From its humble beginnings, Canada-based Shopify is now a large IT firm that makes software which allows clients to design, launch and run their own Internet-based retail stores, VentureBeat reported.

Harley Finkelstein, who now serves as the company's Chief Platform Officer, launched Shopify in 2006 as a platform to sell used snowboards. Now, it makes the software that makes it possible for 100,000 online stores in 122 countries to do business virtually. Shopify said that these shops pulled in combined sales of $1.7 billion last year. His friend Tobi Lutka, who now serves as the company CEO wrote the code for the Shopify software, the report said.

Shopify's list of clients is rising and currently includes such well-known names as Google, Tesla, Gatorade, the Beastie Boys and the Los Angeles Lakers. A major percentage (70%) of their clients lives the US. Their workforce, spread out in its offices in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa, is 375 employees-strong.  Shopify earns its keep by giving license to their user-friendly software, the report said.

Despite the success, Shopify doesn't have plans of moving from its home base. Finkelstein told VentureBeat in an interview, "We're happy where we are. In the Valley, good people are always moving around. In Canada it's all about employee loyalty. We have employee training programs. People like working for us."

To date, Shopify has secured venture capital funding amounting to more than $122 million. Last year, the software firm bagged about $40 million and this year, it is looking at raising more than $80 million, the report said.  

One of the investors who had backed Shopify from its Series A round is venture capitalist Amish Jani who has poured $10 million into the startup with First Mark Capital. He told VentureBeat that the success of the investment could be attributed to talent and luck, saying, "Toby (CEO) builds incredible products very quickly. There's incredible demand for Shopify's product. And they have the right timing. People are now comfortable transacting online."