Brandon Chu on building product at Shopify, how writing changed the trajectory of his career, the habits that make you a great PM, pros and cons of being a platform PM, how Shopify got through Covid

Product management at Shopify thrives on technical rigor, founder-level accountability, and a culture of rapid, decisive pivoting. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company successfully discarded existing roadmaps to focus on mission-critical merchant needs, demonstrating the value of organizational agility. Remote work effectiveness is maintained through "bursts"—intentional, quarterly in-person collaborative sessions enabled by bespoke internal logistics software. Writing acts as a primary career propellant, forcing leaders to crystallize complex mental models and build internal trust, even when the work is not explicitly aimed at public consumption. Platform product management demands a distinct psychological shift, moving away from immediate user-facing feedback toward designing long-term, scalable canvases for developers. Success in this domain requires mastering complex multi-party stakeholder dynamics and maintaining clear principles when balancing the needs of merchants, developers, and end consumers.