Thank you and goodbye, Shopify!
Reflecting on my time at Shopify (2009-2020).
Last Monday was my last day at Shopify. I had been on parental leave since February and was meant to return last week, but I decided to call it quits to continue hanging out with the baby.
It’s crazy to think that I’d worked at Shopify for nearly 11 years. That’s a third of my freakin’ life!
My time at Shopify
I wore a lot of different hats at Shopify, including:
- Theme designer & developer
- Theme support team lead
- Theme documentation specialist
- Brief stint as a UX designer
- Front end developer
I’m grateful to have worked at a company that allowed for so much movement. I worked with insanely smart, talented, and inspiring people who really helped me discover and sharpen my craft.
Any regrets?
I do sometimes reflect on why I did not move up to a more senior role. I certainly had the ambition and talked to my lead about it. My reluctance to sacrifice my work/life balance likely held me back. I always had some sort of hobby outside of work that I obsessed about (music, soccer, jiu-jitsu, etc.) and I made it a point to always make time for them.
Another reason might have been that I often lacked confidence in my opinions. This is something I still struggle with today. I have always been a “go-with-the-flow” kind of guy, and am most comfortable in a supporting role (maybe that’s why I feel in love with playing the bass guitar, lol). I couldn’t see myself leading a team or making high-risk decisions.
That’s just one of several shortcomings I wish I had put more effort into improving. All that said, I wouldn’t say I regret anything… I worked hard every day to make an impact on my team and the company and was always motivated to learn new skills and technologies. What I would regret is not addressing and working on my weak spots in the next chapter of my life, whatever that may be.
What’s next?
To be honest I’m not really sure what’s next. In the meantime, I will do the following:
- Continue training Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, work my way towards my purple belt (which I’ve been fortunate to do here in New Zealand)
- Get back in touch with my creative side (pick up doodling and Adobe Illustrator again)
- Play music again (jazz bass and piano)
- Keep coding through side projects (websites and game development)
- Brush up on my French and Japanese so I can teach my son.
Most of all I want to tap into the mindset of 20-year old me and just be excited to learn new skills and start side projects. I’m currently in a fortunate position to do this and I don’t want to waste this opportunity.
Farewell!
I can’t quite put into words just how special Shopify has been for me. In the past 11 years, I’ve gone through an insane amount of life events (travels, relationships, breakups, moving cities, becoming a father, etc.) and Shopify was a constant throughout all of them. It’s bittersweet to finally say goodbye, but the timing feels right and it’s time I move on.
Thank you to Tobi, Daniel Weinand, and Ryan Langlois for putting their trust in me way back in 2009. You guys seriously changed my life. Thank you to all of my awesome coworkers during my time at Shopify, many of whom are now my very close friends. I love you all and I’m seriously so grateful for my experience.
18 Comments
We’re gonna miss you buddy! Wishing you nothing but the very best going forwards, and definitely make time for what really matters!
Thanks for sharing this mate, I’m excited to follow along with your side projects. And congrats on the baby!
Thanks Ricardo! Let’s grab a drink in Montreal once all this is over eh 🍻
Thanks Greg! I hope you and your family are well :)
I’m gonna miss you Tets! Though we haven’t seen much of one another, it still feels like a big loss. You were one of the people who I always wished I had gotten to know better. Take care!
Omg tets! I had no idea you left!!!!! Excited for you to get back in touch with your creative side :) still regret never going to one of your jazz shows!
Hey Nabeel, thanks for the kind words, let’s hang out when all this is over! 🍺
hey Evija, thanks for the message ❤️ Can’t wait to meet up again in the future! Hope you and your family are well!
Hi Tetsuro, miss the chat with you at Montreal office lunch time happening to sitting in front of you! Good luck for your new journey. I followed you in Twitter let’s keep in touch!
Tets!! Certainly we’re all sad to see you go but we’re equally if not more excited for you and your baby and your journey ahead. 🚀
On one hand 11 years is quite some time, on other hand the time we spent together on Reports 5 years ago feels like a previous lifetime. Time sure is strange. 😅
All the best! Lemme know when you’re around Tokyo. 🍻
Real tears flow down my cheeks. May this at least not be the last blog post I read while distracting myself from work on online-store-ui.
Sir Beef Chimichanga Chimington, I will miss working with you so much, thanks for being so awesome! Can’t wait to hit up that place in Vanier with you for some WRASSLIN!!!!
Hey Nick!! Thanks so much my friends, and holy moly was that already 5 years ago?? haha. I hope you’re doing well and for SURE let’s meet up in Tokyo once all this is over!
Hey Junichi-san, genki desuka? It was great chatting with you, and yes let’s keep in touch! Let’s meet up for a drink in Tokyo sometime 🍺
Aww man Tets I just found this today… Sorry to hear you left but I understand where you’re coming from bawd! Just wanted to thank you for putting your trust in me ME way back in the early days, not sure you know how much I appreciate that.
Best of luck with your projects and hopefully we’ll run into each other again someday. Say hi to baby and Kylea for me.
Mikey!! Thanks so much man, it was awesome to work with you. I hope you and your family are well, can’t wait to see you again!
Your article really resonated with me. I also worked for that long for a corporation wearing many hats and never moved up to a senior level and I can totally relate to that. Just like you, I have lacked confidence to share my ideas when high stakes are involved. Just like you, if I may use a hockey analogy, I’ve always been a great assist. In my case, I struggled with the anxiety of coming face to face with the goalie instead of focusing and relaxing on how I can score. Just like you my outside interests might have been to blame. And I also struggle with having Shopify clients believe in my experience and agree with my advice. Thank you for writing this honest post. Your honest words are quite refreshing. Best of luck to you!
Must have been a really great experience! Wish you all the best for your future!