Former Chief Product Officer, Chief Marketing Officer at Shopify (2011 - 2020). Focusing on family, friends and philanthropy now. 😷
Toronto, Canada
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This is @SabiVM. She spent the entire day cold-calling businesses in Toronto’s at-risk Rexdale area to let them know about a local popup clinic and encourage them to get their employees vaccinated. #mywifeismyhero
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After nearly a decade at Shopify, it’s time for me to take on a new challenge. This has been the ride of a lifetime, helping to grow a small startup into one of the most iconic tech companies of our time. I’ll continue to cheer the team on from the sidelines, now as its #1 fan.
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Hours away from launching one of Shopify’s most significant products ever. Any guesses?
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Two years ago, a Canada-wide hotline that helped answer questions from pregnant and new parents on medicine safety was abruptly shut down. It had been receiving 200 calls a day, and had helped nearly a million parents. Going forward, those questions would go un-answered… (1/3)
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Today, The Vohra Miller Foundation has committed $5-million to launch First Exposure, a helpline and site for evidence-based information on medications and other substances in pregnancy & lactation.
We’ve partnered with @UofT_dlsph and will be launching soon.
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It took Shopify six years (2006-2012) to hit its first billion in GMV. The most recent billion happened in four days.
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In the last month, 2,885 Canadians died from COVID. In the US, 3,895 died *yesterday*.
Sad we’ve all become desensitized to all that death, and instead so many are pushing for “freedom” (like no more lockdowns, no masking, …)
COVID isn’t over, even though we all want it to be
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Some new Shopify stats that we’re sharing today:
(1) Everyone is finally getting online: new stores created on Shopify grew 62% between March 13 and April 24, compared to the prior six weeks.
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I have zero interest in joining ‘the next Shopify’. But I do have lots of interest in helping create ten more of them...
Canada should have more than one big tech success story each decade.
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Excited to work with Google to get all Shopify merchants on Google Shopping for FREE. Coming to the US by the end of this month. blog.google/products/shoppin…
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Several bad takes and inaccuracies in this thread, and it’s been widely shared so figured I’d try to correct some. Broader lesson:
It’s a bad idea for a third party company to build something that *most users* on the platform need.
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Happy to see that @Shopify has done the right thing and has taken down Trump’s online store.
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Just released a set of checkout and order management improvements for better in-store & curbside pickup. Free update, available on all Shopify plans today. More updates soon.
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Saw this in my feed today and I have to say, it’s disappointing to see tech leaders both write and believe so many falsehoods about what happened in Canada.
This wasn’t “a peaceful protest”, “martial law” wasn’t imposed, governments freeze money from criminal orgs often, etc.
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The fall of great companies is all about the people. Early hires want to make the company great. Late hires want to work for a great company. Don’t stop bringing in early hires, regardless of how big your company gets.
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In the six years I’ve run marketing at Shopify we’ve received a grand total of zero awards about our work. I’m very proud of this fact.
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Introducing @Shop, the best way to shop, pay and track orders all from your phone. It’s completely free, and in the App Store right now. shop.app/?x
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More than the entire population of San Francisco has now died from COVID in the US, but it seems like many tech influencers (who I used to respect) think their top priority should be defending a podcast that encouraged young people not to get vaccinated. Redic.
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By the way, she isn’t part of a government program or an organization that has been tasked to do this. She just a person on a mission, trying to make a difference.
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So happy to see @SabiVM being recognized for all her hard work on the front page of today’s @TorontoStar:
VACCINE HEROES: 20 people who took on the biggest job of the pandemic and helped Ontario get its shots
thestar.com/news/canada/2021…
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Thanks for all the love and support over the past week, it means the world to me. A few have asked what’s next, and the answer is simply: I don’t know. But figuring it out will be half the fun.
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Early in my time at Shopify one of our board members would frequently ask me “how big is Shopify’s market?”
Without fail, I’d annoy him by saying “how big do you want us to make it?”
