- Start your business
- Look professional and help customers connect with your business
  Business name generator
- Find a domain, explore stock images, and amplify your brand
  Web address
  Stock photography
- Use Shopify’s powerful features to start selling
  Products to sell
  Store themes
- Sell everywhere
- Sell online with an ecommerce website
  Overview
  Features
- Sell at retail locations, pop-ups, and beyond
  Overview
  Hardware
  Features
- Transform an existing website or blog into an online store
  Overview
- Reach millions of shoppers and boost sales
  Overview
  Instagram
  Facebook Messenger
  Facebook Shop
- Stand out with custom commerce
  Overview
- Manage Everything
- Payments

- Start your business
- Look professional and help customers connect with your business
  - Business name generator
- Find a domain, explore stock images, and amplify your brand
  - Web address
  - Stock photography
- Use Shopify’s powerful features to start selling
  - Products to sell
  - Store themes
- Sell everywhere
- Sell online with an ecommerce website
  - Overview
  - Features
- Sell at retail locations, pop-ups, and beyond
- Transform an existing website or blog into an online store
  - Overview
- Reach millions of shoppers and boost sales
- Stand out with custom commerce
  - Overview
- Manage Everything
- Payments

Founder Stories

We're inspired by founders who are changing the way the world buys, sells, and thinks. Below, we cover the ups and downs of those who’ve built something from the ground up in hopes that through their challenges and victories, you can find purpose and inspiration for whatever idea you’ve been thinking about.

Illustration of a woman carrying a briefcase stepping over a gap in a staircase with the help of a hand

Inspiration

Getting Funded: How Gender Bias Affects Women Founders

by Dayna Winter
Jan 15, 2020

Illustration of Bookhou founders Arounna and John, sittting on a mobile similar to the wooden fixtures that John fabricates. Surrounding them are patterns that are indicative of Arounna's hand made blankets and handbags.

Inspiration

Partners: They’re Running the Modern Day Mom and Pop Shop

by Shuang Esther Shan
Jan 8, 2020

Illustration of Bernice and Justin Clarke sailing on a bar of the soap that they made, that is violet with implied native flora on it. Icebergs surround them and there is a polar bear looking at them in the foreground.

Inspiration

Partners: Inuit Life Inspired Their Cross-Cultural Love—and Whale Soap

by Neil Parmar
Jan 1, 2020

Illustration of a couple in a bed, that is actually a laptop, the screen is the headboard and the key pad is the bed and blanket. They are toasting a glass of champagne. The side tables are post-it note pads, the lights are hanging iphones and there are post-it note artworks on the walls. This is a metaphor for couples who are life and business partners.

Inspiration

Introducing: Partners—in Business and Bed

by Shuang Esther Shan
Jan 1, 2020

Collage of 5 young entrepreneurs.

Homework

The Grown-up Wisdom of 5 Young Entrepreneurs

by Dayna Winter
Dec 23, 2019

Illustrated portrait of five business founders

Inspiration

Overcoming Adversity: 5 Founders on Surviving Their Greatest Defeats

by Dayna Winter
Dec 18, 2019

Shopify's holiday gift guide highlights unique products from independent businesses.

Inspiration

Shop Shopify: 68 Holiday Gift Ideas for Everyone on Your List

by Dayna Winter
Dec 15, 2019

Illustration of a Black woman looking into the future. Rays from her eyes contain generations of Black people ahead of her.

Inspiration

The Future Needs More Black Businesses

by Dayna Winter
Dec 4, 2019

Portrait of LOTTA worldwide Founder Mateo Galvez. Surrounding him are illustrations that represent his business, his inspiration and his future goals.

Homework

Community and Competition: Inside the Mind of a 19-Year-Old Founder

by Dayna Winter
Nov 27, 2019

Portrait of Lockerboard Founder Carson Kropfl. Surrounding him are illustrations that reflect his business, his passions and his future goals.

Homework

Ollies and Ocean Life: Inside the Mind of a 14-Year-Old Founder

by Dayna Winter
Nov 20, 2019

Portrait of Matt and Morgan Meredith and their baby boy Noah, standing in their Thread Theory workshop in Victoria BC.

