When you first meet Shopify's COO, Harley Finkelstein, you are immediately drawn to his positive energy and his inspiring smile. His day-to-day style is casual, with his trademark black t-shirt and jeans but, without a doubt, Harley means business! Along with a dynamic leadership team, he has helped take Shopify from a medium local technology company, to a large publicly traded and globally recognized entity. Shopify proudly now empowers over 600,000 businesses online and offline, in more than 150 countries worldwide. Pretty cool!
We're very grateful that Harley agreed to participate in our 2018 and Beyond Portrait Series, not just because of his entrepreneurial and business acumen, but also because of his forward thinking vision for Ottawa. Just as Shopify looks outwardly to international potential, it is still very much a local company that celebrates our city, along with its young and creative talent.
© Dwayne Brown Studio
We asked Harley what he is most positive about and how our city can help its local entrepreneurial community, as Ottawa moves forward into 2018 and beyond.
"The collective ambition of our community has never been higher; Ottawa is firing on all cylinders right now. This is Canada's moment and the incredible entrepreneurs in the city are a huge part of that movement. We conducted a study recently and found that nearly 70% of Canadians want to be their own boss someday but only 30% have started their own business. I'm so excited to see how far Ottawa's entrepreneurs can go.
As a city and community, we need to continue to support each other, first and foremost. We need to invest in our local inventions and promote our home town success stories. To encourage this we need to build a strong community of other entrepreneurs who can mentor, inspire, and invest in our future leaders. If Ottawa can grow this community, there's no limit to our success."
Thanks Harley, for making the time this week for some photography and for sharing your vision for Ottawa's future!
For more information about Shopify and how it might even help you start an online business: www.shopify.com