Shopify’s “Just An Idea” Makes the Case That’s All You Need

The brand’s first campaign with Mother Los Angeles follows four first-time entrepreneurs

Shopify today unveiled ‘Just An Idea,’ a brand campaign for anyone with an idea they’ve never pursued. It’s built on a simple premise: something has changed.

For most people, turning an idea into a business has always required things they didn’t have, like money, a team, and know-how. With AI, many of those barriers are falling away. Now, the most important thing you need to make something real is just an idea.

Building a brand, setting up a store, finding a manufacturer, reaching a first customer: the questions that used to stop people before they started are now ones they can work through with Sidekick, the AI business partner built into Shopify. In the campaign, the entrepreneur is always the hero, and Sidekick helps them get moving.

The data shows it. According to Shopify’s Entrepreneur Effect report, 43% more stores make their first sale within a day of signing up than in 2022, and 57% of entrepreneurs who waited before launching say they wish they’d started sooner.

“Our mission has a new rallying cry. ‘Just An Idea’ captures the precise moment someone decides to become an entrepreneur,” said Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify. “Every 26 seconds, a new entrepreneur makes their very first sale on Shopify. Every 26 seconds, ‘just an idea’ turns into something real. Our job is to make that leap easier than ever.”

The campaign debuts with a two-minute film that follows four sets of first-time entrepreneurs whose stories are as messy and exciting as starting something really is.

· The Apparel Founder: Milo has taste and a sketchbook, and no idea how to build a business or find his place in fashion, until a water stain turns one of his drawings transparent and makes a clothing brand feel possible. Sidekick becomes the ultimate partner, helping with everything from logo and storefront concepts to campaign ideas and supplier outreach.

· The Office Guy: After pigeons keep flying into his office window, Walter designs a decal that stops birds from hitting glass and looks good enough for interior design lovers, all while wondering whether a computer guy can make a product at all. Sidekick helps shape the storefront strategy and setup with product pages and listings, then helps him find new markets to sell into.

· The Couple: Piet and Ana’s old dog can no longer jump onto their new sofa, and with every dog bed on the market looking bland, they decide to design a colorful sofa for dogs, with no furniture experience and little free time. Sidekick helps them turn their photos into studio-quality product shots, assist with product page copy, and build a launch strategy to put the sofa in front of people.

· The High School Seniors: A group of high school seniors working on a school project notice a friend’s pimple and come up with personalized pimple patches, then lose momentum when questions about manufacturers and permits pile up and their teacher stays unconvinced. Sidekick assists in supplier outreach, then helps plan a pop-up that puts the patches in front of new customers.

Marcus Ibanez of ICONOCLAST directed the film, and Kasper Tuxen shot it on film. The fast-paced editing, set to Yung Lean’s “Forever Young,” mirrors the frenetic energy of ideas and of starting something new.

“When Marcus brought us the pace of the film, it set the direction for everything else. It’s just on the verge of overwhelming, which helps us not only show what it’s like for entrepreneurs to try to realize their idea, but also pack a lot of story into a short amount of time.” Tobias Lindborg, creative director, Mother.

“Just An Idea” is the first collaboration between Shopify and Mother Los Angeles. The film will debut on broadcast TV during college football on November 14, with hundreds of versions rolling out across seven countries on TV, OTT, and paid social.