Inspiration

If You Build It They Will Come—But It Might Not Be Who You Expected

by Dayna Winter
Nov 13, 2019

Simone Hufana, founder of Colour Herstory. Surrounding Simone are a series of spot illustrations that reflect her business, her inspirations and her goals.

Homework

Books and Big Dreams: Inside the Mind of a 19-Year-Old Founder

by Dayna Winter
Nov 6, 2019

Portrait illustration of Benjamin Sehl, the co-founder of Kotn, wearing a brown sweater with a black t-shirt underneath and black framed glasses, against a teal background.

Inspiration

Overdraft: KOTN’s Founder Talks Hard Times and Soft Shirts

by Dayna Winter
Oct 30, 2019

Portrait of Brianna J, founder of Brianna's closet. Surrounding Brianna's portrait are illustrations of her business, her activities, her interest and her future goals.

Homework

Cartoons and Coding: Inside the Mind of an 11-Year-Old Founder

by Dayna Winter
Oct 23, 2019

Portrait illustration of Melony Armstrong founder of Naturally Speaking.

Inspiration

Overdraft: How One Founder Built A Braiding Business—from her Living Room

by Dayna Winter
Oct 16, 2019

Portrait of My Piper founders (left) Piper and (right) Tobin. Surrounding them are illustrations of their products, but also of their interests, hobbies and goals for the future.

Homework

Beezus and Boxer Shorts: Inside the Minds of Two School-Aged Founders

by Dayna Winter
Oct 9, 2019

Portrait illustration of Chase Fisher, founder of Blenders Eyewear, standing against a pale orange background, wearing a brown jacket opened up with a tan t shirt underneath.

Inspiration

Overdraft: How this Eyewear Mogul Started a Business from a Backpack

by Dayna Winter
Oct 2, 2019

Photo collage of 12 year old Founder Charlie Kobdish. He's wearing a bright blue tshirt. He is standing against a background full of illustrations that reflect his business, his hobbies, his inspiration, his future goals and where he's from (Texas).

Homework

Pecans and Politics: Inside the Mind of a 12-Year-Old Founder

by Dayna Winter
Sep 25, 2019

Portrait of Brown Girls Stationary founder Kamaria Warren standing with one hand on her hip in a pale blue shirt and peach shorts. Behind her are a series of spot illustrations that reflect her business and the products she sells, her hobbies and inspiration.

Homework

Social Studies and Stationery: Inside the Mind of a 10-Year-Old Founder

by Dayna Winter
Sep 20, 2019

Portrait illustration of Carl Churchill, founder of Alpha Coffee, standing against a grey background in a yellow button down shirt.

Inspiration

Overdraft: How This Army Vet Fought His Way out of a Financial Ambush

by Dayna Winter
Sep 18, 2019

Portrait of 12 year old Founder Jahkil Jackson. Surrounding Jahkil are drawings of things that inspire him, activities, and items that he distributes to help the homeless.

Homework

Beagles and Basketball: Inside the Mind of a 12-Year-Old Founder

by Dayna Winter
Sep 13, 2019

Photo collage of Canadian EDM group a Tribe Called Red. Tim "2oolman" Hill is on the left and Ehren "Bear Witness" Thomas is on the right. Both men are pictured in black and white with an image of their album behind them. To the right of the album are red, yellow and blue feathers as a nod to their Indigenous culture.

Inspiration

Vanguard: How A Tribe Called Red Brought Activism to the Dance Floor

by Anshuman Iddamsetty
Sep 13, 2019

Portrait illustration of Gingie McLeod, founder of Saint Chic, in a mauve shirt against a magenta background.

Inspiration

Overdraft: The Dark Side of Overnight Success

by Dayna Winter
Sep 8, 2019

Illustrated portrait of Natalie Gill from Native Poppy flower shop in San Diego

Inspiration

Overdraft: How Native Poppy Bloomed—Even Through Its Founder’s Darkest Days

by Dayna Winter
Sep 5, 2019

Portrait of Ethan and Merritt Perlyn, the young founders of Crepic. Surrounding them are illustrations that reflect their business, hobbies and dreams.

