Harley Finkelstein

This was actually my very first business card. And if you can see it, it says Fresh Vibe Entertainments. The reason I have this is because my mother recently found it and gave it to me. But this business card is dramatic to me. It is incredibly meaningful. Why? Because when I came home, I was 13. I'm Jewish. I went to a lot of bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs.

And I thought the DJs were just so cool. They were so interesting. They would take a party that was sitting down kind of lame and quiet, eating their dinner. A minute later, they were doing the conga line. I thought that was just so interesting. And so I applied to a bunch of DJ companies and nobody would hire me. One, because I didn't know how to DJ.

And I thought the DJs were just so cool. They were so interesting. They would take a party that was sitting down kind of lame and quiet, eating their dinner. A minute later, they were doing the conga line. I thought that was just so interesting. And so I applied to a bunch of DJ companies and nobody would hire me. One, because I didn't know how to DJ.

And two, I looked like I was eight years old or something like that. I've always been sort of shorter than my peers, smaller than my peers. So I had this deep desire. And so my mom and dad, who didn't have a lot of money, encouraged me throughout my entire life by making this, these silly business cards that were probably made on a simple home computer printer.

And two, I looked like I was eight years old or something like that. I've always been sort of shorter than my peers, smaller than my peers. So I had this deep desire. And so my mom and dad, who didn't have a lot of money, encouraged me throughout my entire life by making this, these silly business cards that were probably made on a simple home computer printer.

They would make me these cards and they would validate this idea that if you want to do something, go create it yourself. And in this case, it was go create your own DJ company and hire yourself. And I ended up DJing about 500 bar mitzvahs and parties between the ages of 13 and probably around 19 or 20 years old. And I loved it. I loved every minute of it. I loved making money.

They would make me these cards and they would validate this idea that if you want to do something, go create it yourself. And in this case, it was go create your own DJ company and hire yourself. And I ended up DJing about 500 bar mitzvahs and parties between the ages of 13 and probably around 19 or 20 years old. And I loved it. I loved every minute of it. I loved making money.

I loved the logistics of it. I loved the performance of it. But ultimately, when I zoom out from those moments, what I then realized was that entrepreneurship was my life's work. It was how I want to spend my time. It's my craft. And you mentioned in the opening that Shopify has grown. We're now a $100 billion company. The entire mission of even Shopify is entrepreneurship.

I loved the logistics of it. I loved the performance of it. But ultimately, when I zoom out from those moments, what I then realized was that entrepreneurship was my life's work. It was how I want to spend my time. It's my craft. And you mentioned in the opening that Shopify has grown. We're now a $100 billion company. The entire mission of even Shopify is entrepreneurship.

How do you invite more people into this thing called entrepreneurship who otherwise may not have done so? Either they were scared or they didn't have the know-how or they thought it'd be very expensive. All of those things are no longer the case. Today, if you have an idea in the shower, you can take that idea and turn it into a small business.

How do you invite more people into this thing called entrepreneurship who otherwise may not have done so? Either they were scared or they didn't have the know-how or they thought it'd be very expensive. All of those things are no longer the case. Today, if you have an idea in the shower, you can take that idea and turn it into a small business.

And if you're lucky and you're good and you're adding value, that may turn into a multi-billion dollar company. And so that's my roots in entrepreneurship and why it's so meaningful to me.

And if you're lucky and you're good and you're adding value, that may turn into a multi-billion dollar company. And so that's my roots in entrepreneurship and why it's so meaningful to me.

There wasn't any of those easy-to-use websites. In fact, there weren't really any e-commerce then. But the card itself is less about the card. It's more about what it meant to me. It meant that they believed... I could do this. They gave me the audacity to believe I can do it. And again, the card's not very fancy and it just says Fresh Vibe Entertainment.

There wasn't any of those easy-to-use websites. In fact, there weren't really any e-commerce then. But the card itself is less about the card. It's more about what it meant to me. It meant that they believed... I could do this. They gave me the audacity to believe I can do it. And again, the card's not very fancy and it just says Fresh Vibe Entertainment.

It says my name and my best friend's name on there who is my business partner. But this was the beginnings of this. It made it real.

It says my name and my best friend's name on there who is my business partner. But this was the beginnings of this. It made it real.

So as I mentioned, I moved to Montreal when I was 17 to go to McGill University. Mom and dad needed help financially. Dad was not around anymore. I started selling t-shirts because I needed a way to make money. And I didn't necessarily want to do a reduced course load. I wanted to make money concurrently when I was in school.

So as I mentioned, I moved to Montreal when I was 17 to go to McGill University. Mom and dad needed help financially. Dad was not around anymore. I started selling t-shirts because I needed a way to make money. And I didn't necessarily want to do a reduced course load. I wanted to make money concurrently when I was in school.

And so there weren't a lot of jobs out there that would allow a student to take a full course load. But the cool part of entrepreneurship is you as the entrepreneur, as you're building your business, you get to mold the business around your particular needs, your particular schedule, your particular set of circumstances.