AI-First Company Memos
Published: (February 11, 2026 at 10:41 AM EST)
1 min read
Source: Hacker News
Source: Hacker News
Shopify – Tobi Lutke (April 7, 2025)
Lutke learned his internal memo was being leaked and decided to publish it himself.
“Given that this memo is being shared already let me do it properly.” — Tobi Lutke [@tobi] (April 7, 2025) (tweet)
The memo required teams to demonstrate why AI couldn’t do a job before requesting headcount. AI proficiency would be built into performance reviews. Prototyping should be “dominated by AI exploration.” The line everyone quoted: “Stagnation is slow‑motion failure.”
“Reflexive AI usage is now a baseline expectation at Shopify.” — Tobi Lutke [@tobi] (April 7, 2025) (tweet)
Further coverage: Digital Commerce 360