Amazon has announced it is launching a lawsuit to tackle text scams that purport to be from the e-commerce giant.
Countless individuals have received text messages claiming to be from Amazon, many of them requesting feedback in an online survey. Unfortunately, many of these messages are part of an illegal advertising scheme. The text messages promise rewards or gifts, but direct people to sites where they must purchase products that have no affiliation with Amazon.
The company is taking the fight to the scammers, filling a federal lawsuit in the Western District of Washington against a number of yet-to-be-named participants. Amazon sees the lawsuit as a way of expanding its fraud-fighting efforts, holding the accountable parties responsible.
“Amazon works hard to build a great, trusted experience for our customers and sellers,” said Kathy Sheehan, VP, Business Conduct & Ethics, Amazon. “These bad actors are misusing our brand to deceive the public and we will hold them accountable. We also want to remind consumers to be vigilant and learn how to recognize the signs of a scam so they are protected, no matter where they shop.”
The company points to its history of successfully litigating these type of suits, having filed five previous lawsuits, winning multiple injunctions and forced seven parties to settle for more than $1.5 million in damages.
The European Union has lost a high-profile case in which it was trying to force Amazon to pay $300 million in back taxes.
It’s not uncommon for corporations to make tax deals with individual EU states. Apple and Google have both made deals with Ireland, and Amazon had a deal with Luxembourg. In many cases, the deals are lucrative for individual states, making them eager to work with foreign companies.
The EU isn’t always pleased with those deals, however, and has tried to end them in the past. The EU lost a court case trying to stop a deal between Apple and Ireland, and now it has lost a similar case over Amazon and Luxembourg.
According to The Houston Chronicle, the EU’s executive branch had ordered Amazon to pay back taxes in the amount of $300 million. After challenging the ruling, the EU’s General Court overturned the European Commission’s ruling, saying it didn’t prove “to the requisite legal standard that there was an undue reduction of the tax burden of a European subsidiary of the Amazon group.”
The decision is a big win for Amazon, as well as other foreign companies doing business within the EU.
YouTube has established a $100 million fund in an effort to attract creators to its YouTube Shorts TikTok competitor.
TikTok has taken the social media world by storm, attracting content creators and users alike. During the pandemic, the platform was the clear winner among social media companies, and did especially well attracting the most valuable demographics. As a result, virtually every major competitor has been working to come out with features to better compete with TikTok.
YouTube Shorts is YouTube’s answer, and the company is willing to spend big bucks to attract content, unveiling the YouTube Shorts Fund. The $100 million fund will be distributed over 2021 and 2022.
We’re introducing the YouTube Shorts Fund, a $100M fund distributed over the course of 2021-2022. Anyone is eligible to participate in the fund simply by creating unique Shorts that delight the YouTube community.
Each month, we’ll reach out to thousands of creators whose Shorts received the most engagement and views to reward them for their contributions. We’ll also ask these creators to share their feedback with us so we can continue to improve the product experience.
Only time will tell if YouTube and other platforms can crack TikTok’s winning formula, but the YouTube Shorts Fund is certainly a step in the right direction.
Tesla has raised prices on some of its electric vehicles, thanks to a global semiconductor shortage.
The pandemic has sparked a major shortage of semiconductors, one that is being felt across industries. Tech companies have struggled to keep up with demand as remote workers, gamers and distance learners have driven demand for computers, tablets and consoles. Even Apple, a company renowned for its supply chain management, has reportedly had to delay some rollouts as result of the shortage.
Automakers have also experienced issues, with multiple companies slowing or shutting down production temporarily. Tesla is the latest to give indications it is being impacted.
According to TheStreet, the Model 3 Standard Range, Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor AWD and. the Model Y Long Range Dual Motor AWD will see a price increase of $500.
Roku has officially lost the YouTube TV app, after previously warning its customers of the possibility.
Roku warned customers earlier this week they could lose access to YouTube TV due to a contract dispute. Unlike many contract disputes, money was not the issue. Instead, Google was more interested in customer data than more money.
“We are disappointed that Google has allowed our agreement for the distribution of YouTube TV to expire,” a Roku spokesperson told WebProNews. “Roku has not asked for one dollar of additional financial consideration from Google to renew YouTube TV.”
Much of the issue hinged around Google’s data practices, with Roku endeavoring to protect its customers from the search giant.
