure, making entrepreneurship more accessible.
What role does passion play in entrepreneurship?
- While passion is important, it’s not always the primary driver.
- Harley's own experience shows that sometimes desperation and survival are stronger motivators.
- Passion is necessary for long-term commitment but isn’t always the starting point for every business venture.
How to have a good relationship with failure?
- Failure should be viewed as a discovery process, where something that didn’t work teaches valuable lessons.
- Harley emphasizes that separating personal identity from project failures helps maintain confidence and persistence.
The one thing that will make you a great entrepreneur:
- Harley suggests resilience and the ability to pivot as the key qualities of great entrepreneurs.
- Learning from mistakes and continuing to iterate is crucial.
- He also highlights the importance of having a clear mission and purpose that aligns with personal values.
The start of Shopify:
- Shopify was born out of necessity. Its founder, Tobias Lütke, created the platform to sell snowboards after finding the existing e-commerce solutions too limiting.
- Harley joined Shopify early on after seeing its potential to revolutionize online business.
Should people be worrying about competing businesses?
- Harley advises not to worry too much about competition.
- Shopify had competitors when it started, but the focus was on doing things better rather than being the only player in the market.
- The key to success is empathy for customers and constantly innovating.
The importance of resilience:
- Resilience is a skill that can be developed.
- Harley describes Shopify as an "anti-fragile" company that thrives on challenges, constantly improving by facing and solving problems head-on.
Creating the perfect company culture:
- Culture is not static.
- Harley believes that every new hire should positively influence and evolve the company's culture.
- He disagrees with the idea that a company's early days were the "golden era," stressing that companies should always strive to get better over time.
How to find the perfect mentor:
- Harley suggests having multiple mentors for different aspects of life, rather than one all-encompassing mentor.
- He advises finding experts in specific areas like parenting, business, or relationships, and learning from them selectively.
What companies would you invest in today?
- Harley would invest in creators who are building brands around their personal passions, similar to Kylie Jenner with Kylie Cosmetics or Mr. Beast with Beast Burgers.
- These creators aren’t just monetizing their fame but are deeply involved in creating better products for their audiences.
What are you good at?
- Harley identifies storytelling as his superpower.
- He excels at crafting narratives that make Shopify's mission clear to the world.
- Over time, he realized his strengths were in external-facing roles rather than operational tasks.
What’s been your hardest time at Shopify?
- One of Harley’s most challenging periods was when he was Shopify's COO, a role he wasn’t naturally suited for.
- It took time for him to realize that his true strengths lay elsewhere, and shifting roles improved his happiness and effectiveness within the company.
Remote working:
- Harley notes that remote working has given him more empathy for entrepreneurs, as he managed Shopify from home during the pandemic.
- It allowed him to better understand the company's tools and features by using them personally in his side ventures.
Something you’ve never said before:
- Harley opened up about the challenge of stepping down from the COO role.
- His ego initially resisted the change, but ultimately, accepting that he wasn’t the best fit for the role led to a much more fulfilling position as President.
Courtesy: @TheDiaryOfACEO
