This, in a time where a trip from Amsterdam to Batavia (Djakarta) would last no shorter than eight to 10 months and many ships, or individual passengers, would never return. It was founded as a private merchant company that was granted a two-decade-long monopoly by the government for spice trading mainly in the Dutch East-Indies, known today as the Republic of Indonesia.Īnd if you think Amazon is thrifty with deliveries, the VOC sent over one million voyagers across Asia, which is more than the rest of Europe combined. The Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), better known as the Dutch East India Company was set up in 1602 and head-quartered in the Oost-Indisch Huis (East-India House) in downtown Amsterdam, which still stands today. Let’s dive into the facts and figures, as shockingly rich as this company was - it certainly wasn’t great for everyone! The Dutch East-India Company - Apple didn’t have anything on it! Rather than default to selling on Amazon, the thinking goes, entrepreneurs can just create their own online stores.So how rich was the Dutch East India Company (VOC)? If you’re wondering what paid for all those pretty canals and houses in Amsterdam, Leiden, and Utrecht, well, this might explain it all a bit.
Just over half are located in the US, where Shopify is often held up as a potential check on Amazon’s ever-growing power. (While its basic subscription plan is $29 a month, a premium service, Shopify Plus, starts at $2,000 a month.) Most merchants, however, are on the smaller side. There are now more than 1 million merchants in 175 countries using Shopify, including big brands such as Heinz, Allbirds, and Rebecca Minkoff. They pivoted to creating and selling a solution for small entrepreneurs.
Lütke and some friends launched the company in 2006 after trying to create a business selling snowboards online, only to find the available software complicated, expensive, and geared toward large companies.
It’s a good time to be in the business of e-commerce. The company’s momentum has only accelerated during the pandemic, as online shopping surges and the company strikes new partnerships with companies like TikTok and Walmart. For example, it powers sites selling Donald Trump gear-or did until it shut them down following the insurrection in Washington. Shopify provides the infrastructure, and subscribers need do little more than upload pictures and link a bank account to begin selling their wares online, with plenty of flexibility to customize their digital storefronts. It’s a platform for merchants to create their own digital shops with minimal fuss and limited technical know-how. That’s because unlike Amazon, Shopify isn’t a shopping destination in itself, though it has recently taken a small step in that direction. To consumers, Shopify is “virtually invisible,” co-founder and CEO Tobi Lütke wrote in a letter to shareholders in 2015, the year Shopify went public. That’s quite a feat for a company now estimated to be the second-largest e-commerce platform in the US, edging out eBay and trailing only Amazon. Chances are you haven’t noticed all the times you used Shopify to buy stuff online.