How Shopify Is Wooing Creators, the ‘New Generation of Entrepreneurs’

Successful creators are known to hustle, but they’re not always known as entrepreneurs.

At a panel at Social Media Week Europe last week, creators Catherine Kay and Obi Vincent joined influencer partnership lead at Shopify Vérane Pède to discuss the converging line between creators and entrepreneurs.

“Creators are the new generation of entrepreneurs, which is our target,” Pède said, who added that Shopify’s European creator partnership program is only about a year old.

Shopify is known for helping small businesses with their ecommerce efforts, and increasingly, creators are part of this equation.

The platform partners with creators to help them sustain a business, helping with payments, integrations with social media and creating website product pages, among other tasks.

But often, developing careers online means constant pivoting.

Kay started as an entrepreneur selling her illustrations and other merchandise, then became a creator to market her business.

“I am creating a product,” Kay said. “I need to tell a story.”

Vincent, whose content focuses on fitness, has also had several career pivots. Starting as a personal trainer with an online presence, he took his work fully virtual during the Covid-19 pandemic. Going from trainer to online creator meant other pivots, including expanding beyond fitness into more lifestyle.

“It’s been worth trying something new,” Vincent said.

The platform also sponsored videos and website launches for both Kay and Vincent. When the company reached out to both creators, they were dubious at first.

“At first, I didn’t reply. This looks dodgy. It couldn’t be real,” Vincent said. “They said they want to sponsor my video. I was really shocked, and it was cool to tell people that I’m being sponsored by such a big company.”

Shopify hopes forging connections with creators will not only help market the company with the creators’ audiences, but help other creators know that Shopify can be a partner in business growth.

“We mostly work directly with creators. We don’t really work with agencies. That really enables this very personal connection,” Pède said. “It’s really … making commerce for everyone.”