With a brand new downtown office space and Ottawa’s CEO of the Year, Shopify is closing 2014 on a high note.
The new towering glass building at 150 Elgin St. is now home to Shopify’s global headquarters, the place from which Ottawa’s own e-commerce giant runs thousands of online shopping sites worldwide.
Shopify’s new six floors of office space are deemed anything but ordinary. Following in the steps of many innovative businesses, Shopify is reshaping the typical office environment with extraordinary amenities for the company’s 350 Ottawa-based employees.
Konval Matin, Shopify’s “culture ambassador,” says the company has “redefined the traditional workplace environment”.
“Virtually every corner of the office — whether it be a padded nook carved out into the wall in a narrow hallway, or a set of couches hidden behind a meeting room — is a place to get work done and be comfortable,” she says.
Shopify’s e-commerce software helps small businesses get started by making affordable web technology. They assist in setting up an online store for businesses to sell their goods, organize products, accept credit card payments and track orders.
The Shopify headquarters will now feature a yoga studio, massage room, arcade and poker room among a long list of other features. Each floor has something different to offer employees.
Greg Scorsone, Shopify’s Director of Internal Operations, says the reaction to the office has been overwhelmingly positive. “People are really pleased with the space. There’s so much more area for us to grow,” he says.
The office space is made up of six unique floors. The individually themed floors from level six to eleven include urban street, gangster, transportation, Canadian, retreat and back alley. The Canadian floor features log cabin exteriors on meeting rooms, as well as wooden Adirondack chairs to relax in. Each floor includes pods with TVs and secluded, soundproof nooks to work in.
Matin says similar set-ups in previous Shopify offices, such as their former location at 126 York Street, have proven to lead to strong productivity among employees.
The Ottawa-based company has come full circle since its inception 10 years ago at a table in Bridgehead on Elgin Street. Shopify was originally created by founders Tobias Lütke and Scott Lake to sell snowboards. The two realized they could sell snowboards at competitive rates online without the cost of stores or staff.
Ten years and five moves later, the company now powers 120,000 online retailers worldwide through their platform technology. The company has received $122 million in Series A, B and C funding from a variety of venture capitalists.
Performance Court, the new home to Shopify’s headquarters, is structured around the original Grant House, a familiar Ottawa heritage site built in 1875. The modern, 21-storey that rises above it encases the historic house, providing a stark contrast between Victorian and modern architecture. Performance Court is also the new home to Ottawa Tourism and Canada Council for the Arts.
The materials used for the state-of-the-art office include maple, oak and cedar wood that was locally sourced from around the Ottawa Valley.
While minor construction is still ongoing, Shopify employees have already moved in and began working. The 102,000 square-foot Shopify office is set to be completed by the beginning of the New Year.
Tobias Lütke, CEO of Shopify, will be receiving CEO of the year award at the Best Ottawa Business Awards on Nov. 20. “It takes a city to raise a company, and Shopify owes much of its success to being headquartered in Ottawa,” Lütke said in a statement about the award.
The gala event takes place at the Ottawa Convention Centre from 5:30 to 9:30 pm.