Tobias Lütke
Born 1980 · Age 45
German-Canadian entrepreneur, programmer and racing driver. Co-founder and CEO of Shopify; early Ruby on Rails contributor; philanthropist and amateur racer.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Koblenz, West Germany
Tobias Lütke was born in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, West Germany.
Received Schneider CPC computer
Received a Schneider CPC (Amstrad Colour Personal Computer) from his parents, sparking early interest in computers.
Began modifying game code and hardware as hobby
By age 11–12 he began rewriting the code of the games he played and modifying computer hardware.
Left school and entered apprenticeship
Dropped out of school after tenth grade and entered an apprenticeship program at the Koblenzer Carl-Benz-School to become a computer programmer.
First professional programming work (Siemens subsidiary)
At about age 17 he began programming work for a subsidiary of Siemens (apprenticeship/professional work experience).
Moved from Germany to Canada
Emigrated from Germany to Canada (began living/working in Ottawa area).
Worked remotely for a German startup (failed)
Worked remotely for a German startup while in Canada; that venture was unsuccessful, which contributed to his decision to start a business.
Co-founded Snowdevil (online snowboard shop)
Co-founded Snowdevil with Daniel Weinand and Scott Lake; each founder invested 20,000 CAD to start the business.
Built custom e‑commerce platform using Ruby on Rails
Created a new e-commerce platform for Snowdevil using Ruby on Rails; the platform later became Shopify.
Acquired first Snowdevil customer (Pennsylvania)
The company's first customer came from Pennsylvania — an early sales milestone for the snowboard shop.
Built pre-launch interest: collected 4,000–5,000 emails
Prior to formal launch they collected roughly 4,000–5,000 emails via a landing page/blog to build an initial user base.
Shifted focus from Snowdevil to launch Shopify
The Snowdevil founders pivoted from selling snowboards to productizing their e-commerce software and launched Shopify.
Contributor to Ruby on Rails core; created Active Merchant
Became part of the core Ruby on Rails community and authored open-source libraries such as Active Merchant (used for payment integrations).
Received $400,000 angel investment (John Phillips)
An angel investor, John Phillips, invested $400,000 which helped the company survive early cash constraints.
Switched Shopify business model: free/commission to subscription
Shopify initially used a commission-based model and later switched to a subscription-based pricing model in 2007.
Strategic shift to invest in marketing
Between 2009–2010 Lütke intentionally slowed some growth and used funds to test multiple marketing programs — a turning point that scaled Shopify.
Named #1 in 'Fastest Growing Companies' listing
Shopify was recognized among fastest growing companies (publications highlighting rapid growth in 2010).
Raised $7M in venture funding
Shopify announced a $7 million venture funding round (publicized December 13, 2010).
Additional venture investment of ~$15M
Following the $7M round the company received an additional ~$15M from venture capital (enabling further growth/marketing).
Shopify reaches 80,000 customers and ~300 employees
By the end of 2013 Shopify had roughly 80,000 customers and about 300 employees — a major growth milestone.
Named 'CEO of the Year' by The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail named Tobias Lütke CEO of the Year (November 2014) for leadership at Shopify.
Shopify founders move to restore Opinicon resort
Reported involvement in restoring the Opinicon resort (media reported Jan 28, 2015; personal investment/initiative).
Shopify goes public (IPO)
Shopify completed its initial public offering in 2015, transitioning to a public company.
Shopify hosts ~600,000 shops & ~ $600M revenue (referenced in 2018)
By 2017–2018 reporting, Shopify was cited as hosting over 600,000 merchant stores and generating almost $600M in revenue the prior year.
Public defense of hosting controversial merchants (Breitbart)
Lütke defended a free-speech stance around commerce when Shopify hosted Breitbart in 2017, generating public controversy.
Awarded Meritorious Service Cross
Presented with the Meritorious Service Cross (November 5, 2018) for supporting growth of the Canadian tech industry.
