Member-only story
Two Books That Turned a 26-Year-Old Programmer Into a Billionaire
Founder of Shopify on books that changed his life
As a kid, Tobias Lütke suffered from dyslexia and, possibly, ADHD. He was the type of kid to deconstruct his teachers’ questions instead of giving them a straight answer.
By college, Tobias had learned to skim through courses by attending the minimum number of hours required to pass.
With his authority problems, it’s unsurprising that Tobias’s first professional role model became a programmer named “Jürgen Starr.”
“He would always come to work on his BMW motorcycle and he would have long hair and he wasn’t wearing a suit like he was supposed to. Like a total rebel,” said Lütke.
How does a graduate programmer with rebellious tendencies build a multi-billion dollar empire?
Part of the answer lies in the books he read, which he told about on his Tim Ferriss show appearance. These are the top two books that shaped Tobias’s understanding of business.
“Influence” by Robert Cialdini
Many programmers choose their career path because they’re better off interacting with a logical computer, rather than an emotional human.
It’s not surprising that Influence by Robert Cialdini was one of Tobias’s cornerstone books as a budding entrepreneur. The book explains the science of persuasion as a combination of five elements:
- Reciprocation refers to the human need to return the favor. For example, Hare Krishna members always give passers-by a flower before asking for donations — this makes them more likely to donate.
- Consistency refers to the human need to “save face” in front of others. In human societies, we respect people who do not change their stance. So, for example, if you build personal rapport with a prospect by genuinely asking how they’re doing, they’re going to feel motivated to consider your offer later — simply because they’ve already been nice to you before.
- Social proof is the bread and butter for entrepreneurs. All animal species…
