• Subscribe
  • Log In
  • Home
  • Daily Diary
  • Asset Class
    • U.S. Equity
    • Fixed Income
    • Global Equity
    • Commodities
    • Currencies
  • Sector
    • Basic Materials
    • Consumer Discretionary
    • Consumer Staples
    • Energy
    • Financial Services
    • Healthcare
    • Industrials
    • Real Estate
    • Technology
    • Telecom Services
    • Transportation
    • Utilities
  • Latest
    • Articles
    • Video
    • Columnist Conversations
    • Best Ideas
    • Stock of the Day
  • Street Notes
  • Authors
    • Doug Kass
    • Bruce Kamich
    • Jim Cramer
    • Jim "Rev Shark" DePorre
    • Helene Meisler
    • Jonathan Heller
    • - See All -
  • Options
  • RMPIA
  • Switch Product
    • Action Alerts PLUS
    • Quant Ratings
    • Real Money
    • Real Money Pro
    • Retirement
    • Stocks Under $10
    • TheStreet
    • Top Stocks
    • Trifecta Stocks
  1. Home
  2. / Jim Cramer

Jim Cramer: My Eureka Moment and Shopify

SHOP is an $18 billion company that has become THE way that anyone who wants to sell anything can own themselves and do so.
By JIM CRAMER
Feb 13, 2019 | 02:52 PM EST
Stocks quotes in this article: SHOP, NKE, PG, NSRGY, SQ, WIX, CRM, TWLO, ETSY

Eureka! That's right, eureka, as in periodically you hit an eureka moment where it all becomes clear, that there is something bigger going on out there and you really need to be face to face with it to see it.

That's what happened to me last night when we interviewed the Shopify (SHOP) Chief Operating Officer Harley Finkelstein. This $18 billion company has become THE way that anyone who wants to sell anything can own themselves and do so. Harley gave the example of Michael Jordan being able to own his own shoe rather than license it to Nike (NKE) to get royalties. It's also true that big brands like Procter & Gamble (PG) and Nestle (NSRGY) set up sites powered by Shopify.

But what I care about is how many of the 820,000 clients - who are small to medium size businesspeople - who could never afford brick and mortar rents yet have fantastic ideas that can be sold best online.

I think that for every Kylie Jenner, who builds a billion dollar brand powered by Shopify using clever campaigns on social media, there are small groups of people who are developing something that can fulfill their own dream, one that would have been thwarted by all sorts of costs before Shopify launched its platform. Maybe you have an idea, a sustainable product made by real people, that you can't otherwise get into a department store because the store doesn't have room or doesn't want to stock it. That means you don't have to forget the idea because you have your own distribution network with Shopify. I think that's wonderful. Even better? Shopify knows enough about how your product is doing that it can offer loans to you, a Shopify merchant cash advance, to give you the working capital you need to expand or tide you over a speed bump.

Who else empowers individuals? How about Square (SQ) ? I know Square from Bar San Miguel, our small plate Mexican tavern in Brooklyn. We use Caviar, which is the terrific delivery service from Square, but Square has a call on your cash register if you use their point of sale system and they, too, will give you an advance as they know what your cash flow is like. What a great thing if you own a restaurant and you get two weekends worth of snow storms that can really obliterate your cash. They save people from going under in a business where a huge number of owners go under every day.

I like Wix  (WIX) as a way to develop a website platform something that my wife, Lisa, used at her new place, the Longshoreman. You can't believe how your website looks every bit as terrific as the big boys. Spectacular. Obviously, using Adobe tools you can design anything to your hearts desire, although there are plenty of artists looking for work to help you build it.

Salesforce (CRM) , through its Trailhead program, has empowered thousands of people to learn how to code and develop fabulous businesses. I talk with dozens of budding entrepreneurs who have started six and even seven figure businesses at their kitchen table. I know Twilio's (TWLO) stock is down today off of what I thought was a perfectly good quarter. You sell pizzas as my wife Lisa does at the Longshoreman. I learned how to code to be able to get information from patrons to be able to push them specials right to their cellphones although we don't have the infrastructure left to do so. It could be huge for us.