“We have only asked Google for four simple commitments,” the spokesperson continued. “First, not to manipulate consumer search results. Second, not to require access to data not available to anyone else. Third, not to leverage their YouTube monopoly to force Roku to accept hardware requirements that would increase consumer costs. Fourth, not to act in a discriminatory and anticompetitive manner against Roku.”
Given the scrutiny Google is already under, playing hardball with Roku is not a good look for the company, and may create further problems down the road.
On the heals of its announcement about podcast subscriptions, Spotify is notifying some users they will have to pay more.
Spotify has Apple squarely in its sights with its announcement it would offer podcast subscriptions to compete with Apple’s Podcast announcements at its Spring Loaded event. Unlike Apple’s subscription service, Spotify will not take a cut from the subscription fee, giving the entire amount to the podcaster.
Unfortunately, it appears Spotify will be raising prices, according to The Verge. In the US, Spotify Family will increase from $14.99 to $15.99 a month, while Duo, Premium and Student plans will remain the same price.
In the UK, however, the price hike is more dramatic. Spotify Student will go from £4.99 to £5.99 a month, while Duo will go from £12.99 to £13.99. Spotify Family will go from £14.99 to £16.99 a month.
“We offer a variety of subscription plans tailored to our users’ needs, and we occasionally update our prices to reflect local macroeconomic factors and meet market demands while offering an unparalleled service,” a Spotify spokesperson told The Verge.
Roku has accused Google of “predatory, anti-competitive and discriminatory” actions regarding its YouTube TV streaming service.
Roku is the number one streaming platform in the US, making it a major factor in the success of TV streaming services. Meanwhile, Google’s YouTube TV has quickly become one of the most popular cable TV alternatives.
According to Deadline, however, Roku is warning its customers they may not be able to access YouTube TV in the near future. While many disputes in the industry are often the result of money, Roku says Google is not asking for “a single additional dollar in value” in the current negotiations.
Instead, Roku says Google is “attempting to use its YouTube monopoly position to force Roku into accepting predatory, anti-competitive and discriminatory terms that will directly harm Roku and our users.” In particular, Deadline reports Roku is accusing Google of trying to “manipulate the user experience to siphon data and tilt search results in YouTube’s favor,” with the company more interested in customer data than charging Roku more.
In addition, Google may require Roku to upgrade its devices with more powerful chips to accommodate YouTube TV, something that would be a costly endeavor.
It is not clear when the issue will come to a head and potentially disrupt service, although the end of April is a strong possibility, as it coincides with many media contract deadlines.
Spotify is ramping up its competition with Apple, with plans to introduce podcast subscriptions with no cut taken from the podcaster.
Apple announced some major changes to Podcasts at its Spring Loaded event. One of the biggest was paid subscriptions that would give individuals the ability to unlock ad-free listening, gain early access to new episodes and support their favorite podcasts.
Podcasters pay $19.99 a year to enable subscriptions, followed by 30% of any subscription revenue to Apple for the first year. The cut drops to 15% after the first year.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Spotify is preparing to unveil its own subscriptions — with one major difference: no cut taken from the content creator. Instead, 100% of the earnings will go to the creator.
Spotify has been working hard, and spending big, to dominate the podcasting space. If the WSJ’s sources are correct, the company may have a major competitive advantage versus Apple.
Twitch is rolling out threaded chat replies, in an effort to help individuals better communicate in chaotic chat threads.
Twitch is a popular streaming platform that gamers, ASMR aficionados and others use to stream their activities. The platform includes a chat option for fans to communicate with each other and the content creator.
Unfortunately, when thousands of people are watching a stream and chatting, the chat window can quickly become chaotic. Twitch is now working to address that problem by rolling out threaded chat replies.
Chat Replies help you keep the conversation going, even when chat is going off.
Try out new message threads, keyboard shortcuts and more, now available to all communities on Twitch.
AT&T reported its first-quarter results, scoring big on wireless subscriber growth and HBO Max subscriptions.
The wireless company reported revenue of $43.9 billion for the quarter, up to 2.7%. Even more significantly, AT&T added 595,000 postpaid subscribers, the most valuable customers for a wireless carrier. The company also added an additional 207,000 prepaid subscribers.
HBO was another bright spot for the company, adding 2.7 million HBO Max and HBO subscriptions.
