Episode #21: E-Commerce Insights with Harley Finkelstein, CPO of Shopify

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Where is the E-commerce market at right now? This week I got Shopify's Chief Platform Officer Harley Finkelstein to discuss the origins of Shopify, industry trends, and what makes a business successful from overseeing 30,000+ E-Commerce stores. You can follow Harley on Twitter at @hfizzle and his personal website at www.harleyf.com.
Topics Discussed:

03:10 -- Origins of the Shopify platform
03:40 -- Market positioning of Shopify
04:50 -- Giving up a legal career to join a startup
05:20 -- How easy is it to start on Shopify?
06:30 -- Where is Shopify at now?
06:50 -- Retail sales vs eCommerce sales in North America
07:30 -- How eCommerce will impact physical retail in the future
08:30 -- E-Commerce and the technology adoption curve
10:30 -- Democratization of online retail
11:50 -- Common themes in successful stores on Shopify
12:45 -- The two biggest categories of stores on Shopify
14:20 -- Kickstarter and Shopify
15:00 -- Being the authority in your market
16:20 -- The boutique shopping experience offline and online
17:10 -- General background of Shopify users
18:00 -- Biggest pain points with new store owners
19:45 -- Creating loops in your marketing to grow sales
20:05 -- Shopify's view of mobile commerce
20:30 -- "Snacking" on your mobile during downtime
21:15 -- Shopify's mobile platform for store owners
22:20 -- The uncertain future of big box retail
24:00 -- Six months is the new six years
24:20 -- Will same day shipping be disruptive?
25:10 -- Is free shipping a standard now?
25:30 -- What makes Shopify stand out from the competition?
27:35 -- Open source vs hosted E-Commerce platforms
28:25 -- Shopify businesses that you should check out

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