Finally there's Etsy (ETSY) which represents small merchants so well. My daughter knows I like cufflinks. You don't want to buy cufflinks by mass merchants. You go to Etsy, the Brooklyn based on-line retailer. Just go there today. You will not believe the handcrafted Valentine's Day presents you can get, ones that show you cared a lot more than just going to the mall.

I want to return to this theme again and again because these companies may be worth much more than we think, especially Shopify which is such a terrific outfit. You have some companies that empower you. Go to twitter@Jim Cramer and let me know. Let's do this one together.

(Salesforce is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS member club. Want to be alerted before Jim Cramer buys or sells CRM? Learn more now.)

Get an email alert each time I write an article for Real Money. Click the "+Follow" next to my byline to this article.

Action Alerts PLUS, which Cramer co-manages as a charitable trust, is long Salesforce.

TAGS: Economy | Investing | Markets | Stocks | E-Commerce | Jim Cramer

More from Jim Cramer

Jim Cramer: This GameStop Nonsense Has Gotten Out of Hand

Jim Cramer
Feb 26, 2021 7:11 AM EST

It has become the market equivalent of the storming of the Capitol, and the viciousness must stop.

Jim Cramer: The Bond Market Vigilantes Strike

Jim Cramer
Feb 25, 2021 1:41 PM EST

What does that mean for stocks? Consider Nvidia.

Jim Cramer: How Do You Pull Off What GameStop Buyers Did?

Jim Cramer
Feb 25, 2021 6:12 AM EST

Here's my theory on how this was done.

Jim Cramer: Don't Miss This Train

Jim Cramer
Feb 22, 2021 2:40 PM EST

We're headed to Boom Town, so let me show you how to line up your ticket -- and the best picks for the great reopening.

Jim Cramer: Toast, the Next Big Thing? I Question its Valuation

Jim Cramer
Feb 22, 2021 6:19 AM EST

Maybe it will be viewed as the ultimate 'opening' story because restaurants might soon come back.

Real Money's message boards are strictly for the open exchange of investment ideas among registered users. Any discussions or subjects off that topic or that do not promote this goal will be removed at the discretion of the site's moderators. Abusive, insensitive or threatening comments will not be tolerated and will be deleted. Thank you for your cooperation. If you have questions, please contact us here.

Email

CANCEL
SUBMIT

Email sent

Thank you, your email to has been sent successfully.

DONE

Oops!

We're sorry. There was a problem trying to send your email to .
Please contact customer support to let us know.

DONE

Please Join or Log In to Email Our Authors.

Email Real Money's Wall Street Pros for further analysis and insight

Already a Subscriber? Login

Columnist Conversation

  • 11:32 AM EST JAMES "REV SHARK" DEPORRE

    This Weekend on Real Money

    Navigating a Market Correction
  • 11:29 AM EST GARY BERMAN

    Where Does the Nasdaq Go From Here?

    Where does the Nasdaq Composite (CCMP) index go fr...
  • 12:31 PM EST GARY BERMAN

    Has the Short-Term Top Come for the XLF/Banks?

    The has triggered a long-term overbought signal ...
  • See More

COLUMNIST TWEETS

  • A Twitter List by realmoney
About Privacy Terms of Use

© 1996-2021 TheStreet, Inc., 225 Liberty Street, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10281

Need Help? Contact Customer Service

Except as otherwise indicated, quotes are delayed. Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes for all exchanges. Market Data & Company fundamental data provided by FactSet. Earnings and ratings provided by Zacks. Mutual fund data provided by Valueline. ETF data provided by Lipper. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions Group.

TheStreet Ratings updates stock ratings daily. However, if no rating change occurs, the data on this page does not update. The data does update after 90 days if no rating change occurs within that time period.

FactSet calculates the Market Cap for the basic symbol to include common shares only. Year-to-date mutual fund returns are calculated on a monthly basis by Value Line and posted mid-month.

Compare Brokers

Please Join or Log In to manage and receive alerts.

Follow Real Money's Wall Street Pros to receive real-time investing alerts

Already a Subscriber? Login