“We continued to excel in growing customer relationships in our market focus areas of mobility, fiber and HBO Max,” said John Stankey, AT&T CEO. “We had another strong quarter of postpaid phone net adds, higher gross adds, lower churn and good growth in Mobility EBITDA. We also continue to increase penetration in markets where we offer fiber broadband and we’re moving quickly to deploy more fiber. HBO Max continued to deliver strong subscriber and revenue growth in advance of our international and AVOD launches planned for June.”
AT&T’s report is in direct contrast to Verizon, who reported a loss of 178,000 postpaid connections during the same period.
Microsoft has announced its Xbox Cloud Gaming will enter beta Tuesday, giving users the opportunity to test the service on PCs and iOS devices.
Microsoft has been working to bring Xbox gaming to more devices and platforms, rather than simply the console that started it all. A key component of the strategy is bringing the gaming service to Windows 10 and iOS/iPadOS devices. The company has reached the next step in the process, with the service entering an invitation-only beta tomorrow.
Starting tomorrow, we’ll begin sending out invites to select Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members to start testing the Xbox Cloud Gaming limited beta for Windows 10 PCs and Apple phones and tablets via web browsers. We’re launching xbox.com/play where invitees can play over 100 Xbox Game Pass titles through Edge, Google Chrome, or Safari. Offering cloud gaming through the browser and having a simplified, universal landing page presents a great opportunity to make cloud gaming approachable to more players in more places over time.
The beta will help Microsoft evaluate its progress and make any necessary changes.
Those who receive an invite just need a compatible Bluetooth or USB-connected controller or can use custom touch controls for more than 50 games to start playing and testing. In the early stages of the beta, we’ll be focusing on fine-tuning features and creating a consistent experience across platforms, while making sure games are running their best.
The company hopes to open up access to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in the coming months.
Domino’s is testing Nuro’s R2, an autonomous delivery vehicle, in Houston.
The Nuro R2 is a fully autonomous, on-road delivery vehicle that has regulatory approval by the US Department of Transportation. Domino’s will use R2 in a pilot program in Houston.
Customers who place an online prepaid order from the Woodland Heights location may have their pizza delivered by R2. If so, the customer will receive a text message containing a PIN number and will be able to track R2’s progress via GPS. Once the robot rolls up, the customer will input the PIN and R2 will open its door to allow access to the pizza.
“We’re excited to continue innovating the delivery experience for Domino’s customers by testing autonomous delivery with Nuro in Houston,” said Dennis Maloney, Domino’s senior vice president and chief innovation officer. “There is still so much for our brand to learn about the autonomous delivery space. This program will allow us to better understand how customers respond to the deliveries, how they interact with the robot and how it affects store operations. The growing demand for great-tasting pizza creates the need for more deliveries, and we look forward to seeing how autonomous delivery can work along with Domino’s existing delivery experts to better support the customers’ needs.”
“Nuro’s mission is to better everyday life through robotics. Now, for the first time, we’re launching real world, autonomous deliveries with R2 and Domino’s,” said Dave Ferguson, Nuro co-founder and president. “We’re excited to introduce our autonomous delivery bots to a select set of Domino’s customers in Houston. We can’t wait to see what they think.”
Autonomous delivery vehicles are an important step in the transformation of the restaurant industry, and could provide a safe way for restaurants to adapt and expand their operations in the midst of the pandemic.
Tech workers at The New York Times have formed a union, part of an ongoing trend within the tech industry.
Once nearly devoid of unions, the tech industry has seen growing support for unionization. Kickstarter employees unionized in early 2020, and Alphabet/Google employees unionized at the beginning of 2021.
According to Katie Robertson, writing for the Times (of course):
The group, a majority of which signed cards in support of the effort, of more than 650 employees includes software engineers, designers, data analysts and product managers. It will be represented by the NewsGuild of New York. NewsGuild membership already includes more than 1,300 newsroom workers and business staff members at The Times, as well as workers at other media outlets.
While that may seem like an inordinate amount of tech workers for a newspaper, the Times has a goal of reaching 10 million digital subscribers by 2025, leading to increased hiring of tech talent. The Times nearly hit the seven million mark in 2020, with digital subscribers becoming the biggest source of revenue.
The tech workers will not be in a the same bargaining unit as other Times workers represented by NewGuild. The workers have asked management to voluntarily recognize their new union.
