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Shopify to raise $100M in Toronto, New York IPO

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Re: Shopify to raise $100M in Toronto, New York IPO

#51

Post by incarnate »

Tiktaalik wrote: post #38

Who is their main competition? In this the online store and retail POS space I'm aware there are other operators, but Shopify is the only one I can name. Square I guess in the POS space?

In the hosted eCommerce space BigCommerce, Volusion, SquareSpace and Miva are some of the biggest competitors. Magento Go is/has been shut down, but other downloadable carts are now moving to a hosted model like PrestaShop and LemonStand. Self-hosted options also abound, many of them free (and open source), like WooCommerce, OpenCart and Magento.

Shopify's POS is more of an add-on for an online store, competing with the likes of Square, Lightspeed and Shopkeep.

Re: Shopify to raise $100M in Toronto, New York IPO

#52

Post by shostack »

anotherview wrote: post #14
oisino wrote: post #7

Not the sexiest stock but as someone who has built their company off Shopify I cant say I have worked with a better product/ company in my life. The way they handle third party developers, designers, and stores is exceptional. They really get what it takes to build a platform. I have no doubt thats Tobi vision of building the platform for all commerce will come true. As a developer building off Shopify excited to see…

I had a different experience. I played with Shopify, and canceled my account. They kept charging me for years. I eventually noticed, and asked for a refund on the completely empty, completely unused account which was being charged to an expired and canceled card (something I didn't even know was possible until this incident). Support said no, and offered a discount if I wanted to use Shopify in the future. I said I'd…

Did you end up filing a chargeback?

Re: Shopify to raise $100M in Toronto, New York IPO

#53

Post by pbreit »

cperciva wrote: post #50
pbreit wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except that its a Canadian company, its a regular IPO. $100m in software revs reasonably supports a $1b valuation. The company has been working hard for nearly 10 years with relatively limited VC involvement. I don't really understand your post in this context.

Does $100M/year in revenue and $-25M/year in profits really make a company worth $1B these days?

Absolutely. $100m in revs is basically the magic number for $1b IPO. And a growth company should be "losing" money. Otherwise it's run out of ideas on how to make money which is a red flag.

Re: Shopify to raise $100M in Toronto, New York IPO

#54

Post by cperciva »

pbreit wrote: post #53
cperciva wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does $100M/year in revenue and $-25M/year in profits really make a company worth $1B these days?

Absolutely. $100m in revs is basically the magic number for $1b IPO. And a growth company should be "losing" money. Otherwise it's run out of ideas on how to make money which is a red flag.

I clearly need to abandon my profitable and steadily growing SaaS business and launch a startup which sells dollar bills for 75 cents each. IPO here I come!

Re: Shopify to raise $100M in Toronto, New York IPO

#55

Post by girvo »

bhouston wrote: post #39
Tiktaalik wrote: post #38

Who is their main competition? In this the online store and retail POS space I'm aware there are other operators, but Shopify is the only one I can name. Square I guess in the POS space?

Some competitors: Magento / Magento Go oscommerce woocommerce etsy squarespace prestashop opencart Wordpress has shopping chart as well. There are a ton of existing POS providers for stores, more than one can name.

Magneto and OSCommerce are nowhere near competitors IMO, at least in terms of using them as a developer. I still get fever dreams about Magento...

Re: Shopify to raise $100M in Toronto, New York IPO

#56

Post by base »

Tiktaalik wrote: post #38

Who is their main competition? In this the online store and retail POS space I'm aware there are other operators, but Shopify is the only one I can name. Square I guess in the POS space?

For hosted online stores: BigCommerce, Volusion, Jumpseller, Bigcartel to name a few.

Re: Shopify to raise $100M in Toronto, New York IPO

#57

Post by biot »

cperciva wrote: post #54
pbreit wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely. $100m in revs is basically the magic number for $1b IPO. And a growth company should be "losing" money. Otherwise it's run out of ideas on how to make money which is a red flag.

I clearly need to abandon my profitable and steadily growing SaaS business and launch a startup which sells dollar bills for 75 cents each. IPO here I come!

Or try the Groupon model: sell other peoples' dollar bills for 50 cents and give them 25 cents from the sale.

Re: Shopify to raise $100M in Toronto, New York IPO

#58

Post by noir_lord »

cperciva wrote: post #54
pbreit wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely. $100m in revs is basically the magic number for $1b IPO. And a growth company should be "losing" money. Otherwise it's run out of ideas on how to make money which is a red flag.

I clearly need to abandon my profitable and steadily growing SaaS business and launch a startup which sells dollar bills for 75 cents each. IPO here I come!

I would like to offer 100m for 1% and no board seat.

I think my offer is tough but fair.

Re: Shopify to raise $100M in Toronto, New York IPO

#59

Post by lamosty »

Here is a nice article written by Lütke himself about how he got into computers and how his then boss Jürgen was probably the most important thing that happened to him in his professional life.

http://tobi.lutke.com/blogs/news/11280301-the-apprentice-pro...

Really enjoyed reading this piece. I can partly see myself in his story except all the achievements. We'll see.

Re: Shopify to raise $100M in Toronto, New York IPO

#60

Post by sireat »

I looked at their pricing page and it looks like their $29 offering does have unlimited products now. I could have sworn it was much more limited about 2 years ago.

I keep looking for an inexpensive shopping cart solution for a friend who owns a handmade crafts retail store and not finding a good one. Meanwhile he keeps paying $50 a month for a proprietary shopping cart and gets maybe 20 online sales a year.

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