In an August 2020 email to managers published by Business Insider yesterday, the CEO said employees should regard themselves as a “team, not a family,” and that the e-commerce company “cannot solve every societal problem” and must focus on its goal of enabling entrepreneurs to run businesses. He also emphasized the importance of “straight performance output” and listed “endless Slack trolling, victimhood thinking, us-vs-them divisiveness, and zero sum thinking” as threats to a team’s cohesiveness. Shopify did not immediately respond to The Logic’s request for comment. (Business Insider, The Logic)

Talking point: Last year, Lütke reasserted control over Shopify’s product organization, and several top executives have recently departed as the company continues to expand in areas like financial services and logistics; the memo is framed as a return to the firm’s early principles. It came amid last summer’s protests following a Minneapolis police officer’s murder of George Floyd, and a month before Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s own message prompted criticism and staff departures. Lütke also reportedly intervened to halt posts in Shopify’s #belonging Slack channel following discussions about a noose emoji and an internal video.