Shopify, which describes itself as an “entrepreneurship firm,” provides tools for over two million online retailers. The company frequently tells the stories of successful merchants on its corporate blog and earnings calls to inspire other entrepreneurs—the result: Shopify Mafia.
Even though Shopify’s employees are encouraged to start their businesses in addition to their regular jobs, the company encourages its workers to do the same. Company officials host internal business competitions and allow employees to expense up to $1,000 annually on business-related expenses in addition to their regular jobs.
Shopify President’s Side Hustle
President of Shopify, Harley Finkelstein, and David Segal, the founder of DavidsTea, run Firebelly Tea, a DTC tea brand powered by Shopify. Because of his side hustle, Finkelstein is able to understand Shopify’s products and services better and empathize with its merchant base. In essence, even Shopify’s president has his own side hustle.
Finkelstein says that his gig at Firebelly lets him experience firsthand what Shopify customers go through. And he is not alone as Atlee Clark, director of operations for Shop, has her own Shopify store, too, Pika Layers, a kids’ and women’s apparel brand.
They have always regarded Shopify as” a company for entrepreneurs, built by entrepreneurs,” one spokesperson for the company said. They internally promote a spirit of entrepreneurship and want their employees to pursue passions and side projects.
Other Employee’s Side Hustles
Another employee of the e-commerce company, Greg MacDonald, already had a Shopify store before joining in 2016. Within five years in the company, his shop, Bathorium, grew to become successful. This was enough for MacDonald to quit Shopify and focus on his store. He described the experience as running a “million-dollar side hustle” while still working at Shopify.
In 2016, Shopify’s product team member Daniel Patricio already had his own store. Named Bull and Cleaver, it specializes in selling South African beef jerky product biltong. He didn’t expect the store to grow big but eventually left Shopify to concentrate on it.
In the spring of 2021, 10 current and former Shopify employees launched Backbone Angels. This is an angel investment that focuses on funding startups founded by women, particularly women of color. A little over a year after, they had already invested over $2 million in new startups.
Other employees have also left their work at Shopify to spend full-time on their side hustles. Michael Perry left the e-commerce giant to start his parenting-software startup, Maple. So does Erin Chan, who cofounded Rhenti, a rental marketing platform. This, after serving years as a product manager at Shopify.
Shopify Mafia members such as Harry Brundage and Mohammad Hashemi cofounded Gadget. They are engineers who went on to build software specifically to help simplify coding. In addition, there is Ken Rose, who cofounded OpsLevel.
The Entrepreneurial Spirit that Built the Shopify Mafia
Shopify has always encouraged its employees to launch stores as side hustles. Many of them have followed and are now generating hundreds of thousands in monthly sales. The Shopify Mafia’s offshoots have $2.3 million in investments in women-led startups.
Many have embraced the Shopify Mafia entrepreneurial spirit and became heads of their own companies. Others have doubled down on their DTC and started their own Shopify stores.
Shopify Mafia is a collective term used to describe former employees of the e-commerce company who have started their own companies or e-commerce stores. Most of them have become successful and influential in their respective niches.
These former employees have become thoroughly enamored with this entrepreneurial spirit that made them quit Shopify and start working full-time for their companies.
