The years 2008 and 2009 were a difficult time in the world. Large tranches of subprime mortgages went into default and U.S. house prices crashed, pushing the global financial system to the brink of collapse with the failures of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and other large financial institutions. The world economy and stock markets were also spiralling downward during the financial crisis. Lütke initially thought his company was toast.

But then something magical happened in the midst of all the gloom: subscriptions to Shopify took off. Companies looking for ways to cut costs during the economic meltdown found sweet deals by replacing their expensive e-commerce websites with Shopify’s stores priced at a fraction of the cost. It also turned out that the people losing their jobs and sources of income thought they could get back on track by starting an online business.

Trisha Trout was one such case. Her family not only lost its sole source of steady income but her husband passed away just as the economy was collapsing. Trout had been a homemaker focused on raising her kids and had no real job experience, so it was doubly difficult for her to find a job during the recession. She and her two teenage sons had to sell their house and most of their possessions to pay off debts. Life insurance payments were coming in, but the five-plex apartment purchased by her husband before he died turned out to be a money pit that swallowed up a lot of it.

The only income she had earned during her marriage was a trickle coming in from a soap-making hobby. She had studied different aspects of the craft to become good enough to sell her soap at the local farmer’s market. With the insurance money winding down, she returned to the farmer’s market. It was gratifying to see her customers hadn’t forgotten her. She also expanded to other local markets, and her son helped her set up an online store, Prairie Sage Soap. Her income picked up and several years later, Trout was happy to report:

The best part of running my business is just the knowledge that I’m able to support myself. I’m not wealthy, but I make enough to enjoy life and help others here and there. . . . Having the focus of this business has been the thing that has kept me going through all the tears and lonely times. In many ways, this business has become my best friend and therapist all rolled into one. Having a small business requires focus, which is just what a grieving person needs to carry on.

Meanwhile, as people opened up stores on Shopify, revenues poured into Shopify’s coffers, cash flow gushed and profitability emerged. Phillips invested another $500,000 in 2009 and joined Shopify’s board of directors in 2010. He liked Lütke’s skill in reading people and getting the most out of them. “It is staggering how good he is with people,” Phillips said. “He is absolutely heroic.”

In addition to the financing, Phillips played an important, behind- the-scenes role for many years as a mentor to Lütke during a critical time in his development as a business executive. Phillips had a great deal of business wisdom to pass on from his many years of experience, and as Lütke said: “He was there at many important parts of the Shopify journey and was full of good advice.” In a Signal v. Noise interview, Lütke again expressed his gratitude for the support Phillips provided: “Apart from allowing us to meet payroll for the first year, he has spent countless hours teaching me all the things I needed to know about running a company. Without him, we simply could not have survived the years and would not be around today.”

After the struggles and near bankruptcy of Shopify, the wave of new subscribers that rolled in during the financial and macroeconomic tur- moil was most welcome. One of them was to become a major account: Tesla Motors (selling accessories). This upswing in fortunes was a huge morale booster. It proved to be the start of a multiyear expansion of epic dimensions.