Amazon has scored a big win in Alabama, as workers voted not to unionize in the biggest unionization push the company has seen in the US.
Workers at the company’s Bessemer, Alabama warehouse began the process of setting up a union vote earlier this year. Amazon immediately began a full-court press initiative to discourage those efforts, including go so far as to put propaganda in bathroom stalls.
It appears the company’s efforts were successful, as NPR is reporting the employees have voted not to unionize. The union is filing a legal challenge to the results, and wants a hearing with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The union wants the NLRB “to determine if the results of the election should be set aside because conduct by the employer created an atmosphere of confusion, coercion and/or fear of reprisals and thus interfered with the employees’ freedom of choice.”
In addition to the bathroom propaganda, Amazon bombarded workers with anti-union text messages and mandatory “information sessions.” A mailbox that was supposed to provide a “convenient, safe and private” place to vote was placed inside an Amazon tent, a move many felt was further intimidation. Similarly, the company asked the county to shorten the timing of the traffic light outside the warehouse. Pro-union organizers believed it was to prevent them from being able to talk to workers sitting in traffic, while Amazon says it was standard practice during holiday and peak season.
Whatever the case, it appears Amazon’s fight over unionization is far from over. Given the company’s aggressive tactics, tactics that caused its own investors to tell it to back down, the company may have won this battle at the cost of the war.
What was years in the making has finally happened, with Amazon passing Walmart to become the largest apparel retailer in the US.
Experts had been predicting Amazon would overtake Walmart for years. Like many other transformations, however, the pandemic is what finally pushed the online giant across the finish line. As individuals remained in lockdown and avoided crowded stores, Amazon’s business went into overdrive.
According to Wells Fargo, via CNBC, that was enough to help it surpass Walmart in the apparel space, with its apparel and footwear growing an estimated 15% in 2020 to more than $41 billion. That gives it a solid 20% to 25% lead over Walmart.
“This represents highly impressive 11%-12% share of all apparel sold in the U.S. and 34%-35% share of all apparel sold online,” wrote Wells Fargo analysts Ike Boruchow and Tom Nikic. “We now estimate Amazon will surpass $45 billion in apparel/footwear sales in 2021.”
Interestingly, the outlook was not all roses for Amazon, as there are still some high-profile brands that refuse to sell on the online store. Much of this is due to the way Amazon approaches the business, focusing on sales over helping companies build their brand.
“Until Amazon becomes a platform that works with companies to elevate brands, rather than viewing the relationship as transactional, companies who are fiercely protective of their brands (e.g. Nike), will not sell to Amazon,” said the analysts.
DoorDash is expanding beyond its traditional market, with a new deal to deliver COVID-19 tests.
Testing remains one of the most important factors to combatting the global pandemic, but finding where to go and getting tested remains a challenge for some. DoorDash aims to address that obstacle, with COVID test deliveries.
Today, we are excited to announce our partnerships with Vault Health and Everlywell, enabling customers to access two COVID-19 home collection kits that received FDA Emergency Use Authorization on-demand from DoorDash’s DashMart locations across the nation. The Vault Health powered COVID-19 Saliva Test Kit or the Everlywell COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit DTC will be available in 12 DashMart locations across the U.S. including Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis, and Phoenix, with more cities rolling out in the coming months. Vault Health’s test kit sells for $119 and Everlywell’s test kit sells for $109; both may be eligible for reimbursement with healthcare insurance.
Once the test is taken, it can be dropped in the mail and sent off for analysis. The deliveries will make it easier for individuals with limited transportation options to get the testing they need.
“As many as 30 percent of people skip doctor’s appointments because they don’t have a reliable way of getting there,” said Dr. Marisa Cruz, Head of Clinical Affairs at Everlywell and former Senior Medical Advisor for Digital Health at the FDA. “The fact that you can now get a kit delivered to your door in hours, quickly collect a sample and drop your kit in the mail, and then receive an accurate COVID-19 diagnosis and speak to a physician about next steps in as little as 24 hours later is a significant step forward for public health”.
Doorstep delivery is one more important tool in the fight against the pandemic, making it that much easier for everyone to get tested as needed.
Apple may be delaying production of the highly-anticipated MacBook Pro and iPad Pro amid a global semiconductor shortage.
