My First Million · Episode Brief
$100M dollar brands are being built for boring products - Harley Finkelstein of Shopify
Harley Finkelstein's thesis — that $100M brands are being built on products nobody thought needed a brand — is one of the more durable frameworks MFM has surfaced in recent memory.
Harley Finkelstein is Shopify's President, which means he sees more consumer brand formation up close than almost anyone outside of a venture firm. His pattern recognition on boring product categories is worth paying attention to: Touchland (premium hand sanitizer), Firebelly Tea (premium roasted tea), Ember Mug (temperature-controlled mug) — none of these are categories that anyone had on a list of high-potential consumer opportunities. All of them became $100M businesses by treating a commoditized product as a design and identity problem.
The principle Harley articulates — "people only remember your weird" — is deceptively simple. Most consumer brands try to be inoffensive and broadly appealing, which is the strategic equivalent of beige paint. The brands that break through are the ones that lean hard into something specific that most competitors would consider a liability. Touchland made hand sanitizer smell aspirational. Ember made a $150 mug and convinced people it was worth it. These are decisions that require someone willing to look wrong in the short term.
The Swiss Army knife founder concept is the episode's most actionable frame: the best founders in boring product categories have skills that span product design, brand storytelling, and distribution mechanics. They are not specialists — they are generalists who understand the full consumer journey from first awareness to loyal repurchase. That combination is harder to find than technical expertise, which is partly why boring categories remain ripe.
Shopify's leaked AI memo is the most topical segment. The memo reportedly laid out Shopify's view that AI would reduce headcount requirements significantly, with internal guidance treating AI-first thinking as a job requirement rather than a bonus skill. Harley's willingness to discuss it openly — even briefly — is notable given how most platform executives handle sensitive internal documents.
Key Ideas
- →Boring product categories consistently produce $100M brands because most incumbents are complacent and brand-building has been structurally underinvested
- →"People only remember your weird" — differentiation requires leaning into something specific that most competitors would avoid, not optimizing for broad appeal
- →Touchland, Firebelly Tea, and Ember Mug follow the same playbook: commoditized product + premium design + identity-based marketing = defensible brand in a crowded category
- →Swiss Army knife founders — people who can design product, tell brand stories, and manage distribution — are rarer and more valuable in boring categories than pure technical founders
- →Shopify's leaked AI memo: treating AI-first thinking as a job requirement signals how seriously the company is reorganizing around AI productivity, not just experimenting with it
- →Biohacking and longevity are boring product categories in disguise — supplements, sleep tracking, recovery tools — all waiting for the right brand to claim the category
Worth Remembering
Harley listing Touchland, Firebelly Tea, and Ember Mug as his current case studies for the boring product thesis — none of which are obvious picks
"People only remember your weird" as a brand strategy principle from the President of the world's largest e-commerce platform
The Shopify leaked AI memo segment — an unusually candid discussion of internal company thinking from a sitting executive
The Swiss Army knife founder frame: the realization that generalist skill sets are more valuable in boring categories than specialist expertise