Homework

Sharks and Shooting Hoops: Inside the Minds of Two School-Aged Founders

by Dayna Winter
Sep 4, 2019

Photo collage of Brewbles Founder Estefania Rodriguez. Surrounding her are images of her bath bombs including a sun and moon, a watermelon and popsicle. Catheryn has a flower crown and a eucalyptus along the bottom of her portrait.

Inspiration

Vanguard: This Latinx Bath Brand Is Bubbling with Nostalgia

by Anshuman Iddamsetty
Sep 2, 2019

Photo collage of four characters from This Is Us. From left to right, Deja (Lyric Ross), Beth Pearson (Susan Kelechi Watson), Randall Pearson (Sterling K Brown)and Kevin (Justin Hartley).

Inspiration

How to Be a Boss: 18 Tips from This Is Us’ Randall and Beth Pearson

by Dayna Winter
Sep 2, 2019

Portrait of 6 year old founder Oliver Fequiere. Surrounding his portrait are illustrations that reflect his business, hobbies and interests.

Homework

Bath Bombs and Batman: Inside the Mind of a 6-Year-Old Founder

by Dayna Winter
Aug 29, 2019

Photo collage of Gloria Noto, founder of NOTO Botanics. To the left of her are three product shots overtop of a male model. To the right of her are two female models with red eye shadow on holding a NOTO product.

Inspiration

Vanguard: The Unique Voice Behind Gender-fluid Wellness Products

by Anshuman Iddamsetty
Aug 26, 2019

Photo collage of the cast of Shrill. From left to right Ruthie (Patti Harrison), Ryan (Luka Jones), Annie Easton (Aidy Bryant), Amadi (Ian Owens), and Fran (Lolly Adefope).

Inspiration

How to Be a Boss: 10 Tips from Shrill

by Shopify Editorial Team
Aug 25, 2019

Photograph of 9 women's fists in the air starting from the darkest complexion and transitioning to the lightest complexion.

Inspiration

Outraged: T-shirts and the Ongoing Fight for Women’s Equality

by Dayna Winter
Aug 25, 2019

Portrait of young entrepreneur Sophia Fairweather with a series of illustrations drawn around her that reflect her business, goals and achievements.

Homework

STEM and Stargate Atlantis: Inside the Mind of a 11-Year-Old Founder

by Dayna Winter
Aug 23, 2019

Photo collage of Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, the publishing director of Cassava Republic Press and Ankara Press. Behind Bibi are swatches of various African fabrics. In the middle of the frame is an open book, the pages have two illustrated faces on them, one black one red and they are kissing, to reflect the idea of romance novels.

Inspiration

Vanguard: Meet the Nigerian Publisher Heating Up African Romance Novels

by Anshuman Iddamsetty
Aug 19, 2019

Photo collage of the cast of The Crown Season 2. From left to right, Princess Margaret (Vanessa Kirby), Prime Minister (Anton Lesser), Jackie Kennedy (Claire Foy), Jackie Kennedy (Jodi Balfour), and Prince Philip (Matt Smith)

Inspiration

How to Be a Boss: 12 Tips from The Crown

by Shopify Editorial Team
Aug 18, 2019

Portrait illustration of Adam Gentry, founder of Photific, wearing a pale blue button down and standing against a peach background.

Inspiration

Overdraft: Success for This Founder—at First—Simply Meant Surviving

by Neil Parmar
Aug 17, 2019

Portrait of 13 year old Collin, 8 year old Austin and 11 year old Ryan Gill, the young founders of Frères Branchiaux. Surrounding them are illustrations that reflect their business, their hobbies and their activities.

Homework

Baseball and Black Panther: Inside the Mind of an 11-Year-Old Founder

by Dayna Winter
Aug 14, 2019

Photo collage of Jacque Aye, founder of Adorned By Chi. Surrounding her are three of her anime characters and one of her custom t shirt slogans. Top left character is Gogo, bottom left there's a slogan that reads Black and Proud, top right is Emeka and bottom right is Adaeze. Jacuqe is pictured in the centre wearing a red shirt and black high waisted blue jeans. Her shirt says Anime Baddie across the front.