#Shopify1Million 📈
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"Toronto added 22,500 new tech jobs in 2016, compared to 5,370 for NYC and 11,540 for SFO" cc @JohnTory techvibes-com.cdn.ampproject…
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It’s official.. tomorrow morning, Friday December 2nd at 9:30am EST, the Prime Minister of Canada @JustinTrudeau will be joining @SabiVM to answer parents questions about vaccines. Be sure to follow her Twitter account for a link to the livestream!
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"I'm a big fan of Shopify," said Tim Cook. "I love the fact that their focus is on democratizing technology for entrepreneurs that are largely artisans and bringing their products to market so that these merchants can focus on what they are great at." via business.financialpost.com/w…
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Keep seeing articles that try to reverse engineer Shopify's growth. If you really want to know what our secrets are, come work for us. 🚀
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The secret’s out.. Shopify is making a massive, half billion dollar investment in our Toronto office with the hopes of hiring thousands more in the coming years.
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Hey Mahmoud, I’m sorry to read about what happened at your school.. If you want someone to talk to your school staff and explain Shopify, let me know.
20 years ago I ran my own internet businesses while at school too. Don’t give up!! You never know where they will lead you 🚀 nitter.app/shaheen612/status/9953…
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I should probably clarify this as it’s causing a bit of a stir:
As the CMO for Shopify and Kijiji, two iconic brands, I spent very little time & money (read $0) on brand or brand marketing. Instead, I focused on digital, attributable, direct marketing. Get people to the product.
My absolute favourite quote is
"brand is what happens when people don't click"
- @craigmillr
I think brand is in place a lot of times because other parts of a marketing org don't consider it or think it's important. Hire well and you might not need a brand team at all.
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Launched early this morning, the new Point of Sale hardware kit from @Shopify is just stunning. shopify.com/pos/retail-kit
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Some have DM’ed and asked what I’m advising and investing in. So far, three themes have emerged:
- fighting climate change
- helping Canadian startups
- creating more entrepreneurs
Bonus when there’s a combination of those themes.
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I’ve been doing a bit of angel/early stage investing and advising over the past few months, and am incredibly inspired by the big, important problems people are trying to solve.
It may be dark outside today, but the future is bright.
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Today we're launching Live View, a real-time view of traffic, sales and other data on your Shopify store. It's available free to all merchants on all plans, on both mobile and web. Happy Black Friday/Cyber Monday from all of us at Shopify.
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Shopify sites rank better on Google because we “do things technically correct,” not based on any special preference in their algorithm. A nice compliment to the teams that have worked on our many unadvertised SEO features over the years.
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.@SabiVM, having worked at the prior service while studying at university, was absolutely gutted. But within days, that feeling turned into action, and she started making plans for an alternative service... (2/3)
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The cost to create products, both physical & digital, is approaching zero. Inversely, the cost to acquire attention is approaching infinity.
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This week we’ve invited everyone from Shopify’s technical disciplines (Eng, UX, PM, data, ... nearly 1K people) to Toronto to focus on improving their craft. Presentations, workshops, panels, networking... Forget housecleaning, these are real the perks of working here.
Most people don’t include “learning potential” as one of the key criteria when they choose their job, but they should
s.hbr.org/2NvFTXG
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When talking to Canadian founders it often seems like my biggest contribution is telling them they aren’t wrong to focus on growth (vs being profitable). Seem common advice in this country is to think small?
If you have a shot at winning a market, please, please, please take it.
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Hundreds of Shopify employees have joined together to donate over $40,000 to the #TorontoStrong fund in support of all those affected by Monday's attack. Toronto always has Toronto’s back. torontofoundation.ca/toronto…
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Today we’re launching the Tap & Chip reader in Canada. Now retail stores with Shopify POS can also accept contactless credit cards and Interac Flash. Just $39 with free shipping. hardware.shopify.ca/products…
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New @Shopify feature: you can now buy & email pre-paid return labels.
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My friend @SharkawyMD shares some deeply personal, heartbreaking stories from working in the COVID ward. A long read, but a must read.
Please, please, please just stay home and wait for your turn to get the vaccine. torontolife.com/memoir/i-los…
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(3) Retailers are resilient: GMV through the point-of-sale channel declined by 71% between Mar 13, and Apr 24, relative to the comparable 6 week period prior, BUT retail merchants managed to replace 94% of lost GMV with online sales over the same period.
