Pros
1. Amazing Talent: The people that work at Shopify are world-class at what they do, which makes learning from their experience a massive perk. The “Don’t be an asshole” mantra is something everyone lives by, eliminating a lot of the toxicity of other workplaces I’ve been a part of 2. Growth Mindset: Shopify preaches the growth mindset from Tobi down to the frontlines, but they definitely also put their money where their mouth is. You can “Own your own development” and attend whatever relevant conferences you want, make book/workshop/online course investments, take dedicated study time to level-up (perhaps during meeting-free Wednesday) 3. Lifestyle Perks: From the free restaurant-quality breakfast and lunches, to the beer and kombucha on tap, to the spending accounts for fitness, travel, etc. Shopify constantly makes you love being at work and a part of the Shopify team. 4. Exec Team: Shopify’s executives are just very smart, logical and pragmatic people. From the regular townhalls they hold to answer ANY question that comes up and is voted on by employees, to the “default to open” mentality of corporate information, you don’t feel as though you’re working in an opaque corporation as is too often the case with most tech companies nowadays.
Cons
1. Startup Quirks: Shopify is very much so still a start-up in many ways. Not all processes are well defined, and who owns certain components can be hard to track down. But this also means things aren’t super rigid and bureaucratic. Personally a lot of this I’d still consider a pro, but I didn’t have much else to write here. 2. Internal Movements: Shopify does love promoting people internally, but there are definitely some times when being internal hurts. Usually, if you’re a Guru, since the demand to get a non-support role is so large. There are also very significant compensation discrepancies for internal hires vs external ones, which can suck for people getting promoted.