BusinessHow I Built This
In this special 10th anniversary episode, host Guy Raz and Ring founder Jamie Siminoff reflect on a decade of interviewing over 600 entrepreneurs on How I Built This. They revisit defining clips and timeless lessons on founder fear, scrappy early marketing, surviving investor rejections, the physical and emotional toll of entrepreneurship, and the perpetual debate over luck versus skill in building iconic companies.
- Tom Campion built Zumiez on the belief that luck plays almost no role, arguing success comes entirely from measured discipline and relentless work ethic. Read →
- Banana Republic co-founder Mel Ziegler once veered into oncoming traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge after working three straight days without sleep to print a catalog. Read →
- Jim Koch left a secure consulting role at Boston Consulting Group to build Boston Beer Company after realizing his comfortable job was an existential hazard. Read →
- Getting on retail shelves is not the finish line; it is day zero. Sara Blakely paid childhood friends to buy Spanx off department store shelves to artificially create sell-through velocity. Read →
Business20VC with Harry Stebbings
In this wide-ranging discussion, Tobi Lütke, CEO of Shopify, shares his unconventional leadership philosophy, clarifies that current mass layoffs are due to overhiring, not AI, and critiques contemporary approaches to wealth creation and charity. He also delves into Canadian politics, the future of engineering with AI, and the importance of prioritizing effective solutions over 'good-sounding' ideas. Lütke advocates for an entrepreneurial mindset and a society that enables builders to create value.
- Tobi Lütke, Shopify's CEO, states over 50% of the company's code is now AI-generated, marking a dramatic and swift shift in engineering. Read →
- Go public early to earn trust, not just raise capital. Tobi Lütke took Shopify public in 2015 with roughly $200 million in revenue, framing it as a strategic move to build investor trust over time, rather than waiting for peak valuation or maximal financing. Read →
- Tobi Lütke asserts that Canada, despite possessing all the resources the world needs for the next 20 years, underperforms economically due to societal choices. Read →
BusinessFounders Podcast
David Senra interviews Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke about his unique approach to company building over 21 years. They discuss Lütke's philosophy of treating companies as engineering projects, the importance of differentiation and high-agency talent, lessons from navigating major crises like COVID-19 and an 80% stock drop, and the role of intuition, books, and AI in entrepreneurial growth. Lütke emphasizes a culture of continuous improvement, challenging orthodoxy, and a deep focus on craft and detail.
- Books provide "cheat codes" for real life, allowing rapid access to accumulated knowledge from others' careers. Read →
- View other companies as rivals for inspiration, not competitors for mimicry. Read →
- Tobi Lütke views companies as complex technologies, applying engineering principles to organizational design. Read →
- Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke demands an unquantifiable "craft and giving a s*" to build exceptional products. Read →