The coronavirus pandemic sparked a series of events that have led to a severe shortages of chips. At the outset, production was hurt as companies were forced to shut down their factories due to lockdown measures. As the pandemic drug on, however, stay-at-home orders and remote work helped drive a significant increase in demand for computers, gaming consoles and tablets.
Companies in many industries have been experiencing the impact of the chip shortage. Some automakers have had to halt production due to the shortage, and some vehicles are shipping without the usual slate of chips, impacting their long-term fuel mileage.
The shortage may now be impacting Apple’s upcoming products, according to Nikkei Asia, causing production delays for the upcoming MacBook Pro and iPad Air. Apple is expected to be on the verge of releasing a MacBook Pro 16”, as well as the biggest iPad Pro update ever. Unfortunately, it appears the MacBook production has been delayed at the point where the components are mounted on circuit boards. Meanwhile, the iPad production has hit delays as a result of shortages of displays and display components.
As a result, Apple is pushing back some of the component orders from the first half of the year to the second half. If the report is true, we may see both devices previewed at WWDC in June, but not released until sometime between August and October.
The news is even worse for the industry as a whole, given Apple’s legendary supply chain efficiency. If Apple is experiencing significant delays, smaller companies, and ones without as efficient a supply chain, will likely be impacted far worse.
Investment bank Cowen is predicting Apple News+ will account for $2.2 billion in revenue and have some 19 million users by 2023.
Apple News+ is the company’s subscription-based news service that provides news and magazines from popular sources. Many of the nation’s largest newspaper’s and news outlets are partners, and subscribers have access to a virtual newsstand of magazines.
AppleInsider saw a note lead Cowen analyst Krish Sankar sent to investors regarding the service’s potential. In the note, Sankar sees Apple News+ experiencing significant growth, as much as a 31% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
“We believe Apple’s News app and the News+ paid subscription service (News platform) are well positioned to not only benefit from incremental subscriber additions but also accelerating advertising revenue growth,” Sankar wrote.
Unlike Google and Facebook, both of which have fought to avoid paying publishers, Apple worked out deals with publishers from the very beginning. While the profit hasn’t always been as high as publishers wanted, due to challenges getting Apple News+ well-established, it appears the service may finally be on the verge of hitting its stride.
Best Buy has announced a yearly membership program, for $199.99, that provides special pricing, free installation and unlimited tech support.
Like many companies, Best Buy has been working to transition away from brick and mortar stores, in favor of online shopping. The company recently announced it had laid off 5,000 employees, and would close more stores in 2021 than in previous years.
The company is now offering a membership program, called Best Buy Beta. The program will cost $199.99, or $179.99 for customers with the Best Buy credit card. The program will be available in 60 stores by the end of the month.
“As we look to evolve our membership programs, the goal of Best Buy Beta is to create a membership experience that customers will love and to leave them feeling confident throughout their relationship with Best Buy,” said Allison Peterson, Best Buy’s chief customer officer. “This pilot offers premium service, complete with support aimed at anticipating our customers’ needs.”
The service will also provide a 24/7 concierge team, available via phone, chat, email and the Best Buy app. The service is currently available in Iowa, Oklahoma and eastern Pennsylvania, with Minnesota, North Carolina and Tennessee next in line.
“It should not be called a credit card for sure in part because it’s sort of the anti-credit card,” says Affirm co-founder and CEO Max Levchin. “I don’t need to be provocative but the idea of credit cards fundamentally is to get you to spend, get into debt, and stay in debt. Literally, every single one of these things is the exact opposite for Affirm’s card.”
Max Levchin, CEO of Affirm, describes the company’s debit card as the anti-credit card:
Affirm’s Debit Card Is The Anti-Credit Card
It should not be called a credit card for sure in part because it’s sort of the anti-credit card. I don’t need to be provocative but the idea of credit cards fundamentally is to get you to spend, get into debt, and stay in debt. You will not know when you’re done paying off any specific purchase. You’re not really sure exactly how much you’re gonna pay. You should actually expect late fees if you miss a payment.
Literally, every single one of these things is the exact opposite for Affirm’s card. You know exactly what you’re going to pay. You know exactly what the schedule of repayment is and there’ll be no late fees under any circumstances. It’s sort of the exact opposite in many ways. It does serve the same purpose. You get to pay for things right now or over time.
