How Shopify Became the Go-To Ecommerce Platform for Startups Dissatisfied with options for online storefronts, a snowboard seller and his friend built one themselves. Now thousands of other businesses use their customizable store builder.
By Katherine Duncan •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Tobias Lütke was frustrated. He knew he had something great to sell (a line of elite snowboards), but he couldn't find a practical way to retail his merchandise online. Even with years of professional programming experience under his belt, Lütke found that his efforts were continuously thwarted by rigid e-commerce platforms with limited design options, making it difficult to integrate with other services.
"At one point, in an especially frustrated moment on a Friday evening, I said, 'Well, if I spend all weekend working really hard, I can probably create the software myself and then we won't have any of these problems anymore,'" he says.
Memorial Day Sale - Save 20%! Unlock this premium article & so much more with Entrepreneur+
Join the internet’s leading entrepreneur community with our Memorial Day sale! With your subscription, you'll get:
- Digestible insight on how to be a better entrepreneur and leader
- Lessons for starting and growing a business from our expert network of CEOs and founders
- Meaningful content to help you make sharper decisions
- Business and life hacks to help you stay ahead of the curve
Use code SAVE20 at checkout.