Shopify's strategy included offering lifetime commissions to agencies, which encouraged them to promote the platform effectively.

The launch of Shopify Payments was perfectly timed and significantly contributed to the company's rapid growth.

In 2015, we initially focused on hyperlocal fashion, but learned that fulfillment is crucial, leading us to pivot towards a marketplace model that better serves small shop owners.

Talking to over 800 boutique owners was the most helpful thing in starting and running Shoptiques, allowing us to build exactly the solution they needed.

I'm excited to share the story of Shoptiques and my journey as its founder.

Fleek, a marketplace for secondhand clothing, started with just three people and no website, demonstrating the importance of taking unscalable actions to launch their business. The founders would go to wholesalers in London, pick a box of clothes, and sell them to shops around the city, earning $6,000 repeatedly. This hands-on approach helped them understand the market better than building a website would have.

We were not traditional founders; we came from corporate backgrounds and were inspired by companies like Airbnb to create a practical solution for furniture sales.

After sharing his ideas with his friend Max, they built a prototype of our first product in a garage, which led to the decision to turn it into a company.

I run Meesho, which is focused on bringing small businesses online, as e-commerce was primarily about smartphones and selling online at that time.