ShopLaunch

San Francisco

I helped create and run this in 2017 at Shopify's San Francisco office.

Shopify's whole thing is "anyone can start a business." But the gap between "anyone can" and "anyone actually does" is huge. People get stuck on what to sell, how to set up, where to start. We created ShopLaunch to close that gap in a way you could actually see and measure.

The flagship event

The original ShopLaunch was a 2-day intensive where aspiring entrepreneurs walked in with an idea and walked out with a live Shopify store. We gave them everything: store setup guidance, product photography on-site, design feedback, and launch support.

• 50+ entrepreneurs launched their stores in 2 days
• The fastest went from concept to first sale in 5 hours

"As an aspiring entrepreneur, freelance designer, and millennial woman of color, I've learned that a rising tide raises all boats. ShopLaunchSF was such a brilliant and inspiring show of skill-sharing, generosity, and passion for creativity. I felt truly empowered and made some great connections with fellow merchants." - Brittany, ShopLaunch attendee

What it became

The flagship was so successful that ShopLaunch turned into a bi-weekly event series: expert talks on SEO, email marketing, Facebook ads, pop-up shops, and more. I curated speakers, managed the Meetup community, produced video content, and built a library that kept generating value long after each event.

ShopLaunch became a known resource in the Bay Area startup ecosystem. It also became the direct blueprint for Shop Class: Sessions, a free monthly meetup I designed that rolled out across six cities: Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Waterloo, San Francisco, and LA.