Inspiration

Vanguard: This Artist Conjured a Magical World of Black Anime Characters

by Anshuman Iddamsetty
Aug 12, 2019

Photo collage of the cast of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. From left to right Hilda Spellman (Lucy Davis), Harvey Kinkle (Ross Lynch), Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka), Susie Putnam (Lachlan Watson) and Zelda Spellman (Miranda Otto)

Inspiration

How to Be a Boss: 16 Tips from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

by Dayna Winter
Aug 12, 2019

Illustrated portrait of Wian von Blommestein, the founder of Ayoba-Yo.

Inspiration

Overdraft: Will His Family’s Food Business Turn into a Recipe for Success?

by Neil Parmar
Aug 10, 2019

Portrait of 9 year old founder Riley Kinnane-Petersen of the jewellery and apparel line Gunner and Lux. Surrounding Riley are illustrations that reflect her business, her hobbies, and her inspiration.

Homework

Sloths and Shiny Things: Inside the Mind of a 10-Year-Old Founder

by Dayna Winter
Aug 7, 2019

Illustration of a group of kids 6-9 years old, in an air balloon that is travelling over a countryside and a cityscape, but the air balloon is made out of a lightbulb to illustrate their ideas.

Homework

Introducing Homework—A Series Taking You Inside the Minds of Kid Founders

by Dayna Winter
Aug 7, 2019

Photo collage of George Giaouris, founder of Northbound Leather, against a bright pink background. Surrounding him are cut outs of two eyes and a mouth placed around a silhouette of a face. Inside each shape is a black and white image of Northbound's leather goods.

Inspiration

Vanguard: How Northbound Leather Became a Thriving Fetish Wear Company

by Anshuman Iddamsetty
Aug 5, 2019

Photo collage of (from left to right) characters Zoya the Destroya, Machu Picchu, Bash and Sandy Devereaux St. Clair from the TV show Glow.

Inspiration

How to Be a Boss: 12 Tips from GLOW

by Shopify Editorial Team
Aug 4, 2019

Portrait of the artist Debbie Bean standing under a tree with yellow flowers wearing a white t shirt and brown jeans with red lipstick on.

Inspiration

How Tibetan Monks and Cross-Country Moves Inspired This Artist’s Journey

by Dayna Winter
Jul 31, 2019

Photo collage of Celyon founder Patrick Boateng II. Behind Patrick are two different profiles of men of colour and hovering above their faces are three of Ceylon's products. In the bottom right hand corner are two hands with a smear of white paint above them to illustrate the texture of the product.

Inspiration

Vanguard: He Ditched a Government Job to Start a Skin-Care Line for Men of Color

by Anshuman Iddamsetty
Jul 29, 2019

Photo collage of the cast of Schitts Creek, from left to right, Moira Rose, David Rose, Johnny Rose and Alexis Rose

Inspiration

How to Be a Boss: 19 Tips from Schitt’s Creek

by Dayna Winter
Jul 29, 2019

Portrait illustration of Heather Acerra, the founder of toy company Lux Blox, wearing a yellow blazer against a pink background.

Inspiration

Overdraft: She Spent Retirement Savings to Launch These Building Toys—Without Regret

by Neil Parmar
Jul 27, 2019

Samantha Renée, founder of Weave Got It

Inspiration

“It’s Never Been a Fear of Mine to Try Things”

by Dayna Winter
Jul 25, 2019

Portrait of The Lip Bar founder Melissa Butler, looking directly at the camera with bare shoulders, against a beige background with bright red lipstick on and hair pulled to the side, over her shoulder.

Inspiration

How an Ex-Financier Built a Beauty Behemoth from her Kitchen

by Dayna Winter
Jul 24, 2019

Photo collage of founder Tania Larsson. The portrait of her is pictured in both black and white and colour in the foreground, wearing a lumber jacket, glasses with her hair in braids. Behind her are a series of stock photographs of the Northwest territories in Canada, where she grew up and currently lives. The stock photographs are in the shape of an animal hide, to illustrate her respect for animals and the tanning process used in her jewellery making. In the top left and right corner are images of her earrings and on the bottom left is one of her necklaces.

Inspiration

Vanguard: The Lengths This Indigenous Jeweler Went to for Her Craft

by Anshuman Iddamsetty
Jul 22, 2019