Shopify CEO says Canada is 'brilliant place' to build tech firms

By: Tobi Lütke

Canada is increasingly being viewed as a “brilliant place” to build technology companies, and the idea that entrepreneurs don’t have Canadian companies to look up to is a “false narrative,” according to Shopify’s founder and CEO.

Tobi Lütke said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg’s Amanda Lang that while he had opportunities to move the Ottawa-headquartered ecommerce company elsewhere, he has been very “pro-Canada.”

“One gauntlet that everyone has to run when building a company in Canada is that it’s lacking a little bit in role models of companies to be like. That’s a false narrative,” Lütke said. “There are really good reasons why this happened, wonderful books written on various failures that people tend to point to. But they all happened because of internal failures and not for systemic, Canadian reasons.”

Lütke, a German immigrant, said that global technology companies already have an advantage in Canada because the country’s cultural norms and values are “significantly more progressive” than in other countries.

“You’re seeing a lot of interest in building companies in Canada for these reasons or relocating to Canada for these reasons,” Lütke said. “It’s a brilliant place to build companies, and I think that’s generally better understood now and I think you’ll see a lot more of that.”

Lütke’s comments come as Canadian business leaders and experts warn that the country’s global competitiveness is eroding in the face of aggressive U.S. tax cuts and trade uncertainty.

Read More >> https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/shopify-ceo-lutke-says-canada-is-brilliant-place-to-build-tech-firms-1.1073300