Each year at Shopify we roll out our ‘Year in Review’ at the start of the new year. 2011 was an especially exciting year for us, and we wanted to share all the great news and cool stats with our merchants & our community of supporters. See full infographic HERE.

QUOTED: “On Monday, Jaded Pixel Technologies Inc. — better known by its online name, Shopify— will announce it has closed a $15-million round of venture capital financing from a group of Canadian and American investors.” See full article HERE

Since becoming  ’CPO ‘  at Shopify, I have been asked a number of times what in fact – the role of a CPO entails. I felt it was finally time to break down the role, and here is the post on FastCompany.

Last month, TheNextWeb‘s Mike Vardy launched his new productivity podcast called – ‘Productivardy‘. I was fortunate enough to be asked on to the program as his guest. We had a really great chat, and HERE is the full podcast.

See Entrepreneur Magazine (July, 2011) article on: “How digital commerce platform – Shopify helped Angry Birds creator Rovio Mobile spread its wings into licensed – merchandise sales“.

See full article HERE.

Tom Taulli of Forbes writes about how ‘Angry Birds’ ventured into selling merchandise – online, with the help of Shopify and Shipwire.

See full article HERE.

This is the first article for a new series that I am working on w/ Practical eCommerce. The series is called ‘Innovators & Trendsetters‘, and will focus on emerging and unique – strategies being implemented by successful online shops. This instalment  revolves around ‘seasonality‘ and capitalizing on seasonal trends. See full article here.

[UPDATE] New Post: ‘3 Unusual eCommerce Models‘

I am excited to announce that I will be doing some mentoring @ FounderFuel. FounderFuel is a killer accelerator program that is focused on developing tech startups – within an ecosystem of experienced entrepreneurs, top executives, VCs, and Angels. If you know any entrepreneurs / startups that could thrive via a unique & intensive acceleration, apply here.

I recently sat down w/ the folks @ uOttawa re: my feedback on the JD/MBA program. Needless to say I am a huge proponent of the joint program, and had alot to discuss!

Here is the interview in full.

For the 2nd year in a row, Shopify was ranked as Ottawa’s Fastest Growing Company. Each year the Ottawa Business Journal ranks the top tech companies in the city, and we are humbled and excited to be leading this  list once again!

Last week, I was a guest on Practical eCommerce‘s weekly podcast, w/ Kerry Murdock. Kerry & I spoke about cloud computing, hosted platforms, and of course eCommerce. You can read the article HERE & listen to the podcast in full HERE

This past Monday, I was invited to CBC’s Ottawa office to discuss Shopify & Startups. The interview focused on the Build-a-Biz Contest & Ottawa’s Startup ‘Renaissance’. You can find the full interview HERE

Last year’s build-a-business contest was so successful that we’ve decided to do it again!

But this year we’re going bigger, much BIGGER

Check out all the details HERE

Also check out Gary’s Post, Tim’s Post & Seth’s Post

While in Austin (SXSWi) I spoke w/ AOL Small Business about tips for SMEs.

See tips below w/ some examples of Shopify users using those exact principles:

Lesson 1: ‘Don’t Compete with Amazon‘

Lesson 2: ‘Provide Extra-Personalized Service‘

Lesson 3: ‘Entertain your Shoppers‘

Lesson 4: ‘Curate a Collection‘

Lesson 5: ‘Engage Customers Through Social Media‘

QUOTED: “It’s that time of year again where Techvibes singles out 10 Digital Media People to Watch in Ontario in the coming year.”

I am really honoured and humbled to be listed with these incredible individuals.

Ontario / Canada is an amazing place to be an entrepreneur.

Click logo or HERE for complete list.

We are very pleased to announce our recent funding and our new parters.

QUOTED: “Ottawa / Canada, December 13, 2010 — Shopify, the online-retail platform bringing advanced commerce functionality to businesses of all sizes, today announced it has secured $7 million in Series A funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, FirstMark Capital and Felicis Ventures.”

Full press release HERE.

“Students aim to revolutionize online advertising by simplifying it”

Q&A with Avitu, an online ad management tool that traces its roots to a uOttawa class.

The boys spent the summer working / incubating from Shopify (we loved having them).

Article in this week’s edition of the University of Ottawa’s Gazette Newspaper

Click above picture or HERE for full article

Shopify featured in the Financial Post’s ‘Startup Spotlight’ section

Click logo or HERE for full article

QUOTED: “Shopify is in the business of selling online storefront templates and ready-made e-commerce technologies to everyone from mom-and-pop home businesses to multinational movie studios and globe-trotting rock bands. And with about 10,000 websites now using Shopify technology, business is good”

“Shopify.com has expanded from a one-room, four-person operation to a 35-employee workforce, servicing more than 10,000 clients from a luxurious penthouse studio office in the Byward Market”

Ottawa Citizen / Front Page of Business Section / Article by Vito Pilieci

See full article and our photos HERE

Also see Vancouver Sun Article: “Business booming at Shopify.com”

NEWS: Shopify has announced the winner of their Build-A-Biz Competition

After 6 months of fierce competition, Shopify names DODOcase the Winner

Congrats to all 500+ contestants who built their shops, w/ revenues over $3.5 Mil

Click links for STATS, Tim Ferriss’ Blog, & NYTimes Article

Since 2007, I have participated as a mentor in OCRI’s Summer Company program

This summer’s cohort seems especially strong & I am really thrilled to be advising them

Here is the announcement of the 2010 Summer Program (+ overview)

These are the sorts of initiatives that make Ottawa a true entrepreneurial hub

E-Commerce Times Article: ‘Have E-Commerce Your Way’

By: Harley Finkelstein – Part of the ‘Expert Advice’ Series

Click HERE of logo for full article