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I talked with @BrandonMChu on his Black Box of PM podcast about my career in product and marketing, being the CPO & CMO of Shopify, and much more.
Check out the full podcast on Spotify or YouTube. Teaser below:
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I’ve said it many times, but I’ll say it once more: The future needs more entrepreneurs. The future needs more Shopify. 🚀
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Had some amazing times at 80 Spadina, with some really amazing friends. Best of luck to the new occupants and sorry about the un-level floors cc: @Wealthsimple @mkatchen
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I’m wise enough about social media to know that talking about the cover of yesterday’s dangerous and vile Toronto Sun could incidentally give them more publicity, which is what they want.
But should any of us really be surprised that they published it in the first place?
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Multi-location inventory, one of the most requested features of all time for Shopify and Shopify POS, was just released to all merchants. 🎉 🚀
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Final design approved.. just 2 weeks from launching this new product at Shopify's Unite conference #bethereorbesquare
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“We looked at 10K of the largest Shopify merchants with Shop Pay enabled and compared checkout conversion between Shop Pay and regular checkout used by buyers.
Our study showed that checkouts going through Shop Pay have an average checkout-to-order rate of 1.72x times higher.”
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Thanks for the kind words friends, but we went public in 2015. #SHOPnotSPOT
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“Shopify isn’t just a once-in-a-generation Canadian story—it might be a once-in-a-generation global story” macleans.ca/economy/business…
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Today Shopify launches Burst, a free stock photography site to help your website look better and more professional. burst.shopify.com/
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We’re working with companies like Snapchat and Nike to make ecommerce less about commodity and more about *experience*. #poweredbyShopify fastcodesign.com/90160789/sn…
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Survey of the top employer brands (according to @Hired_HQ) puts Shopify at #3:
hired.com/blog/highlights/hi…
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Managing a high growth startup is really hard and unnatural. I used to got a lot of comfort from this excerpt found in a book about Google’s early days.
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Canadians using Shopify now get paid faster. We reduced the Shopify Payments hold time to 3 business days from over a week. 💰💨
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We just released the all-new Shopify POS, completely redesigned for modern retail stores. Bonus: the Pro version is completely free until October 31. shopify.com/pos
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Oh yeah, we also opened a 2nd Shopify office in Toronto today. We're now 300+ in the GTA, and looking to hire more!
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I guess you didn’t understand what I wrote.
Some advice: re-read my thread and reconsider that your failures may be your failures, and not someone else’s.
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We just added the option to accept tips during checkout in Shopify. Support your team, or use it to raise funds for charity. How to enable: help.shopify.com/en/manual/c…
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If you want to build an iconic brand, it has little to do with the marketing team. It’s all about the mission of the company and its culture. Get that pointed in the right direction and you won’t need to waste marketing time/money on brand. It will be bleeding out of every pore.
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Latest on Shopify’s investments in technologies and companies that permanently remove carbon from the atmosphere. news.shopify.com/fighting-fo…
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That’s okay, Canada is proudly Shopify’s headquarters. 🇨🇦
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Before it launched, I was so bullish about the prospects of @Shop that I proposed it take over Shopify’s iconic green shopping bag, and that Shopify would get a new logo.
Actually, I’m still this bullish!
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Looking for 50-60 people to launch a three week denial of service attack to peacefully block everyone’s access to a website I’m protesting.
Don’t worry, I’ll supply the bouncy castles and flags.
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A big thank you to @tobi for taking a chance on an engineer to run the marketing team remotely, back in 2011. And for his trust in taking on the responsibility of the Shopify product a few years later. I’ve learned a lot from you; keep pushing, caring & obsessing over details.
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Once we re-emerge from our homes, I think we’ll all finally grasp the havoc and destruction from this past year. The needless death, mass unemployment & closing of local businesses, and the incredibly unfair impact on women, racialized, and those that were already struggling...
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Work can’t be your everything, and it honestly doesn’t want it to be.
I think Ashley’s tweet below will turn out to be one of the most important concepts this decade. Consider it, then start doing it.
One interesting exercise is to unbundle everything you might get (or want) from a full-time job (purpose, camaraderie, structure, learning, status, cash flow, equity, etc) and consider how you might arrange your life to find them elsewhere.