Donated to MrBeast's Team Trees campaign
Participated as a top donor in the Team Trees charity campaign (2019). Part of later aggregated donations totaling $2,700,002 across campaigns.
Thistledown Foundation philanthropic commitments (reported)
Reported involvement of Thistledown Foundation committing substantial amounts (hundreds of millions across initiatives, incl. carbon removal) — reported in philanthropy summaries.
Advocated/implemented 'digital by default' remote-first work policy
Led Shopify toward a remote-first / 'digital by default' workplace policy (announced in 2020), influencing company operations and the industry.
Donated to MrBeast's Team Seas campaign
Participated as a top donor in the Team Seas charity campaign (2021). Part of aggregate donation total across multiple campaigns.
Invested in Creative Layer ($3M round)
Along with former/current Shopify execs and Celtic House Venture Partners, invested $3,000,000 in Creative Layer, a print-on-demand/Shopify-related platform.
Ranked 11th richest Canadian (by rank)
As of 2022 he was reported as the 11th richest person in Canada (rank reported in business press).
Regained German citizenship
Tweeted that he got his German citizenship back on January 26, 2022.
Joined Coinbase board of directors
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced Lütke would join its board of directors (January 31, 2022).
Shopify reports Q1 revenue of ~$1.2B (contextual)
Reporting context: in Q1 2022 Shopify revenue grew ~22% year-over-year to about $1.2B (source context from press coverage).
Ownership and voting control (reported)
Public filings / reporting indicate Lütke owns approximately 7% of Shopify's outstanding shares but controls ~40% of voting interest via two-class structure (reported in media across years).
Shopify revenue reported ~6.65B (Sep 2023 company stat)
Company-level figure reported in profiles: Shopify revenue of ~$6.65B as of Sep 2023 (company overview summaries).
Company layoffs (~20%) announced
In January 2023 Shopify announced layoffs affecting about 20% of its workforce; covered in press reporting.
Preliminary shareholder approval for founder's voting share reported
Media reported a preliminary tally showing shareholders approved a founder's share for Lütke, reinforcing his voting control (reported March 2023).
Shopify merchant base cited at multi‑million scale (approx. 4,000,000 merchants)
Profiles and company summaries in recent years cite Shopify powering millions of merchants (figures cited ~4,000,000 merchants in contemporary summaries).
HSR Prototype Challenge (Amateur) — season champion
In 2024 he competed in the HSR Prototype Challenge (Amateur class): 6 races, 3 wins and claimed 1st in class for the season.
Announced as part of Era Motorsport Rolex 24 LMP2 lineup
Era Motorsport announced Lütke would join Paul-Loup Chatin, Ryan Dalziel, and David Heinemeier Hansson for the Rolex 24 lineup (announcement Dec 5, 2024).
Competing in 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship (LMP2)
Entered the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship in the LMP2 class for Era Motorsport (season in progress).
Aggregate philanthropy: donations to Team Trees/Seas/Water totaling $2,700,002
Across 2019, 2021 and 2025 donated sums to MrBeast/Mark Rober charity campaigns (Team Trees, Team Seas, Team Water) totalling $2,700,002 (reported aggregate).
Competed in Rolex 24 at Daytona with Era Motorsport (LMP2)
Competed in the 2025 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona in LMP2 (Oreca 07) with Era Motorsport; recorded 764 laps, finished 12th overall and 4th in class.
Net worth reported at US$11.1 billion
As of February 2025 public reporting (Forbes/Wikipedia) estimated Tobias Lütke's net worth at US$11.1 billion.
Public commentary criticizing Canada's retaliatory tariffs
Voiced criticism of the Canadian federal government's decision to impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States (commentary reported Feb 2, 2025).
AI-first hiring policy (Shopify shift reported)
Press coverage in April 2025 described Shopify adopting an 'AI-first' hiring policy; signals company-wide strategic change in hiring and roles.
Key Achievement Ages
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