Card Form Factor Is Extraordinarily Elegant
I don’t really know how long the card as a form factor will be with us, but I do think it’s extraordinarily elegant. The majority of the offline world certainly in the US still transacts with plastic and chips these days so I think it’s important to meet the customer where they are. I do know that our user base is primarily millennials and Gen Z’s. They love their debit cards they love to transact with them offline.
The purpose of this product was to bring by functionality that they have really loved online and really offline as well with us but have never had in a card. Particularly, a card that is embedded inside their daily everyday spend tool. The debit card form factor is a metaphor for everyday spend and that’s what we’re trying to get to.
What I Care About Is The Return Of The Country
The primary signal that I care about is the return of the country. We’re all kind of holding our breath a little bit to see when vaccines are coming. There are a bunch of reopenings and, knock on wood, everything sort of starts to come back to a little bit more normal. There’s just an incredible amount of opportunity to grow with this product that we have. It’s seen so much adoption in areas like travel, which has been effectively zero growth for the last several quarters because of the pandemic.
There are lots of interesting new challenges as the country reopens. The dominant thread is that there is that reopening creates a lot more opportunity for this product. We have proven that this product is what our customer wants and needs. This debit card will absolutely meet them where they are as they hopefully come out of their houses and go into restaurants and coffee shops and start traveling and buy tickets.
Affirm’s Debit Card Is The Anti-Credit Card, Says CEO Max Levchin
“We are arming the rebels… the entrepreneurs, the small business owners, the independent brands, and the rebels are winning,” says Shopify President Harley Finkelstein. “It feels like the retail world that would have existed in 2030 was pulled back to 2020. We have seen this massive catalyst to an acceleration in digitalization in commerce and retail. We are writing the future of commerce and entrepreneurs are really the heroes of the Shopify story.”
Shopify President Harley Finkelstein says the rebels―the entrepreneurs and the small business owners―are the heroes of the Shopify story… and the rebels are winning:
We Are Arming The Rebels
There’s a lot to be optimistic about even in the second half of 2021. It feels like the retail world that would have existed in 2030 was pulled back to 2020. We certainly have seen this massive catalyst to an acceleration in digitalization in commerce and retail. But actually, we are writing the future of commerce and entrepreneurs are really the heroes of the Shopify story. We are arming the rebels… the entrepreneurs, the small business owners, the independent brands, and the rebels are winning.
Consumers have been voting with their wallets for the last ten months or so to buy from independent brands wherever possible. In 2020, 47 million consumers purchased from a Shopify merchant. That’s up 52 from 2019. Our merchant’s performance helped expand Shopify’s lead on an aggregated basis to be the second-largest e-commerce retailer in the U.S. Shopify is now about nine percent of all US ecom. If you think about it, Shopify is a proxy for independent retail and for direct-to-consumer retail.
Shop Pay Launches Accelerated Checkout
We only succeed when our merchants do. This has led to us having more than 1.7 million merchants on Shopify. This includes people from first-time entrepreneurs making their first sale every 28 seconds to the likes of O’Neill and Hallmark and Herman Miller and Purina. Diageo, who also just launched in Shopify and in Q4 alone revenue nearly doubled year over year to $978 million. There’s a lot to be optimistic about. Actually, the future of retail and commerce we think is going to look a lot more like these independent brands than these sort of department stores that existed in the past.
Shop Pay is our accelerated checkout. We just announced it last week. We know that it not only helps merchants get more sales, it helps buyers convert better and much faster. Now we think that providing it to the Instagram and Facebook platforms means that our merchants can not only access new customers on those platforms, and frankly anywhere where customers are, but now can transact in a more efficient way. Shopify is becoming far more than an e-commerce provider.
Future of Retail Is Wherever Consumers Are
We are trying to build the world’s first retail operating system, which makes it as easy as possible and where the cost of failure is as low as possible, so more people can participate in entrepreneurship. We think the future retail is not online or offline or anywhere, in particular, it’s wherever consumers are. That’s what we’re trying to build. Seeing Shop Pay move into Facebook and Instagram is a really great way to demonstrate where the future of retail is happening.
We are trying to get to a point where we completely democratize entrepreneurship. We use a 100-year perspective and we want to build a 100-year company. We’re about 15 years into our journey right now and we have 85 years left to go. In the long run, we’re happy where Shopify is but frankly, on the topic of more participation in the equity markets, we think that is also entrepreneurial and we think that’s also democratizing.