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For those keeping score:
✅ Amazon
✅ eBay
✅ Facebook+Instagram+Messenger
✅ Pinterest
✅ Wish
✅ Wanelo
. . .
(I need more than 140 characters)
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Some serious analytical firepower is now baked right into Shopify. More data = more sales. 📈💰
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I'm proud of a lot of the cool stuff we've built at Shopify, but even more proud of what we've killed. Here's the story behind one such decision. medium.com/read-product-talk…
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At last year's #ShopifyUnite a lady was taking furious notes & asking many questions. Looked at their laptop and saw
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Dear @Nike, It's time to switch over to @Shopify + @getfrenzyapp. Seriously. Just do it. nitter.app/i/moments/932685071869…
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I could never understand why a CEO would rather prioritize Wall Street over their own team of humans. What ever happened to “our people are our greatest asset”?
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My advice to anyone building an application or business on a third-party platform is to build something niche. Build something that say 20% of users on the platform would find essential, but the rest of the customers wouldn’t care about.
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I’m really proud of the product team that is in place to take on the challenges of the next decade… some of the smartest, most driven, and humble human beings in the world. If you want to know the secret sauce of Shopify, they are it. Great products come from great teams.
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And thank you to the over 1,000,000 Shopify merchants that entrusted me and our product with their livelihood every day. The reason I worked so hard was you, your struggles, your triumphs, your stories… It’s truly the ambition that makes the entrepreneur.
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Increasingly convinced it’s no longer possible to profitably sell a single product online at scale. Auction models + VC cash have made online advertising far too expensive.
The only way forward is subscription products and/or building a brand with multiple repeat purchases.
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The Vohra Miller Foundation continues to invest with the long-term vision of healthy children & families, and a stronger and more equitable healthcare system for everyone.
Today we’re introducing First Exposure, a dream @SabiVM has been working on for years to turn into reality.
Thanks to the Vohra Miller Foundation (@craigmillr & @SabiVM), @UofT_dlsph is launching a groundbreaking network dedicated to maternal, reproductive & early child health. See how the First Exposure initiative will fill a crucial gap in family health care. bit.ly/3Ggb0Dn
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Postscript: I worry that by saying ‘winning’ it implies you can or should be a jerk to others. One can be humble, human and decent, while also being hungry. I think during my time at Shopify we demonstrated this well.
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I was employee number four at Kijiji, there from 2006 until late 2011. Grew the site from launch to one of the top 10 most visited sites in Canada.
Google Trends makes it seem like I did something right, wonder what happened after I left…
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The Toronto Sun, like most Canadian newspapers, is published by Postmedia. Who owns Postmedia?
New Jersey-based Chatham Asset Management. They also own of the National Enquirer.
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I’ve gone through what Julie so perfectly describes below and let me tell you it’s rough. Too often we delegate the work of finding our identity, our voice, our community, our meaning to our job. It’s our fault for being so lazy, not the job’s.
Time to think for and be yourself.
The hard-to-admit reason was this: my sense of identity was deeply tied to my job.
I felt I *belonged* there.
I had a great career there.
I'd made many wonderful friends there.
And so, it was terrifying to imagine: who would I be if I *didn't* work there?
(2/10)
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Also really hope @ecommerceaholic posts another reaction video to the announcements at #ShopifyUnite this year.. these guys had me rolling on the floor laughing last year.
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Really excited about what we’re shipping at #ShopifyUnite
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Know the bias:
“Twitter has admitted its algorithm amplifies more tweets from rightwing politicians and news outlets than content from leftwing sources.
The worst case was in Canada, where Conservatives tweets were amplified by 167% (vs Liberal by 43%) theguardian.com/technology/2…
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Respectfully, you didn’t invent a ‘one click’ checkout. I was Shopify’s Chief Product Officer at the time and I had never heard of (or seen) Bolt’s product.
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Nice to see so many of my old friends from Shopify that are out there helping to fund and advise startups, or better yet, running their own new companies.
Shopify helps customers build online shops, but it's minting tech founders and investors, too tcrn.ch/3ofyMX5 by @cookie
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